Christmas

Silent Night Chapel

On Christmas Eve, we took a trip out to the Silent Night Chapel, where the song was written and first performed. There was an hour service, which ended with all the verses of Silent Night sung in German with only a guitar for accompaniment, which is how it was first played. It was beautiful. (It was also very cold! We didn't know the service was outside.) We really enjoyed our Christmas Eve.

Views of Salzburg

We went for a walk up in the Monsburg (I think that is how you spell it) where there were beautiful views over Salzburg and of the surrounding mountains. We met a gentleman there who took us to what he considers the best view and it was a really pleasant walk with him. He even took some pictures for us. We thought we would eventually make it to the meadows that they sing the do-re-mi song in sound of music, but they built the blocky modern art museum in that meadow.

Dinner Concert

Our first night in Salzburg, we went and ate a delicious dinner and attended an excellent concert in the Salzburg fortress. We really enjoyed our evening.

Vienna Woods

One of our favorite activities was taking a bus out to the Vienna Woods and going for a little hike. There is a huge system of trails out there (they can be a bit confusing on which you are walking on) that would be really fun in summer. They were fun in winter too, but a bit slick. We had some great views of the city there too.

Who was in charge of facade decorating?

Our hotel (the Hotel de France - highly recommend and a great place) was right around the corner from the biggest Christmas market in Vienna, so we had a nice evening walking around it and looking at all the handicrafts. We were also right next to the subway system which was incredibly convenient.

Mozart's Residence and the Haus der Musik

T is a big Mozart fan, so we covered all the Mozart places in both Vienna and Salzburg. I now know a lot about Mozart and find the life he led to be fascinating. The first picture is of the residence he stayed at the longest in Vienna - two years. I think he moved about every 6-8 months. Must have been hard on his family.

We also went to a hands on music learning museum which was interesting. It took you through how music is made, how and why we can hear it, you get to make some of your own music and then near the end, conduct an orchestra. If you go too fast the orchestra speeds up and vice versa. It was funny. Here's T giving conducting a try.

I also had my wallet stolen on this day. Ugh!! But we were able to cancel everything right away. I do feel kind of lost without it. Thanks for the new wallet for Christmas mom!! I'm glad I brought my old one, now I have one for when we get back!

Vienna Churches

Walk through the Palace Gardens

Schonnbrun Palace in Vienna

We started our vacation in Vienna and went on a city tour combined with the palace. It was the summer residence of the Hapsburgs, and was interestingly enough, interior decorated in and Asian style. Even in winter the grounds were very pretty and we enjoyed our short walk through parts of them. I think this was the coldest day of our trip.