Christmas Trip

Austria

We were particularly looking forward to our holiday to Austria and Switzerland - whether it was because we would be away for a few weeks rather than a measly three or four or because we would be having our first white Christmas in less than zero degree temperatures.

The trip starting pretty typically with the ritual of catching of a National Express bus to Stanstead at ridiculously dark and early hour of the morning, however it would turn out to be a more interesting trip then our previous ones.

Our flight with Air Berlin was delayed for an hour which we spent in the aircraft sitting out on the tarmac. I was tired as the previous week at work was hectic and dozed off while we were still sitting on the tarmac and only woke up about 5 minutes after takeoff. The flight to Vienna was pretty comfortable, it only lasted two hours and we got fed which made it that much better.

We arrived pretty late in at Vienna and by the time we arrive at our hostel it was getting dark (at around 4pm). I caught some more shut eye before we both headed off to do a look around at the shopping mall next to our hostel. There was a bit going on, it was late night shopping as Christmas was only a few days away and there were street performers and the place was pretty well lit up with Christmas decorations.
Roasted chestnuts seemed to be the snack that the Austrians were crazy for as there were heaps of little makeshift stores up and down the street. We couldn’t really see what the hype was about - they tasted pretty plain and they only thing they had going for them was that they were warm. After a bit more wandering around we head back to the hostel to get some sleep.

Day 2

We started the day early at about 7:30. Breakfast wasn’t included so we brought some cereal from the local supermarket. There wasn’t a huge range so I grabbed the most plain looking one which turned out to be horrible – it was like eating cubes of cinnamon and sugar.

After breakfast we caught a train a few stops to the centre of Vienna. The city of Vienna is quite small and we were planning to walk cover most of it that day. It was a nice day with a tempreture of around -5 degrees and even though we both had four or five layers of thermals, jumpers and jackets on we were still extremely cold.

Trying hard to ignore the cold we headed off to our first tourist attraction was an old Catholic church – St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It was one of the few churches were tourists were allowed to enter and take photos while a service was in progress.

We then headed up to catch a glimpse of the famous Danube River. We came to what looked like a small canal and started taking pictures not releasing that what we were actually looking at was a canal and that the Danube River was further on. It wasn’t until later that night that we released our mistake!

We continued down the (what we thought was) the Danube until we came to a park called “Stadt”. Being winter things were looking pretty dead however the park had a pond which had completely frozen over and Deb went out and stood on the ice (although she did it rather reluctantly).

Shrine to Mozart

Our next stop was the Vienna Opera House however along the way we stumbled upon one of the man Vienna Christmas markets. The markets had various Christmas decorations (a number of glass painted balls which were Deb’s favorite), mulled wine, sausages and of course roasted chestnuts. The markets were nice but they really didn’t live up to the hype, after visiting two or three of them they all started looking the same with a limited range of items.

It was lunch time and we were looking forward to some local Austrian dishes. The local tourist office recommended a restaurant to try, however when we arrived it was crazy-busy and there was no free tables. After about 5 minutes of waiting for someone to leave, our hunger got the better of us and we headed up to an Italian restaurant just up the road.

After lunch we walked around and visited some more parks, Christmas markets and finally some shopping at the store next to one of Austria’s museum. We were pretty tired and very cold by this stage and decided to head back to the hostel. We had an early dinner and went down to check out the pub located in the hostel we were staying at. After a few drinks and a couple of courtesy shots we headed to bed for what would be our last night in Vienna.

Day 3
We had planned to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day in a luxury hotel relaxing eating and doing walks up into the snow covered mountains. We had booked a four star, family run hotel – Hotel Bergheimat (www.bergheimat.com) situation in the hills of Hchkonigh. We got up early and caught a train from Vienna to Bischofshofen, the closest train station and then jumped in a cab for a 20 minute drive up a winding road.

