Road Trip – Innsbruck, Austria

I suspect G and I are the only two people ever to pass through Innsbruck’s “Triumphal Arch” with no plans to ski.

Not that there isn’t great skiing here – this is Innsbruck, after all. To start, there’s the Bergisel Ski Jump pictured in the distance here. This is the site of the biggest event on the ski jumping calendar, the Vierschanzen-Tournee (Four Hills Tournament).

For you architecture buffs, the Nordpark Cable Railway tower at the top of the ski jump was designed by Zaha Hadid.

Instead, we opted to do some sightseeing. The Golden Roof museum commands your attention. The roof is capped with 3,657 gold plated tiles!

The balcony under the Golden Roof was added in the year 1500 by emperor Maximillian I. The emperor enjoyed viewing the beauty of the Alps and the hustle and bustle of the Herzog-Friedrichstrasse (main street) below from this privileged position.

Next stop: the Grassmayr Glockenmuseum.

The museum explores 400 years of the Grassmayr family’s bell-making tradition.

The museum has many fine examples of Romanesque and Gothic bells on display.

As well as, a bell made from a bomb casing! I think it’s ironic that this one can make you an angel first, then insure you get your wings! Very efficient.

Later, a leisurely stroll along the River Inn towards the clock tower below…

reminded us it was time for a snack.

So, we popped into Cafe Katzung for a traditional apres-ski treat: the “best hot chocolate in town.”

As we continued to survey this Tyrolean gem we realized Innsbruck has so much more to offer than just skiing. It’s no wonder this city hosted the Olympic winter games in both 1964 and 1976.

Who knows? Maybe next time we’ll ski.

Arrivederci!

 

 

We’re Back!

You know how much I love a good road trip, and Europe offers some of the best.

A few weeks ago G and I hopped in our SUV (they pronounce it “soove” over here) and headed for the border.

First stop: Strasbourg, France

From there it was off to Stuttgart, Germany.

Essentially, Stuttgart served as a pit stop on our way to Munich, Germany.

Fourth Stop: Innsbruck, Austria.

Innsbruck was very nice, but nothing prepared me for the love affair I experienced with Zurich, Switzerland.

Although it was not easy to leave the comfort of my new found city, it was off to Rome for New Year.

I am grateful to the Via Michelin maps pictured here and their written directions. When our GPS failed to detect our location – and that happened a lot on this trip – our trusty Michelin directions saved the day.

Much has happened since my last post. G was transferred to the Milan office, so we moved to the big city. Yeah! (In the process, I lost my access to the internet for approximately ten days. Well, I didn’t actually “lose” my connection. Instead, I refused to pay 18 Euros a day for it.) As many of you know, we lived in Milan for a short while back in 2008, so the city feels very much like a second home for us and it was easy to establish a routine here.

Stay tuned. In upcoming days ‘ll post more specifics about the many destinations I mentioned here and bring you up to speed on our time in Milan.

Arrivederci!