It's about the time! :) Christmas is around the corner and I can feel it literally everywhere! 11 days to go. And if you say Austria and Christmas, there's one thing which undoubtedly comes to my mind - Christmas market. There's a famous huge Christmas market in Vienna, but here in Innbsbruck, we have also our tiny version :) Lemme show you!

I'm gonna be honest with you

---

I'm riding the Christmas hype train like never before! It's been tough couple of months and going back gome, meeting family and friends and just getting the rest from work and never ending training is much needed. That's why I'm spending quite some time in the city centre and getting in as much of this vibe as possible :)

Getting closer

---

You kinda know you're getting there not because of all the smells of Gluehwein (warm wine with spices and fruits) and sweets but also because the intensity and frequency of street lights is getting bigger and bigger.

Then, even streets get more and more narrow and you know you're aaalmoost there. 2 more corners? Or maybe even one?

And then, suddenly - it's there. Chrismas Tree!!!!! Kinda shy, looking from behind the old buildings of Innsbruck main square :) Smell of warm sweet treats as as strong as it can be and you feel like in paradise.

Then it's up to you. The tree won't come to you :) So you take couple of breaths and come closer. Now you might think - why do you even need to take those breaths? Well, once the city tower right next to the tree reveals itself, the view is just breathtaking! :) That's why you need to have those couple of extra breaths before ;)

Market

---

Once you stop looking up like a retard, you realize you're in the middle of the Christmas market. And not some random Christmas market - the most beautiful one in the whole Alps! And a bonus to it all - the most touristic part of the whole Innsbruck (Gold Roof) right next to it.

Presence of "Goldenes Dachl" is also a great excuse for going to market to get some hot wine. Almost daily, I keep saying to my training partners after the practice:

"Hey guys, let's go to the city centre to check out that beautiful history of your town"

The answer is usually something like:

"Oh ofcourse...nothing unexpected, Slovak guy wants to go drink again :D"

And I mean...they're right :D This is usually the first shop I go to. Beer, wine and some aabsolutely yummy (and expensive :D) typical tirolean foods

Second part of the market

---

It's not actually all in one place but all these tiny stands are "sprinkled" all around the city centre. One main area is the one I've already shown you - near the christmas tree. Another main one is centred in the close proximity of the Swarowski Light Tower.

While the first part of the market was more about foods and warm baverages, this one offers more "materialistic" stuff. Yeah, Christmas is about well-spent quality time with the close ones, but all these tiny presents are a part of it. And if you have some empty slots on your list, this is the place to come to fill those up :)

I'd bet my (future) house these slippers are the bestseller. I have 2 pairs at home and almost bought a pair anyway. All the colors, various platform heights and designs. Man, I want them all haha :D I'm not a sneaker guy, but these might be my new obsession :D

As every market, there are also many various decorations for you home, tree or even garden. Many have (obviously) kinda Christian topic to them. Angels, baby Jesus etc etc etc..

And last, but definitely not least - Gingerbread!!. There's no market of any kind wiithout these cute heart-shaped gingerbreads :) Also, I can't believe if people buy these masterpieces and freaking just open and eat them! I think such actions should be made illegal, don't you think? You're also not allowed to just tear down some beautiful paintings, are you?

Once you've spend all your cash and circling around the rest of the shops would cause just unnecessary damage on your credit card, there are there tiny cute little "stoves" whee you can warm your hands and enjoy some warm baverage you asked your friends to buy for you (cuz you're already broke anyway).

And if you stay long enough, you have a chance to experience this weird and almost mystical feeling when the shops close around 10pm. Suddenly, everything is soo quiet. There are couple of people here and there, but within minutes, the whole "village" of these tiny shops just falls asleep. I don't know what exactly is it, but there just something special about it :)

All this is happening while mountains are watching

---

Ok, I'm getting kinda sentimental/emotional immediately as I've started this paragraph haha :D I'm 100% sure whenever the life takes me, I'll forever remember these amazing (white-capped 11 ouf of 12 months!) mountains protecting this beautiful town. Just tell me, where in this world do you have such amazing view from the central square with a Christmas market right behind your back?

Here is the unedited picture for you as I've hoped by slowing shutterspeed and increasing exposure compensation, I'd be able to show you how huuuge those mountains are. They're indeed leaping over the town. Sadly, the picture outcome is not what I wanted and therefore the picture above needed some GIMPing to be done :D But here is the original, just to show you how huuuuge the Nordkette is :)

I could stare on this scenery literally forever. You just have to see it with your own eyes to understand. Magnificient and breathtaking :) ..

Thanks for reading! Matko.

You can find my latest posts here:

• [Pay It Forward Curation] Week 36 - "Helping homeless people" post with 1 cent in rewards!

• Getting my degree from the University office, shaving struggles, gym lockerroom & 2 christmas shopping mall timelapses

• My 2018: Achievements and Failures - looking back and have you heard of "Win or Learn"?

• MY INTRODUCTION POST

🏆 My STEEMMONSTERS trophies/scalps 🏆

Reached #16 in leaderboard	One-sided win over JoeParys	Proud owner of legendary Hydra

Join us @steemitbloggers
_{Animation By @zord189}