"I just couldn't help myself. The gates were open and the hills were beckoning and everything was so green and fresh, and the Untersberg kept leading me higher and higher, as if it wanted me to go right through the clouds with it" Maria (dialogue from "The Sound of Music")
We have found it to be true that the road most travelled is most travelled for a good reason and so with Christmas fast approaching we made our way to one of Europe's most popular Christmas Market travel destinations, Salzburg in Austria.
Leaving Verona of course the most sensible next step would have been Innsbruck, but I had such trouble booking Christmas in Salzburg so late in the year and yet we had no trouble booking five days in mid December, and so next stop Salzburg. The journey was beautiful and for once I was too busy looking out the window to remember to take photographs but luckily I snapped this one as we passed near to Brenner.
The kids were so excited to see our first glimpses of snow on the mountains and we had our fingers firmly crossed for a white Christmas on our return journey to a village above Innsbruck the next week. After an easy change in Innsbruck we continued on to Salzburg and then changed again onto the Lokalbahn to finally arrive in Anthering.
In Anthering, only seven kilometres north of Salzburg, we found the perfect base for five days of relaxing on the farm as well visits to magnificent Salzburg and beyond. The farm (www.Neuwirtgut.at) was absolutely perfect, providing us with all the space we could ask for including two bedrooms, a huge kitchen, separate lounge, wonderful bathroom and a huge balcony looking in the direction of Salzburg. The local train was a short walk away and allowed us to be quickly in Salzburg but without the Salzburg price tag. Also for us the benefit of the kids having lots of room to play both inside and outside was wonderful. It was so lovely to sit on the sunny balcony crocheting Christmas presents while watching Emma and Julian feed the horses a carrot or two while hares bounding through the field.
In fact the kids loved the farm so much they were loath to visit Salzburg at all. The promise of Christmas markets did nothing for them until I had a brainwave and suggested we could buy a little Christmas tree and buy some decorations from the markets to decorate it. And so we were off to Salzburg to see visit the markets on a cold and rainy day, and I must say that I am very glad to have seen Salzburg before many year ago in summer to really see it in all its glory.
Even on a rainy day Salzburg is a very beautiful city and we started with pastries and hot chocolate to sustain us for our walk through the old town. We soon came to the Mozart Geburtshaus and Emma was thrilled to discover that this was the birthplace of Mozart, whom she has learned about in music classes at school.
We wandered further on and came to the Christmas markets, located under the Dom and in Residenz Palace. These markets are as good as they are reputed to be, making them once of the most popular Christmas markets in Europe. There were wonderful Christmas tree decorations and everything needed for creating your Christmas "krippen", or crib as these nativity scenes, so popular in Austria.
After having lovely typical Austrian lunch we wandered over the tourist office to make a booking I was very excited about. After twelve month the kids are tired, pretty much warn out with sightseeing but rather than stay home for the rest of our stay we offered them the option of going on the Sound of Music bus tour and they were very keen to go. It is really very funny as Julian has never seen TV or movies but knows half the songs from this famous musical and so we booked it in for the next day. He's never been interested in organised tours but this one promised to be fun and so we were all excited.
We woke the next morning thanking our lucky stars that the weather was delightful and we made our way into Salzburg again to join our early morning tour. We were glad there was room on the morning tour as we image that the afternoon group have half their tour in the dark during winter.
Our tour guide was terrific, she was very keen to get everyone singing along and though it took awhile for people to warm up she had us yodeling and singing along as we visited all the key sites from the filming of the movie. We began close to Salzburg with a drive past of Nonnberg Abbey, where the real Frauline Maria had been a postulant.
Apparently the film studios had approached Abbey for permission to film inside but they allowed only external scenes to be filmed here, so if you look closely at this photo you may recall a scene where the children came to fetch Maria back and the gate they approached is in the arched entry in the middle. We also had the most wonderful views of the Hohensalzburg fortress which dominates the Salzburg skyline.
