December in Europe & Christmas 2012

I am sitting in our mountain house, "Hochstein" in Austria!!  The day is clear and the snow is awesome!!  I took this picture whilst on my mountain walk yesterday afternoon with our white painted "huette" in the distance!

December was a magic month in Europe!  It always is, but this year I flew back from my endless work in the Caribbean (yes, I know......tough job, but someone needs to do it!!) a week earlier to help set up and celebrate my Dad's 85th Birthday!!  The end of this year is particularly fabulous as, not only has my daughter Bec and her fiancée come over for a white Christmas but I am finally moving back into my home in Mt Eliza after being away from it for nearly 3 years!  Wow!  Three years and how it has flown!!  I lived in France for a year and a half, Spain for 3 months, traveled into Morocco for over a month and have been traveling/living in between Australia at my darling buddy Michelle's place, (bless her generous heart); my parents in Munich, for a wonderful loving family and bonding time; Singapore at Bec and AJ's; the Caribbean and Austria!!  It's time to come home!!

2013 will be filled with awesome events once again!  In September, Becky and AJ will be married at gorgeous Lake Como in Italy at a waterfront villa right next door to where he proposed to her on that October sunset day!  I will leave Australia in August again for time with my parents, onto Italy for the wedding and then back to the Caribbean for a grueling 3 months in paradise!!  This time I will return to Australia a little earlier as the daughter of one of my dear friends Jenny, is getting married on 1st January, and I need to see her all dressed up for her special love day!!  When you watch a young person grow up, to share their wedding day is an unmissable event!!  I can't wait!!  But I don't want to wish time away.........its so special, life is so amazing and there are so many things to experience until then! 

Post kisses smiles!!

We celebrated my Papa's 85th birthday this year!!  A fabulous lunch was enjoyed by a group of 20 odd guests at Lake Starnberg and then we had a concert at my parents house in Munich!  There were lots of toasts, hugs and kisses as you can see!     

Me and my Dad!!

The days after Papa's birthday flew by and the snow started to fall, with it the temperatures! It all becomes rather magic covered in white!  I often met a dear friend, Angie in the city and one day we took the train to Nuremberg to visit the huge fortress there.  Nuremberg like many cities was 90% flattened in WW2, but unlike other cities they rebuilt it exactly the way it was.....I am told it was only completed in 1966!  They have done an amazing job and all the cathedrals, castles are authentic from old plans and photos!!  Nuremberg has a fabulous Christmas market, (even better than Munich's) and we wandered around eating, drinking "gluewein" (a hot spiced red wine) and buying Christmas gifts!  Thats me on the left trying to keep warm whilst the snow flakes fell at the market in Nuremberg!!

   
Not long after it was a week before Christmas!  Our plan was to come up here and have a white Christmas in the alps!!  Becky and AJ arrived from Singapore on the 19th and we had a couple of great days sightseeing around Munich!!  We then packed the car, (with the Christmas goose) and headed for the alps!
Unfortunately the guy who was meant to dig our road out with his machine didn't turn up and the track up to the house was 40cm under snow!  So in good spirit, we dug and got our faithful "Toro" snow machine out and AJ pushed it up and down the hill clearing the snow whilst Bec and I dug!!
My parents made it up on Christmas Eve and Christmas was had in true European style!
We girls cooked and prepared a delicious meal for the Eve and then got up early to prepare and roast our 5kg goose!  Becky and I had already decorated the tree which AJ valiantly organised for us!!  It all looked magic!  We handed out gifts on Christmas Eve wearing red antlers, drank chilled Prosecco and red wine, all with candles and the cosy fire keeping the house warm as toast!!
Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve!!  We leave our mountain house and I will head back to Munich!!  Bec & AJ have friends who all arrived in nearby Kirchberg for skiing, and we are all going out for a last dinner tonight, after that they will stay down there and party until Thursday!  The 3 of us all fly out to Singapore on the 3rd Jan on different planes.........but arriving a couple of hours apart.  I am looking forward to my last few days with my Papa and Margret and then a week with Bec in Singapore before I head HOME!!
 "Happy New Years" my dear friends and loved ones..........I wish you all health, happiness, success and may 2013 bring all that you dream of!  

Here below is a "story of pictures" of our time up here on the mountain!!

Cooking Christmas vegetables!