Often my trip planning begins with a wild hare. I will think to myself "I want to visit the Alhambra". Next thing you know I've booked a flight to Spain and then I'll build a trip around that. My Europe 2024 trip began with the wild hare of me thinking "I want to go to the Christmas markets on Lake Wolfgangsee" and then I build this whole trip around that.
Lake Wolfgangsee is about 35 kilometers outside of Salzburg. There are 3 towns around Lake Wolfgangsee that have Christmas markets, but they are only held on certain days, so I had to plan to be there on one of those specific days. I took a bus (again, building my confidence with that mode of travel) out to St. Gilgen on the morning of December 22nd.
It was very charming. It has a gondola you can take up in the mountains, but I decided to skip that since I'd checked that box a couple of times already. I just wandered for a bit and made my way down to the lake to purchase tickets for the boat.
On the boat leaving St. Gilgen heading to St. Wolfgang.
The view from the dock in St. Wolfgang.
These guys made an unwelcoming noise, so I didn't try to touch them.
Gosh St. Wolfgang didn't disappoint. It had shops, bakeries, restaurants, bars. Just a fairytale Austrian town.
There are just so many things to look at there. I bought some salt which got me flagged at the Charlotte airport security a couple of days later (so note to self: pack salt in checked luggage not carry on bag). I also got some soaps, a picture, an ornament, a clay angel for a gift, a couple of things at a grocery store, and a couple of cookies.
There was still a lot of speck at the market, but I found a non-speck option. This was fried potatoes with cheese and topped with a fried egg. It was very tasty.
This building held something similar to a craft fair. It had a lot of handmade product booths.
On the boat leaving St. Wolfgang.
My last stop on Lake Wolfgangsee was Strobl.
I didn't take too many pics of Strobl, but they too had a cute market.
I caught a bus back to Salzburg from Strobl. This was a view of the lake and St. Wolfgang from the bus.
I got off the bus at the Mirabellplatz stop in Salzburg and took a quick swing through that small market.
It was Saturday-before-Christmas packed.
I stopped off at my room to unload my purchases, and then headed over the river to try and find dinner. I tried a couple of restaurants which had no availability. I thought about eating at the Cathedral Christmas Market, but it was so crowded. Like SO crowded! You know how google maps will say "less crowded than normal" and give you info about places? Well I saw a new one here that night..."as crowded as it gets". That was really underselling it. You couldn't move!
I found a restaurant that seated me with a family. I ordered and ate quickly and headed back out.
But I did finally get some Weiner Schnitzel.
Salzbug has the cutest Hermes store ever.
I grabbed a few more pieces of Laderach chocolates after having to convince them to let me in at 2 minutes to closing ("I know what I want! I'll be quick!").
I went back to the hotel to pack up because I had an early train the next morning. I did greatly enjoy this cookie I bought in St. Wolfgang.
It had an apricot filling and was really good.
It was a great day. I love planning trips but sometimes you build a place up and then they don't live up to your expectations. The towns along Lake Wolfgangsee certainly exceeded any expectations I had for them.
That's a wrap on Day 9 and Austria. I was moving on early the next morning for my final full day.
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