Hypothermia (Practically!) in Alpine Villages

22 December, 2011

   We asked Luther, the man who so generously gave us a free tour of Salzburg, if he knew some good places to go outside of Salzburg. He wrote down the name of two little villages up in the mountains, and the next day, we asked the girl behind a tour guide desk and boarded a bus. It didn't take long until we were driving through countryside buried under feet and feet of snow. It was so gorgeous! It seemed like a story I read when I was little. Even I stayed awake the whole time, instead of passing out after 10 minutes.
   The first village we went to was called St Gilgen. We tried to say it right, but we always made it sound like Gilligan's Island. St Gilgen is a summer tourist village on the edges of a lake. It's very small; slowly walking the length of the main road only took 15 minutes. There are a lot of hotels on the edge of the hotel, but once we walked up the street a little ways, we found ourselves among private houses.
  The problem was, of course, that it was freezing. The snow was blowing into our eyes and the wind tried to blow our tightly tucked scarves away. But it was so pretty! We kept on stopping and marveling that we were in Austria. In a tiny little village. In the Alps.

The little building in front of the church was a memorial to soldiers from the village who died in World War II. There was a wreath, a few burning candles, and a long list of names.

She's smiling under all those scarves!

I can't remember what this was... But I believe it was one of those small buildings with a statue or painting of a saint and some candles.

A festive gasthof (motel)!

   After waiting for a few minutes in a hotel lobby, where the girl was kind enough to ignore our snowy clothes, and munching on Snickers bars, we saw the bus pull up again. We hurried outside and climbed on. This time, the bus was carrying a bunch of school kids, on their way home. Our next stop: Fuschl (I believe that's what it was called!)
   We quickly realized that we really had no idea when to get off the bus. From watching the signs, we could guess when we actually got to the right town. But which stop? Which way to the Christkrindlmarkt? Which stall would sell applesauce krapfen?
   Finally, after several minutes of worrying, I turned to the girl in the aisle next to me and asked if she spoke English. She smiled and nodded, and told me which stop to get off at. "Do you know where the Christkrindlmarkt is?" I asked.
   "Yes. I'm going in that direction. You can come with me, if you like," she offered.
   "Wonderful, thanks so much!"
   We hopped off the bus and made our way through the snow. She was wearing a coat and boots, but only a pair of shorts paired with tights! Fashionable, but I couldn't imagine how she could stand it.
   Fuschl was the loveliest, most picturesque thing I have ever seen in my life! All the buildings had painted pictures on them, there were little fire braziers in the middle of the street, an inn played Christmas music across the Christmas market. It seemed less touristy than St Gilgen too.
   We found some krapfen, although it wasn't nearly as good as the krapfen we had in Linz. Maybe it's just a Linz specialty, like Linzer torte. I highly recommend both!
 

Look how charming!

This little guy was holding up a wall in the freezing snow!

Thank God for warm pharmacies when we were so wet and cold!

   Fuschl was the prettiest little thing I have ever seen in my life. But I was also so wet and so cold. We took refuge in stores, pretending to actually be interested in ridiculously priced sweaters and ignoring the irritated store owner, and took our time to buy cough medicine in the pharmacy. But we still had half an hour, so we stood under a covered walkway, walking the snow fall and thinking about warm socks and heaters. I have never been so happy to get on a bus! But despite the freezing cold, I was still so glad we went. I was convinced; Austria is one of the best places I can imagine for Christmas.

Forgot About These Pictures!

   I forgot to add these pictures!

Where? In Salzburg, Austria

When? 21 December, 2011

This is the Archbishop's residence in Salzburg. It's in a huge building right next to the cathedral. The building itself is so big that all of the archbishop's rooms, halls, and banquet halls only take up one level of the building. When we first walked in, we just walked up and up the massive staircases until we got to the top, where we dutifully paid our entrance fee and then found ourselves faced with an art gallery. Beautiful, but not the luxurious living quarters we were expecting. Thankfully, the lady was very kind and gave us the ticket for the actual residence for free!

I took this picture from the window of the Archbishop's residence. This is the Christkrindlemarkt next to the cathedral. The fountain base in the middle is covered up to protect it from the weather. Not as picturesque, but definitely smart!