We had a large room with two queen beds and great bathroom.

The carpet in this hotel still smelled new and the hotel had a bar and restaurant as well. The staff was very friendly and helpful the two days we were there.

We unpacked and headed for the Weinachsmarkt in Marienplatz.

We were both hungry so I had a wurst and Phyllis had a crepe. We started down the stalls, stopping at each one and looking in every cranny at the beautiful hand blown ornaments, marveling at the ornaments made of thinly sliced wood and bent into circles and stars and every kind of shape, and the lace ornaments obviously made by hand. The smells of hot nuts of all kinds, wurst being grilled, freshly baked candies, and cookies, and the unmistakable odor of gluhwein wafted through the crowds of parents and children enthralled with the Christkringle market. We bought a gluhwein for Phyllis and a Kinderpunsch for me and watched the crowd. We kept the two red mugs to start our collection for this trip. We had been to the Christmas markets in 2000 but only bought a few mugs.

We stood at the windows of the Galleria department store like two little kids and watched the animated animals cavort in the windows.

There were two sets of nose prints on the windows, one down low for the little kids, and one at our level for the kid adults. By evening, you could hardly see through the windows for all the nose and fingerprints. We made a couple of purchases and after a couple of hours took the Ubahn back to the hotel for a 3-hour nap. Refreshed we headed out again to the market. The weather was gorgeous, about 48 degrees and even with the sun going down it was very pleasant.

We have collected Christmas ornaments from various places and vacation trips for 35 years. Phyllis turns into a 5 year old on December the first. We have been married for 47 years but the first 12 years of our marriage I was a scrooge, but now I join her in her glee about Christmas. We have many ornaments, she knows the history of each and every one of them although she has never written down where we bought them The Weinachtsmarkt ornaments are our favorites, and we added to them in Munich. I collect the pewter ornaments and bought four new ones in Munich. Phyl bought a straw wood ornament with a little bear in a tree in the center of it. And a clay Santa with bells on his feet. We spent 43 euros on ornaments in the two days in Munich. We had packed light in two suitcases and a small travel bag for my computer. The bag is black with white spots on it and we call it “Cow” because it looks like a Holstein cow. We ate at a wurst stand again and had two sausages with kraut on a hard roll. We munched on the hot nuts and strolled through the market some more and finally headed back to the hotel, tired but happy with the day. We both were asleep by 10.

The market was on the square across from the old Rathaus and was really pretty even though much smaller than Munich. I personally like the small towns and markets as I think they are folksier and not crowded with tourists. We bought a wurst for lunch and had gluhwein and kinderpunsch, saving the cups as souvenirs of our trip.

Phyllis is deathly afraid of birds and has vowed never to go to Rome because of the pigeons. I very carefully maneuver her around pigeons as much as possible. She chose to wear a long black fake fur coat that was reversible to a raincoat. As she was eating the hard roll and wurst, I glanced over and she had white bread crumbs all over the front of her coat. I gleefully told her that she should brush them off before she attracted the pigeons. She really laughed but brushed off the crumbs. We purchased a Lauscha glass bell, a straw bear, a tiny wooden train, and a wooden star with a bear in a pine tree in the middle. Also bought a glass bell with Augsburg painted on it and a glass train.

The room was nice with a smaller bathroom, typical of most hotels.

We unpacked hurriedly and set out for the market. On our previous trip, we had arrived late in the evening and not seen much of the market. We purchased a bear in red coveralls. There was a model train show in an alleyway and for a four Euro admission, we visited the display. There were three large boards with trains and villages mounted on them. I have a friend in OKC that collects model trains so I took several pictures for him and got the catalog of the manufacturer in both German and English. (He loved it). We went to the Kathe Wohlfahrt’s store but it was too crowded. I asked when the store opened and decided to visit the next morning at 9:00 and the museum opened at 10:00. We went into a little shop and Phyllis bought two cute smokers for 14 Euros. The store was much less than the stalls that sold the smokers. We had a gluhwein and kinderpunsch and kept the mugs. Purchased three white starched ornaments and a postcard of the Rathaus.

On the way to the hotel Phyllis saw, a “Teddy” bear store and we stopped and bought a “Tyrolean” bear for six Euros. Guess what!!! We also have a small collection of teddy bears, the small ones in miniature chairs on the top of my dresser at home.

We left for Nurnberg after asking Elvira to plot the way. We arrived at our destination, the Hotel am Josephplatz in about an hour and a half. We would have never found the hotel without the GPS. The device is uncanny. It recognizes one-way streets if you make a wrong turn as I did a couple of times and gets you back on the right street. The traffic on the Autobahn was really bad as it is the main highway across the country to Berlin. I was driving 80 most of the way and occasionally up to 100 just to get out of the way of the really fast cars. Many of the autos were traveling in excess of 120 mph. I have driven quite a bit in Europe and know to watch my rear view mirror closely. I am still astonished the way a large Mercedes or BMW can sneak up on you at over 150MPH. You do not dare not to look in all mirrors before changing lanes. I love the way that the drivers do not honk or blink their lights, they just sit on your back bumper. What is scary is to look in the mirror and all you see is the shining front end of a Mercedes truck. I know that most trucks have to abide with the 100 kmph. However, one of the rogue trucks in a big hurry has caught me.

