Vienna Christmas Markets

 A few weeks ago, the Gluhwein Gang reunited and headed to the Christmas Markets,

two Texans, four Canadians, a Scot, a Brit, a Swede and an Irish lass.

I'll confess that I wasn't really in Travel Blogger mode.

I was much more interested in eating, drinking and making merry.

The weekend went by way too fast but we squeezed in a lot of fun and laughter.

One of our two stops was Vienna, Austria.

Vienna is absolutely gorgeous, such an elegant and stylish city.

I want to go back and spend some more time this summer.

Check out this post from fellow gang member and my sweet friend, Erin.

She's done a much better job of covering the Vienna Christmas markets.

I didn't take nearly as many photos as usual, but here are some of Vienna and the markets.

 Matthew doesn't really like gluhwein but in Vienna we found a booth

selling gluhwein spiked with Jack Daniels.  Suddenly he was a big fan.

We also spent a day in Bratislava.  I'll share some of those photos tomorrow.

I hope you are all having a nice run up to Christmas.

I haven't done any shopping yet!

I'm heading to Canterbury with a few girlfriends tomorrow to remedy that.


Do you like gluhwien?  How do you feel about Jack Daniels?


 

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Stalking the Locals in Salzburg

To nap or not to nap.  That is the question.

After our Sound of Music Tour, we went back to the room to regroup.

The clean white sheets were calling my name and we had that discussion that we

often have on a travel day at about 2pm.

"Should we nap?"

I will admit that occasionally the answer is a resounding "Yes."  And those are some of the best naps.

But, not on this day.  We decided that we just couldn't do it.

It would be a shame to leave Salzburg without experiencing

the views from the Hohensalzburg Castle.

I'm so glad we got up and out, because what came later was one of the highlights of the trip.

A funicular took us up to the Fortress which was built in 1077

and is one of the largest fortresses in Europe.

It also has the distinction of being one of the few that was never conquered in her long history. 

There are several tours and attractions including a Fortress Museum and a Marionette Museum.

As it was off-season, not everything was open but the views from the top are not to be missed.

Austria takes my breath away with its majestic mountains and medieval rooftops.

  

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a travel bloggers meeting sponsored by BritMums.

It was an amazing day and I'm still buzzing with ideas and inspiration.

One of the guest speakers was from the Tourist Board of Costa Brava.

In his charming, Spanish accent, he passionately told us

"Don't just give me castles and cathedrals, give me a story."

When we travel, we try to hit the highlights of the city that we are visiting.

What will we regret not seeing or doing if we never get back to this place?

And in most big cities of Europe, that involves castles and cathedrals.

But, we also try to spend some time "stalking the locals."

Which led to one of the best evenings of our trip,

and hey, it involved beer.

Win. Win.

 

Our Sound of Music tour guide told us not to  miss the beer hall so we marked it on the map and headed that way.  It was late on a week night and once we got out of the main tourist district things quieted down.  After a bit of wandering, we found a small door that we thought must be the right place.

Matt tried it a few times but it wouldn't open.

We were about to just go back to the hotel when Matt tried that handle one more time and it opened.  

We followed the sound of laughter and smell of food through the halls

and eventually found the Augustiner Braustubl.

I'm sure in the high season many tourists find this place.  

It's highly rated on all the travel sights as one of the best beer halls in Europe.

But on this night, it seemed we were the only tourists there.
  

 This is a traditional Austrian Beer Hall

that serves beer brewed by Monks in a tradition dating back hundred of years.

We found a place to sit and Matt sent me off to figure out how to get a beer.

You should have seen my beaming face when I returned a short while later with two frothy mugs.

Success!  I did get in trouble and there was some back and forthing but I figured it out.  

Here is a video from Samantha Brown that gives you the basics.  Take a look.

I had no idea what the fountain was for, I thought maybe rinsing between pints.

And the part she doesn't show is where you go visit the man at the cashier booth

to pay for your pints.  Or in my case, ask about the wine selection and get scolded in German.

I think it was probably the best pint of beer I've ever had.

Matt was sent on a mission to find food

and soon after he proudly plopped this massive plate of meat down in front of me.  

"Um. What's that?"

"Pork knuckle."

"I'm not eating pig's feet."

"It's not trotter."

"Trotter?  I'm definitely not eating trotter...  What's trotter?"

"Pig's feet."

"See.  I'm so not eating that."

"It's the knee, not the foot"

"I'm gonna find something else."

 

I came back with a baked potato and a pretzel, 'cause you can never have too many carbs after a long day of exploring.  (I did taste the pork and it was pretty good.)

This was the coolest place.  In the photo below, you see cabinets lining the walls with plaques.

The locals keep their own mugs locked up in the cabinets for when they visit. 