The hotel was amazing, our room had a view overlooking snow covered mountains off in the horizon. We had been given the “romance package” which included a fruit and chocolate platter in our room (which didn’t last very long) and a horse and carriage ride the next day. Our pillows and bed linen being were also arranged into a big love heart (awwww). The only annoying thing (which we found in all our hotels and hostels regardless of the number of stars) was that a double bed consisted of two single beds pushed together.

We hadn’t eaten lunch at this stage so we headed down to the dining area and order some food. After a quick meal we decided to go off on a walk in the snow. The hotel owner had told us about a good walking trail and we grab some water and snacks (and plenty of warm clothes) and headed off. We managed to get ourselves slightly lost at the start as there were no signs but we got back onto the correct track pretty quickly. After about 40 minutes or so we came upon another hotel which looked pretty deserted but which gave us some pretty spectacular views. On the way down Deb got the inkling to make a snow angel although her first attempt was pretty poor. Further down along the track she made another attempt which worked out much better. The snow angel left Deb pretty cold and wet so we decided to head back to the hotel - we were particularly looking forward to hot soup and mulled that they served every day between 3pm and 5pm. We couldn’t however leave without a snow ball fight which was made difficult by the fact that the snow was too soft (like the ice that you scrape out of a freezer) and we just ended up throwing handfuls of soft ice at each other.

We reached back at the hotel at around 4pm and by that time most of the mulled wine had run out. I was more interested in the soup however and as a bonus they also had a number of cakes to choose from. After a snack we decided to check out the facilities which included saunas, steam rooms a pool with jet spas and an indoor area to relax and admire the view. We decided to have a wade around in the pool before visiting one of the many steam rooms they had available (each had a different maximum tempreture) and while we decided to keep our clothes on, others were more liberal. We lasted in there for about 30 minutes and then moved to the relaxing room where they had these extremely comfortable deck chairs overlooking the ice covered mountains. Another 30 minutes of this and we decided to go back and get ready for dinner.

Dinner consisted of about 5 courses; the first was a salad buffet which had some really fancy dishes including capsicums stuffed with goats cheese. The next course was a pate dish followed by a orange and carrot soup. The main meal was veal followed by ice cream for desert.

We were stuffed by this stage and headed back to the room – we turned on the T.V. and there were really cool movies and shows on however none of them were in English. We ended up watching The Polar Express in German. As it was Christmas Eve Deb in Austria and Christmas morning in Australia, Deb called home to Brisbane so she could wish everyone and listen as everyone opened their presents.

Day 4
It was Christmas day (in Austria at least) and we didn’t bother getting up too early today as we didn’t have too much planned. As part of our package with the hotel we had a booked a horse and sleigh ride which was to start at about 11, so we had some time to kill. After the superb dinner the previous night we were really looking forward to breakfast, and we weren’t disappointed. Breakfast was buffet style with a range of muesli, cereals, fruits, cheeses, meats, bacon, sausages and eggs. We could tell we were going to put on some weight in the next few days if we kept getting fed like this.

After breakfast we felt pretty lethargic and didn’t really feel like being to adventurous. We hung around in our hotel room admiring the views until it was time for our horse and sleigh ride. The hotel staff gave us some mulled wine to take on the journey and introduced us to the driver who turned out to be the mayor of the town. We found out that he had been doing this for the last 15 years – not a bad second job to have! Although it was advertised as a horse and sleigh ride, it turned out to be a horse and “carriage” ride - Deb was a little disappointed but she got over it pretty quickly. There were plenty of blankets in the back of the carriage and even though it was the middle of the day and the sun was out, it was still very cold. As the horses trotted along Deb and I, both with a camera each, started taking a picture every 5 or 10 seconds. The country side was pretty amazing and it was interesting to see how some places were heavily covered in snow while others looked quite green. On the way back we stopped and had a cup of mulled wine each (although we only gave the driver half a glass as he admitted it tended to make him sleepy). As our hotel was quite a long way up the mountain and the road up was extremely steep, the driver got out and walked beside the horses all the way up (we felt bad and thought that we should probably get out too). The ride lasted about an hour and cost about 90 Euros but it was well worth it.