I parked the car in the wrong garage, (again, same as “2000”), and walked back to the hotel. We were assigned the same room that we had in 2000 at the market. The hotel is another of the chain of “Romantik” hotels owned by individuals. The room was large, lovely with a settee, desk, and large armoire. We overlooked the Platz outside our window and could see the Christmas decorations in all the stores. We walked to the Weinachsmarkt about five blocks away at 2:00 and stayed for about three hours. This market is the grand daddy of all the markets although it is arranged very well.

Most of the wurst stands and gluhwein stands are at the ends of the lines of stalls, so that the crowds are not as dense in the actual ornament stalls. It was very cold and I bought an ear warmer made of wool and decorated in the Bavarian mode.

Phyllis is addicted to the “Prune men” decorations. They are made of dried prunes, walnuts and figs and have little button eyes and are usually dressed up in some kind of felt material. We found one that was a man holding a fishing rod with a fish on the line. We bought it for our son as he has a collection of weird fishing paraphernalia. I bought pewter items: a ginger bread vendor, a bear in a boot, an Adler 1910 train replica, a “2007” Christmas tree, and a snowman family. We bought a small hand painted dish with a Nurnberg city scene and then went around the corner to the sister city area. The same artist from Limoges, France was there. We had bought one of his paintings in 2000. He paints enamel, impressionist scenes on copper and puts them on a little wooden easel. They are actually miniatures and he is very talented.

We had a wurst and gluhwein for lunch and made a few more purchases. We walked into another “Teddy” store and I spotted a white bear with a Santa hat on sale for 4.99 Euros. He had bandages on him, looked like he had been rode hard, and put up wet. Phyllis pointed out the bandages (looked like small band-aids) to the clerk and she replied, “He’s a player” I grabbed him and hugged him to my chest and under my arm protecting him and said “He’s mine” (just like a little kid.) There was another American couple in the store and they and Phyllis cracked up, as did the clerk. We have bought several tee-light houses on our trips and Phyllis remembered a booth on the street to the Sister Cities area. We wandered over there and she bought a small tee-light building. We have them set up on the breakfast table to remind of us of fun trips to Europe.

We went into a Christmas store on the square to get out of the cold and made a couple more purchases, a book on Nurnberg history, a pretty hand painted card with sparkles glued to the art surface, a postcard, a red silk scarf and a little wood carved circular ornament with a church inside the circle. It was a replica of the church where Silent Night was written and performed.

We then went to the Alte Rathaus to see an exposition of the history of the Weinachsmarkt and then on to the city (stadt) museum. The museum was five euros admission and I spent another Euro to get into a locker to hold our stuff. I wear a small backpack on all trips to put purchases in and carry a little food and water. At the end of the day, I tell Phyllis the pack mule is tired but it beats having no water and carrying packages in a plastic bag. Keeps the hands free to feel the merchandise also.

The museum was interesting and the pictures of before and after the war and the bombing destruction of the city was really sobering. I was born in ’37 so know the history of WW II, but was too young to really keep up with the war. Nurnberg was literally flattened and the city has done a wonderful job of reconstructing the “old town” area. The city is very large and was evidently built that way to start with. As I stated earlier the GPS system eliminates many arguments about where to turn and when if you are using a map and are a married couple. Our first trip to Nurnberg I drove around the old city several times looking for “Tor” strasse. I know now that Tors are the gates to the city and not a strasse. Nurnberg has many Tors that all look alike when you are on the ring street trying to get in. I have had the same trouble in other walled cities, but from now on, I will let “Elvira” do the navigating. They were having an art fair at the city museum and Phyllis bought some ceramic flowers to put in a fountain that we have at home.


We went back towards the hotel and stopped in a department store. They were having a sale on sweaters and Phyllis bought a beautiful powder blue button up sweater. It was 49.95 Euros and I thought a good bargain. We ate that evening at Michelle’s again. I had spaghetti Bolognese, Phyllis had the lasagna again, with wine, bier, and we split a green salad. 25 Euros, a bargain for good food. The place was very small, maybe 20 tables and a small bar area. The owner had his own “reserved” table and he waited on us at first because the two waiters were busy. The ambience was very quiet with opera singing in the background. The tables were covered with checkered red and white tablecloths and napkins and the usual candle in a Chianti bottle. We went back to the room and read until about 11:00 and then lights out.

December 14th, Thursday

Got up early and checked out. The lady at the desk looked very familiar to me so I asked how long she had worked there. She said 18 years and that she had owned the hotel since 1993. I asked her if she was playing “Mother Teresa” as she was commiserating with an older man (one of the guests) at breakfast. She said he had been coming to the hotel for years but he was very ill and she thought it might be his last visit. They were talking about old times. She said she would have to tell her husband that she was Teresa and she thought he would get a big laugh, as he certainly did not think so.

We walked over to the parking garage with our luggage and programmed Elvira for the Rathaus Platz in Regensburg. We parked at a parkenschein on the river and walked the three blocks to the Rathaus Platz. We walked around the stalls, which were not crowded and bought two Lauscha oblong red and green ornaments. We had a gluhwein and kinderpunsch but did not keep the cups as we had some from the previous trip. I had printed out a document telling about Christmas markets in Germany and the article stated Regensburg had two market areas.

We walked about four blocks to the Romantischer Weinachsmarkt mit historischem Handwerkstrieben auf Schloss Thurn and Taxis zu Regensburg. For short the Thurn and Taxis. Admission was six Euros for two and it was well worth it. They had open fires lit all over the property and people were sitting on hay bales warming their hands and feet. Old ox carts full of pine boughs, an old wooden kettle full of gluhwein warmed over the coals of a small fire, added to the wonderful smells in the Castle area.

