♥ Seeing the footprints of my first trip to Vienna ten years ago during my study abroad tour in college. The hotel we stayed at. The United Nations building where we attended lectures. Familiar streets. And that led to a flood of gratitude—that I have already had such amazing travel experiences in my lifetime, and that I was lucky enough to experience it again with my family.
♥ A family-style welcome dinner on the first night of the tour, where we passed plates of schnitzel, spätzle, and sauerkraut while being serenaded by a violinist-accordion duo. Mark actually got a little misty eyed, as we were all so happy to be there together, and he was so happy to be out of Israel (it's been a loooong summer).
♥ A family dinner at Restaurant Weinbotschaft, one of the only certified organic restaurants in Vienna. They were very accommodating for my gluten-free mom, and I had the most delicious pan-fried sole over creamy Parmesan and leek gnocchi. The portion was far too small for my liking, but it was probably the most delicious dinner meal I had. I also sampled everyone's desserts, and they were amazing.
♥ Seeing inside the State Hall at the Austrian National Library, and spending an afternoon in a traditional Viennese cafe (as I wrote about here).
♥ This photo of my family.
♥ St. Rupert's Fair in Salzburg—amazing food options, music, adorable toddlers dressed in traditional Austrian attire, and great people watching. Salzburg wasn't a place I'd ever considered visiting, but I adored it.
♥ Going to have drinks at a cute little bar in Salzburg with my brother and Mark. I don't spend much time at all with my brother, and it was kind of nice to hang out together.
♥ The window boxes full of vines and geraniums EVERYWHERE, especially in the smaller Swiss and German towns.
♥ This art installation inside of a church in Munich, Germany.
♥ Shopping at the Christmas stores and wood-carving stores in Oberammergau, Germany, which gave me a teeny-tiny taste of what it must be like to shop the Christmas markets. I've always dreamed of doing that, and it was my first choice for which tour trip to do, but it sold out. Maybe someday...
♥ Our tour guide leaving us a bottle of local Swiss wine called dole and a note saying Happy 6th Anniversary. So sweet.
♥ Having a picnic on our balcony in Zermatt, Switzerland, with the most amazing view of the valley.
♥ The most relaxing bath in the giant bathtub in our hotel in Zermatt.
♥ Several people on the bus attempting to sing "Edelweiss" together, and after the tour guide thanked them and called us her von Trapp family, a voice from the back of the bus piped up, "More like your von Crapp family!" I laughed SO HARD.
♥ When our von Crapp family sang us Happy Anniversary :)
♥ Taking the cog railway train up to Gornergrat to view the Matterhorn and Dufourspitze, the highest point in Switzerland. Stifling back tears at the sight of the massive mountains surrounding us on both sides.
♥ An anniversary dinner on the riverfront in Lucerne at Opus Bar and Vinothek. Wine, beef tartare, housemade pumpkin gnocchi with cabbage and dried cranberries in a parsley cream sauce (me), and sea bass and saffron spinach risotto (Mark).
♥ Cheese fondue in Switzerland! We had some as a lunch appetizer in Zermatt, which was a particularly stinky blend (it was overwhelming to breathe when we first walked into the restaurant) and again for dinner in Lucerne, a much milder blend. Regardless, I loved it and had trouble restraining myself.
♥ The amazing seeded bread and rolls in Germany, and the most delicious butter in all three countries. It was as good—if not better—than my beloved Kerrygold.
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More photos are on Instagram, and I have two (of three) travel videos with footage of each country posted to my YouTube channel.
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