The Holidays can be difficult when you aren't around family. It's hard to be away from all of the family dinners and party's and for the past 4 years, this is how it has been for us. This year we decided to travel over Thanksgiving. It was our first time traveling to a different country and we were so excited! On Thanksgiving morning, we left around 930am and made our way to Bolzano, Italy. the drive was absolutely beautiful (and a little scary haha), going through the mountains the whole way! The little bit of snow on the mountaintops contrasting with the fall trees made my photographer heart so happy!
Mercatino di Natale di Bolzano
November 23rd
When we got to Bolzano we checked into our Apartment and then headed to the Christmas Market! Our Apartment was just a few minutes to the town square so we were super close! We arrived on the opening day of the Market so nothing opened until the evening, but just roaming the streets of this super cute town was fun! It was pretty chilly for the kids, so we didn't get to see the whole opening ceremony, but we decided to actually shop at the market the next morning. We woke up at got "breakfast" at a cute little cafe. I say "breakfast" because Italians don't really eat a big hearty breakfast like us Americans haha. They mostly just drink their espresso and eat a pastry or little sandwich. We also noticed this in Austria. Then we shopped at the Christmas market for about an hour which is where we got some really yummy treats and some Christmas Decorations!
Schloss Runkelstein - Castel Roncolo
November 24th
We love finding cool castles and Europe makes it so easy because they are EVERYWHERE! It is so neat to be able to walk through these super old buildings and think about the way life was for the people that lived there! I found this castle (using trip advisor) and thought it would be really neat to visit! It was about 15 minutes away from Bolzano so after finishing up at the Christmas market in the morning, we hopped in the car and headed to the castle! It was built in 1237! You can read more about the castle here! After touring the castle, we drove the rest of the way to Innsbruck, Austria which I will post a different blog about, because this one is long enough haha.
