Salzburger Christkindl-Markt

Hans, Marianne and Erika with a Devil Mask on the Door

After a wonderful breakfast, Marianne said she would like to drive into the city and find her friends, Hans and Erika. She hasn't seen them for 10 years. I much prefer the bus as opposed to driving and paying for parking, but she will not consider public transportation. After a while of driving and searching, we find her friends and visit with them in their old, rustic, but very beautiful, home. They speak perfect English and are very proper and friendly. Hans was a consulate for Chile and attained a masters degree at USC at which time he met Marianne's husband, Al.  Erika and Hans are getting their large room upstairs ready for their annual St. Nicholas party.  Devil and Santa masks will adorn the walls. Here is some information on this tradition. 

 

"In Austria a strange and frightening creature, Krampus, is usually with St. Nicholas. This devil figure, often in chains, is dressed in fur with a scarey mask and a long red tongue. Krampus carries a wooden stick or switches to threaten children who misbehave or do not know their lessons."
                              - Saint Nicholas Center; Discovering the Truth About Santa Claus  

As we drive away, Hans waves goodbye.  We had a wonderful visit.

Before we start some serious shopping at the market, we have a lovely lunch at St. Peter's Stiftskeller. The dining rooms are down below in a very old, rustic cellar. The atmosphere was unbelievable and so was our schnitzel with parsleyed potatoes.  We returned to the market with our shopping list in hand.

Lunch at St. Peter's Stiftskeller--a 1,000 Year Old Restaurant

Outside St. Peter Stiftskeller Restaurant

The Salzburg Market is large and beautiful . The stalls have a lot of room around them and are large--filled with a variety of goodies. There are a lot of different wares for sale. 

Puff Pastry Pretzels

The large variety of food looks and smells delicious--Bratwurst, puff pastry pretzels in many flavors (chocolate, cinnamon, etc), and kaiserschmappil which is a waffle chopped up and mixed with nuts, raisins and  a drizzle of chocolate on top.  I had to enjoy this specialty.

Kaiserschmappil

The traditional natural straw Austrian Christmas ornaments, large puff pastry pretzels, Salzburg vinegars and olive oils and, of course, gluhwein is just a sample of what is for sale. There are several booths with glass and painted egg ornaments.  If you can only go to one market, this is the one to go to.  It was lovely.  The prices are also very reasonable. 

Salzburger Christkindl-Markt

At 5 pm we enjoyed listening to a choir sing advent songs in front of the Dom.  There is always something special about beautiful voices singing in such a historical setting.  This is a wonderful treat.  On the other side of the market, there is a small ice skating rink that is open to the stars and the beautiful evening lights of Salzburg. 

Choir Outside of Dom Cathedral

We left Salzburg and decided to search for the Silent Night Chapel which is in the small town of Oberdorf outside of Laufen on the north side of Salzburg. It was not open, however, I took some wonderful pictures of this small, historic church. If you happen to be here on Christmas Eve, you can join a choir singing a song which spread from this very spot to the entire world. The local priest, Josef Mohr, wrote the words in 1816 and Franz Xavier Gruber composed the famous tune two years later. “Silent Night” spread first throughout Europe and then to the United States and the world. 

Silent Night Chapel in Oberdorf

We returned to our pension at 8 p.m.  I was so tempted to take the bus back into town.  However, in the back of my mind I could hear Steve saying "are you sure you can get the last bus back?"  So, instead I went for another late evening walk along Moosstrasse in the 0 degree centigrade cool night.  Frost was forming on the leaves along the walkway, the stars were bright and there were Christmas lights here and there.  Back at the B&B I enjoy sitting outside in the gazebo and hearing nothing but the church bells ring every quarter hour.  

Lovely Tree Lined Moostrasse