Here is part two of Salzburg of the Salzburg blog.
Several Christmas Markets opened here today. They will be the last part of this blog, first will be my walk on the other side of the river. It was nice, but far prefer this older that seems to have less auto traffic and more pedestrian friendly feel.
When we leave our old town area
And head across the pedestrian bridge to the other side
The bridge is another of those locks for love bridges, like the famous one in Paris
This side of the town has its share of historic buildings. Heck this city was found in the 8th century
Entrance to the Mirabellgarden
Tons of statues all around the perimeter
They have these designs in their grass created out of petunias and pansies
Mirabell palace, which was built in the 17th century. Nowadays it is a cultural monument. They have concerts there and other events. The city administration is also located in it, so only a few places are open to the public.
Lions guarded one entrance to the ground and unicorns guarded another one
There is a plaque to Kaiser Fran’s Josef I, but as in Greece, here in Austria I do not read or speak the language, so I am not sure what it says about him
This building is part of the the university
As is this one. They sit on the square that Mozart’s house in on.
This is the Dreifaltigkeitskirche, it is a baroque church with a large dome fresco
Dale wandered me through this side of the river’s pedestrian shopping area.
The large church are dotting most areas we have walked
This is the way that leads up to the top of the hill on this side. Dale asked if I wanted to climb up, but I declined
Instead we got Chinese food to go from this little tiny kitchen right at the base of the way up. She cooked it as we waited. It was very good
The fortress up on the hill behind our side of the river, as we were walking toward the bridge to cross back over to the side our hotel is on
Looking back from the bridge, this is the hill Dale asked if I wanted to climb up to
On the bridge I stopped as Dale pointed out the hike he took two days ago. He went out as far as the tall steeple in the background
He went up, then down, then up again before coming down yet again. You can see the old walls around the fortifications
So we went to two small markets while on the opposite side of the river.
The first was mainly a farmers market with fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods, and a few gifts stalks
The flowers were very lovely
The food looked good, not sure what the “turkeys” in the middle were, but almost got one just because it was Thanksgiving day in the USA.
This market was mostly open, or tents with a few food trucks
The next market was beside the Mirabell Palace on the opposite side as the gardens
They had some little booth with scenes in them
This guy was just tired I guy. He sat right in front of a stall
I felt like these two had fewer local crafts and more food and imported stuff
Here is the sign, we came in from the back way I guess
They also had some beautiful advent wreaths
We are back on the side of the river our hotel sits on. This is the biggest Christmas Market in Salzburg. The horses were all ready to show people around the old town
This is the one I showed get set up in the photos in my last blog
It has about 100 vendors and stalls
Here is a map to show how big it is. This one is more old market and a bit less carnival affair than the big one in Vienna. They both have a similar number of vendors, I liked the more old world feel here. I am glad I got to go to both though. There were no rides or Christmas light displays for walking through, but it felt very friendly and just authentic
The variety of goods was actually better at this one, than the one in Vienna
Tons of candies and baked goods
Handmade soaps in a wide variety of shapes and kinds
Lots of scarfs, hats, mittens, and socks as well as some clothing vendors
This stall had gingerbread only, but the variety was outstanding. I never imagined all the different type of desserts you could make with gingerbread
This was early, when it first open, so it was not to crowded and we had a chance to really look at all the stalls
This one caught my eye by how it stood out among it’s neighbors
We found glogg. Dale tried it and said it was pretty good, but he likes what I make best. Mine has grape juice instead of wine.
There are a number of booths selling all kinds of Christmas ornaments. Most are glass, not a good choice for me, as I always seem to drop at least one ornament a year as I put up or take down my tree
They had this fun miniature trains display at the end near their information booth
The sign as we left the area
The whole area and most of the shops had really gotten into the mood.
Entries to courtyard shops
This is a small market in an inner square very close to our hotel
Their theme was angel wing and red ornaments
I got a lot of glare on the scene that was behind glass a better one is with the night shots
In the evening we went back to the two markets near us.
This is the large main Christmas Market.
The one with around 100 vendors.
They have an ice skating rink at one end, it opened a few days ago. We saw it on our first night walk here
This booth had some fun stuff, but most vendors at the markets did not ship and as we fly out tomorrow, I did not think I wanted to try to figure out how to get any of it back to the states
We had fried bread with powdered sugar while we walked around the market
We ended back at the gingerbread booth. We tried one of their cake type offering. This was much more to our taste, more than the cookie Dale tried in Vienna
Many of the street’s decorations we lighted this evening
From just greenery and lights strung across the spaces
To much more elaborate displays
We are on the main street of the this part and it had a river of lights going down it
Santa appeared in a couple of windows both modern
And in traditional grab like this one
We also strolled through the small one nearest us
They went with the river effect in it too for the lighting
The hall way from one small section to the other
This part had a very old world feel
Even the lighting effects
The deer and sleigh I almost missed as we were heading back to the other part
There were a number of the deer made out of branches as decorations
This was there stable scene behind glass
Food and treats are everywhere. I am trying to be reasonable in my intake.
Tomorrow is a travel day. Cars. Planes, and trains will all be involved.
See you for the next blog. It may be a couple of day.
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