New Year in Austria with Mondial Holidays for winner

A lucky reader of The Times will be celebrating a special new year in Austria on Mondial Holidays' New Year tour, departing Malta on December 28.

The holiday, which comes complete with a Lm50 shopping voucher from the Tax Free Marketing Group to spend at the Malta International Airport's tax free shops, will be given to the winner of the new word game series which starts today (see page 26).

The tour arrives at Linz, the capital of upper Austria early in the morning and from the airport participants will be taken straight to Moerbisch at Lake Neusiedl.

There will be a stop at Melk to visit the Benedictine Monastery and then on to the picture-pretty town of Duernstein, located in the Wachau region. The town has beautiful castles and is one of the most important wine growing regions of Austria.

The tour continues towards Rust, stopping for lunch at one of the restaurants on the motorway and then on to the hotel in Moerbisch at the Lake.

On December 29 there will be an optional excursion to the picturesque village at the foot of the Alps - Maria Zell, a famous pilgrimage site.

Another possibility of an optional excursion, this time to the capital of Styria, Graz is offered on the following day.

Graz with its charming old city centre, is dominated by Schlossberg, that can be reached by steps or funicular.

In the afternoon, there will be an optional Vienna-by-night excursion.

On New Year's eve there will be an optional half day excursion to the Burgenland region, including Eisenstadt and the place where famous composer Joseph Haydn lived between 1766 and 1778.

On New Year's day there will be an optional excursion to the Vienna Woods, driving through the old Roman town of Baden before reaching Mayerling. There will be a stop at the old convent of Heiligenkreuz and then on via Hoedrichsmuehle and the castle of Lichtenstein to Seegrotte, where there would be the possibility of a guided tour of this historic cave.

The following day will provide the opportunity of an optional full day city tour of Vienna and on January 3, the tour proceeds to Linz for a short city walk and then on to the airport to return home.

The winner will also get a year's membership in the Scrabble Club.

The six correct nine-letter words of the last series were marketeer, rehearsal, gradually, backstage, equitably and screwball.

The winner will be going on a Mondial Holidays tour to Cyprus, spending on his way there or on his return Lm50 at the MIA's tax free shops, courtesy of the Tax Free Marketing Group. The winner will also get a year's membership in the Scrabble Club.