Austria Part 1

Dear Family and Friends,

Joyeux Noel, Frohe Weihnachten, and Merry Christmas from Austria. After a brief stop in Switzerland, we arrived at our destination for Christmas - Salzburg, Austria. Though our hotel room is a small, we managed to fit all of us, a small plastic Christmas tree, presents, and suitcases into two adjoining rooms. The kids were much releaved to find that they were still going to receive their presents on Christmas morning. As one can imagine, our set up did make some aspects of our Christmas a little more complicated.




On our first night here, we set about exploring the largest Christmas market in Salzburg. Though it was dark by the time we got to the old part of town, we still had time to look at the many different booths and sample some of the local food, including strudel, hot donuts with jelly topping, and roasted, candied nuts. In fact, Joe bought so many different kinds of treats that Julie and the kids thought he had gone crazy. At least no one went hungry!



The next morning, we took a small hike up to the top of the hill overlooking Salzburg. While there, we noticed the fanicular railroad leading up to the castle and then set that as our next destination.




As we crossed a foot bridge over the river, they started shooting cannon and old guns from atop the castle. This together with the ringing of church bells from the many churches in salzburg made for a very noisy walk across town.



Inside the castle, we viewed the staterooms used by the kings and princes of Austria. The wood pannelling, walls, and floors had not been altered and gave one a much better sense of life in the middle-ages than many other castles we've visited. We were also able to see an interesting display of marionettes from different centuries. It was easy to understand how this part of the Salzburg culture made it into the Sound of Music.



In the evening, we drove 30 minutes outside of Salzburg to the town of Oberndorf to see the Silent Night Chapel and participate in the program that is held there each Christmas eve.



This very small and humble church is a tribute Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber, who wrote and composed "Silent Night" in 1818 after their church organ broke.




The program included people dressed in traditional garb shooting cannons and standing guard around the chapel. There was also a wind band that performed Christmas music and a recitation of the story of the composers and how Silent Night has touched the world through the years.



Despite some struggles with kids and cold feet, Julie and Joe enjoyed the special spirit as Stille Nacht was sung in German.

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

For our annual Christmas Program, Julie found a video of Walter Croncite and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir recounting the Christmas truce of 1914 during which the British and Germans sung this special carol together, exchanged gifts, and became friends for a short time.

We hope you are enjoying this celebration of Jesus' birth. We still have many things to see and do here in Salzburg in the coming days.

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel