Our flight made it to Munich around 730am, after spending an hour in Newark de-icing. The airport was not very busy, and we made it through passport control and customs in about 30 minutes. However, Paige was not due to land until 1230, so we had about 4 hours to kill. Luckily, the Kempinski Hotel attached to the airport, had a spa that we could use instead of slumming at the airport cafes.  

We checked into the spa, received our robes, lockers and instructions and within 10 minutes were lounging by the pool. While we both had great intentions of using the gym, pool and sauna…we both relaxed and fell asleep for the next two hours.  After that, Ken was much more ambitious than I and did hit the gym for an hour, while I had my butt glued to the chaise lounges. Once Paige's flight landed, we found her, got the rental car and hit the road. Of course, we had to figure out (i.e: get the Hertz guy to help us) how to take the emergency brake off the car to get it going.  

With the GPS and a map, we headed to Salzburg. Luckily, we knew that we had to stop by a gas station before the Austrian border to get a "vignette", basically a toll tag to drive in Austria. We stopped, grabbed a cappuccino and hit the bathrooms (that cost 70cents per person) and were on the way. The highway portion was good, however thank goodness for the GPS as we would probably be in Italy without it.  

We arrived in Salzburg and attempted to find the hotel. After circling the downtown area and having no idea where the hotel was, we stopped and asked a taxi driver. We were two blocks away, so we were close! Unloaded the luggage, checked in and parked the car in the garage two blocks away. The hotel is in a great location and has nice big, modern rooms.  

After doing a quick freshen-up, we walked across the river into old town where the large Christmas Market is located. It was chilly, yet there were lots of people enjoying gluewein (hot spiced wine) and lots of pastries, pretzels and sausages with sauerkraut. Of course, I had to try the gluewein…and it wasn't bad! Paige really wanted some hot chocolate, and after wandering the stalls we found one that was chocolate themed. You could have it with Baileys, rum or Amaretto. Paige chose Baileys and Ken chose (by mistake) rum. It was like drinking liquid chocolate…very thick and extremely rich and very yummy.  

While it seemed like 10pm it was only 630, but we were hungry and decided it was time for dinner. Using a Rick Steves recommendation, we found a small restaurant on a side street that had Austrian specialities with some Indian thrown in (very weird combo). Since it was so early, it wasn't crowded and we enjoyed weinerschnitzel, goulash and an Indian vegi curry.  

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel through the beautifully decorated streets. They all had Christmas lights, decorated trees and a wonderful overall holiday feel. At the hotel we went down to the small bar area, had a glass of wine and caught up on emails and writing this blog. Paige and I were pretty perky, but Ken fell asleep within 10 minutes of sitting down. Since it had been a very long day, with a very short night…we headed to bed. Totally lame since it was only 9pm, but we needed the sleep to enjoy the rest of the week!