We are recently back from a wonderful ten day trip to Austria and Germany. We were a party of four including my husband and I, my best friend of 45 years, and my mom, a senior with some walking issues. I planned the trip taking all of their various wishes and needs into account and have been to the area several times previously, the first as an exchange student in the 70s attending the Univ of Salzburg, which is when I fell in love with the area.

It was really interesting to contrast this trip with our 16 day Italy trip in October and we have decided to forego Italy for a while and focus on more visits to the Alps, which we loved.

We departed on Thanksgiving Day and used miles to fly Business Class on Delta. Seats and service were food but they should be ashamed of the food quality in this class of service. It was not edible.

We arrived on time into Munich, an easy airport to manage. We had planned on taking the train to Salzburg but my mother was already tired so we opted for a shared shuttle at 45E per person, a worthwhile cost in this case.

We arrived at the beautiful Sheraton Salzburg about noon and were able to check in and get settled. Within the hour, we were headed out to find a good coffee followed by lunch. Lunch was as the Triangle in the University area, a local spot I discovered on a previous trip. It was as good as I recalled and we were fortified for the afternoon which we spent enjoying the Christmas markets. Dinner was at Wasserfall, another standby, and prefaced by a nice bottle of wine at Wine and Co, recently opened and quickly adopted as our nightly stop before dinnner.

Day 2 we had breakfast at a local cafe and caught the 10am bus to St. Gilgen. This was a highlight of the trip and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the are at Christmas time. We took the ferry over to St. Wofgansee which was also lovely but not as charming as St. Gilgen and had lunch there. Our day wrapped up with a few more hours in St. Gilgen and then headed back to Salzburg for another dinner at Wasserfall.

The third day we headed to Hellbrunn only to find it closed. We happily enjoyed the rest of the day in Salzburg, discovering a lovely Italian restaurant a bit out of the center that evening, Da Giacomo.

Next morning we headed to Vienna for what was to be a 3 night stay. The hotel, Marriott Vienna, was lovely but this was the low point of our trip.

We arrived and went looking for a place to have lunch in the area of our hotel. We happened upon a warm and cozy place with an obviously local crowd that looked very inviting and went in. There were no tables available so we moved to the bar to wait and a waiter came up to us/ I told him we needed a table for 4 and he waved his hand at me, pointed towards the door and said "No" loudly and shooed us away. Very rude and I could not quite believe it.

We then moved on to the pedestrian area and entered a busy cafe where we proceeded to seat ourselves after waiting in the entry for an indication of what was expected. Service was brusque and unfriendly and my friend stepped away to walk to the front door for some air and was told to sit back down at the table. Again, impolite and abrupt.

We made dinner reservations at a place about ten minutes from the hotel and needed a taxi since my mom who is elderly walks with a cane. We went to the taxi stand and got in the first taxi and handed him the business card for the restaurant. He informed us we could walk and refused to take us. Since my mother obviously had difficultly walking, I found this incredibly rude.

When we were departing the next morning, the taxi driver who was first in line and his buddy were for some reason arguing with my group about fixed charges to the airport. My friends who do not speak German tried to explain we were headed to the station and I arrived spoke to him in German and explained where we were going and the argument came to a halt.

As our second taxi driver told us later, "fall in love with the city, not the people". Perhaps he knew best.

Our group of 4 actually checked out 2 days early and headed back to Salzburg where we had a much more gracious and enjoyable experience.

It was my third visit to Vienna and I thought perhaps this one would be the one that showed me what those who are so fond of the city find special about it. It left me cold and I won't be returning.

Our two extra days in Salzburg were terrific. One day we headed to Konigsee and enjoyed the village and a boat ride on a lake where the scenery was spectacular. The second we spent in the city itself, enjoying the shops and visiting the Fortress.

We were lucky to happen upon two local celebrations featuring "Bad Santa" and it was a lot of fun experiencing this local custom with the crowds who already knew what to expect.

The last part of our trip was in Munich. We took the short train ride and walked over to the Sofitel where we had another wonderful stay. Great location and a terrific hotel.

We hired a driver for a full day and explored the countryside including Linderhof Castle, which was exquisite. We visited smaller villages and had a perfect day.

My husband and I took a very pleasant day trip to Garmisch on our last day. The rest of the time was spent enjoying the city of Munich which was the polar opposite of Vienna in terms of being warm and welcoming. On two occasions we visited the Viktualienmarkt and had some wonderful oysters at a stand up seafood shop in addition to buying treats to take back home. We walked everywhere and really enjoyed the city.

This was one of the most enjoyable trips I have taken to Europe. The train system is excellent, the cleanliness and and availability of public restrooms was exponentially better than Italy, the Alps were stunning, the people gracious and the value overall was excellent.

