My loyal friend and travelling companion and I arrive in Innsbruck very early in the morning after an entire night of travelling by train... stressful! First thing, go to the hotel to confirm the arrival and the room. The Goldene Crone hotel in the centre and very close to the famous triumphal arch, clean, nice, run by young people, very welcoming, they only speak English or German... no problem! We set off through the streets of the town in search of our itinerary to begin... A gloomy and cold day, the city is very picturesque, historic, very northern and very "in". We begin our personal tour among museums and monuments, photos and shop windows. The homeland of the sacker tort presents itself very well. A quick lunch and the afternoon arrives. We don't let anything typical escape us... Austrians included.
Dinner time arrives and we decide towards late afternoon to go back to the hotel to refresh ourselves. Shower, inspection of the room, small but warm, cosy, well organised. For dinner we opt for a little place nearby and, having already got the hang of using the buses, after a walk in the centre, our only dream is a bed and a good long sleep.
Swarovski museum
Day 230 Oct 2004
Austrian day
We wake up very early, reach the little restaurant on the second floor for breakfast... also welcoming. Breakfast is continental, very varied, above all very good and plentiful. We go back for seconds of sweet and savoury and after warming ourselves up as much as possible we take off into the city. Imperial palace, imperial courtyards, museums and shops. We move nimbly among picturesque cold landscapes... after a lunch based on fish we end up at the Alpen Zoo, a zoo that stretches along the side of a mountain, it's raining, the animals are all northern ones, from the moose to the bear, from the raccoon to the river fish... we go back to the base in the centre and enjoy the local typical sweets. The very historic and picturesque central square is a bit reminiscent of fairy-tale villages, multitudes of frescoes and coloured stuccoes, the goldene dachl, the famous golden roof...
and the civic tower, from the top of the tower you enjoy a splendid panorama of the city. Evening soon arrives and after a rest at the hotel, a candlelit dinner in a typical restaurant brings our exhausting day to an end. We had walked incessantly all day long...
golden roof
Day 331 Oct 2004
Swarovski
In the morning we immediately set off for the museum and factory of the famous crystal: Swarovski. Obviously after a lavish breakfast....By organized tour bus we reach the museum, surrounded by green meadows and mountain views. The entrance to the museum is dominated by an enormous face set into the hillside, with Swarovski eyes and a fountain.....a small lake.....play areas for children.....We go in. Open-mouthed at everything we see, clothes made with the famous crystal, sculptures and mannequins. A giant Swarovski jellyfish and the circular room where you can enjoy the view of the inside of a crystal reproduced on a giant scale. We reach the shop section where anything you could wish for can be bought in crystal. Affordable prices, after opting for a few purchases, we catch the bus again that takes us back to the center. Ambras Castle is our next destination.
An ancient castle outside the city center, containing exhibitions of ancient armor, antique objects and the furnishings of monarchs. It's Halloween night...the night of the witches....we have to get ready.....We spend the evening in the streets of the city where masked people at the festival of terror walk along to celebrate and spend hours in the bars and clubs.
Innsbruck train station
Day 41 Nov 2004
Bergisel
The rainy and cold morning accompanies us on foot up to the Bergisel. The mountain where the Winter Olympics were held. Famous ski jump for long jump with skis, we admire that tourist spot amid fog and cold, and on the way down we pass a large church with a celebratory service. We go in and most of those present are wearing the typical Tyrolean outfit. Along the route to get to the center, we find a bell factory....and the red-light district of the city....the windows of the sex shops display very performance-oriented outfits and play equipment.... Back in the center we once again experience the thrill of typical hyper-caloric Tyrolean sweets and take a couple of shots along the Inn river, which gives the city its name. We don't let ourselves be carried away by the typical tourist means...a horse-drawn carriage but we splurge to do the entire tour on foot.
An electronic advertising billboard shows the days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining until New Year..... A quick stop at the hotel to collect the luggage......and off to the station. Hours of train await us before returning home, but they have been intense and satisfying days. We settle into the carriage.....off we go!
0 reader comments