Christkindlmarkt in Salzburg, Austria

Figuring that we might never be in Europe in December again, we decided we should take advantage and go see a traditional European Christmas Market. We narrowed our choices down to Munich or Stuttgart in Germany, or Salzburg in Austria. After seeing some pictures of Salzburg, we decided the extra two hours or so of driving was worth it - and off we went. So quickly did we go, in fact, that we forgot to bring our passports. After realizing this fact a few hours into the drive, we decided to throw caution to the wind and keep going. After a few nervous moments at the Swiss-Austrian border, we were waived through by a customs agent without needing to show our identification. After that, part of our route took us into Germany, and onto the infamous German Autobahn. I have to admit, driving on the Autobahn was probably the highlight of the trip for me. We were going pretty fast, but even still, we were getting passed by cars that made us feel like we were standing still.
Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart, and is also where much of the movie The Sound of Music was filmed. The old town of Salzburg is a beautiful collection of baroque buildings along the Salzach river, overlooked by a huge 10th century fortress at the top of a hill in the center of town. Pretty much the whole city gets decorated for the Advent season, and every open square turns into a Christmas market. Vendors sell their handmade ornaments and decorations, along with sausages, pretzels, pastries and mugs of hot, mulled wine. With all the christmas lights hung around town, the whole scene was pretty amazing at night. In the main square, musicians were set up on the top of buildings, and they took turns playing pieces by Mozart around the square.
Mason seemed to enjoy himself among the crowds in Salzburg. We don't think he quite understands that there are other foreign languages besides French, as he said "bonjour" to most everyone. He especially liked all of the "special treats" the vendors were selling. We all shared a huge, cream-filled, chocolate covered bavarian pretzel, complete with an edible likeness of Mozart. Mason devoured the picture of Mozart, and then exclaimed, "Eat Mozart! All gone."

Mason Turns Two!

Mason officially entered the "terrible two's" a few weeks ago, although we actually believe his de facto tenure began several months earlier. In an apparent (but not unprecedented) lapse of judgment, we invited about 10 other two-year olds to celebrate Mason's big day at a local children's educational center. The resulting scene can only be described as "total mayhem," but it was fun, in a sort of masochistic way.

Mason and his friends enjoyed making and decorating crowns, and all was going surprisingly well until Mason decided it would be a good idea to squeeze the tube of glue he was holding. As Nicole attempted to take the tube away from Mason, he simply squeezed harder, causing Nicole, Mason and all innocent bystanders to be sprayed with streams of white glue. After cleaning up, Mason sat silently while his friends sang "Happy Birthday" and his birthday cake was placed before him. He was apparently so quiet because he was concentrating so hard on his next task - "Mason blow candles out!" Then came the gift opening, where Mason finally began to show some interest in his gifts for the first time. Each present was opened with a rousing "oooooh" by Mason, before asking for "anoder one? More presents?"