Life's Helmet

Sunday, December 29, 2013

A European Christmas - Day 4

Stop 9 - Untersberg Mountain: Took the bus from downtown Salzburg to the base of the mountain. Rode the cable car to the top and let the kids play in the snow.

Stop 10 - Toy Museum: Traveled back to downtown Salzburg and spent some time at the Toy Museum. The kids loved playing with the unique toys and viewing the vintage toy displays (especially the model trains).

Stop 11 - Old Town: Had dinner in Old Town at a little place called Zum Mohren where Ryan tried some Austrian food. Afterwards, Ryan took Maeli ice skating for the first time in an outdoor ice rink in Mozart Square. Finished the evening off browsing the Christmas market at Residenzplatz.

A European Christmas - Day 3

Stop 6 - Liechtenstein: Drove to Liechtenstein to view one of the world's smallest countries and the only country to lie entirely within the Alps.

Stop 7 - Schwangau, Germany: Drove to Schwangau to see the Neuschwanstein Castle that inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. Hiked up the mountain with the kids to see the castle up close.

Stop 8 - Salzburg, Austria: Drove to Salzburg and ate dinner in Old Town.

A European Christmas - Day 2

Stop 4 - Black Forest: Drove through the Black Forest on our way to Zurich.

Stop 5 - Zurich, Switzerland: Drove to Zurich. Strolled through Old Town. Viewed the Christmas lights and "Singing Christmas Tree." Browsed the Christmas market at ShopVille-RailCity.

A European Christmas - Day 1

Stop 1 - Frankfurt, Germany: Got in late to Frankfurt. Had no GPS or map and couldn't find our hotel. We eventually realized that our rental car had built in navigation and finally found our hotel after 2 hours of driving.

Stop 2 - Heidelburg, Germany: Got up early the next day and drove to Heidelburg. Walked the streets, tried our first German bratwurst, and browsed the Christmas market.

Stop 3 - Strasbourg, France: Walked the streets of the La Petite France neighborhood. Ate dinner at a little creperie in Cathedral Square and browsed the Christmas markets at Place Broglie and Cathedral Square. Maeli tried her first beignet (just like Tiana makes in "The Princess and the Frog").