Quaint indeed! Although the only human-made attraction was the Golden Roof, the Alps jetting skyward from the little river-hemmed valley more than made it a majestic place to visit.

On the evening we arrived, we left our hotel for a short stroll to see what we could in the dimming light. One block later, we stumbled upon a crowd in the Platz and the most beautiful music. At first, we didn’t see the musicians. But, upon noticing the famed Golden Roof, we saw that there were a few wind instruments being played from the balcony there. A minute later, the song was continued by an orchestra from inside the upper level of a nearby building, windows cast open to shower us below with the sound. Another few minutes passed and the song was being played by a small ensemble, this time with voice accompaniment, from a balcony across the square. In the middle of the three sections, a large, lit Christmas tree illuminated the square.  The three different sections continued in this manner, finishing with Silent Night. Stumbling upon this magical event made the town seem enchanted.

Our only full day in town, we decided to take in the views from the top of the Alps. Amazingly, from the middle of town, one can take a light-rail-like car across the river and up the mountain. From there, one can board a tram to get most of the way up the mountain to the main ski slopes. For the daring skiers and snowboarders, or those tourists who “forgot” their skis (Chiara was very disappointed that we were included in this latter category), one can take a third tram to the very top of the Alps. Bright blue skies made it a picture-perfect day to look out into Germany in the North and Italy to the South. We felt as if we were at the top of the world. While the view from the top was a sheer vertical that made Tom and me dizzy, Chiara was sad to not join the kids (and crazy adults) who pointed their skis downward in a rapid descent.

We departed Innsbruck for the final stop of our journey: Munich. The train deposited us directly to our hotel, which was fortunate since carting two children and five pieces of luggage was not an easy task. Despite two weeks of travel, if anything, it seemed to get more challenging.

Munich felt very comfortable, but mostly like a large town. Since we had not thought ahead and ordered our BMW to pick up, we missed one of the main tourist attractions. Instead, we walked through the pedestrian area, caught the famous Glockenspeil (clock tower) in action, and toured the Deutsches Museum, a vast collection that celebrates science and technology. The lower level is a children’s area (no one over the age of 5 is allowed without a child accompanying them), which is where we spent most of our visit. Chiara loved the hands-on exploration. Although much like a children’s museum might be here, it was a fun afternoon to create shadow performances, play a 15-foot guitar from inside, and “drive” an old fire engine.

While none of us can say we were fans of Austrian food (we sought out Italian restaurants for our best meals), Chiara found that Heisse Schokolade was readily available and partook in the treat several times each day (as evidenced by the seemingly constant chocolate mustache). We also discovered a “heart apple;” a novelty that Chiara was requested a few times since we’ve returned home. Perhaps we’ll need to send a photo to an orchard in Hood River or Wenatchee…

On Silvester (New Year’s Eve), we traveled the short distance to Dachau. Although I was there before, it was still a haunting experience. Baffling and heart-wrenching that humanity can be so ignorant and inhumane. Perhaps even more than the first time I visited, it made me wonder what atrocities are being committed in the world today that we turn a blind eye to. Fifty or seventy years from now, what will our grandchildren be saying about what we allowed to occur?

With heavier hearts, we spent our last night in Munich. An early dinner out found us back at the hotel well before the parties had begun. Around midnight, I awoke to the sound of revelry all around us. A peak from the window showed firework displays in every direction. Yet inside our two rooms, the girls and Tom slept so peacefully.

The journey back to Portland was long indeed. We finally arrived at Tom’s parent’s house exhausted beyond belief. We collapsed into the warm beds, happy to be safely home (or most of the way home).

We remained in Portland for Tom’s appointment at OHSU. The trip culminated with his most recent PCR results: numbers have continued to decline so far that he is back into a Major Molecular Response (MMR) category! We could not have asked for a happier ending to a most spectacular holiday.

Most the snow around our house didn’t stick very long, but there was one day when Amy & Chiara got to play in the backyard…

We boarded our first train for the 3 hour trip from Vienna to Salzburg. Chiara loved traveling by rail. And despite a fussy infant, it was much more relaxing than by car.

Salzburg was magical at Christmas. The Christkindl markts were bustling as the holiday approached. Like Vienna, the streets were lit with Christmas lights. The platz boasted enormous Christmas trees and the ice-skating rink was awhirl. We took the Sound of Music Tour to get a tour of the city and the outlying areas. We climbed into the mountain lake region, stopping in Mondsee to view the church used for the wedding scene in the movie and enjoying a piece of apfelstrudel.

We wandered through the town of Salzburg, stopping by the Augustiner beer hall (with fond memories of my trip with Petie and Brena in mind!) and riding the tram to the Festung, or fortress overlooking the city. We were amazed at how homes, buildings and parking lots were built into the sheer cliff walls. We explored the churches and introduced Chiara to the concept of lighting a candle to say a prayer for someone. She took to this tradition instantly, lighting her first candle for Gra and Papa. I asked what she wished for them, thinking she might say something like, “A merry Christmas.” Instead, what she said was, “I wish that they see the frogs in their pond next spring.” Every church we entered after that, Chiara always lit a “wishing candle.”

Christmas Eve was celebrated by visiting the Christkindl Markt at Hellbrünn. The trees were all decorated with red ornaments and the yellow castle windows became a large-scale Advent calendar. That evening, we went to the Center (UP campus) to feast with other families and students. A delicious meal was shared by all, and we enjoyed visiting with Becca’s friends and meeting some of the other parents. That evening, we lit the candles on our little Christmas tree that Tom and the girls bought at the Mirabell Market. Chiara was mesmerized by the real candles flickering on the tree.

Christmas day began with mass at the VonTrapp family home. A room that served as an office was converted to a small, beautiful chapel. Although there were seats for only 30 people, more than 60 filled the small area for the English mass. Voices were raised in celebration and Liesl’s cries were, thankfully, overlooked. After all, it was a day to celebrate a Baby.

The time passed quickly and before we knew it, we were taking leave of Becca. She would be traveling on to Munich to catch a flight to Istanbul, while we boarded a train for Innsbruck. Although we were sad to depart, it also was very comforting to leave knowing where Becca is, who she is with, and that she is enjoying her year so much.

*(Rest assured; although Santa did not deliver gifts to us in Austria, he did remember to stop by our house in Bend on Christmas Eve and leave presents there for when we returned!)

Having arrived in Vienna without our luggage, the first order of business was finding diapers as we’d only carried a limited supply on-board with us. Although most shops in Vienna are closed on Sunday, the hotel kindly pointed us in the direction of a small grocery store five subway stops away that would be open. Sure enough, it was, but they didn’t carry diapers. Not to worry, they directed us to another shop near the Christkindlmarkt to which we were headed where we could locate diapers.

No diapers there either, but the Christkindlmarkt was fun. The market was a bluster of activity on the final shopping weekend before Christmas. Lots of beautiful crafts and goodies to eat–we enjoyed a little punsch and glühwein.

As Amy headed off to the hotel with the girls, Becca and I went on to the next grocery shop where we were assured they would have diapers. And, indeed, we found diapers… but a very strange law in Austria had the diapers physically locked inside a wire cage, unavailable for sale on Sunday! Seriously, we inquired, what could possibly be the purpose of such a law? With another two subway stops, and a short rail train ride into the suburbs, we finally found diapers which were available for sale on Sunday. The hour was late, so we cabbed back to the hotel with diapers in hand to everyone’s relief.