Innsbruck
Thursday, 14th August 2008
We caught the bus at 8.20 am after a nice continental breakfast. Kitty joined me for coffee just before 8.00. The bus took us through some wonderful countryside to Feldkirch where we hoped to board the train. However, we had to take a bus part of the way because of on-going track work. We drove through some fantastic long tunnels through the mountains and then boarded the train at Landeck arriving in Innsbruck at 11.00 am. I found a Bankautomat and took out more Euros then changed my Swiss franc notes. Outside the station we could see the fantastic mountains which loom over the city. Innsbruck means 'Bridge over the river Inn'. No doubt the original town grew up around a ford over the river. We took the bus to the hotel which was not that far away. It was a wonderful old hotel right in the centre of town.
As usual I went sightseeing on my own. I took the Sightseer Bus which gave me hop on, hop off cheap travel to the important sights. First stop was the Bergisel, the Olympic Ski-jump complex. The bus stop is beside a lovely park which you walk through to get to the entry to the Bergisel. Then you take a small train to the top.
The town became smaller as I rose higher to the base of the jump. You could see all the expensive infrastructure that was specially built for the Olympics. It's not a one-off as the facilities are continually in use during the winter for competitions and training. In summer the tourists pay to visit the site so it probably has paid for itself over the years.
A cable car then takes you to the top of the jump. You skirt the tops of trees and the town recedes into the distance giving panoramic views.
Up the top you can look down the jump - pretty scary. You'd have to have nerves of steel to do this sport. Inside the main building were paintings of famous ski-jumpers from different countries. The cable car itself was very modern but it had very little seating - mostly hand straps and bars to hang on to..
From there I took the bus to my next destination, the Hungerbergbahn. This is a funicular railway which goes part of the way up a major mountain. At the top of the railway, you can take a cable car right up to the top of the Hungerberg. I had enough time to get there and back so decided to do the ride. What a great experience - you have a bird's eye view of the surrounding countryside. The cable car went higher and higher - I wasn't sure what to expect at the time so it was a bit of an adventure for me.
Up at the top I had to put on my jacket - it was much cooler than down below. we were above the tree-line and the mountain top was very bare and rocky. I took a walk around photographing as I went. Apart from the building, it was a really desolate place. People come here to do long walks through the mountains. You have to have good walking gear. There are mountain huts along the tracks for overnight stays. This is true alpine country - fantastic. I was really glad I decided to come here - I'll probably never have another opportunity.
After about a half-hour walking around the top, I took the cable car (the last for the day) back down to the bottom. This would be quite a hike for a cyclist - you would have to be very fit.
At the bottom of the cable car ride, you enter this futuristic looking building for the funicular railway to get back down to town level. The station is right next to the river Inn. There were no more sightseer buses today so I walked a couple of kilometers back to the town centre. The path followed the river bank and it was quite pretty.
The Old Town is full of classical buildings similar to other European cities. Churches, museums and old palaces dominate the landscape - once the precinct of the aristocracy.
There were tourists everywhere and near the Hof I entered a street that had lots of shops selling souvenirs, like these animals made of straw. The Alpine Bavarian style of house painting was also evident - it must cost a fair bit to keep maintaining these paintings as one would imagine that they would fade in time and have to be repainted. I found the Swarovsky Crystal shop and bought myself a necklace then walked back to the hotel. I told Kitty about the Swarovsky shop so she came back with me. Luck we did because I inadvertently left my credit card behind. My guardian angel was working overtime. That evening we went to the Fischmarkt - just up the road from the hotel - for a meal. The touring Fishmarkt comes from Hamburg and is quite well known.