We were feeling pretty good at this stage so we decided to venture out and build a snow man, even though it was not the best type of snow to make one. We ended up using a chuck of compacted ice as the torso and managed to compact enough ice to make a head. It was a pretty pathetic snow man, but the best we could do under the circumstances.

By the afternoon we were a bit hungry as we’d skipped lunch after the massive breakfast we’d eaten. We went and had cake and soup and then went off to pool and sauna. We discovered a more “family friendly” sauna next to the pool where clothes were required and used that one instead before relaxing in the deck chairs and taking in the views.
That night there was a special Christmas dinner planned. We had complimentary wine, Christmas treats and another 5 course dinner. It was more or less then same as the previous night and just as fantastic. There was also an amazing harpist playing throughout dinner which really made it that much better. What followed after dinner was quite funny; they had a real Christmas tree inside the hotel lobby which they had decorated early in the day and they then proceeded to load about 20 lit sparklers into it. We couldn’t help but move away slightly as we half expected the tree to go up in flames – of course it didn’t. After the tree was alight everyone started singing O’ Christmas Tree - in German, but we could obviously make out the tune.

Day 5
Today was our last day in Hotel Bergheimat and we were heading to Salzburg just before lunch that day. We headed down to have buffet breakfast before packing the last of our things and checking out. The train to Salzburg took about an hour and arrived shortly before 2pm. We picked up a daily train and bus pass and a list of things to see and do in Salzburg before heading to our hostel. Our first impression of Salzburg was good – it felt lively and the transport system was efficient and easy to use.
We checked into our hostel and then went in search of food. Being Boxing Day a lot of shops were closed and we ended up in (another) Italian restaurant (so much for eating local cuisine). After lunch we decided to go trekking up to one of the highest points in the city of Salzburg “Kapuzinerberg”. We made it far enough to get a fantastic view of the city but only about halfway up to the top. We then made away over to a public garden / park that featured in the movie “The Sound of Music” which featured interesting statues, fountains and some pretty miserable looking flowers (it was winter). We then walked up a shopping mall which featured a number of cake shops all which displayed a number of decorated marzipan pigs (Austrian’s seem to have a fascination with marzipan pigs). We headed back to the hostel where we had dinner (there wasn’t much choice) followed by a screening of “The Sound of Music” which they show every night at 8pm (oh joy!).

Day 6
Today we picked a “Salzburg card” which basically gave you free or discounted access to various sites around Salzburg as well as free transport on trains and buses. Today we managed to see:
· A cable-car ride up to one of the mountains just outside Salzburg. It was an amazing trip up and with amazing views and a great place for tobogganing which we did using our waterproof jackets.
· The Salzburg Zoo – even though it was the wrong time of year to go and most of the animals were hibernating this was a highlight as Deb had a close encounter with a cheeky little monkey.
· The Hohensalzburg fortress which could only be accessed using a cable railway. The cable-train ran up to the top of the fortress at a 45 degree angle. The fortress itself wasn’t very interesting but the cable railway definitely made it worth it.
· Mozart’s birthplace – which they had attempted to make a bit more touristy but ended up just making it weird. We didn’t spend too much time here.
· Mozart’s residence was far more interesting than his birthplace and we had an audio guide which made the tour that much better.
· Panorama museum featuring early and modern panoramas of Salzburg as well as ones from all around the world.

Day 7

Since we had seen all the sights of Salzburg we wanted to see the day before we decided to head out into the hills to see Krimil Falls which are a series of waterfalls which are 400m high. What makes them even more interesting is that in the winter they freeze over and make ice sculptures down the 400m.

It was a 3hr trip from Salzburg so we got up very early and headed off for the day. The trip through the mountains to Krimil was amazing. We swapped from trains to buses and arrived a Krimil and found our way to the bottom of the falls. We had decided that we where going to climb all the way to the top and had brought a picnic lunch to eat once we had reached the top.

