Christmas 2017: Innsbruck, Austria

We had less than 24-hours in Innsbruck on our way from the Austrian Alps to Slovenia. It is a magical city surrounded by huge snow covered mountains. We were thrilled that the Christmas markets were still open!

We enjoyed walking down the Fairy Tale Street and Giant Alley. Ripley couldn't believe how tall the Giants were!

I also loved the alleyway ceiling drawings. Strangely enough, this drawing was outside the McDonalds.

I loved the shopping (of course) and thought Teddy in this hat was adorable. He didn't agree!

We then walked to the river as the sun was setting. 

We got to see the beautiful Swarovski crystal tree. Swarovski is headquartered in Innsbruck.

We then walked to the Golden Roof to hear Christmas music played from the balcony by live musicians. 

We then walked to the historic Sketskeller restaurant for some schnitzel and dumplings, and some local beer, of course!

Of course, now that the sun had set it was time for dessert and hot wine in the Christmas market. This is of Teddy enjoying apple strudel in warm custard sauce.

I loved all of the Christmas lights on the walk back to our hotel. 

The next day we had a little time before our train to play in the park.

And to check out some street art. 

Christmas 2017: Gerlos, Austria Part 4

We spent our last full day in Gerlos, Christmas Day, skiing. Teddy had a full day lesson and Ripley had a half day lesson with the ski school and a half day lesson with me. By the end of the day he was going down the bunny hill on his own. This kid is fearless!

We thought it was super cool that our ski pass could track our skiing on the mountain. Here is one of my days skiing. 

After a long day on the mountain we went to bed exhausted. Must be why I didn't take many pictures!

The next morning we went on a hike before catching our train to Innsbruck.

Christmas 2017: Gerlos, Austria Part 3

Today we went down the mountain in search of some sledding!

We even found an ice castle!

And then we rented traditional sleds and headed down the 7k rodelban track! This was certainly not for the faint of heart! Lots of fast sleds, tight turns and steep drop offs!

But lots of beautiful views...

And even an alpine lodge for lunch!

Teddy thought wearing my hat was hysterical.

But I couldn't get over those views!

After sledding, we headed back to our hotel for some more outside fun.

Can you see Teddy's feet?

Christmas 2017: Gerlos, Austria Part 2

We got to do some skiing on our second day in Gerlos. We skied on Zillertal Arena. The mountains were spectacular! We put the boys in a morning lesson and had two hours to ski kid-free! 

Going up the the gondola to the ski school area.