AUSTRIA for Christmas

INNSBRUCK
 

The train trip from Genoa was a bit convoluted with changes at Milan, then Verona but the trip through Brenner Pass was worth any minor inconveniences. Steep mountains, plenty of snow, beautiful scenery & we really enjoyed our 1st class window seats. Once in Innsbruck it was almost dark so we found our hotel, pronto! Rugged up in almost everything we have in our backpacks we went for a wander into the city centre to look round the Christmas Markets. They were just beautiful, wonderful decorative lights, interesting choices in the stalls & families out having fun on the ice skating rink or listening to the music from the school bands & choirs.

Artificial trees made a great show in the main pedestrian mall

Next morning we had decided to take the funicular, then cable cars to the top of the mountain that is virtually on top of the city. The new funicular is amazing, it starts off as a level train departing from a normal railway station, crossing a new bridge (a wide sweeping curved one) then begins to climb the mountainside. To do this the carriages are actually compartments suspended on a pivot so they swing, remaining horizontal all the time (much like a ferris wheel). Up the hill we went, passed the Alpine Zoo where lots of families got off, the skiiers stayed on board though. When we alighted at the first station we had a short wander round the village there, then we joined the groups waiting for the cable car to go the next step of the way. 

View of the mountain from the front door of our hotel

View of part of Innsbruck from the new Funicular Bridge

Hanging by a thread - that is the cable car station down there!

Lookout over the city & the 'jumping off' point for the skiiers

This time we were joined by people covered in snow & dressed in all their 'kit'. It was a bit of a push & shove as the skiiers didn't want to miss out on any time on the slopes & the car only held 95 people (it was huge & they packed us in like sardines), up & up we went 'til we got to the half way restaurant, bit of sightseeing & photo opportunity. Next stop was the very top, this was pristine & beautiful, skiiers & snow-boarders were jumping off the edges & flying down the steep slopes. Amazing to watch! Met a family of Pommies here at the lookout so it was a nice chance to chat in English.



That's Innsbruck, down there, shot was taken through the restaurant window

We came back to the restaurant for a hot drink & a bite of lunch - Goulash Soup, deeeeelicious. Then we rode back to the bottom railway station & wandered through town stopping at all the lovely shops, just window shopping though. We walked through the old city centre with its nice wide pedestrian streets & great decorations. There was one street with fairy tales depicted with large costumed dolls, most we recognised but there were a few that didn't ring any bells at all so they may have been traditional Austrian tales. Along the river's edge, pizza for dinner then back to our cosy hotel room to prepare for our journey the next day. There was no fridge in our room so we put our drinking water in a plastic bag & hung it out the window, it had ice in it the next morning, haha.



OBB the initials for the Austrain railway company, when they say them over the
public address system with their accents, it sounds like 'Oh Baby, Baby'
so funny I laugh every time I hear it.....laughing now remembering

Up early as always & at the station in plenty of time, only to find ourselves making the only mistake of our trip so far, travel wise that is. We got the platform number, went up & got on the train, found our reserved seats & stowed away our luggage. Just as the train pulled out of the station they announced that the train was going to Zurich ....Oh No .... we were going to Vienna! I found the conductor & he said, "I will be along to see you in a few minutes, there is no rush, the train doesn't stop for 45 minutes!!"

It was a lovely journey through one of the most scenic parts of western Austria & the conductor was as good as his word, he came back with his little machine in hand & worked out our connections, firstly where to get off, how long to wait, what train to get back to Innsbruck, how long to wait there, then catch the later version of the train we were supposed to have caught in the first place. No problem, there was a nice cafe on the station when we got off at Landeck-Zams (almost to the Liechtenstein border) there were snow flurries & the wind was blowing down the platform so we were more than happy to have a hot coffee & sit for the 30 minutes we had to wait to get our return train. Worth a mention that the toilets on this station were not heated & had cold water taps, that was a very cool surprise!

Back to Innsbruck, then on to Vienna, problem 'Solvered' as the ad says.

Daniela was meeting us in Vienna so once we knew what we were doing we gave her a call. All was good, she hadn't left home yet so she did some grocery shopping before she picked us up, no problem at her end. We were only two hours late in the end which was pretty good going really.

VIENNA


A dusting of snow greeted us on our first morning in Jedenspeigen

Our time in Vienna was to be 'family time' & it was just wonderful of Dany & Tati to have us in their home for what turned out to be two weeks. The evening after our arrival Dany, Vanessa, Grant & I caught the train then a couple of metros as well to get us to Schoenbrunn Palace for the Christmas Markets.

Just to prove we were actually there! Schoenbrunn looking lovely

They have a wonderful setting on the palace forecourt with a huge decorated tree, all the palace lights were on & with the little wooden buildings it was a real fairy tale image. We drank punsch (hot wine based on a fruit tea), I tried the apple & cinnamon while Grant opted for the Orange. They were both strong enough to take your breath away but lovely at the same time, I think it was the fumes that was the problem. Inhaling was enough for you to fail an RBT in Australia.



Just one of the dozens of stalls full of gorgeous decorations

The stalls were just wonderful, this market specialised in Christmas decorations & the variety was huge, glass, crystal, wooden, cut paper, gingerbread, herbs & spices on strings, you name it they had it! After a couple of large bags of the hand-made hot potato crisps (delicious, just ask Grant he ate most of them) & some speck (bacon), cheese & leek pasta dish & a good look round we took some of the obilgatory happy snaps in front of the tree & headed home.



Freshly made potato crisps...yum

On the 23rd we went into the city again (Grant woosed out though, he was all 'marketted out'). When it comes to shopping we girls definitely have staying power. This time we went to the largest market in Vienna, the one outside the Rauthaus (Town Hall).



