Innsbruck, Austria is one of those cities I remember hearing about as a kid, but I only had a vague conception of what it really looked like. When the 1964 Winter Olympics were held there, I was watching on TV. The Winter Olympics returned again in 1976, but I know I wasn’t paying much attention by then. As we left home on this trip, I knew Innbruck was famous, knew it was going to be near the mountains, and suspected it was going to be beautiful . . . but you never really know what is special about a place is like until you go there.
After leaving St. Gallen, we drove up into the Alps and were met with a brief, but serious, afternoon blizzard as we went up and over a mountain pass. Off and on white-out conditions, a two-lane winding road, and a lot of fast-moving big trucks provided for a couple of hours of firmly gripping the steering wheel.
A ski jumper soaring over Innbruck at the 1964 Winter Olympics (Ralph Crane - Life Magazine)
Innsbruck sits in a valley between several snow-covered mountain ranges. As is always the case in the mountains, elevation is everything when it comes to weather, and our descent from the snow storm down into the valley brought warmer temperatures and then sunshine. We arrived at our AirBnb late in the afternoon. It was a very nice, suburban home with friendly hosts, a couple of miles outside of the city center.
We walked around the old city the next morning, enjoying the architecture, people watching, and soaking up the sunny-spring-day vibe.
The Inn River (which I’d never heard of) flows through the city. It starts near St. Moritz, Switzerland (another Winter Olympics site) and winds its way through the Alps for over 300 miles until joining the Danube in Passau, Germany.
The city is beautiful — vibrant in colors and activity. People were out walking, biking, and lounging around just enjoying being outdoors. My big take-away memory of Innsbruck will be the views of the mountain when looking down streets in almost every direction. It’s as if they planned the streets to frame the best views of the mountains.
I don’t know how many Austrian animals gave their lives (or at least fuzzy parts) so diners and drinkers could enjoy sitting outdoors in cool weather . . . but these kinds of chairs and blankets are everywhere.
Thought I’d grab a photo of an typical Innsbrucker — who is either calling his broker or asking his wife what to pick up at the store on the way home.
Cafes are every where. As Karen might say in her Mr. T voice, “I pity the fool who doesn’t like Kaffee und Apfelstrudel.”
Steve (with his green backpack) joins the other movers and sitters enjoying Springtime in the Alps.
Next stop, Salzburg: birthplace of Mozart and the city of “The Sound of Music”. These hills are alive! See you there soon.