We can't pass up our free breakfast here in Augsburg. We are located directly across the street from the HBF so it's easier to judge our time for leaving to catch our train, the 9:42am, which will get us into Salzburg about noon. Our packing in the mornings has been simplified even more by using another technique developed by Mom which you may want to make note of. You already know about the "Throw clothes away to make room for more stuff" method she came up with. Now the new thing is, "We don't open our two suitcases, ever!" No matter what! She packed our incidentals in our two backpacks along with the two shopping bags she carries so we need nothing out of the big bags. Why didn't I think of that. We haul two 60 lb. bags all over Europe but, by never opening them, it's like their not even there. Wow!

Today it's a simple trip involving only one train and we arrive at noon. We had hoped to see some snow climbing into the Austria Alps but just a bit on the mountain tops. A taxi gets us to our hotel in about 10 minutes and we settle in. A real lunch is in order so we order spaghetti and salad at the hotel restaurant. It's areal cozy place and quite busy. People were ordering something called a "Salzburg Nockerl", a dessert like a pie with peaks of meringue on top. This place is famous for preparing it but it serves about six people. Too much for us so we pass.

We bundle up and head first for the Getreidegasse. Getreidegasse (Grain Lane) is a busy shopping street in the Altstadt (Old Town) section of Salzburg Austria and just around the corner form our hotel. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" was born near here and lived in Salzburg until the age of 17. We check out all of the fancy shops along the street. They're all decorated for the Holidays. We pass by several beggars and Mom asks, "Why do they all have dogs?" I tell her, "It's because they don't have any friends or so the people will feel sorry for the dog." She sees a guy sitting on the ground and wants some change to give him. Not the humanitarian she is, I argue against it but she insists, saying he's blind. I fumble for €1 but she grabs €2 and hands it to him. I asked her what he said and she said, "He looked at the coin, then he looked up at me and thanked me". "So he's not blind?" to which she replied, "No, there's nothing wrong with him". I rest my case.

Salzburg literally means "salt fortress" because of a castle on the river that used to collect tariffs from barges moving salt to the rest of Europe. Salt mining was the main industry here many years ago. Last summer we had planned a salt mine tour but never made it here. Damn Romanian!

So now it's to the Domplatz for the Christmas Market. Our Hotel Elefant is steps from everything so we wander the market with little effort. With its traditional flair and ambiance the Salzburg Christmas Market is the perfect setting to get in the mood for Christmas. Beautiful Cathedral Square, the traditional stalls, the stars overhead and the quality of the products sold charm visitors year after year. We liked all the goods made by traditional craftsman, delicious Christmas cookies, aromatic tree ornaments and many arts and crafts of the season. We found quite a few more truly Mom & Pop stands here. Mom found a candle holder and some birds she liked. I had heard that there was a market up at the fortress overlooking the town so for €4 apiece, we took the funicular up to top to see. Cold, windy and no market. Great view during the day but it's dark now.

I grabbed a Gluhwein for the mug but we skipped dinner, heading back to the hotel early. We have a long 7 hour journey tomorrow into Switzerland and it starts at 8am at the Salzburg HBF.