European Christmas

Christmas is a magical time in many parts of Europe. Let me take you on a tour…

Back when my family lived in Italy, the holidays were one of my favorite time of year, because it meant traveling. We had no other family or relatives to spend the holidays with, and so instead we drove out to view Italy’s towns, and other countries, as they decorated for Christmas. And some of my favorite, and in my opinion, most magical places during Christmas time was Salzburg, Austria and Rothenburg, Germany. There you will find a wonderland of Christmas. It’s beauty and merriness will captivate you, and fill every inch of your spirit with Christmas joy and wonder.

I will now share with you photos and a video, to give you a feel for what these magical places have to offer, and help put you even further in the mood for Christmas! 🙂

(because there were no digital cameras way back in my childhood days, I’ll use photos from other sources to show you. Check the list of links at the end of this post, and you’ll find even more photos to browse!)

Let’s begin!
Salzburg, Austria at Christmas:

And here is Rothenburg, Germany at Christmas, where they hold a large Christmas market:

And here’s what you find INSIDE this famous Christmas store:

This store is MASSIVE. I found a video that I think will show you this quite well. 🙂

I’ll finish with this photo. Let’s hurry away before the snowfall catches us! 🙂

It brings tears to my eyes creating this post–I miss these beautiful places so much! But I hope you enjoyed the journey. If ever you find yourself in Austria or Germany, don’t miss these lovely towns. 🙂

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

~
Photo credits and links:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/travel/4675616/The-Sound-of-Music-is-alive-in-Austrian-city-of-Salzburg.html

http://www.kasererbraeu.at/advent-in-salzburg

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/7747145@N04/3097105257″>vienna christkindlmarkt</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/30839999@N06/3071908518″>Main Square Linz / Austria – Hauptplatz Linz / Österreich</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/19358947@N00/1877914571″>DSC_2006_Dec_0101_edit</a&gt; via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;

http://www.bavaria.by/ee73e311-9854-3d27-9302-3a9ee7b57c21.html

http://wohlfahrt.com/en/christmas-stores/rothenburg-ob-der-tauber/the-christmas-village-in-rothenburg-ob-der-tauber

Lendog64

http://www.history-of-germany.com/index.php?scid=rothenburg_torture&page=62&#038;

http://www.holidaystoeurope.com.au/home/resources/destination-articles/germany/869

http://luxeadventuretraveler.com/rothenburg-christmas-market/

http://beforeitsnews.com/travel/2012/12/rothenburg-ob-der-tauber-one-of-my-favorite-german-christmas-markets-2448542.html