Salzburg, Austria

We actually went to Salzburg twice, you can read about our first trip here. It is also a funny story where I make fun of Jeff and there are a few photos.

Our second trip to Salzburg was with some friends, we wanted to go visit the famous Christmas market. Our friends had a Dodge Durango, an enormous vehicle, we had a lot of people in that vehicle and a lot of room. The drive from Italy to Austria was a lot of fun with a SUV full of fun people. It was snowing that day, and our driver was a bit of a daredevil. I was scared we were all going to die, but I tried to keep it to myself. I always like it better when Jeff drives, he is an excellent driver and not one of those guys who feels the need to push the limits past what is safe.

Driving up through Austria we pass by beautiful mountains, and castles, the whole drive is almost as fun as the destination. In the summertime what I really love is the crops growing on the sides of the mountains. Like a patch work quilt the smaller greener mountains are covered with squares of crops. It is quite an interesting site. Other mountains are the really tall rugged type, that are stone, and harsh, Jeff loves those types of mountains. The view along the drive changes and I always loved driving up to Austria.

When we got to the Christmas market in Salzburg, we got some warm mulled cider, that was good. The day was just cold enough for snow, we dressed appropriately, the big fat snow flakes were falling from the sky. There wasn't any wind, and we were warm as we walked around. The city looked like a Christmas village, all lit up, snow falling, quaint centuries old buildings. I felt like I was in a movie. We had a big lunch and then we went about the task of browsing through all the wares at the Christmas market.

Mandy was at that age, where she knew everything. I tried to tell her to dress warm before we left. She assured me that she knew. I let it go. She wore tennis shoes and thin socks. We were walking around outside in the snow for hours. Her feet got very cold. At the Christmas market I bought her a pair of new socks. The cost about $100 dollars. Never buy new socks at a Christmas market in Austria, they were really warm, wool, thick, but $100. Jeff was furious. That was pretty much all the money we had brought with us. But, Mandy's feet were warm.

We also bought a hand painted Christmas ornament. I still have it. It is lovely. Reminds me of that perfect day at the quaint Christmas market. Later I tried the hot wine, and all the snacks we could get our hands on, they were tasty. The market wasn't all that big, just some tables in the middle of the town square. The stuff being sold wasn't that interesting, unless you count the socks and the ornament. But, we just had an enormously wonderful day. I think it is one of those things that you really only get to see if you live in Europe. It wasn't really a tourist event as a local event. I will always remember those fat snow flakes and the hot wine. It really was a great day.