Frohe Weihnachten von Salzburg

Halli-hallo!

Our trip from Prague to Salzburg went very smoothly. Our Airbnb host, Mike, met us at the apartment to show us the ins and outs and give us some local tips. Our apartment was excellent, just like being at home - fully equipped kitchen, comfy beds, a lounge room and was warm and inviting. After settling in, we rugged up and set out for the Alt Stadt to explore the Christmas markets. You would think after two weeks of Christmas markets we'd be sick of them - but no. The Salzburg ones were particularly lovely, most of the products were handmade or from local produce and there was little repetition amongst stalls. The whole city is framed by mountains, and the town is packed with beautiful churches, which creates a pretty impressive backdrop for some yuletide spirit!

Despite our hope for some wintry fun, being so close to the Alps, we were blessed (cursed?) with what my weather app described as "abundant sunshine" and the kind of skies you only see this close to the mountains. We headed for Untersberg, the closest mountain to Salzburg. Fun fact, this mountain featured in the opening and closing credits of the Sound of Music! We took the cable car to the top, where we were greeted with panoramic views of Salzburg to one side and the jagged skyline of the Alps to the other. Best of all, at the top, was snow! Icy, less than a a few inches deep, patchy and melting in the sun, but snow nonetheless. Michaela was so excited! I had forgotten however, how anxious slippery snow made me, so while the other's continued on a very treacherous "path" (I would call it a slippery goat-track of death) to the peak, I sat back in the sunshine to enjoy the views. Once the intrepid trekkers arrived back down, we enjoyed a simple lunch and hot drink at the restaurant. Eating on top of a mountain is one thing I won't forget in a hurry! 

On the way back in to Salzburg we stopped at Schloss Mirabell. In summer, the castles grounds form a famous garden filled with fountains (and also home to the rotunda from "sixteen going on seventeen"). In winter, there is the sweetest Christmas wonderland, filled with pine trees, baubles, lights and music. The shutters of the castle windows are done up like the windows of an advent calendar. We drank warm punch and snacked on roasted chestnuts. I feel so cheesy just writing this, but Salzburg is a truly wonderful place to spend Christmas.

Christmas Eve was spent exploring Hohensalzburg Festung, a fully intact fortress from the 11th century. Harry was in his element, naturally. 

We arrived back at the apartment early afternoon and set about preparing our Christmas dinner. 5pm rolls around, time to put everything into the oven. Only we can't get the oven to turn on. We try everything, push buttons, turn knobs, flick switches. Panic ensues. As Adam pulls out the cupboard to check for a powerpoint switch, I bend down to look and twist in a funny angle, and my neck explodes in pain. It had been tight for weeks, and it went down HARD. I couldn't move. I felt paralysed. In the shock of the pain, I straightened up quickly... Smashing Michaela in the nose. Now we were both on the floor, me in a flood of tears, her nose making cracking sounds it shouldn't, and Christmas dinner being perilously close to being ruined. After frantically trying to get hold of Mike, Adam managed to get the oven working and warming, and Michaela pulled our shit together to get dinner on. Meanwhile, I sat on the couch propped up on pillows, trying not to move and popping pills. With only one more incident (a blood lip), dinner was served. After being so close to eating noodle soup for dinner, a meal has never tasted more delicious. Roast beef and bacon-wrapped pork, knödel (bread dumplings), gravy and enough vegetables to satisfy our mothers. Apple strudel for dessert. After a Faulty Towers-esque start, I declare the final result a victory! 

Christmas Day we were up and early for the much-hyped horse drawn sleigh ride. The bus trip to Ramsau was beautiful, up through the mountains. The only problem? No snow. Like, none. It had been such an unusually warm season in Salzburg that even the mountains in the Alps didn't have snow! It was so disappointing, I had figured being close enough to the Alps in winter would guarantee us to have even some patchy snow. The tour guide was pretty apologetic, but as she pointed out - anything is better than rain! We did have crazy nice weather (again), which made for lovely views while we enjoyed the novelty of the horses and the decorated carts. In Ramsau itself there was some generated snow created for winter sports, which enabled us to get some faux-snowy pictures. We enjoyed a tasty lunch in a local restaurant, and drove back to Salzburg taking in the mountain scenery.