Vienna Town Hall, absolutely gorgeous especially when all lit up like this

We had only been there two or three minutes when the most unexpected thing happened, I met a lady from Warialda, would you believe it! I spoke to Dany & the man beside me said "You'd have to be an Aussie, where are you from?" When I said Warialda he looked at his wife in shock, they live in Lismore but she was a Warialda girl. I didn't know her unfortunately, she finished high school in 1992 the year before I started there but Grant knows her father. It is such a small world, we chatted for twenty minutes or so about home & travel, then went our separate ways but it was so lovely.



Just a little section of the lights & market stalls at the Town Hall markets

The decorations at this market were glorious, every one of the leafless trees had something different hanging in it, balls, snowmen, snowflakes, angels, stars, all lit up & beautiful then there were the street decorations around the park area not to mention the stalls themselves.

Late in the evening so this baked goods stall was a bit depleted
but you get the idea - too good to eat

Christmas is celebrated on the evening of the 24th in most of Europe & we went to Tati's parents' place for dinner, & gift giving for the children. We had met several of the family before, while in Greece so it was nice to see them again. We hadn't however met Tati's father, Norbert. He & Grant got on like a house on fire, Norbert was mad keen on model trains & had a special room for his tracks etc. It was also fortunate that several members of the family including Norbert spoke good english, it gave Dany a chance to skip all the translating that she usually has to do for us.

We shared a delicious meal with duck & fish as the meat options & a variety of cold vegetable dishes. We tried a bit of everything & Mikki (Tati's Mum) twisted Grant's arm till he had another couple of pieces of fish 'to finish them off' she said! Mikki & Norbert have a beautiful apartment quite close to the city with lovely views of the skyline including the Donau Tower & the roof of St Stephen's Cathedral, mind you it was pretty cold outside so it was a very short outdoor viewing for us.

Dany & Tati had their Christmas celebrations with Vanessa on the 25th so it was lovely to be able to share that & for lunch we had a type of fondue but with hot stock in the centre & a hotplate/grill where you could cook eggs, bacon, onions almost anything really in little pans. We had vegetables, sausages, chicken, pork, eggs, bacon (speck which was cut from a block, interesting & really delicious much better than our bacon at home). We sat around slow cooking our dinner ourselves, chatting & drinking local wines.

Christmas day lunch...very yummy

Boxing Day was Dany's family's turn for a get together. Dany had organised this year's celebration so it was held in a hall in her town (nice & close to home, so close in fact we walked it couldn't have been more than 50 metres). She had aranged for catering from a restaurant in town & it was really tasty, traditional Austrian schnitzels & knoodle (that is like a dumpling made with stale bread, onion & herbs). Talking, drinking, gifts for the children, we had a lovely time chatting to almost everyone. We helped with the cleanup, doing some dishes & taking the rest home to run through the dishwasher.



Top of the hill at Semmering overlooking the valley

On the 27th Dany wanted to take us to the snowfields close to Vienna, Semmering. It was about a 2 hour drive but motorway most of the way. There wasn't a lot of natural snow but they have extensive snow making facilities so there was good snow on the slopes & on the toboggin run. We hired the toboggins, one for Dany & one for Grant then caught the cable car to the top of the hill.  Grant & Dany, with Vanessa sharing her toboggin, set off down the prepared run which zigzagged under the ski run using tunnels.  It was a bit icy under the snow so it was difficult to slow down so it was a high speed trip.



Off they go into the wild blue or should I say white, yonder!

They came back to the restaurant where I was waiting & enjoying my coffee & cake, joined me for a meal then went back for another run.  Two more runs & then I caught the cable car back to the bottom to meet them, I was all alone in the cabin so not many people just go to sightsee like me.

The next day we went to Hungary for a couple of days, to see Budapest of course, but also to give Dany & Tati a break from the full house!  I will do a separate blog for that adventure.

Back in Jedenspiegen for New Year.  We had the option of going into the city with the crowds & madness or for an evening at home & watching the fireworks from the hill at the back of the village.  We opted for the second choice, more our style & Dany & Tati had no desire to go into the city either.

We had a lovely dinner of tacos (that is traditional of course, haha) & some champagne & orange juice to wash it down, then we played a game of Monopoly with the Australian version of the game we had bought as a gift for Dany back in 2008.  Good fun since none of us even know the rules - we needed Scott there to help, he is a Monopoly whizz.  About half eleven we loaded the two dogs into the car & rugged up in everything we owned for our trip to the top of the hill, it was only a kilometre away & we had walked it several times already but not at nearly midnight.  Anyway when we got there, there were already a couple of other cars waiting, the radio counted down & then the fireworks began. 

What a wonderful experience, we could see a couple of towns on the Slovakia side of the border too & half way into the city.  There is no 'organised' display in Vienna but people can buy their own fireworks & set them off in their yards/parks. The sky was bursting with lights, for about half an hour, I really cannot put it into words they just kept going & going.  Some right up close to us, even the farm house just over the rise of the hill had a great display & in the village, others were miles away. 

When we got home Dany gave us some good luck charms for the year & we 'read our fortune'.  These are both traditional activites.  To tell your fortune you melt a small lead token in a spoon over a candle then tip the liquid metal into cold water (this tradition is called Bleigießen) whatever shape it forms gives your year's fortune.  Mine formed like a crown which means MONEY & Grant's looked like a duck which meant ...?

Just a couple of weeks left now so we are off on a quick trip round a few cities we haven't had a chance  to see yet.