Christmas is behind the corner and as always we will be spending it with our family, so we have to get ready. December is the month of Christmas markets and this is where we get Christmas presents for our beloved ones. We like to choose some local seasonal handmade products that we hope our family will like (and if not we can always take them back as we usually buy what we would like to have too 😊).
This year, we will be spending the holidays in The Netherlands, and I couldn't wait to choose some gifts for our niece and nephew. We switch between Slovakia and The Netherlands every other year, so last time when we celebrated over there was two years ago and they were still too little to build core memories, so we're going to do everything we can this year to make our Christmas celebration special.
On Sunday we were both tired from our Saturday's work in the house, and we didn't really feel like going anywhere. Then we looked out of the window, and we decided that it would be a pity to stay at home when the weather was like this. Don't forget that we don't see much sunshine during the winter months, so we couldn't miss the opportunity. This was just the perfect moment to go out...
Many Christmas markets happen at the same time, and it is difficult to choose where to go. This time we decided to go to Hinteregg as the market there is organized at the local sanctuary which was a great opportunity for us to get some great food, drink mulled wine, buy some presents while admiring the animals there as well. Hinteregg is located much higher than our city, so there was much more snow and the weather was different. As you can see we were not the only ones who wanted to walk in the snow 😊
Before we went to the market we walked around the village. We could see the church from afar, and we assumed that it was the best place to see the surroundings, so we headed there first...
On the way, we saw some typical Swiss houses. Initially, we wanted to buy a house like this, but they are impractical for the present days. They are charming from the outside, but dark inside because of small windows and low ceilings. They are still beautiful to look at though.
The views opened up quickly in front of us. We were in the region of Zurich not so far from the Swiss Alps, and seeing the white peaks over there I was reminded that soon we will go hiking in the snow again...
We didn't manage to go inside of the church as there was so music coming through and we didn't want to disturb...
If you ever happen to be in Hinteregg bear in mind that there are the best public toilets with warm water at the church 😊
From the church we walked through the village to the sanctuary...
It is a small place, so there were not too many things to see.
We didn't know what to expect from the sanctuary as it was our first time there. There were many stands presenting other sanctuaries, lots of stands selling handmade jewellery, ornaments, chocolate, herbal tea mixtures, coffee beans, clothes, etc - all perfect gifts for our family.
What do we do first when we came? We headed for food and drinks, of course! We ordered a banh mi sandwich, loaded fries, mulled wine for my husband and punch for me.
We took our food next to the small podium where several artists were performing during the event. The food was very good, just not so easy to eat - why does there always have to be so much sauce that it's impossible to finish your meal without dripping?
The atmosphere was really nice even though there were not so many people listening to the artists. Most people were shopping or hiding inside of the fondue place as it was cold.
I loved this lady! She put so many emotions in her performance...
Once we finished our meals we went around the stands and talked with the people over their sanctuaries. We promised to come and help next year. There are never enough good deeds, aren't there?
I could take you around all those stands, but this would probably become boring, so I will show you some animals instead.
These pigs are used to people, and didn't care about us at all. There were people queuing at the railing, and kids trying to wake them up, but they didn't move at all. You might think that there are 5 of them, but in fact there are 6.
Some pigs chose to eat instead of sleep - look at the one on the left. It is so happy with the food!
The family that owns the sanctuary had to work instead of enjoying the Christmas market. Those pigs can't get hungry 😊
They have various animals, but we only saw pigs and horses. I guess it was too cold for some animals or maybe they don't like the attention and prefer to stay inside.
This one was so content with its dinner that it let me come really close. It was munching on the food with such passion making such noises that would annoy me so much if a person would be doing them. When it's an animal I don't mind.
I think they might be fighting for food, so the others were separated while this one was eating. They are patiently waiting for their turn, not moving an inch.
We spend a couple of hours at the sanctuary, bought all presents for Christmas, ate lots of food, enjoyed warm drinks and slowly it was time to go home.
We talked with the family and learned that we can come to help them and spend some time with the animals too. That's our plan now for the next year!
We had a great day, and we were happy that we decided to go even though we were too tired. It was a bit too much for me and I spent Monday in bed, but it was still worth it.
See you next time!