But it was really all about the atmosphere.

There are several big halls, each open and well lit,

completely different from a small, dark British pub.

Large family groups were laughing and enjoying each others company.

It was festive but in a relaxed way. 

I can't recommend a trip to Austria highly enough. 

We are still talking about it and it's a definite favorite for us both.

The scenery, the train rides, the food and the people all made for a very memorable weekend.

And I promise to remember those wise words

and to not give you only castles and cathedrals as we continue our journey.

What has been your most memorable trip?

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The Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg

As an awkward prepubescent girl, my two idols were Olivia Newton John and Julie Andrews.

Don't laugh.  What young girl didn't want to be "hopelessly devoted" Sandra Dee

or "a problem like Maria"?  

I had the soundtracks to both movies on big, black vinyl disks.
I would hide away in my room and play them over and over again dramatically acting out each song.
You know you've done it, too.  Right?  Anyone?

 Before our trip to Salzburg, I made sure to express (over and over) to TE just how important
 The Sound of Music was to my childhood.  After all of the conditioning and begging, he was sweet enough to indulge me in the cheesiest of cheesy bus tours The Original Sound of Music Tour.  We purchased tickets the night before from the hotel (37 Euros each) and were assured that we would be picked up the next morning at 9am. 

It was a Tuesday morning during off-season, so we didn't expect to be taken to a large bus and to see every seat filled.  Great minds.  It was a surprisingly young crowd. too.

The bus was clean and comfortable with a bar for beers, sodas and water.   We settled in for a four hour tour of all the local highlights from the famous movie.  

The music from the movie was played all along the way and we were encouraged to sing along, though I didn't hear anyone else.  They were probably singing under their breath like I was.  It was still early.   

Along with some really bad jokes, our guide was full of information about both the 1965 Hollywood movie and the real-life story of Maria and the von Trapp family.  Most Austrians have never  seen the movie, but it brings millions of people from all over the world to Salzburg each year. The movie is very much a Hollywood creation and wasn't even shown in Austria until recently.

The tour was one of the highlights for both of us.  TE hasn't even seen the movie and had no idea how the sites we visited fit into it, but you really don't need to know anything about the Sound of Music to enjoy the gorgeous views of Salzburg and the surrounding lake district.

 

Our first stop was the Leopoldskron Lake for a view of the Leopoldskron Palace.   If you know the movie, this is the lake where the children took an accidental swim.  The back of the palace was used in some of the exterior shots of the von Trapp family home.  The famous gazebo was once on these grounds, but too many people were jumping the walls to get to it, so they moved it. 

It's now on the grounds of the Schloss Hellbrunn.  Unfortunately, it's all locked up so we couldn't go in and leap from bench to bench like Liesl in the Sixteen Going On Seventeen number.  This gazebo is much too small to be the one from that scene.  It was actually shot on a film set at 20th Century-Fox Studios.

The Schloss Frohnburg Palace was the main building used in the exterior shots of the Trapp villa and is now a music university.  Along the front of the Castle is an alley lined with trees along both sides.  This was where the von Trapp children hung from the trees on their adventurous day out with Maria. 

After a few stops around the city of Salzburg, we settled back into the bus for an hour long trip out into the Lake District stopping for views along the way.  Breathtaking.  Gorgeous.  Fantastic.  Magical. There has to be more words to describe such beautiful scenery. 

We had about an hour in the lakeside town of Mondsee to visit the Mondsee Cathedral where the Captain married Maria in the movie.  The real von Trapp couple were married at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg. 

After visiting the Cathedral, we had just enough time for Schnitzel and shopping.  I've been wanting one of these beautiful Black Forest German cuckoo clocks for ages.  I think my mom had one when I was little and they're so beautiful.  On the bus ride back to Salzburg, the intro to So Long, Farewell came on.

There's a sad sort of clanging
From the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple, too
And up in the nursery
An absurd little bird
Is popping out to say cuckoo
(Cuckoo, cuckoo)

With my new little cuckoo clock resting on my lap, I might have had a moment.

I was suddenly that young girl again, completely charmed by a love story filmed in the most beautiful place and listening to music that carried me there.
Pretty special. Now I just have to figure out the best place to hang my little treasure.  

The bus dropped us off back in Salzburg right next to the Mirabell Gardens.  This was where many of the scenes from Do-Re-Mi were filmed.  Do you recognize the Pegasus Fountain and the steps from the song? 

If you are a fan of the movie, you will love this tour.  It was so much fun and exciting to see it all. 

I'm dying to watch the movie again.  It's been years since I've seen it.  

Have you seen The Sound of Music?  What's your favorite scene?

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*This is not a sponsored post.  We paid full price for the tour tickets.   And as usual, all photographs are mine unless otherwise noted.