MAGICAL ADVENT IN THE MOUNTAINS

Chris & I both absolutely love Christmas. Well I'd say he loves it, I go crazy for it. I mean, what's not to get excited about? Deliciously festive food; Christmas crafting; carol singing by the fire, and an excuse to eat your entire body weight in chocolate. Absolutely heavenly!

Here in the Austrian Alps, our (I mean my) levels of Christmas cheer have most definitely reached unprecedented levels - with snowcapped mountains, glistening Christmas lights reflecting on the waters of the beautiful alpine Lake Zell, and Glühwein literally on tap, it's hard not to get happily swept up in the Christmas cheer. The entire month of December is filled to the brim with festive activities, social gatherings and Christmas markets in literally every town.

We've made it our personal Christmas Challenge to visit an Austrian Christmas market every year that we've never been to before. In our first year we meandered the cobbled streets of Salzburg sipping hot chocolate and nibbling on Lebkuchen, and last year we ventured to Vienna to explore the dozens of Christmas markets scattered across the capital. Next year...who knows?! Perhaps to a market in the quaint town of Kitzbühel or to one of the many markets in the courtyards of enchanting castles located throughout the country. One thing I do know - I'm excited already! Let the Christmas countdown begin.