"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the one's I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten
and children listen
to hear the sleigh bells in the snow"
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.
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| Even a park with an amazing view |
We made easy day trips into Innsbruck, once as a family and once I went alone to get our Christmas shopping finalised. The children had ground to a halt by this stage stayed home on the farm, decorating the tree and visiting with the animals.
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| View from our balcony towards Igls |
Emma was even able to have a ride on a horse which was very exciting for her. We all loved being able to collect tin pails of milk warm from the cow to put on our porridge in the morning.
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.
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| Old Town |
And not even the "Christmas Market in Old Town", that gorgeous medieval part of town where the beautifully preserved buildings, including the famous Golden Roof looked over market stalls with some very nice things.
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.
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| Maria-Theresien Straße |
So did Rob and the kids agree with my assessment? Hmmm well they certainly were impressed and very pleased that we were finally buying things (we most windowed shopped at earlier markets due to the need to carry anything we chose to buy) but they thought it naming it the best was going too far.
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.
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| The start of our track - with slopes up to 20 degrees |
As none of us can really ski and we were not planning on lessons (pretty sure there were no lessons to be had at this second day of the season) we decided to go with tobogganing as the kids had loved it so much at Jungfrau in Switzerland in July. I had scoured the website and discovered that they had a type of toboggans which could take even young children like Julian and have a braking mechanism to slow you down and could be steered with your feet.
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.
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| Scene of my sledding mishap |
Luckily the kids managed the whole day without a hitch, it was only me that lost control and ended up on my bottom on the grass, laughing my head off to avoid scaring the children.
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.
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| 150 year old krippen at the farmhouse |
Christmas day was fast approaching and still we had no snow down in the village but we were having a wonderful time. We were invited by the owners of the house to share a traditional Christmas eve celebration with them and we were so honoured and delighted to go. We joined the family as they made there way around the house with incense intoning prayers to cleanse and bless the animals and the house.
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.
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| Christmas Lunch |
On Christmas day the children were delighted that Father Christmas, or could it have been the Christkind, had visited in the night. We had stocked up on supplies earlier and made a lovely Christmas lunch and then wandered around the town and found a park. It was a perfect Christmas day.
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.
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.
You really had the best way of having Christmas, on the farm! Even when you did not have snow for long but the top of the mountains always had snow for your eyes.
ReplyDeleteLove Susanne
Louise, thank you for the last few blogs which, as always, have been wonderful. Your Christmas in Austria is a memory you will always carry, and future references to your Blog will reinforce all those memories.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your long journey with us all.
Love, Mum xxxxoooo