The climb was amazing. It was hard and most of the hike we where climbing along tracks covered in half a food of snow. Along the way we saw from pretty amazing ice sculptures from the waterfall freezing and where passed by alot of hikers going further up the mountains with huge backpacks on.

It took us a couple of hrs to climb to the top with stops of the way to enjoy the views. The view from the top was amazing. We had a great lunch before heading back down. Down was alot easier than up going up and we quickly got back down the mountain and headed back into Krimil.

On the way back to Slazburg we got to ride on a mini train which was fun. We got back to Sazburg earlier than expected and went back out into the town for dinner and one last walk around before we had to take off the next morning to Innsbruck and Zuric.

Day 8
This holiday we decided to “wing it” a bit more than usual and we decided to book hotels a couple of days before to allow us to change our plans. We didn’t realize however then this was a particular busy time of year for Austria and in the end we couldn’t find any accommodation in Innsbruck - however, on this particular occasion it worked to our advantage. We decided to pass through Innsbruck for a day trip before making our way to Zurich. We arrived at about 10am and were done by about 1pm as there was not that much to see or do. It would have been difficult to fill a day if we had stayed here overnight. Innsbruck did have some interesting buildings and nice shops however the best part of the the town was that it was surrounded by picturesque mountains. For lunch we went with the unhealthy option of a German sausage which I was burping up for a few hours after.
We jumped on a 2:30pm train to Zurich which arrived shortly after 6pm. Our first mission was to get a map and find out how to get to our hostel which initially proved more difficult than we expected. We eventually found a tourist information centre which gave us a map and some info on the sights of Zurich as well as help on getting to our Hostel. After checking in we sat down to some self made sandwhiches and tried to figure out what we would do for the next two days.

While there were a number of things to see in Zurich, most of them were galleries and museums and the subject matter didn’t really interest us. We also looked at some day tours which outside of Zurich but none of them were running on the days we wanted.

Switzerland

Day 9
The next day we spent wandering around the side streets of Zurich following a walking tour suggested by the tourist office. Zurich is a beautiful city but we found it hard to fill up more than a day by walking around. Being Sunday most of the shops, restaurants and cafes were closed – we had to resort to eating McDonalds for lunch although we were surprised at how match better the burgers tasted then in Australia. The weather wasn’t particular great but we managed to see the whole city before it started raining in the late afternoon.

That night we broke open a bottle of cheap schnapps that we picked up in Austria. We were told by some locals that the schnapps in Salzburg was amongst the best in the world - I thought that this meant I could simply choose one from the local brands at the shops however, upon my first sip I discovered that this wasn’t the case. The schnapps was supposedly raspberry flavored however it really just tasted like strong, cheap vodka. After a few glasses we decided to retire for the night.

Day 10
Litchenstein

After finding out most of the tours we wanted to do of Switzerland didn't run on our spare day we resided oursleves to wandering around Zuric again. Then Debbie came up with the brilliant idea of visiting another country for the day so we headed of to Litchenstein which was a fantastic day out.

We took a train from the center of Zuric and then swapped to a bus to reach the capital Vaduz. On the way in the bus we crossed the border between Switerland and Litchenstein and travelled along the platu of the country. With Litchenstein being only 28km long and 12km wide we saw most of the valley section of the country on our bus trip. So after visiting half of the country we arrived at the capital.

Vaduz is a really nice place to spend the day. Even though it was freezing cold it was sunny and we could talk around the old town. We walked up the hill to the royal palace and went to the city winery. We had a picnic lunch overlooking the city and hills beyond and did a little bit of shopping around the city streets before cold overtook us and we needed to head back to our hotel.

Day 11

Today was new years day and time to head back to England. After a good sleep in we headed to the airport and bordered out plane home. We had a fantastic time and were so relaxed from our trip. Ready for the new year.