This year we spent Christmas in Austria. In previous trips we have either taken the train or flown, this time we decided to take our first road trip in Europe. It was about 8 hours one way, complete with a bathroom break and a stop at McDonalds (which were ridiculously nice and clean for being on the side of the road). When we started in Brussels the weather was warm and dry and the road signs were in French. As we continued our drive the road signs changed to Dutch and then German and the weather got colder and wetter beginning with some rain and the finally snow. For most of Germany the roads are lined with thick forests of big evergreen trees perfectly dusted with snow. Eventually the trees turn into snow cap mountains as we get closer to Austria. It is seamless traveling through the countries, there aren't any passport check points (these went away with the creation of the European Union) and the roads are smooth and fast. Since much of German roads do not have any speed limits we average about 100-110 mph. Additionally what I love, love, love about Europeans is that they take the concept of driving in the left lane and passing only on the right seriously. You didn't see slow cars in the right lane holding up traffic for miles behind them. The last stretch of road to our hotel was a lot slower as it was snowing and the road up the mountain was like big windy u shapes all the way up.
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| Our snowy view from our hotel |
Austria was like a beautiful winter wonderland to us. We stayed in a small town near Seefeld Austria, which feels like it is nestled in the mountains. As we walked around the town we could see snow and mountains everywhere. There were plently of walking and skiing trials as well as down hill ski areas. We stayed at a family run hotel that felt more like a bed and breakfast. From our room we had fantastic views of the town below and the mountains. During our time in Austria Steve got to get in some cross country skiing. I also tried my hand at skate skiing by taking a few lessons (by the way it is so much harder than it looks). After skiing (or attempting to ski) we loved sitting in the hotels sauna. It feels so good to go from the cold cold outside to a hot sauna or hot tub. As a note we the european swimsuit style has a lot less fabric.
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| Good morning... |
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| ...and good night |
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| Look at all the cross country skiers |
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| The town we were staying at |
On our way back to Belgium we stopped by the Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. The castle was built in the 1800's by a king who only lived in the castle for a king for less than a year. According to the tour guide, the king was deemed as unfit to rule and then mysteriously died in a lake with his psychiatrist. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside, so I don't have any of those to share, but the outside of the castle is actually the inspiration for the Disney World castle in Florida.
We ended back in Belgium perfectly safe without any hiccups. We spent NYE in Brussels. Here they celebrate by shooting fireworks off at midnight. Its been awhile since I've seen any fireworks so it was a great way to celebrate the New Year. Happy New Year everybody!
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