We walked down the path to the castle carriageway stopping at the various stalls. In one stall, a woodworker was working with an old style saw and then doing handwork to finish his products. We bought a tiny wooden scoop. Walking through the carriageway into a large courtyard we heard the piped in Christmas music coming from the castle. A smithy forged his iron works in one stall and the cooper was working on a wood and steel wheel. There was an old upright stovepipe being used to warm your hands. Nearly all the stalls had some form of ancient works being done in them. I say ancient, but some of those arts have been lost in the States.

The arts and craftsmen made this market very special.

We met and visited with an artist who made hand painted balls. They were open on one side so a light or candle could be inserted into the ball. We bought two of them, one for Regensburg, and one from Nurnberg. Unfortunately, one of them broke on the way home. We bought a couple of cards showing the castle and its grounds and they had a postcard picture of the lady (Gloria) who owned the property. She is a very beautiful woman. We had arrived at the river at 12:00 and purchased a two-hour parking ticket from the machine. We headed back to the Rathaus Platz, had a wurst and gluhwein, and arrived at the car at 2:15. We programmed Elvira for the market in Passau and headed down the autobahn.

It was nearing twilight and I consulted the article I had brought with me and saw they had a Weinachsmarkt in Straubing. We pulled off the autobahn towards Straubing and Elvira told us to turn around. She told us that repeatedly until I turned her off. I filled up with petrol in Straubing and had to have help getting the gas cap off. I filled the car up two more times and had to have help each time. The last man told me to report it to the car agency as the cap device was not working properly. I felt foolish asking for help but I also needed the diesel fuel to continue the trip.

Straubing is a small town and without Elvira to guide me, I wound up almost driving into the pedestrian zone. I had to back up about a block, as there was no space to turn around. We parked the car and walked back to the platz. At the TI office, we got a list of four hotels on the square. The first was totally booked and we started down the street to look at the second choice. On the way, I saw a gasthaus that looked interesting and we stopped to inquire. We were shown a very large room overlooking the square and at 78 Euros for the night plus breakfast and parking in the rear; we were home. The Rohrlbrau Gasthaus turned out to be a delightful experience later in the evening.

We toured the small market and bought three red glass candles that clip onto the tree for 2 Euros each. There was a large area set aside to sell Christmas trees and most of them were already decorated with lights and ornaments. A large carosousel and a little railroad train for the kids complemented the market. We walked in several stores and in one, a jewelry store, there were two very large dogs napping on the floor. One was a huge black shepherd and the other a red setter of some kind that we do not see in the states. They kind of lifted up a head, gazed at us, and then back to their naps. We both love animals and are never surprised to see the owners or employees friends at work with them in stores or restaurants. We got back to the hotel about 6:45 and decided to eat at the hotel restaurant.

The Pensionen Pertschy is an old palace converted to a hotel. The present building is from the early 1700’s. It is a little on the shabby side but our room was huge even by American standards. There was a large double bed with closets on either side and a couch that made out into two twin beds. I had requested two beds in the room and one of the twin beds was already pulled out and made up with the duvet. Again, Phyllis looked at the floor plan on the back of the door and determined we had the largest room on the floor. The ceilings in our room must have been 20 feet tall and the WC was in a small room by itself and on the other side of the room was the shower/tub with a double sink washbasin. The WC was tiny and backed up to an outside wall and it was very cold in that room. It was not a reading room.

There was no wifi in the room so I had to go to the lobby to use the internet. Their “house computer” was built into an old upright piano and the piano still worked. It was a very clever usage of an instrument to make music and internet. There was a watercolor above the piano showing what the front of the palace had looked like by in the early 1700’s. The site was developed as a residence palace back in the 1400’s.The staff gave us a map on how to get to the Rathaus where the largest of three Christmas markets was.

The Rathaus market was huge, much larger than Nurnberg and was packed with people. We met a young woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma who has been going to school in Vienna for the past four months. She was happy to see someone from home and we visited for a while. We bought a hand painted ball of the rathouse, an ornament that was a snare drum with a bear playing the drum, and a red bead and white pearl starburst. Phyllis likes the unusual ornaments and we certainly have picked up some on this trip. (May have to buy a VERY LARGE suitcase later). We were worn out with the crowds of people and after about 2 hours, we took a cab back to the hotel. The internet did not work in the lounge area but after inquiring at the desk again was told that, it should work in the room. Viola, it was working so I caught up on business.

December 16th, Saturday

I got up at my usual 6:30 and got ready for breakfast. Phyllis woke up at 7:15 just as I was walking out the door. Had cheese and ham, bread, jam, coffee, and orange juice. I came back to the room to post the journal for Thursday and Friday while Phyllis had breakfast. We walked half a block over to Graben Strasse the main pedestrian shopping street. It was still very early and there was no one on the streets. Our hotel was a great location in the center of the old town. We caught a number 3 tram, which took us out to the ring where we caught the number 2 tram around the rings. I bought a one-day pass at the hotel desk for five Euros each. We rode the tram around the ring and got off at the Kunsthistorische art museum at 10:15. Entry was 15 Euros for two seniors. This is one of our favorite museums in Europe and they have a wonderful Vermeer painting of the artist at his easel with the light streaming through the window. It is unbelievable that this artist painted in the 1500’s, made his own pigments using actual gold and minerals to make his glowing works. We are a real Vermeer fan and have seen 28 of his 39 paintings in various museums. His colors are so vibrant that up close they almost look like photographs. We also like the other Dutch artists and impressionist paintings and confined our tour to those rooms. We stayed until about noon and wound up in the little café on the second floor. We had a cup of hot chocolate and left the building to the Christmas market right on the grounds. The architecture in the Kunsthistorische building is almost as outstanding as the artwork. If you ever get to Vienna this museum is a must see in my opinion. This was our fourth trip to the museum and we enjoy it still. We purchased post cards of some of the paintings and a book on the great artwork in pictures of the museum for 24 Euros.

