Our frist trip in the morning just after breakfast was to the Christmas Market in Old Town. Salzburg's market was probably one of the best we've seen yet, and really impressed us both. They have done an excellent job of making sure they have many handmade items and natural products. We have included a few photos here for your reference.
These were strands of dried fruits, cinnamon and other pine cones and holiday nuts.
These small decorations were made from wood and other natural items such as nuts and pine cones.
The Salzburg market also had a nice wide selection of treats -- and if you know Chad and me at all you know that we'd pick up on this sort of thing. (Like bloodhounds sniffing down a doggie treat three miles away.) 
We found this oversized pretzel stand to be of the utmost interst. These include cinnamon, swirls, chocolate and egg-dipped varieties.
In fact, we found these so interesting that we thought we better sample the product. They were pretty good!
I've been trying to hunt down daily moisturizer (men - don't worry if you have no idea what this is) in about five cities now at the local apotheke (similar to our drug stores), but this product doesn't seem to exist here unless you have a special skin type and want to drop the US$35 for the tube. I am not one of those people since it will probably not make it back to the States with me and meet our 1 qt. clear bag requirement. Have I ever mentioned to anyone how I loath the TSA? And, how we just walk up to trains here two minutes before they leave, hop on and away we go two minutes later? It really is the most amazing concept ever. (I will miss this deeply about Europe.)
Austria also has a heavy fascination with eggs as decorations. I am not sure why this is, and tried to look it up quickly, but failed. If you know, please add a comment to this post. Anyway, I wanted to show you just a few of the hundreds of trays of egg ornaments that lined the streets and were in the shop windows. They look rather impressive stacked upon one another like so.
There was also an ice skating rink set up near the Old Town Square. We enjoyed this toy penguin that served as a training tool. Ice rinks seem to be big here and we've seen all sorts of "trainers" that we havn't seen at home before. In fact, there is an ice rink right outside our window in Prague and it could easily serve as a night's worth of entertainment between the kids and the adults.
Our next stop was at the Salzburg Cathedral (Salzburger Dom). It was quite beautiful and they were preparing for Christmas celebrations. Here are a couple of shots of the ornate ceiling. The link above has some great photos as well.
Our next visit was to the Salzburg Panoramic Museum. This place was very cool and had the most beautiful panoramic room of Salzburg. The painting is by Johann Michael Sattler and covers 26 meters in circumference. It depicts a historic view of Salzburg and its surrounds circa 1829. Telescopes on the platform allow closer viewing of the details. An interactive program also allows you to see "then" and "now" photos of key areas.
This outdoor restaurant at St. Peter's claims to be the oldest in all of Austria. It's known as the Stiftskeller, and is carved directly into the mountain. It was quite beautiful and had elaborate Christmas decorations in place for the holidays. 
After this we went to meet Charity's colleagues at the University for lunch. She works at the Paracelsus Private Medical University of Salzburg (Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität) in the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology. We were able to join her team for lunch and learn about their work and environment. Here is a photo of Chad and me with part of the group.
Here's a photo of the entire team. Charity is forth from the bottom. (Hi Charity. Hope you are enjoying your time at home with your family.)
After lunch we headed to the Augustiner Brewery. We picked up an authentic mug for a friend. Here they run the mugs under a cold stream to chill them quickly before filling them with beer.
We had to go back to the hotel for a nap after this. We were just too tired after walking all morning, having lunch with friends and hitting the brewery for gifts. After the nap, we headed otu to dinner at the top of the Museum of Modern Art (Museum der Moderne) to enjoy M32. Here is the view from the outdoor balcony at the restaurant. Really pretty spectacular.
Austria also has a heavy fascination with eggs as decorations. I am not sure why this is, and tried to look it up quickly, but failed. If you know, please add a comment to this post. Anyway, I wanted to show you just a few of the hundreds of trays of egg ornaments that lined the streets and were in the shop windows. They look rather impressive stacked upon one another like so.
There was also an ice skating rink set up near the Old Town Square. We enjoyed this toy penguin that served as a training tool. Ice rinks seem to be big here and we've seen all sorts of "trainers" that we havn't seen at home before. In fact, there is an ice rink right outside our window in Prague and it could easily serve as a night's worth of entertainment between the kids and the adults.
Our next stop was at the Salzburg Cathedral (Salzburger Dom). It was quite beautiful and they were preparing for Christmas celebrations. Here are a couple of shots of the ornate ceiling. The link above has some great photos as well.
Our next visit was to the Salzburg Panoramic Museum. This place was very cool and had the most beautiful panoramic room of Salzburg. The painting is by Johann Michael Sattler and covers 26 meters in circumference. It depicts a historic view of Salzburg and its surrounds circa 1829. Telescopes on the platform allow closer viewing of the details. An interactive program also allows you to see "then" and "now" photos of key areas.
We completed a suggested walking tour through the Old Town of Salzburg. Here is the cemetary that was portrayed in the Sound of Music. (Which, by the way, we got to see again in its entirty thanks to the channel they've devoted to this here that plays the movie 24 hours a day. I'm not kidding. We'd come back to the hotel and just check to see if it was in the spot we stopped the last time.)
This outdoor restaurant at St. Peter's claims to be the oldest in all of Austria. It's known as the Stiftskeller, and is carved directly into the mountain. It was quite beautiful and had elaborate Christmas decorations in place for the holidays. 
After this we went to meet Charity's colleagues at the University for lunch. She works at the Paracelsus Private Medical University of Salzburg (Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität) in the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology. We were able to join her team for lunch and learn about their work and environment. Here is a photo of Chad and me with part of the group.
Here's a photo of the entire team. Charity is forth from the bottom. (Hi Charity. Hope you are enjoying your time at home with your family.)
After lunch we headed to the Augustiner Brewery. We picked up an authentic mug for a friend. Here they run the mugs under a cold stream to chill them quickly before filling them with beer.
We had to go back to the hotel for a nap after this. We were just too tired after walking all morning, having lunch with friends and hitting the brewery for gifts. After the nap, we headed otu to dinner at the top of the Museum of Modern Art (Museum der Moderne) to enjoy M32. Here is the view from the outdoor balcony at the restaurant. Really pretty spectacular.
Here is a view from inside the restaurant. We received a complimentary appetizer from the chef, and our soup and main courses as ordered. (We opted for cream of fennel-curry soup with scampi, the corn fed chicken with carrots, fennel and gnocchi and the lamb with polenta dumplings and peeronata.) We have to stop and tell you that this was probably the best meal we have had the entire time on our trip, and Chad had an amazing wine (2008 Gruner Veltliner "Haidsatz") that you can only get in Austria (of course). It was just outstanding. I told Chad that if I lived in Salzburg I'd need to come and eat here about once per month. Yum, yum, yum. You foodies should all stop here if you get a chance.
Next we took a sky-high walk from the restaurant over to the castle. It was breathtaking and wonderful. On our way down to the square, we thought we'd snap a shot of this larger-than-life chess set.
Although the market stalls were closed, the tree still seemed amazing.
So did this shop decorated completely on the inside and out. (Just super fun things you can't see at home.) More to come tomorrow. It's off to bed for me!
Although the market stalls were closed, the tree still seemed amazing.
So did this shop decorated completely on the inside and out. (Just super fun things you can't see at home.) More to come tomorrow. It's off to bed for me!
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