Oasis in the Snow

Our Christmas trip has been great. Munich, Salzburg, and the German Alps meant a lot of site seeing in the cold though. Thankfully today we found solitude in the Austrian Alps.

Even though I had sworn off Rick Steve's (as in Rick Steve’s Travel Guides) restaurant recommendations we decided to give him one more chance. This decision came more from a lack of other choices than from confidence that he's steer us to something worth while. Well Rick, you've redeemed yourself.

The Alpenhotel in Ruette, Austria, near the German boarder in Bavaria was fantastic. Downstairs is a cozy little restaurant. The customers seemed to be split between locals and tourists – mostly who appeared to be in the area to ski. The room was cozy, with big tables and small tiled stoves keep the place extra warm.

The food was fantastic. Kevin had roasted goose and I have a pot of chicken, beef, and pork in a mushroom sauce. For dessert we had dumplings with chocolate sauce. I have to say this was one of the best meals we've had so far.

And the best part was, when we were ready to go back to our room, all we had to do was go upstairs! The next morning we went for a run on a small trail near the hotel. The views were awesome and my "winter in the Alps" fantasy was complete.

Now I am ready to head back north the Rhine Rive valley where the temperatures are warmer. Tomorrow we're going to spend the last day of our trip in Baden-Baden, an ancient spa town soaking in the thermal baths.

The Hills Are Alive

Christmas in Salzburg.

We decided that if we were not going to spend Christmas with our families, we should spend it in a storybook town in the Alps. The town lived up to my expectations, though I don't think it would be been necessary to spend more than two days site seeing here. Also, our hotel was a bit of a disappointment and we didn't have the most amazing food.

On the food front, I'll forgive the city. Not much was opened on Christmas Eve. We ate in a place that served both curry and traditional Austrian dishes. On Christmas we went to a Mozart concert and diner, the food was passable, but the music was better. It was very touristy. We sat at a table of Americans. It was nice, though, to be able to speak English comfortably for a little while though.

Of course for me – having seen the Sound of Music countless times – I had to re-enact the twirling scene from the beginning of the movie. Kevin was a good sport too, but I wont embarrass him by posting the photos of him running through the hills.

Hot Dog!

December in Munich: cold, cold, cold, but awesome. The city is filled with an amazing pre-Christmas buzz and all of the Christmas markets – there seems to be a different one every block or so – are packed. Here we are eating the best hot dog of my entire life. It was cooked over a wood burning fire so the sausage was smoky and the bun was warm and slightly crispy on the outside. Delicious! [Editorial note: I am still thinking about how good that dog was daily. It's now February.]

Most stands that sell sausages offer at least two kinds: bratwurst, the white pork sausages, and Rotwurst, red sausages made from beef. Though you'd think that the beef sausages would be the same as American hot dogs they really are an entirely different animal.

One of the most amusing things about the bratwursts sold here is that, no matter how big the sausage, the roll that is comes in is always tiny. It’s as if the bun more as a handle that part of the snack.

What's In a Name?

Really, who thought this was a good name for a bus company?

Berlin

I went to Berlin with a group of students from the Goethe Institute this weekend. Here's my assessment of the trip

The good:

• Berlin really feels like a city – even by New York standards it's big, with lots going on and lots to see

The bad:

• I was reminded that I don't really like traveling in groups – too much time is spent waiting around for other people
• Berlin in December was really cold – especially since I forgot my winter coat

Final assessment, I really want to go back to Berlin with Kevin.

Brotwurst and Glugwine

Christmas markets! What a great idea. Where else can you get your Christmas shopping done; eat a variety of holiday delicacies including crepes, waffles, sausages, mushrooms, and goulash; and drink?

Glugwine stands seem to be the heart and soul of the Christmas market. And though I didn't like this hot, sweet wine the first time I tried it, it certainly grew on my as the Christmas season wore on. Though I was told repeatedly that glugwine was mulled wine, I think it was sweeter and less spicy than any mulled wine I've had in the States. But at 1 Euro and 50 cents per cup, who can complain.

The Problem With Medieval Cities

Kevin and I went to Aachen on Sunday. The Christmas market seemed to encompass the entire city center. The problem was the rain. After walking around the market for about an hour and eating a fantastic apple pancake we decided to pack it in for the day and return to Aachen when the weather was better.

When we tried to leave though, we couldn't find our way out of the town. Each winding little street seemed to bring us back to the same center square. Nothing looked familiar, and we couldn't find out way back to the car for about an hour.