The Maria Theresa Platz had a small market and we spent a little time there and had lunch. Phyllis had a potato concoction that had potatoes, green peppers, onions, and spices. She said it was very good. I had a ham, spiced mustard, and horseradish on rye bread, which was just so-so. The spicy mustard was not spicy. We did not purchase any ornaments!! A first.

We got back on the tram and took it to the Karl’s Platz Weinachsmarkt. It was mostly handwerk although I finally did get a wurst. The big feature of this place was a fountain area that had been converted to a pony riding area. It was all covered in straw and men would put children on ponies and walk them around the fountain. The little kids were all bundled up and having a great time. I was reminded of a picture of myself on a pony growing up in Amarillo, Texas. Phyllis says I still have the little kid look and I am happy about that. It is nice not to show your age very much. Phyllis made several purchases. Wreath with Santa, snowman, and red bow, a “blumen” snowman, and I bought a hand painted ball and a straw picture in a frame of the three wise men with red scarfs. This was a very unusual piece of handwork.

There was a wagon drawn by two of the largest draft horses I have ever seen. A rumpled, unkempt very large man owned the team. He told me the draft horses were the largest breed in the world and were from England. They were extraordinary beautiful animals and stood about nine feet tall. Included in the text is a picture of the team and the man.

We walked back through the U Bahn station and bought a small bottle of scotch and some Mozart chocolates. The scotch and chocolates were much less down in the station than they would have been in a store elsewhere. I had to climb up on a chair to get down the bottle of scotch. I do not think they sell much Johnny Walker Red in Vienna. We caught a cab back to the hotel as we were both walked out and tired. Posted the daily journal and read for a while.

I asked at the desk if there was a good Italian restaurant close by. The clerk said there was an excellent one called Cantinetta Antinori about two blocks and gave us instructions to walk there. She was NOT WRONG. The place was very small but the staff was in formal wear. I love veal and I ordered the veal picatta. Phyllis ordered the penne arrabbiota and she said it was really spicy but good. She had red wine and I a Clausthaler. My veal was some of the best I have ever eaten It was prepared superbly and was so tender the knife stayed on the table. There were four small pieces covered in a divine sauce of lemon and capers. Vegetables rounded out the meal and I was a happy camper. This was a great way to end another wonderful day.

December 17th, Sunday

Travel day so we were up at six, took showers, went to breakfast, and checked out at eight. Took a cab to the garage and the driver took us into the garage and helped us load the luggage in our car. The 12 Euros was money well spent. We programmed Elvira to take us to Salzburg and our hotel. I got lost once getting out of town, Elvira took me around the block, and we were on our way. She told me to turn right and I did, right onto a tram track. I looked up and here came a tram right towards us, I gunned the car and pulled off the track onto some grass and then over the curb back onto a street. I was supposed to go under the bridge and turn right. Oh well, at least she did not tell me to turn around like she had in the past. It was misting and raining lightly and the roads were wet for a while.

The trees along the autobahn were all white with frost and were quite eerily beautiful. We made good time and arrived at the Cordial Theatre Hotel at noon. Parked on the street to unload the car and then on to the parking garage. It was only a block from the hotel, but had been carved out of the side of the mountain. I parked very near the entrance for the short walk back to the hotel.

We wandered around the market for a while and soon heard what sounded like live music. A small choir was standing on the steps of the Dom singing Christmas carols. They were a rare treat on a Sunday afternoon. One of the funniest things happened in this market. Phyllis who is usually not very observant noticed a tour guide (you guessed it, Italian with her flag) charging as if on a mission with her flag held over her head. The curious thing was there were no people following her and no one ever showed up to catch up to the guide.

When our son Michael was in Prague, he noticed that there were certain habits of most tour groups. Please do not take offense to this ethnic explanation of tour groups. The Germans are always in step, never out of line and follow their leader without fail, The Italians are all over the road or street or whatever they are walking on. They do not follow the guide with any preciseness and are constantly talking with their hands and running to catch up with the frustrated guide.

The Orientals are a mish-matched lot; all taking pictures like crazy, even some with tripods. They also very often have got funny looking little hats pulled down over their heads sometimes almost covering their ears, but maybe that is to catch all the words from their guide. They are to me also very rude in pushing their way through to be first in line or at the front of any group. I do not think the French take tours and if they do, they must stay in France.

We purchased a dark blue ball etched in white with scenes from Salzburg, it is one of the prettiest we have seen, a tee-light house with turret, and a Santa Claus with a heavy body and floppy cloth legs to sit on the mantle. We walked back out to the Salzach River, caught the number 4 bus at the Hanuschplatz stop, and rode it back to within a block of our hotel. Another great thing about Europe is the mass transit system in nearly all cities. You do not need a car at all to get around cities and riding public transport gives me a chance to really see things instead of watching traffic and street signs.

Typing a report, reconciling the receipts, and looked at the computer weather report. It is 5:30 and very dark. It is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow, be around freezing for the next couple of days and then really get cold later on in the week. Thursday and Friday are supposed to be a high of minus seven and low of minus twelve. If I were in Oklahoma, I would totally disregard this weather report, as our State is very difficult to forecast weather. The fronts either stall over the Rockies or do not appear at all or warm moist air sweeps up from the Gulf supposedly bringing much needed rain only to be stopped at the Texas, Oklahoma border. Our standard Oklahoma City joke is the weathermen live in concrete bunkers and only can predict the current weather by looking out through the slits in the bunkers.

We went downstairs and had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Phyllis had a pork cutlet and I had the Weiner schnitzel, they were both good but there were only two more couples in the restaurant. Sunday is usually check out day in most time-shares.

December 18th, Monday

I woke up at 5:30 and went into the kitchen to make coffee. The kitchen did not have an electric coffee pot. I had to boil water first and then pour it through a filter apparatus into the coffee pot. It took forever to make eight cups of coffee. I like my coffee strong so the coffee was just right. I messed with the computer until Phyllis got up. I walked down to the garage and turned in my day ticket for a weeks parking. The cost was 53 Euros for in and out parking and they did not charge me for the first day. I thought this was a bargain for a garage only a block away and protected by a mountain.

We loaded up the laundry and headed out for the City Center building located next to the Hauptbanhoff. Programmed Elvira and headed out to the laundry. This was a commercial laundry with many washing machines and dryers. An oriental girl was helpful in getting two loads of laundry started. It was going to take 30 minutes so we went for a walk over to the train station. I thought they might have inexpensive luggage, they did not, but we did have breakfast.

The place was the “Anker” bakery and my chocolate croissant was excellent. Phyllis looked at the pictures and ordered a fried pork sandwich. She wanted to accuse them of false advertising as the picture showed lettuce and tomato. The sandwich had lettuce and tomato only on half of the sandwich. She ate it anyway and said the bread had a cheese top and was good.

Back to the laundry and put all the clothes in the dryer. The young lady helped me again and I gave her a little something for her efforts. The laundry only took an hour to wash and dry the clothes. We set a new record for doing laundry in Europe. We have been to a timeshare in St Johann im Pongo several times and their laundry equipment is impossible to use in less than 4 or 5 hours. The wash and dry was only 13 Euros and we now have clean clothes again.

Back to the hotel and then we walked down the hill to the market. Our hotel was on the new side of Salzburg and the old town was about 3/4 of a mile away. Phyllis stopped at a store and bought a washcloth and I found a luggage store and bought a large suitcase for 22 Euros. We left it at the store to pick up on the way back. We had purchased duvets from Franz Schweitzer’s in Salzburg. The son of the owner speaks excellent English, having studied in the states. We went to see Willie again.

Willie recognized me after I told him we had purchased from him in 2000 and were from Oklahoma. He is married now and has two children, a two-year-old son, and a three ½ yr old daughter. His dad is now retired but still comes in to the store on occasion. He pulled our records from the previous purchase and we bought four sheets and pillowcases. He will have them altered to fit our beds and we can pick them up in a couple of days. He is a really nice young man, helpful, knowledgeable and if you ever need bedding, I highly recommend his store.

We walked around the corner to the fresh fruit and vegetable market and had a wurst for lunch. Phyllis had kaesekrainer, which is a cheese-filled sausage, and I had two frankfurters, we both had bread and a bottle of water for five euros. Best bargain in town at a stand up establishment. Our son had started a collection of Malachite glass while in Praha. We walked over to a little short street off the Rezidenz Platz called Goldgasse Strasse. We had seen Malachite in the window the day before. There were two atomizers, one green, and one blue and priced at around 200 Euros. That looked very worn and not worth that kind of money. The owner told us back in the thirties that kind of glass was called Bohemian Lalique. I can see why as the glass is usually in bas-relief. We will have to buy Michael something else.

We walked over to Phyllis favorite Christmas store where they sell decorated eggs and Christmas balls and we had a great time. I noticed an enamel object that was a snowman on one side and Santa Claus on the other side. Phyllis was in another part of the store so I purchased it as a surprise. The lady was very surprised by my furtiveness, but understood after I told her we had been married for 47 years and it was hard to fool a wife after that length of time. I was right as Phyllis walked up about that time and ruined my plan. She did think the decoration was beautiful. We purchased a bell, a gold wire deer, a red glass Santa, and white Santa on a white wooden sled, a silver merry go round horse blumen and four decorated eggs.

We took the funicular up to the top of Hohensalzburg, the castle above the city, to see the Christmas market that was supposed to be there. It was closed and it was cold and windy so we wasted both time and money in this adventure. We strolled through the cemetery at the foot of the funicular and the graves there are spectacular. Most of them are really mini-garden areas with plants blooming all year long. These are leased sites and maintained by the families. You are billed for the site about every 10 years and if you do not renew they dig up the gravesite and put in someone else. General Collins, who was the American General in charge of the area after WW II, and his wife are buried here. It has to be one of the most serene and beautiful places in Salzburg. The cemetery backs up to the mountainside and there are even old graves dug into the rock.

I had stopped at a tobacco shop and purchased a week’s metro pass on the transit system and we took the bus back to the hotel. I walked down and picked up the suitcase, took it to the room, and then went to visit the Billa (grocery store) right across the street. Spent 32 Euros and purchased the following: I enumerate because although Salzburg can be expensive, I thought the groceries were very inexpensive.

6 bottles of Clausthaler bier 4.32, 20 Mozart kugels 2.69, 10 slices each of ham and cheese and a bottle of syrah wine for 2.29, tomatoes 1.59, paprika cheese slices .79, regular Swiss cheese 2.35, bag of Clementine’s for 1.49 (2 lbs) spicy Tyrolean senf (mustard in a squeeze tube 1.38, large can of peanuts for 1.49 and a loaf of Weiss brot for 1.19. We ate off the above for 2 days. The senf was really spicy and good.

December 19th, Tuesday

In all of our trips to Europe, we have never done the tourist bit of getting on a bus or whatever. Today, however we have opted to do the Sound of Music tour by bus. We purchased the tickets at the hotel and were picked up at 9:15. We got on the large touring bus and were in the second seat behind the rear exit, which was very handy. We went to the various places close to Salzburg where different parts of the film were done. The home on the lake is now the home for Harvard advanced studies in music.

This was our first stop and I had Phyllis wear a lightweight fleece sweater instead of her great fake fur coat. Like an idiot I thought the coat to be to bulky and heavy for a “bus ride” I WAS WRONG. It was cold and she was cold and I heard about it most of the trip. However, being the martyr she is, she would not trade me her sweater for my nice warm down jacket. I tried to put my arm around her but she would not have any part of that either.

She said it was the coldest day of the trip and she may have been correct.

It snowed as predicted during the night and the trip over and down the mountain to St Gilgen was pretty with about 3 inches of snow. Our guide was very stern about getting back on the bus at the correct time. In St. Gilgen, several people were picked up as the bus pulled out of the parking lot. There was no more tardiness. St. Gilgen, which during summer, is nearly packed every day with tourists, was almost a ghost town. The only store open was the curio shop that the guide picked for us to visit. I feel sure they closed as soon as the bus was out of town.

We drove then to Mondsee along the lake and had lunch. The recommended restaurant was full so Phyllis and I walked across the street to an Italian restaurant. Phyllis had ravioli and I had spaghetti carbonara, wine and a bier. The food was good, but we had to eat in a rush in order to not miss the bus. Our guide was from Salzburg and a very handsome man. He said that he had worked several years in the States in Boston and still could speak that foreign tongue that they use in Boston.

Songs from the film were played at various times through the tour and several people joined in. A couple of girls sitting across from us knew all the words and were having a good time. There was a young couple behind us and youth has its advantages. She was from Florida and he was an American living somewhere in Europe. They had started in Rome two days ago, come to Salzburg and went to a dinner theatre show and toured the Christmas market. She was talking on her cell phone to friends in Venice and telling them they would be in this evening to go to dinner with them. We were worn out just listening to all they had done and were going to do.

We enjoyed the tour and I especially liked it because I could look at the countryside and not have to worry about driving off the road. The mountains covered with snow and the lakes, so still and serene are what make Austria such an enviable place to live. The guide pointed out how much the countryside had progressed since he was a child. He said that because property was so high in Salzburg most of the younger couples moved to the small villages in order to purchase a home and raise a family. He also pointed out the homes perched higher up on the mountains and reminded us that school buses don’t run up the mountains and the children had to walk to school even if the snow were six feet deep. Maybe I do not want to live here after all.

We were back in town at 1:30 and went to the Christmas market at Mirabel castle. We walked around the old town some more and along the street next to Monchburg mountain where the old town ends, we discovered that the number four bus ran right to the restaurant, the Pizzeria Del Sol, we wanted to eat at that night. Went back to the hotel to rest and check the emails.

Took the bus to the Pizzeria Del Sol and had a very good meal. The rooms appear to be the original vaulted rooms almost built into the mountain. I am sure this place is very old. We had eaten here before and the two waiters were still there from ten years ago. They are really good, never make notes and when you ask for the check they repeat what you had even though the plates have been picked up, write it all down on a little slip of paper and tell you how much you owe. Waiters are a profession in Europe and the men and women take a lot of pride in their work. Phyllis had lasagna, surprise, and a glass of the house wine; I had veal picatta and a bier. Both were very good and we had an enjoyable meal. We were back at the hotel by 9:00 and read a little and I did the journal.

December 20th, Wednesday

Hooray, we are out of town before 10 in the morning. It is a standing joke with us that we are never on our way before 10, so this was really a first. We got up about six, I went down to use the internet and get a croissant or two from the bakery down the street. Breakfast was extra at the hotel so we ate elsewhere. Programmed Elvira to take us to Zell am See and headed out of town. I soon realized that she was taking us the long way through the mountains and since I know the way, I turned her off and got back on the autobahn. We arrived about 11:15 and found a three-hour free parking place right next to the shops in the middle of town. I have a God given talent of always parking at the front door of any place we ever go. It is uncanny and people will pull out of a parking place just as I happen to drive up.

We found a shoe store that we had been to before and they were having a sidewalk sale. Phyllis found a pair of Ecco shoes and some Gore-tex boots. The boots were really good looking and had the Edelweiss flower on the upper part of the boot. The boots had been marked 110 Euros and the shoes 90 Euros. We paid 88 Euros for both pair. I noticed that my sunglasses had fallen off the magnetized leather strap around my neck. I went outside to the shoe rack and found the glasses on the sidewalk. They were bent but not broken.

We walked around the corner to one of my favorite stores, “Das Haus der Geschenke Hierner” (The house of Gifts). This store is five floors of lovely gift items. I found some cute ceramic Christmas trees and a Santa Claus that have a clasped box the bottom. We also bought a cloth breadbasket of the Gmunden pottery pattern that we have.