Our next stop was the lake in front of the Von Trapp family home in the film, which is a different house to the one they actually lived in and is also different from the house used in the film. Confused? Good, I glad I'm not the only one. We received a excellent insight into the magic created by Hollywood. It is confusing but the real Von Trapp house is surrounded by trees, so no good for filming and the house on the lake (Leopoldskron Palace) is too close to the water to allow for shots with the house in the background. So mindbogglingly they needed to chose a separate house not on a lake and then also film at the lake and every scene had to be shot twice and spliced together. Hope I'm not ruining the movie for you, but it was fascinating to consider and no wonder filming went months longer than planned.
Our next stop was Hellbrun Palace, however we did have a quick drive by of the house used in the movie, once you've seen it you can see how different it is to the white one they edited out of the movie.
While Hellbrun palace does not feature in the film, you might remember a guitar case carrying Julie Andrews singing her way along a pathway leading from it. She would have had a long walk indeed as we were now some way from any of the houses she could have been heading towards.
We did enjoy our peek at Hellbrun and would have liked to return for a better look and to visit the market but will have to save that for next time. Hellbrun is home to an iconic gazebo made famous in the film, originally located in the grounds of the lake house but moved here as the owners of the lake house were sick of fans jumping their fence in the night to reenact "sixteen going on seventeen" every night.
By this stage the enthusiasm level on the bus had increased and even Rob and the kids were belting out their "Do-A-Deer's" with the best of the them. But now we head into the Salzkammergut and so in the beautiful alpine region yodeling was in order and also we were given a lesson as we passed by the mountain the family escaped over.
We didn't get to visit the field where Maria spins around at the beginning, and then makes her miraculous journey many miles back to Salzburg in time to be a little late for mass. Apparently the owner of the field has been known to pop out with his shot gun when visitors arrive to welcome them in colourful German.
Our next stop was for a stunning view of Sankt Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee, and had I our time over again I would have stayed here instead as it was possibly the most beautiful place that we saw in Austria, which is of course saying something. Dare I say it I would have even skipped Salzburg to spend some relaxing time in this glorious place.
Leaving Wolfgansee we journeyed to Mondsee, on Lake Mondsee, to visit another iconic location from the film. I have mentioned that the Nonnberg Abbey did not allow filming inside, and indeed the interior scenes from the Abbey were in fact shot on a back lot in Hollywood.
The one exception where a authentic location was deemed necessary however was the glorious wedding scene. This scene was filmed in St Michael's Church in Mondsee, some fifteen miles from Salzburg.
After leaving the church we had a leisurely thirty minute trip back to Salzburg and, as we suspected they might, they turned on the television and showed a documentary made by Charmaine Carr the actress playing Leisl much to Julian's delight for whom this was a first.
The tour ends back where it starts near the Mirabelle Gardens where we were left to explore on our own after being walked to the Pegasus Fountain. We had fun finding and recognising the various scenes from the filming of the song "Do-Re-Mi" and then really hamming it up recreating the various poses.
And it is there that we leave Salzburg, having had a lovely relaxed five nights and looking forward to Christmas in a few days time. The kids were definitely dreaming of a white Christmas and mum and dad were certainly hoping that Mother Nature would deliver for us.
Our journey from Salzburg to Mutters, a town above Innsbruck, couldn't have been easier. Mind you travelling with a Christmas tree in addition to ever expanding luggage could have proved a challenge but as seasoned campaigners we took it in our stride.
Again our base was a lovely old farm house, with the cows living downstairs, the family in the middle and two holiday apartments on the top floor. 
The family could not have been kinder and they went out of their way to help us have a special Christmas.
Mutters is a gorgeous village so close to Innsbruck but up into the mountains with glorious views and beautiful Tyrolean buildings and the ever present ringing of the church bells.