After going so full-on for the last two weeks, we spent the new few days taking it easy. We walked around the markets once more, strolled around the forests on the top of Monchsberg, explored the ancient St. Peter's Abbey catacombs (dating from the 11th century and hewn out of the rock in the mountain) and discovered more of Salzburg city. It was so lovely to take a break from the hectic schedule that travelling often is, sleeping in and taking our time and basing our days around meals. We spent a lot of time eating delicious food and made regular runs to the local supermarket for snacks (oh! the chocolate!). We were all sad to say goodbye to this beautiful city that had been our home for a week. Myself, I know I had grown rather attached to the place and would love to spend Christmas here again one year (with my family, as travelling overseas during the Christmas holidays again has been banned!). Hope you all had a wonderful time with your families, and all drank and ate yourselves stupid like we did.

Talk to you from Venice!

Prague

Ahoj, Praha!

We caught a night train from Heidelberg to Prague. Six bunks in a tiny room. Our biggest mistake? Garlic in the last meal... we really made that air nice and thick. I feel particularly sorry for the poor lady who had to bunk with us! That said, we all slept surprisingly well, and when we woke we had beautiful views out the window and only an hour left to Prague.

  On arrival, we found where we had to pick the key up for our apartment and were able to leave our bags until check in a few hours later. We broke our fast with goulash and dumplings, traditional breakfast food be damned! After, we wandered around, finding the Old Town Square. Prague is incredibly pretty, full of beautiful monuments and buildings. The Old Town Square is unbelievable, I almost broke my neck trying to twist in so many directions at once. It is surrounded by ancient churches, the town hall and the famed astronomical clock. At this time of year, the square is filled with the little huts of the Christmas Markets, all gathered around a massive tree. Twinkle lights festoon every tree and corner, and the whole place smells like mulled wine. We wandered on to Stare Mesto (Old Town). 

Prague is a maze of cobbled streets, where corners aren't right angles and you often have to go in a direction that is counter-intuitive to get your destination.
  Our apartment was our first taste of our Airbnb bookings. Pleasantly surprised! It was well heated and spacious, clean, and close to all the important sights. After the long train ride, we relaxed at the apartment for a short while before cooking a meal in the kitchen, which was a nice change after eating out so often. Harry and I ventured out to the Christmas market again in the evening, sampling the traditional Czech dessert, trdlnìk. Imagine if you will, a spiralled hollowed sweet bread, covered in hazelnut creme, sugar and cinnamon and slowly baked over open coals. Delightful!

Saturday morning, and the weather was beautiful. Sunshine and warm for Czech winter's standards. We walked over the Charles Bridge and spent the day exploring the castle. There was so much to see and do, we easily passed a few hours here. We climbed to the top of St. Vitus Cathedral which had breathtaking views over Prague. We spent some time in the medieval weaponry museum (some more willingly than others) and wandered down the tiny houses in the Golden Lane. If you ever visit Prague, set aside a whole day to see the castle, it's very large and lots to see! 

As we were wandering down the hill the sun was beginning to set, so we decided to stop at a cafe set into the hill of the castle and watch the lights slowly turn on in the city. We slowly wandered back over the Charles Bridge, which is just beautiful at night. We found the cutest little Christmas market at the base, full of handmade goods. We lost Harry and Adam for a good twenty minutes to a blacksmithing stand...

  We found a cute little restaurant near our apartment for dinner. Unfortunately in the Czech Republic there is no way to not sound like an obnoxious tourist insisting on English... Czech is an extremely difficult language with very little vowels, and inflections going in every which direction. We were making bigger fools out of ourselves for trying, and thankfully the waiters quickly humoured us with a smile and switched to English. Food excellent, hearty and filling, and so god damn CHEAP. We could have whole meals, several drinks included, for the equivalent of 10 euros or AU$15 per person. 

The next few days we managed to cram in several sights. We trundled back over the river to the Strahov Monastery to see the famed libraries, a bucket list item of mine. While we weren't allowed to wander around the ancient rooms, the view we did get was astonishing. See photos below... We went to an alchemy museum, at lunch in a medieval basement restaurant lit entirely by candles, hit up the Lego museum, saw the Lennon wall. Figured out the Czech postal system, conquered the metro and finally got familiar enough to navigate without a map. And then it was time to leave.

Prague, you were wonderful. I'd try to say goodbye in Czech, but I can't.

Heidelberg

For starters, I feel very lucky to be able to resurrect this blog post at all. Travel sparks my imagination and keeps me going, and the countdown to our trip is all that sustained me during this year!

