Final Germany/Austria pics

I wanted to post a few more photos from our Germany trip. This trip has been much less daunting to recap since it was 1/3 the length of our last trip. The secret to being able to share more about your vacation, apparently, is to take a short trip.

Here's B standing next to the biggest stein we'd ever seen. The sign in the window proclaimed (in English) "The biggest beerstein of the world." It cost €1650, which was around $2200 when we were there. We didn't buy it, though--we saved our euros for...

Our cuckoo clock! Here it is, or here is its model. Our actual clock was to arrive 4-8 weeks after we purchased it (on December 11, in case you want to start the countdown). Only 2 weeks have passed, so we have a while go to before we hear any cuckoo-ing in our house.

On the hour, the cuckoo comes out of the little door, and then the hiker moves his stick up and down like he's walking, the waterwheel spins, and the dancers spin around as a song plays. We have to wind it--by pulling down one of the pinecones--every day. We haven't yet decided who will be in charge of winding the cuckoo clock, but I think it's safe to say that we won't have daily cuckooing.

And who is this creepy person? We're not sure. Twice before Christmas, a group of young Germans put on the "Krampusrun," which is supposed to resurrect old German traditions. We never figured out what the traditions are, but we stalked the Krampusrunners like papparazzi following Britney, and we got a few good shots. The characters seemed most interested in scaring young children. I had to wonder if this was a tradition that needed resurrecting.

Store windows were done well, and here's one of my favorites.

And finally, a breathtaking view of the alps from Salzburg. I hopped the wall (not exactly a legal move) to get some better shots. It turned out that my subterfuge was unnecessary, as another part of the fort allowed the same view. But I still prefer my "illegal" pics--I earned them.