Christmas in Salzburg

Over Christmas Nick, Ryan, Mel, and I headed to Salzburg, where we met Nick’s family (minus his dad), so they could experience a white Christmas.

We stayed 20 minutes outside Salzburg for 2 weeks, which is too long in one place for me, but this length of time allowed us to visit some places which we normally wouldn’t see, such as some road trip locations, Vienna, and Hallstatt (more on these soon).

We stayed in our own apartments, so Nick’s brothers were downstairs, his mum, sister, and nieces were in their own apartment next to Nick’s, Ryan’s, Mel’s and mine, which allowed all the kids to run from one room to another.

On our first day we went straight into the town centre and headed for the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt, which was described as one of the world’s oldest Christmas markets, and which Mel and I wanted to just eat our way through.

There were gorgeous Christmas decorations, wooden toys, gift ideas, and a lot of pretzels, schnitzels, and hot dogs.

Mel and I tried Kaiserschmarrn Rosinen, which was a bowl full of crispy pastry covered in custard and berry compote. It was hot and so delicious! I love desserts, so Mel and I always make sure we try something different when we travel.

Afterwards we headed to Getreidegasse, Salzburg’s shopping district, and the location of where Mozart was born. I desperately needed to head to the shops as I needed some new jumpers. The ones I bought with me were a little too tight (too many desserts maybe…).

After we spent the day in the main city area, I wasn’t sure about what else we’d do, as it didn’t look like there was much more to the city. This is why I recommend only staying a few nights in one location.

But on the positive side of staying in one location for a long time, we were sleeping in until 9am every morning, which has not happened since before having Ryan, so we made sure we incorporated a lot of downtime into our trip.

We ended up going back into the town centre a second time, where we stumbled across another Christmas market called Sternadvent mit Wintermarkt, which I loved, and preferred over the much larger Christkindlmarkt.

What was great about this Christmas market was the variety. There were things for sale here that weren’t at any other Christmas market I’ve been too.

There were soaps, handmade craft items, cakes, biscuits, clothing, and baby accessories. It felt more like a craft market than a Christmas market, but had Christmas decorations up. It was so gorgeous, and if I ever go back to Salzburg I’ll spend more time at this market.

Afterwards we went on the Festungsbahn, which is a cable car that takes you to Hohensalzburg Fortress. But not before going back to the main Christmas market and eating a waffle (which was meant to be for Ryan), and of course a schnitzel roll.

The top of the Fortress had the most amazing views of the city, where you could see Salzburg’s green rooftops, river, and cityscape. We were very lucky to have such a clear day to take in the view.

The highlight of the Fortress were the staterooms, they were very different in design to the rest of the Fortress. If you ever visit make sure you climb the steps at the end of the Fortress to view them.

On our way back to our apartment, we visited St Peter’s Abbey, which you enter as you leave the Fortress, and explored its grounds.

That was really all there was to Salzburg, it’s a beautiful city, which you can easily cover in a couple of days.

When I got home I was told that it’s a totally different city at night, as there are a lot of fantastic bars, so make sure you check out the night life and let me know how it is.

Have you been to Salzburg?