Visiting Innsbruck alone I decided that I had found the best of all Christmas markets, yes I made that call, a big call considering all the amazing markets we had seen. And it was with this promise, the best of the best, and that of the delicious apfelstrudel I had seen but loyally not tried, I managed to get them to come with me the next day. I also managed to forget my camera both times but had brought the Ipad for directions if necessary so at least I was able to get a couple of snapshots.
It was not the "Family Christmas Market" in Marktplatz, which stocked all the "same old same old" tat we had seen across Germany and Austria, that excited us.
No, our favourite was the market in Maria-Theresien Straße. In these markets we found less traditional and more artisan style markets in a big open pedestrian mall. There was hand made felt, wonderful painted glass candle holders, hand painted Christmas baubles, leather goods, Swarovski crystal as well as a food stalls selling delicious strudel and gluhwein.
It felt like less of a tourist destination and more a meeting place for friends to gather after work to sit by the heaters, sipping warming drinks and discuss their plans for Christmas.
It certainly was the last Christkindlmarkt we were to the visit so I was in a position to ask them for the opinion of the best. When I ask everyone which market they would suggest to a friend who could only visit one they unanimously pipe "Cologne". Cologne certainly was the biggest and in our brief visit we did see a lot of great things. Then the conversation moves to "what about Bernkastel-Kues" which was a gorgeous town with a small market.
Our opinion of Salzburg was probably influenced by the weather and our travel fatigue. But I really think Innsbruck has something special, and it could be the amazing setting of this magical city below the looming snow capped mountain that made it such a gorgeous Christmas destination.
Back out in our little village of Mutters the children were keen to play in the snow but there was no snow on the ground and the forecasts were not looking good. Above the town is a ski area called Muttereralm which was due to open the weekend we arrived, much to the surprise of our landlords, as there wouldn't be anything up there to ski on.
As it turns out the ski makers had been busy with their snow machines and the day we head up there were very few people their and a nice little dusting of snow was on the ground. Boy where the kids excited to see it getting thicker and thicker on the ground as we went up the mountain in the cable car.
When we arrived we were told that the family toboggan track was closed but 2.8km of the sports toboggan track was open. We were told that the manager of the centre wanted children Julian's size to ride with an adult, but we were aware that Rob was fastest as he is heaviest and I thought it would be safer if Julian had his own. Based on this fools logic they gave Julian his own one and off we went.
Oh my goodness it was truly exhilarating and more than a little frightening especially as Julian would ignore the screamed instructions to use his brake and as flew along the track. We all enjoyed every minute of it.
The first run was wonderful as we, the only people on the track, plowed our way through the freshly made snow. It took some time as we would stop and discuss the best way to approach the different parts of the track. We certainly were ready for a lovely feast of Austrian food at the top afterwards.
When we then set out for our second attempt it seemed that the snow had turned to a sheet of ice and it was much faster and at time terrifying, for me but not for my dare devils. Rob was the only one up until now to have a spill, but this was because he was trying to test the limits of the sled. 
I decided that 5.6 km was enough for one day for me so I gingerly sat down on my bruised tail end while Rob and the kids went back up for one more run. I couldn't believe how much quicker they managed their third go, it must be that without cautious mum's presence they cut loose and raced down the mountain.
Afterwards we were treated Christmas carols performed instrumentally by the grandfather and his grand children followed by sharing lovely homemade stollen, biscuits and a glass of wine. This Christmas celebration was so filled with meaning I am sure we will all carry it with us a remember it in the future as the true spirit of Christmas.
Then at six o'clock in the evening, in the pitch black, we had our Christmas miracle and the heavens opened and the snow began to fall. It was a tough job to get the kids into warm clothes quick enough so that they could bolt outside and see snow falling for the first time.
We woke to a white wonderland the next morning, as we packed our bags ready to move onto Munich. It seemed a blizzard to us as we dragged our luggage through the snow to the nearby train station. 
We were so grateful and felt so blessed that we had achieved our quest for a white Christmas, something none of us will ever forget.
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