Europe 1.06 - Innsbruck, Austria

Actual date of this event: 27 October

After a horrible first night in GP with getting practically zero sleep, I was very exhausted on Friday night. I got into bed around 9:30pm and zonked out! Apparently, if you are tired enough (and use your brain to create a more comfortable pillow), you will sleep like a baby. I didnt really sleep like a baby, but it was well enough.

We planned to go to Innsbruck, Austria for the day on Saturday. We had been checking the weather for a few days, and we were expecting a cold and wet day with a high possibility of snow. This was unexpected to all of us, so none of us were prepared for such cold weather. I had been checking the weather for all of the cities we planned to visit a month prior to leaving, and they all said high 50's and low 60's during the day. We brought jackets, pants and long sleeves but were not prepared for snow by any means. Since Prague, I had been colder than I liked and since it was supposed to snow, I knew I had do something to try to stay warmer. I decided to buy a pair of tights on Friday to wear under my jeans. Therefore, Saturday, was the day to wear them!

We hopped on the 10am train to Innsbruck. The weather was just incredible... and not so much in a good way, either. We really thought we were being taken to the end of the world, where the tracks would eventually end, and we would fall into space. Here is a little bit of what we experienced on our train ride to Innsbruck.

When we arrived to the town, we had all decided we wanted to visit the Swarovski Palace which is supposed to be made of crystal. Super cool! We literally pondered over the bus routes and times, which were all in German, for 10 minutes before realizing we couldn't figure it out. So we scratched that idea. Next, we saw a sign that displayed various directions on where to go in the train station... taxi's this way, buses that way, toilets over here, and then we see this...

{kiss and ride??}

Someone PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THIS MEANS? We have a few ideas, but WTH?!?!
We headed to the town square to see what all was there. Again, not the greatest day... rainy, cold, windy...

Innsbruck reminded me of Prague. Cobblestone streets, small alley's, colorful buildings. It wasnt as touristy as Prague, but the weather could have had something to do with that. It was such a bummer that it was foggy, because mountains surround the town, and we saw zero of that. Innsbruck is on the top on my list of places to stay for skiing!

We came upon the Swarovski shop in town and were seriously pulled in by its majestic decorations. Not a one of us spoke the words, "Lets check it out."... we just wandered in like moths to a flame.

{shoes made of crystal}

{the stairs were made of crystal}

We kept walking and stopped for a pretzel and beer so we could sit on some furry chairs. Moths to a flame.

It began to rain, so we stopped in a Liqueur store. I gotta get me one of these!!!

We all had on our rain gear (and a few shots of liqueur in our tummies), so we decided to suck it up and keep walking. We walked along the river and then debated on what the next plan was...

Should we take the train that leaves in 30 minutes back to GP even though we have only been in Innsbruck for 2 hours? Or should we stay and see more of the town? We decided to stop for more beers. Who'd of thought?!?!??

After a few beers, we noticed that the next train time was getting close so figured it was time to leave. Luke convinced us that we were going to miss the train, so we ran to the station. Loud and obnoxious Americans coming through! Really, people were staring. When we got to the train station, we figured out we weren't actually going to be late, so we decided to buy more beers. Just what we needed, right? Well, when its cold and rainy, beer is one of the things that keeps you going. You should try it.

We had a magical train ride home. The fog had been replaced by snow! We ate our sandwiches, drank our beers and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way.

When we got back to GP, it wasn't exactly snowing. It was that pesky sleet which is not at all fun like snow and worse than rain. We had leftovers for dinner, determined where we were going to sleep for the next few nights, and enjoyed each other's company for the night. It was "fall back an hour" night, so we took advantage of that! We woke up with inches of snow on the ground with more still coming down! We headed to the train station for departure only to find that we would have difficulty getting to... Salzburg, Austria!

Why do I love Innsbruck? Its a quaint town with shopping, mountains, cobblestone alleys and liqueur shops. I would love to go back to this town in the winter to ski and in the summer to enjoy walking around the city.

RANDOM FACT:
During WWII, Innsbruck suffered 22 bombing attacks - 461 casualties and 3,147 damaged buildings. Source

-Debbie-