Patsch and Innsbruck, Austria

Yesterday Kevin and I spent a lovely christmas eve in a typical austrian guesthouse in the village of Patsch., tucked away in the Alps. We had traditional austrian food, which seems to be a mix of german and italian food. For example, pasta made with heavy cream and served with beer. We could not see the alps at all because of the fog which was too bad because we were right in front of them! Thats what I get for paying extra for a room with a view! 

Then we took a bus into town and walked around, looking at the sites. The only things open were churches and cafes. We wandered through a couple of gorgeous baroque churches, and then had an amazing hot chocolate experience at a cafe. They give you the hot milk, and a ball of chocolate mousse, a shot of baileys or  a cup of caramel, and a cup of whipped cream with toasted almonds. The hot cocoa pretty much put me into a coma from all of the sugary creamy richness. 

Later in the night the fog cleared just enough for us to see a church, right next to the guesthouse. The bells were so loud! With the rest of the villagers, we wandered down to the church at 11pm for midnight mass. The choir was lovely, and the inside of the church was so beautiful. There was a nice baroque organ inside as well. 

This morning (christmas morning) we opened our stockings that my mom sent us and listed to christmas music. We also had a nice christmas breakfast in the guesthouse. We were kind of the only guests there that were not somehow related to the innkeeper. Kind of awkward but really nice to see how the Austrians do christmas. I am sure we were the only non-austrians in the town church too! 

We then took a long walk in the snow and hopped on the bus into Innsbruck to our new hotel, much more modern than the other one. 

Tomorrow we are taking a train to Venice!! I am really excited because everything there will actually be open, where as pretty much everything was closed in Innsbruck for the holidays. I am so excited to see the ocean again and to eat some good italian food, hopefully all olive oil or tomato based, Im getting pretty sick of cream based everything here. 

I will try to update soon! At least the McDonalds all offer free WIFI and in Austria they make veggie burgers!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Much Love,

Michelle