This December I was lucky enough to visit two Christmas markets and one Advent Trail (Adventweg) in Austria. They really know how to put the spirit in these places.
The first one I visited in Mauterndorf, which was situated in the Burg Mauterndorf. It was on for very limited time and it was tiny, but it was cute. There were only a few huts with gluhwein, gluhmost, maroni and wurst of course. Inside the castle there were artisans placed all over, selling their crafts and products.
Besides visiting Christmas market, I also did some skiing in the area – Grosseck-Speiereck, Obertauern and Aineck.
The other Christmas market I visited was in Graz with my friend. There were many smaller ones, some nicer than others, but very enjoyable. Although they all had many crafts and products, drinks, there was not much food choice unfortunately. My friend and I rather found some Austrian restaurants to have proper meals.
Another Austrian highlight in December is also Katschberger Adventweg. It is an advent trail, where you pay the ticket and receive a thermos cup. On the way you get free tea refills, as much as you want. I visited it on the last day, on Christmas. It was magical, crispy cold and snowy. If you walk the whole way, you make 12 km there and back. There are beautiful lanterns along the way. There are also shuttle buses and horse carriages for some part of the way.
You hike between rustic hay barns and huts, enjoy contemplative stories, music and warm tea at various stations.
The rest of December I got to ski some more and explore Mauterndorf. It is a cute little town, where it actually snowed so now and then, giving a very wintery feeling.
Spent our New Year’s basically up on the mountain. Seeing all those fireworks going off at once was really magical. Let’s hope this good magic continues in 2026! ✨
Anjability 
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