Imagine this, 5am and Merlin the dog is asking to go out..
Up we get as we know it must be unsettling for him and he must be missing his owners, we put his lead on and off he rushes tugging us. Noooo…. Upset tummy time.
We settle him back down and pop back to bed for a further little nap as it’s dark. Unbeknown, until we get up that poor Merlin had already had a mishap or three… So off Steve goes for a walkies and Deb has the lovely task of cleaning up… Wasn’t a good moment in our travel.
Lucky for us he soon settles in and spends most of his time either trying to sit on Steve’s lap whilst he’s working at the table or putting his paw on Steve’s foot to stop him going anywhere!
The Christmas markets start opening in November so off we go to explore. 1st Strobl, complete with real deers and open fires. Another day it’s St Gilgen, full of Asian tourists taking more photos than Deb! Last was St Wolfgang, the prettiest village, very traditionally Austrian and a big floating candle in the lake.
The Salzkammergut area of Austria is lovely and we know it well as we used to own a small flat in the area. If you ever fancy a look around we know of various places you can stay and will receive some lovely hospitality. Check out the links below.
Weather changes so much in this area, one place it can be lovely and warm and the next cold, Icey and snowy, the lake and glacier below were only about 20mins over the mountain pass from the lake we were at and what a difference.
We spent plenty of time walking with Merlin and discovering new paths, everyone in the village seems to know Merlin and waves hello or stops for a chat. We also get to catch up with a couple of friends who have sold up in the UK and made the brave move of living full time in the country. When people think we are brave and have made a ballsy move. We can tell you about loads of people we have met on our travels who have done many braver things.
THEN THERE WAS KRAMPUS 😲😨😲
It’s a local tradition that goes a long way back in time. So Santa looks after the good children, but what happens to the naughty ones.. So this is where Krampus comes in. Local villagers dress up in very scary costumes, handed down from generations and we are talking years old. Think of an old costume made of goat skin, kept in an musty attic and never dry cleaned, that’s the best way Deb can describe the smell.
There is a big gathering, like a carnival and plenty of gluhwine to keep you warm. The local people all come out to watch. So what happens to the naughty kids? They get beaten with birch sticks by some devil looking creature and we mean really do get a bit of a whipping! If you stand near to the show boundary tape you are classed as fair game. We had never been to one before. Scared the life out of Deb, although it was maybe because she was very close to the edge of the show.. or was she just a naughty one?
The creatures seem to like her, perhaps it was the squealing when they came near! The guys in costumes do get a bit over excited and some get a bit caught up in the moment, most have been drinking all day and are a bit hyped up. Where was Steve, he wasn’t as stupid as Deb and stood back chuckling away..
3 weeks went so quickly, now time to go home to prepare for Asia, 1st stop The Philippines 🌴🌴😎🌴🌴
Live Happy
Debs and Steve
Love.Wine.Travel. 