We arrived in Frankfurt after a very long, very cramped flight. I'm always so much more optimistic about long-haul flights at the start, while my memory is bad...
  We caught the train to Heidelberg where my grandfather picked us up. Weather cold, but not shockingly so. Heidelberg beautiful as always, the ruins of the old castle overlooking the winding Neckar river, with the postcard-perfect houses nestled in to the valley hills. Despite my recollections of living here as a baby being practically non-existent, it still feels like home. Could the sentiment be genetically inherited from my parents, or is home wherever you find family?
  It felt a little strange to not be staying with Oma and Opa, for my entire life of visits I have been quartered in the same bedroom upstairs, now currently occupied by my uncle. We stayed next door at a little guest house, where there was more room for the four of us and our accoutrement to spread out. Walking in the door of my grandparents flat after we had settled in, even Harry commented that the smell was incredibly familiar. This wonderful mix of coffee and spices and homemade jam, which upon consideration are probably the essentials that fuel the inhabitants!
  We were given the usual welcome, which means being plied with food and alcohol and more food and more alcohol. We rolled back to ours and immediately fell asleep.

The next day dawned (and yes, it was witnessed - jet lag is a bitch) clear and cold. We breakfasted with Oma and Opa, fresh rolls, butter and homemade jams, cured meats and cheeses... I think we all rediscovered a love for breakfast. Never has butter on bread tasted so good.

  We rugged up and headed out of doors. First stop, the Alte Brücke (old bridge). I wanted Adam and Michaela to experience this sight of Heidelberg first. The bridge itself, older than colonised Australia, stretching away to the impressive gate that used to guard the walls to the city, overshadowed by the castle.

Adam has his eyes closed here, but we'll forgive him. We had a few hours to wander around Heidelberg before we had to move on. We decided to take the Bergbahn (funicular) up to the highest point, called Königstuhl. My dad used to drive these! 

The view from the top was stunning, so high up and overlooking the whole valley. Excellent photo op!

We trundled back down to Heidelberg shortly thereafter, and wandered down the Hauptstraße (main street) in search of food. We were short on time, which means only one thing - Döner! These little beauties leave Australian kebabs in the red dirt. Harry's joy was palpable, but they were enjoyed all around. 

We headed off to Dossenheim then, to meet Adam's friend of the family, Barbara. She showed us a lovely time at her flat, all glass windows overlooking a wonderful view, having afternoon tea in the fading afternoon light. The sun sets so early here, around 4:30! Back to Heidelberg to experience the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market), and oh! what an experience that was!

No one does Christmas like the Germans. Every inch of the town is covered in lights, every store front is decorated. No house is without a shining star in the window, and every few hundred meters a towering tree strung with lights illuminates your path. Imagine if you will, the tiny picturesque wooden huts, selling home made wares and Christmas gifts. It smells like Glühwein (mulled wine) and roasted almonds, chargrilled wurst and gingerbread hearts. We had a lovely few hours wandering around the lower markets, and then took the Bergbahn up to the castle to see the market up there. 

The next day was rainy and foggy, but only added to the wintry moodiness of Heidelberg. We headed up to the Schloss (castle) to explore its ruins. Despite the little that's left of it, it is still an impressive structure. While Harry and I have been there a few times, I never tire of wandering around the grounds and gardens, and the view of the city below. Pictures will do better than words in this instance:

We ate dinner with Oma and Opa, and then Harry and I headed up the hill to visit my great aunt and uncle. More food. More alcohol. We walked back, tired and bloated, and collapsed into bed.

Thursday. To avoid Heidelberg fatigue, we took the train to Mannheim. While the Christmas market was larger and better stocked, Mannheim is a very industrial-looking city, and lacks the spirit and feel of it's prettier southern sister. We enjoyed wandering around, sampling the traditional market foods and wandering the shops, picking up some essentials in the local department store.

For dinner we returned to Heidelberg, and traversed the winding streets looking for our Holy Grail - the Schnitzelbank restaurant. I had discovered this place a few weeks earlier on TripAdvisor, the number one recommendation for the area. In the lead up to the trip, most of us had been staring at pictures of snowy scenes and famous sights we would visit, in order to motivate us in the last weeks of work. Meanwhile, Harry would google pictures of Schnitzelbank's meals and dream of his menu choices. It did not disappoint. Communal eating in a traditional style, and food filled with cream and mushrooms and schnitzels and beer. Bliss.

Aufweidersehn, Heidelberg. Next up, Prague!