munich & salzburg // christmas markets.

here are a few {read: a zillion} photos from our trip to the christmas markets in munich and salzburg. also known as our last trip in tour de pre-baby. 

munich is the quintessential german town with smells of cooking sausages filling the air and bavarian architecture lining the streets. right as we exited the underground we were greeted with the clock above {glockenspiel}, performing its 11 am musical spectacle. i couldn't have asked for a better german welcome. we arrived on a saturday so the weekend markets were in full swing. harper enjoyed running from one stall to the next looking at the ornaments and christmas decorations. fruit and veg. sausages and pickles. the city was alive and bustling. i've been itching to travel to germany for a long time and kept pinching myself because we were actually there!

on sunday, we took a day trip to salzburg, austria to enjoy the christmas markets. it was the first weekend they were up so it was crowded and awesome. i love a bit of craziness at christmas time {speaking of, i went to oxford street to do some christmas shopping yesterday. whoa! crazy. and awesome. but i'm getting off topic}. austria was beautiful. also, i'm 1/8 austrian so i felt a particular connection to my fellow austrians. guten tag!

***the christmas markets in munich were setting up the weekend we arrived. a booth covered every nook of the city***

***pickles & pregnancy. can i be more cliche? :)***

***surfing on a river wave in munich. whaaa? crazy, i know. todd had to give it a go***

***we ate our way through munich, munching on pretzels and sausages. todd said he ate 4 brats in 24 hours. ***

***welcome to salzburg. just LOOK at those colors.***

***the hillllls are alive. i've never actually seen the sound of music. {i know i know} but supposedly a scene plays out in this courtyard. i should watch.***

***the main square of the christmas markets in salzburg***

***thousands upon thousands of ornaments filled the booths. wouldn't it be a dream to fill a tree with these?***

bergen, norway.

with my "no-fly date" looming overhead, we got the sudden pressure to travel as much as we could. since moving here, i've always wanted to go "north". whatever north means; i just wanted to go there! so we researched a few northerly cities and decided on bergen, norway. it didn't disappoint. we were only there a brief weekend, but long enough to stroll the city, eat our fair share of skillingsbolles {norwegian cinnamon rolls covered in sugar and custard}, and take a day trip to the hardanger fjord a couple hours outside the city. 

***the colors in bergen are outstanding! from hot reds and blues to bright greens, the city looks like a splatter of paint. it was overcast and cloudy while we were there but the colors of the city still popped.*** 

***trip up the floyen funicular to get a view of the city…and get out of the cold for a split sec***

***this face. those eyes. smile. little nose. i love this one***

***behold: the hardanger fjord! :) it may have been rainy and overcast, but it was still a beaut***

***walking behind the steindalsfossen waterfall***

castle chasing in wales.

wales should be nicknamed the land of castles upon green grass with sheep spotted throughout. that's not too long to be catchy, right right?

but really, this country/city/land mass {what the heck is wales?} is gorgeous! every 10 minutes we spotted a new castle outside our window. no biggie. whenever harper started getting fussy in the car, we'd tell her we were going to a new princess' castle and she'd perk right up {in a previous post, i said i didn't push the whole princess thing, but i'm not dumb. :)}

we missed todd on our little weekday getaway, but my parents are the coolest travel buddies. we took our time, enjoyed some good tunes along the way, and had a lot of fun. harper loves her mimi and papa.

***caerphilly castle. one of my faves*** 

 ***this pose. i don't even know.***

 ***and then the heavens opened and said wales, you're gorg***

***riding through the heart of snowdonia in the cutest steam train you ever did see***

***gosh, i love this woman. when i grow up, i want to be like my mom***

 ***the yin to his yang***