We found a bakery, coffee shop and found the dream dessert in all of Austria. We had a lemon-flavored strudel with a warm vanilla sauce on the side. The strudel had lemon zest and a few white raisins and was covered with powdered sugar. It was served with a fork and ladle spoon. It was the most decadent delicious dessert I have ever had. I had a cup of very strong coffee with it. I wished I had the name for this but failed to get it in the store.

The mountains around the See were covered with snow so we walked down to the “Grand Hotel” to take a couple of pictures of the lake and the mountains. There is a small gift shop across from the hotel and we bought post cards and a pewter ornament of a gast house that looked similar to one we had stayed in at St. Gilgen years ago.

Leaving Zell am See, we took several photos of the snow-covered mountains on the way to St. Johann.

We have a large fake flocked Christmas tree and Phyllis has always had the ends of the branches twisted down. She marveled at the live trees laden with snow and still the ends of the branches point up. Since we have been home, she has found a picture of snow on trees and pasted it to the box that holds our tree. I just hope I do not have to buy another tree. We start decorating our home on Thanksgiving Day and it takes 4 days to put out all the decorations. We have no grandchildren, so all this decorating is just for us and a few friends.

Arrived in St. Johann and drove into the village from the back road. We have stayed here at a time-share four different times and what used to be a beautiful view of the mountains from our room is now impeded by a parking garage/shopping center. What a disappointment it was pulling up the hill and seeing this awful looking building.

We found Herman, the manager of the hotel and visited with him for a little while. At an optical shop nearby, I got my sunglasses fixed and the lovely owners did not charge me for the repair. Trekked around town for a little while and bought a clear bell with gold trimmings. Several years ago, while in St. Johann we both came down with a cold. The receptionist at the desk suggested a homeopathic medication called Metavirulent, manufactured by Roche. It really works on a cold if taken very early. We stopped at the Apothecary and bought four large bottles. The woman there probably thought I was a little nutty judging by the expression on her face.

I could barely see out my windows from all the slush on the roads, so stopped and filled up with gas and got a car wash. I guess I am just totally inept. The man in the station had to get the gas cap off to fill the car and then came out to start the carwash. I at least can now see and have gas for more adventures.

On the way back to Salzburg, we stopped at Hellbrun Castle to see their Christmas market.

The small markets are the best. No crowds, large spaces, and casual walking to see all the stalls. Again, there were artisans working inside the Castle and we purchased a hand painted red bell with trees from the artist. She was painting and we watched her for a while. Phyllis had packed a lunch for us and we ate on the grounds. Ham and cheese sandwiches, with the spicy senf, green peppers and tasty little cherry tomatoes. She had a small bottle of really nasty wine and I had wonderfully cool water. We programmed Elvira and went back to our parking garage.

We wandered around the town looking in store windows and taking a few pictures of the glorious painted buildings in the town market area.

Burghausen has a castle overlooking the Salzach River that is the longest castle area in Germany. It is a mile long to walk from the entrance of the castle through all the courtyards to the end. Unfortunately, the castle was closed so we headed back to Salzburg again using the back roads. Arrived back at the hotel about 4:30, went across the street to the Bila, and bought some more ham and cheese for the evening meal. Phyllis reminded me to tell our son Michael that she could not have made this trip without her “Croc” shoes. She has practically worn them out, even though we have purchased eight more pair of Ecco’s and Birkenstocks. I may have to build a bigger closet!!

December 22nd, Friday

Arose at six again and made the funky coffee pot work and started working on the finances in excel. Phyllis got up, we discussed packing, and going to the airport in Munich and how we were going to handle the car return and apply for the vat tax refund. Then I started getting all the purchases out and wondering how the heck I was going to get them in three suitcases and the little computer carry-on. I did not count the items but judging by the size of the ornaments, tee-lights, 8 pairs of shoes, balls and bells, it ain’t goin to fit.

Phyllis had brought along two collapsible cloth type suitcases and she said we could check those with dirty clothes in them. Little did she know that I was going to wrap some ornaments in dirty clothes. After wrapping for a while, at 10:00 AM we gave up and went to old town. Phyllis wanted to go by a little store on the way that sold pottery made in Poland. The pattern we like and have some of is Peacock eye, it is blue and beige and very attractive.

She bought a bell, a small one, for ten Euros and we wandered down to window shop. Looked in some of the alleyways between streets in old town, wound up in the fresh food market, and stopped at the little Wurst stand for lunch. Two frankfurters, a kaeserainer, bread, and water for 6.5 Euros. I may eat here all the time. We took the bus back to the hotel and I continued packing while Phyllis supervised, and read her book. We had arranged to meet some people from the States at the American Express office at 2:00. They post on the AOL travel board and Phyllis had corresponded with them about Salzburg. Took the bus, walked to the AE office and waited until about 2:20. They did not show up, so we left and strolled through the Christmas market one last time. We picked up our sheets and pillowcases from Willie. He was not there but we had a nice visit with his father.

He said he was enjoying his retirement but was bored because there had been no snow, no skiing and he wanted to come back to work, but Willie would not hear of it. We then went to the Tomasilli coffee and pastry shop, which has to be the place to be seen in, in Salzburg. It is right off the Residenz Platz on a corner and can accommodate many people on two floors. We had very good hot chocolate and very bad pastries. A male waiter takes your drink order and then a female waiter brings by a tray of pastries for you to peruse and purchase. Picked up the bedding at Schweitzers and got the VAT tax form from Willie. Four sheets and matching pillowcases were 316 Euros. We cannot buy the size we need in the States. I put them in the pack on the back and took the bus back to the hotel.