I am planning a return trip with my husband same time next year. We live in Florida where it never feels like Christmas so being immersed in this most wonderful holiday wonderland was a truly joyous experience that we would love to repeat. I had made a similar trip a few years ago and was so excited to share this part of the world with my husband, who I was thrilled loved it as much as I do!

Kim, it sounds like a (mostly) great trip you all took. And how nice that you could bring your mother, too.

I hope that you will consider writing a trip report about this beautiful part of the world, as this will then become a valuable resource for fellow travelers. It's quite easy to do, and we are here to help you if you stumble.

I was reading your post and was wondering if you had studied in Salzburg through Bowling Green State University. I spent my junior year of college with their program from 1981 - 1982. I am sad to say that I have only been able to get back there once since my college years, but what I loved was that the city pretty much looked very much the same and the area near my dorm,Schloss Frohnburg, was still mostly surronded by farmland. I am always telling anyone who goes to Salzburg to walk from downtown via Hellbrunner Alle to Schloss Hellbrunn, but that is another posting! My mother and I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving in Italy and were able to take the train up and spend a nice long weekend in 2001. Cold, rainy, but I did not care and felt right at home.

I don't know why Vienna gets such a bad rap, but I was there only a few times and I just can't recommend it as a place to visit. I love large cities and grew up just outside of Chicago, but I just never got much of a sense of "community" when visiting Vienna. There is a "coldness" about the place. That might not be fair as the largest time spent there was 4 days and some of the shortest was passing through on my way to the Prague.

It is funny that just a few days ago my husband and I were reading the paper and there was a great article on the Xmas markets of Germany and even with the winter weather, they were a great vacation option. My husbands eyes just lit up and even though he really does not like to travel to Europe, he had such great memories of his time in Augsburg, Germany (yes, an army brat) and the Xmas markets. He was there for 3 years as a young boy and the Xmas markets along with his month long stay at Loch Ness (what a great place to have your family's VW camper break down) were his most vivid and favorite memories of his time in Europe.

Am very sorry for your "issues" in Vienna, but glad the rest of your time was so enjoyable. You just can't go wrong with Salzburg and whether you want to travel in any direction, just more beauty to see and enjoy. I hope to get back to Austria to visit Lake Constace and such places as Zell Am See.

Ann

I have to say, I have similar feelings about Vienna. I recently got back from a trip to europe and fell head over heels in love with Austria, except for the city of Vienna. My experience alone in the xmas market there caused me to just about burst into tears. It was arm to arm people that were just constantly pushing and shoving and being all around kinda rude. I agree with Pickett that there was just a "coldness" about the place. However I had the complete opposite experience in the smaller city of Lintz and several smaller towns, which I found to be warm and welcoming.

Kim, welcome home and thanks for sharing so much information about your trip. (I agree with Terry that your story would make a wonderful trip report!) Salzburg and the Salzkammergut is one of our favorite areas in Europe, and I'm especially glad that you enjoyed St. Gilgen.

Your story about Vienna was interesting, and I'm glad you went ahead and cut your time there short when it wasn't working out for you. We stayed at that same Marriott in December 2003, for three nights during the week after Christmas. We had a very pleasant time in Vienna-- enjoyed a great concert, the Schonbrunn and a couple of museums-- but it isn't a place that is high on my list for a future trip to Europe.

This info might be helpful to future visitors to Vienna who stay at that same Marriott. We had our breakfasts all three mornings at a wonderful coffeehouse just down the street: Cafe Schwarzenberg. And for a simple, inexpensive dinner, we liked the Wienerwald, a chain restaurant in Austria and Germany specializing in grilled chicken.

Kathy

Kim, I too applaud you for adjusting your itinerary on the fly to make for a positive experience.

I will just file a minority report about Vienna to say we have visited there 4-5 times and would enjoy a return visit. Our favorite time to go is in the weeks leading up to Christmas when we have found the decorations stunning.

But the highlight of our visits during this season has been the music in the churches. The St. Stephen's Cathedral and St. Augustine church are the big hitters, but many smaller venues have music, too. So, if that sort of thing appeals to you, keep Vienna on your list.

We usually stay at Pensione Pertschy near the Graben where the staff is friendly and the breakfasts truly great.

Pickett,I actually attended the University of Salzburg through a program sponsored by American Institute of Foreign Study - AIFS. It was an amazing experience and it changed my life.

As for Vienna, it was my third trip and I have always been lukewarm about the city. I never actively disliked it as I do Paris and other cities, but it was a not a city I had planned to return to. It was because of my traveling companions that we included it at all.

We lost two nights of pre paid hotel rooms as well as some discount train tickets but we all agreed that it was the right decision and it turned out to be for us.

I will consider posting a trip report when time permits.

I am working now on next year's big trip and my husband and I have agreed to go back to this region and do some more exploring.

Happy Holidays!