Salzburg…Do-Re-Mi….

After a few hours of driving in southern Germany we crossed into Austria.  (not before stopping to pick up the necessary vignette, a sticker that shows we've paid tolls in order to drive in Austria, and a few bars of European chocolate.  ;-) wink, wink

We're making a beeline for our hotel: Hotel Bristol. 

It's one very elegant and beautiful hotel (go check out their website!) and it is in a very nice location in regards to visiting the Salzburg Altstadt. Check out our room! 

The girls are in the Botanical Room (their room is decorated with floral motifs):

 

The view out of our window…you can see the Hohe Festung (fortress) just past the rooftop just to the left in front of us:

It's Freud Dude!  Most excellent!!!  (said in my most Bill…or was it Ted?…voice.):

Enjoying downtime in the girls' room (we opted to get dinner at the hotel tonight…nice but very expensive):

Breakfast!  I remember the breakfasts here being very sumptious.  I'm glad it's just as I remember it!

 

Time to hit the town (the Altstadt= Old City…which in my humble opinion is quite charming and quaint and sweet):

More locks on bridges… (heading across the river into the Altstadt):

It's Ava's Passage!!!! Where do you suppose it leads to?  (we didn't check it out):

I just love the narrow streets in the Altstadt (I think this is Getreidegasse):

Hedgehogs!  (I should have bought one but it sadly slipped my mind):

That yellow building in the background?  That houses Mozart's Geburtshaus (birthplace of THE Wolfgang Amadeus) and yes, we're drinking Starbucks coffees (the cafe is located *right* behind us):

Ummm….What????  Oh!  That tree is decorated with swimming trunks (which the store behind it is selling.  For a second I thought it was underwear!):

At the Christmas Market.  Some stalls never change.  Like this one.  We've been to this Christmas market several times and this stall hasn't changed:

Want to know something interesting?  Over the years I've seen different ethnic groups coming to Austria.  Several years ago it seemed like it was predominantly Japanese.  Today we heard some Chinese, Spanish, and eastern European languages spoken.  

Check out these beautiful eggs!  That reminds me, I want to paint Easter eggs this year:

Gluehwein.  Most definitely time for gluehwein!!!!

And time for silliness!

Baked goodies, anyone?

Do you see the Hohe Festung on top of the hill?  We're headed there now!
Up, up, up we go…and Ava's silliness just keeps on going!

At the entrance to the menacing looking beast…I mean festung (fortress):

You know how we've been into using a forge (and creating knives)????  Here's a blacksmith shop for you (inside the fortress):

Here's a closed up Christmas market.  We thought maybe the stalls would open in the afternoon but sadly they did not.  Oh well!  This open square is in the open courtyard (?), inside the fortress:

Self portrait, ornament style:

Looking out over the city:

MOUNTAINS!!!!

It's time for lunch…and there's a restaurant right here.  Check out the gorgeous views from inside the restaurant:

Do you see the restaurant's advertisement for its Mozart Kaffee (coffee)???  All I can say is it worked…we had to get some to try!  Boy, oh boy…was it yummy!

Annika pausing and sketching mountains in her notebook.

And our silly little Ava.  She's not letting go of this pose issue!  LOL!

 Inside the fortress there is the ceramic woodstove (kachelofen).  Every time I come …over the past twenty (???) years….this particular room grabs my attention:

We checked out the rest of the fortress's museums before heading back down the hill.  The girls saw this GIANT chess game from up high and had to go play a game a chess.  Awesome.  And I still have no clue how to play it!
A group selfie.  I'm so laughing at myself over these selfies:

Like I said, this is an elegant hotel.  Check out the hotel's elevator.  Looks like something out of a Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot set:

In our room….Mark trying to get some work done:

We spent two nights here in Salzburg.  On the third morning, after breakfast we ducked out quickly to the Christmas market for last minute purchases.

This sign says something about Franz Schubert. What does it say???  (I have no idea…I just took the photo!):

The narrow streets of Getreidegasse..before the hustle and bustle of the markets opening:

Time to walk back to the hotel, pack up our stuff, check out (here's the exterior of the Bristol Hotel):

And drive to Sankt Johann im Pongau!!!