Christmas Vienna 2

After Belverede, husband and I hopped on the U-Bahn and then a bus and in no time were at the Gloriette of Schönbrunn. Last time I was in Vienna I found this approach to the park much better than the one from the central entrance, especially when one came from Belvedere, as the connection is very short and quick.

We took the winding alleys of the park down to the palace and met with Gaby and her boyfriend there.

Amazing tree pruning :)

The days of December are very short and the sun was quickly getting lower on the horizon. We had a delightful walk through the alleys at the lower part of the garden. Every time I come to Vienna, I think of visiting some new place, but I keep returning to the two palaces and their gardens, that stayed in my heart from our first visit to this beautiful city. A trip to Vienna feels incomplete, if I haven't been to Belvedere and Schönbrunn:)

The Christmas market in front of the palace was probably the biggest we visited.

The thing that amazed me most - instruments out of chocolate, it's hard to believe it this is not metal!

From Schönbrunn we went back to the city center and had some more mulled wine and orange punsch at the market at Stephansdom:

Vienna's Christmas lights are really worthy of their fame:

Christmas Vienna

Husband and I were shortly in Vienna for Gaby's Master's graduation. Now I've seen Vienna in the summer, autumn and winter and I love this city in every season! 

We were very lucky weather-wise and had a calm and sunny Sunday, which we spent walking around the major city attractions, while visiting the numerous Christmas markets.

Karlskirche is probably one of my most favourite buildings in the city and this time we went inside it as well. The interior architecture matches the exuberant facade - it's glorious and impressive.

The big organ above the central entrance

The advent wreath

 

Then we went for a walk in the gardens of Belvedere. When we started for Vienna, I had no fixed plans for our stay there, as I imagined cold and rain all the time. It was really amazing luck, that the Sunday was so sunny and warm and we could spend it comfortably outside.

It was just time for lunch and we had to try the famous vienniese wurst and mulled wine at the Belvedere Christmas market.

and something for dessert, of course :)

I liked a lot of things at the market, but these colorful globes were probably my favourite

The mulled wine here was white wine - my favourite! I'm not a fan of crowds, but I really like Christmas markets - there's an atmosphere of joyfulness and community there, that easily gets you into the Christmas spirit.

Pancharevo

Our first winter hike. The weather this week got quite cold and the rain turned into snow, that hasn't melted yet. We've been pretty busy lately, but on such a pleasant sunny Sunday we decided to take a short hike in the Lozen mountain, near the lake Pancharevo, which is only 20 min car drive from home.

I had expected snow and frozen trails, but the paths were actually solid, frozen, but almost without snow and quite easy to hike. The promised sun shone brightly and made everything look beautiful and cheerful.

Hike info:

Destination: lake Pancharevo

Mountain: Lozen

Total length: 7 km

Elevation gain: 130 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 2 hours

Average difficulty: 1 / 10

The lake of Pancharevo and the village

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, Burda cargo pants, Burda Hoodie, Skull Hat

I:  lingerie, Sinclair long sleeve, Central Park hoodie, CC copycat hat, Borika gloves

We crossed along the mountain trail from one side of the lake to the other and then took the lower path back to our starting point and the car.

The lake hadn't completely frozen and there were rowers, fishermen, as well as plenty of birds.

We had our picnic on the seating area with a piece of homemade cheese pie, that I baked in the morning and a cup of hot herbal tee, while watching the peaceful waters of the lake and the snowy peaks of Vitosha on the horizon. A couple of refreshing and recharging hours and now - back to work :)