Savory Salzburg - Part 3

The afternoon consisted of a tour through Panoroma called "Advent at the Lake District".  The itinerary included stops in St Gilgen, Strobl and St. Wolfgang on Lake Wolfgang (I think collectively, this is called the Wolfgangse region).  The lake is fairly large and nestled into the mountains around Salzburg.  It feels like the region that Maria would have led the children in song and dance or perhaps Capt Von Trapp led his family over these mountains into Switzerland (unlikely, given Switzerland is very far from Salzburg, but that's the picture). 

The tour was about 25 people and included three languages (German, English and Spanish).  There was plenty of time, so three languages really wasn't an issue.  It was a very nice large tour bus and we weren't cramped at all, so overall, worth the money for the transportation.  I probably could have figured out public buses / trains, but the amount of time I would have lost doing it justifies the tour price.

The ride started like this:

Gorgeous clear skies, amazing views.  However, the higher we got into the mountains, the more ominous it began to look.  By the time we reached the lake, after passing fields of snow and trees covered in ice, this was the view:

The fog was like something out of Harry Potter.  It came out of nowhere and was thick.  By the time we reached the first village, I was pretty sure there was a lake, but that was only out of inference from what I remembered on the Sound of Music tour from the summer prior.  Not until we got on the boat for the last village did I know for sure there was a lake.  However, this did not dampen (get it?) the tour....in fact, it increased the atmosphere.  The lights twinkled brighter, the mulled wine and hot chocolate tasted better and the general cheeriness factor increased.

Christmas market selfie in Strobl, the first village we made it to.  This is mid-Christmas Orange punch, which I sampled at each village (at least once).  My gloves were quite sticky by the end of the tour.

Strobl had the best shopping.  The atmosphere was good, but not as good as St Gilgen at the end.  The shopping though....if I had known that the first stop was the best, I would have spent more on the first stop.  I bought a few Christmas gifts, including an assortment of cookie cutters that are equal parts good cookie cutters and hilarious.  Dad wasn't quite sure what to think of the lobster cookie cuttter (it's a Christmas Lobster!) or the sheep (it's a Christmas sheep!).  I also got a candle holder with a manger scene that's pretty.

After that market, it was onto the bus for St Wolfgang.  Wolfgang was a bit more packed and the shopping was more focused on food, which I'm ok with.  I tried some cheese at one of the stands and ended up getting some slices to snack on, along with more of the Christmas punch to make sure I didn't lose feeling in my hands. 

Wolfgang Christmas markets with a hint of fog.  I also visited a church in Wolfgang to get a real appreciation for the village (when in a Euro village, you must see the church).

The outside hides the inside glories - it's really quite misleading.  I only really went in for the hope of a bit of central heat (unlikely, but a girl can dream).

 

Pleasantly surprised by the ornate nature of the interior.  Still cold, but gorgeously gothic.  It fit the grey mood outside and set a somber celebratory mood for Christmas.

I know it's Catholic, but it feels like this was set up just for Christmas, a good mystery novel or the final scene to a thriller.

After Wolfgang, we took a boat to the final village, St Gilgen.  The boat ride was the most amazing part.  On the lake, St Wolfgang puts huge floating lanterns that have both Christmas lights and an open flame in them.  I'm not sure how to describe it (and I lost the one photo I had), but the combination of the lanterns and the fog and the grey lake made it feel like I was in the boat headed to Hogwarts (or away from it) during the Christmas holidays.  After that, the pictures just kept getting better and felt exactly how a Christmas card should feel:

I don't think I need to caption those.

After that, it was the St Gilgen market, where I sampled chocolate covered fruit, more punch and some sausage links.  Really great little village, that also included a life sized manger made of wood.

After that, it was back on the bus for Salzburg. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this tour if you find yourself in Salzburg in the Christmas season!