Blogs from Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria, Europe - page 3

We have arrived in Innsbruck, a town surrounded by the Alps. The scenery is amazing and is it hard to believe that in a few months it will all be covered in a white blanket of snow. It is a very busy place, lots of tourists visiting the shops. Swarovski crystal is made here, there was an exhibition of the crystal and a huge shop where you could some. I debated so much about what I would like, that I talked myself out of buying anything :) Probably not a bad thing! We walked around town and headed back to the hotel for a break. Due to all the bookings we have made, we got a night free accommodation, so we decided to book the Hilton! Really nice. Then it was out to dinner at a ... read more

Getting to Innsbruck felt like a major feat of planning after taking a train from Rimini to Bologna, a two hour wait, a train to Verona, a one hour wait and finally a three and half hour train in a closed compartment with no leg room and a Mexican family who did nothing to but talk to me and deed me nuts for the whole journey. Lovely people who were very keen to practise their English but all I wanted to do was look at the scenery. The journey through northern Italy and over into Austria was one of the most beautiful I have ever taken; the train cuts right through the mountains and goes over the Brenner Pass. The train stops in Brenner for official paperwork to be done and we were allowed to get ... read more

We are now in Bavaria, in Fussen and have had two days of driving thru the mountains to enjoy the exquisite views and Bavarian cuisine. The weather has been sunny and warm leaving a heat haze in many areas. Good temperatures for walking and hiking, which we did yesterday to a SKYWALK near Scheidegg. The view from 1000 meters was phenomenal and of course the workout was interesting. We also found out how quickly and loudly the emergency vehicles respond to fire of any source here in the mountains. We have also found that at the end of many strenuous walks (hikes) here in Germany, one can find a well-deserved beer! Fussen is a fascinating location for photographing the high palace, monastaries, churches, ancient graveyards and of course the beautiful Lech river. Limited vehicle access ... read more

Today will be our last whole day in Austria. After being warned about the coming cooler and wet weather we decided to spend the day in the city and take in as many sights as we could. As it has turned out, the weather has remained fine but a few degrees cooler than yesterday. It is very convenient having the hotel in the inner city as everything is just a short walk away. Firstly we walked down near the golden roof to the The City Tower and up 148 steps to the top. It has a 360 walk around tower under the clock so gives a magnificent view out over the roofs of the Old Town. It looks directly down over the golden roof building and the Hofburg Palace so well worth the climb up. We ... read more

Today was a day of travel. Firstly we said goodbye to our fellow guests and swapped addresses and then goodbye to one of our hosts, Lisa. It feels a bit strange as for the past 10 days we've felt part of the families we've stayed with. It's really a home away from home. The thunderstorm last night has caused some flooding in Hallstatt we heard with water and mud running down the mountain and into the market square. The traffic was held up and fire trucks that do that sort of service were everywhere. I'm not sure of the extent of the damage. Elsewhere seemed to be fine. Since Larry was to transport gear through to Ebensee for those moving on, he took us with him instead of our going to Salzburg. We went through to ... read more