We made an adventure out of this experience. Just before Christmas, we traveled to Salzburg, Austria and spent the Holidays with our dear friends, Walther Jungwirth and Andrea Stodola-Hoflehner. Salzburg at Christmas time is one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" bucket list items that everyone should experience. So magical! So Christmasy! So special!  You would not believe the Christmas markets in the main square in Salzburg or at the Hellbrunn Palace!

I have been asked what Juris was like as a patient.  Juris was very calm and did not look nervous at all prior to surgery.   I was amazed that Dr. Jungwirth asked Juris to drive himself to the clinic but he obviously did OK and found it.    I have seen many facelift patients through their recovery process but Juris did better than most, looked better than most right after his surgery!    I hated leaving him in the hospital overnight but that is how they do things there, and I know that was not Juris' favorite part.   I had a very short visit with him the next morning, the day after his surgery, and he told me how he wished he could leave.    On the second morning after surgery, I got a text from Juris telling me that he'd had it with the hospital and had to get out, and that if I wasn't there soon, he'd start walking!    Needless to say, I hurried to the clinic and found Juris showered and ready to go.    The clinic is in a town called Bad Durrnberg, close to the German border.    As we were driving out of the clinic parking lot, Juris told me, "Turn right".    I was puzzled because Salzburg was to our left - but in typical Juris fashion, he wanted to take a little detour into Germany, before heading home!  Juris has very sensitive eyes and I had to put eye drops in for him for a number of weeks - but aside from that, Juris did not complain, got right back to his normal pace immediately and it was difficult to tell that he had had a procedure!

Well, I'll tell you what it was like being a patient. To begin with, as with any other patient who undergoes an elective aesthetic procedure, there has to be a desire to look better - I got to the point where I was noticing all the loose skin around my eyes and my jowls and neck were getting a little beefy! Here's a photo Dr. Jungwirth took the day of my surgery and another view two days later.

The evening prior to my procedure, I sat down with Walther to come up with a game plan.  We all agreed that he'd do my eyelids and my neck/face but I could not get him to budge on his incisions in front of the ears! I figured he was the surgeon and I wanted him to be comfortable with what he was doing. Otherwise, Walther is right on the mark when it comes to handling the muscles and underlying tissues, resulting in a natural look - nothing worse than that tight, overdone look! I also could not talk him into letting me come back to the house after the surgery. In Austria, all facelift patients spend TWO nights in the hospital after the procedure. And so did I. My surgery was at noon and they wanted me there three hours earlier. I drove myself to the clinic and underwent a full physical by an internist, full blood work and an EKG.  I was relaxed and did not get nervous, my blood pressure even stayed down during this time. The anesthesiologist was wonderful - straight sedation, no gasses or tubes, no hangover or side effects. I was really tired prior to surgery and took advantages of my two days in the clinic, slept on and off the whole time. I was told that I should not shower for a week but I could not follow that rule and took a full shower on the second morning before I went home!

When I got home on the second day, I was swollen and bruised, but not very bad. I did not care if anyone saw me with bruises! I put my sunglasses on and went to do a little Christmas shopping in the markets with Tina. Then Walther and Andrea took us on a hike up in the Alps to a mountain house restaurant that according to Walther, served the best weinerschnitzel and meet dumplings in the world.   I have to admit that I was sucking wind during the hike but the scenery and food were well worth the effort.  This is how I looked on the second day.

TINA:

Christmas Eve was magical!   We began by going to an early mass and then after sunset to a ceremony in a graveyard at the base of the wall leading up to the castle.   This cemetery is over a thousand years old and is where Walther's father is buried.  There were a few thousand people in the cemetery, all standing at graves of loved departed ones, all the graves were decorated with flowers, small Christmas trees and candles.  As we stood there, a group started playing trumpets up from the castle.  It was an amazing concert! Thereafter, we all made it home for a venison dinner and an evening in front of a real tree, with real candles - a few prayers, a few Christmas carols, presents and friends. Truly a highlight!

JURIS:

Christmas Eve was the fourth day after surgery. Before we left, we celebrated Christmas with our children and Tina and I exchanged gifts as well.  We brought presents with us for everyone in the Jungwirth family, but on the 24th as I was watching everyone put presents under the tree, something did not feel complete and I drove myself to a mall to get Tina a little something else for Christmas! I got Tina a very nice painting of downtown Salzburg, and a robe adorned with Swarovski crystals! 

TINA:

After Christmas, Walther and Andrea took us to their mountain house in Dienton.  It is a wonderful place, located half way up a ski resort. Scenery was great.   I must confess that I got a little nervous when Juris started talking about joining Walther and Andrea on the slopes but that talk soon ended when Juris realized that doing a face plant would not be good for his face!  After our trip to Dienton, Dr. Jungwirth returned to work and we spent a day driving around Bavaria. We love the town of Berchtesgaden and visited it again - had some of the best sausages and sauerkraut we've ever had at the Gasthof Bier Adam.