Packed as much as I could and still have stuff left. The computer does not work in the room for internet so I have had to go downstairs to the bar/lounge to check my emails. The hotel has charged me 15 Euros, but that is for 24 hours and I have only used 12 in almost a week.

We asked at the front desk about an Italian restaurant and were told of one about three blocks away. The décor was worth noticing as they had antiques on the walls looked as though it had been there forever. Our waiter immediately brought us English menus, do we look like English, Americans, or what, and we ordered pizza. It was prepared the way we like it, crisp and almost black on the bottom. We noticed on the menu, that they did not charge for an extra plate because you could not get one. A family came in, sat at the table next to us, and ordered six pizzas. The youngest child, a boy about 7 or 8 ate his whole pizza and was looking around for more. In bed by 9:30 and both were very tired from a long day.

December 23rd, Saturday

The day of reckoning has arrived, I cannot get all our “stuff” in the three suitcases I have. Soooo,
I walked down the street to the luggage and bought another suitcase. Since we travel quite a bit, and airlines are so hard on luggage, I sprang for a nicer suitcase. Besides that, it was blue which is our favorite color. 99 Euros, but I now do not have to mess with the collapsible bags that Phyllis had brought.

Loaded the car, I knew there was a reason for the station wagon, with our 4 bags of luggage and the computer carryon and programmed Elvira for the Munchen airport. We left about 11:00 am and arrived at the airport at 1:30. I let Phyllis out at the Delta gate with the entire luggage, turned in the rental car without any problems and proceeded back to find my wife.

We got two carts, found the information booth, went to the Zentrum area, and checked all the luggage except for the computer and a small bag with clothes for two days in Munich. We were not flying home until Monday, Christmas day. The customs office and VAT refund office were very close to Delta’s area, so we boarded the train to the hauptbahnhof.

We walked to the Marriott Courtyard and checked into the same room we had a week ago. This time for some reason, the room was ten Euros less. They told me it was because last week there was a convention in town and they could get more money. I was surprised at their honesty and frankness about the rates.

Walked to the market for one last time and were entertained from the balcony of the Rathaus by a choir, a men’s quartet, and a small brass group. I think the mayor made a speech, but was not sure. I guess in Germany it would have been the burgermeister. The choir and quartet both sang acappella and they were great. There were two couples standing in front of us talking to each other and the lady standing next to me told them to move on if they could not be quiet and let others enjoy the music. They said something rather rude to her and continued to talk but a little less loud. Phyllis, I, and the woman moved elsewhere to listen in peace.

We ate at the Augesteiner restaurant in Marienplatz and were really disappointed. First of all the server was one of the few surly waiters, I have ever run into in Europe. He was having a bad hair day I guess. His tip reflected his attitude also. To boot, the food was not good, my pork schnitzel and fries were cold and soggy. I should have sent it back but did not want the hassle. Traipsed back to the hotel and were in bed around 9:00.

December 24th, Sunday (Christmas Eve)

I got up about six and sneaked out of the room and down to breakfast with my book in hand. Phil came down about eight and after a great breakfast, we went out on the town. Just rode around on the trams from one end to the other taking in the City. Ticket for two was 9 euros and was good for the train back to the airport. I purchased these at the Hauptbahnhof with a little help from a German couple. In the middle of the afternoon, we returned to the hotel and tried without success to take a nap. Finally went down to the lobby and read our books.

The Christmas season in Germany is actually 3 days, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas. Everything was shut down so reading was about the only choice we had. The had made reservations for the evening meal so went up to dress up a little and went down for dinner.

I told the waitress that we had reservations for dinner and she seated us next to a window. I thought that we would just order from the menu, but she brought out the first course of the “Special Christmas Eve” meal. We started off with a salmon mousse on greens and pesto sauce. The pesto sauce kind of cut the fishy taste of the salmon and was good. Second course was a pumpkin soup, served in a large coffee cup with two pffernoose and whipped cream on top. This was delicious. The main course was a venison filet served with a walnut crust over a chocolate feffernouse and béarnaise sauce with a red sweet kraut and potato and knodel. Phyllis likes well-done meat and after one bite, I had two filets to deal with. I LOVED it. I thought it was slightly gamey but the sweet kraut made it very tasty. I gave her my potato and knodel in exchange but she did not eat it so I did. Desert was a crepe with cream cheese inside and a raspberry sorbet. The entire meal took two hours to serve and was extremely good. We both thought that the price for two would have been close to 100 Euros. Surprise when the bill arrived with a charge of only 27 per person. I left a nice tip, as our waitress had been superb. Went back up to the room, read a little and went to bed about 9:30. Left a wakeup call for 5:30 AM.

December 25, Monday (Christmas Day)

We got up at five before the wake up call, took showers, packed, and walked over to the Hauptbahnhof to catch the train to the airport. Arrived at the airport at 7:15 and went to customs to have the items checked for the VAT tax refund. The officer did not even have me open the suitcase. Since it was Christmas Day the VAT, tax refund stand did not open until 9:00 AM, so we left the forms in the mailbox. I hope that I will get the refund.

The flight home was bumpy, we were grouchy, and even though we were flying in business class, the flight was not pleasant. I sleep like a baby on a plane, but Phyllis is a white-knuckle flyer and the bumpiness bothered her. We arrived in OKC about 9:00PM. We are glad to be home but had a wonderful experience on our second Weinachsmarkt trip.