Innsbruck, Austria
So my train left in the morning, I went from Ingolstadt to Munich Hbf (I also learned that Hbf is for ‘hauptbahnhof’ which means city centre. This was an issue for me when I was planning my trip, it’s a whole different situation when things are in a different language! I had a bit of time in Munich so I picked up Mark’s beer stein and met some people from Toronto. They thought the stein was really awesome so hopefully I picked a good one. Anyway, I got to Innsbruck, Austria right on time but unfortunately I couldn’t find a place to store my luggage at the station, both locker sets were full. I walked across the street on a whim to Hotel Europa and the people there were VERY nice and could indeed store my luggage :) They also had a city map, which was very helpful as I had made zero plans except to have lunch at a café and stare at the mountains.
The scenery was beautiful and I just stared wide-eyed at everything. One thing about Europe, as a whole it’s very dog friendly. Every country or city I’ve been in I’ve seen dogs walking around in several places the US wouldn’t allow. Grocery stores, trains, cable cars, trams, subways, train stations, restaurants (some), and other public areas. And I’m not talking in carriers- these pups are free roaming nuggets! Some countries they’re leashed, some not. It’s just wonderful!!! Puppies everywhere!
So I’ve got this map and from the Condé Nast Traveler website I found out about the restaurant in the city hall, Lichtblick 360. I decided not to eat there but I did walk around the patio taking pictures and video, in the way there I took a bunch of pictures.. It’s so beautiful there!
Next I walked through the 'Old Town’ area and found a restaurant with the menu in both English and German, a rarity. I got gorgonzola tortellini and while it was filling it certainly wasn’t tasty, LOL. Oh well, I came for the views, not the food, and I had a chai tea latte from there that WAS good. Unfortunately I realized during lunch that my .75 liter water bottle had emptied itself into my backpack, completely drenching my sweatshirt, sweater raincoat, scarf, some souvenirs, and some maps & travel documents.. and my back :( Oh well! Couldn’t do anything about it so couldn’t be mad.
Then I decided to head for the cable cars even though the idea sort of made me want to puke, especially since I was a little queasy from the alcohol the night before! I guess technically it’s a “hybrid funicular railway” that connects Innsbruck city centre with the city district of Hungerburg. There are 4 stops: Congress-560m (where I got on), Löwenhaus, then across the bridge over the Inn River (often called the Inns), Alpenzoo-750m (there’s a zoo here but I didn’t have time, and it was extra €!), and Hungerburg-860m (about 2,821 feet). A lot of people get off at Hungerburg to hike and look around. It’s also cheaper to stop there than to continue to the top. A man whose daughter goes to MSU offered to take my photo (I didn’t post it because they both suck) but it was funny because he took the offer back after I told him I worked at the U.
THEN you switch to a cable car, which instead of a tram with multiple cars is a single compartment with a driver. The mountain itself is called Nordkette (also the North Chain or Northern Range) and it is part of Austria’s largest nature park and offers skiing in winter. There are two more stops after Hungerburg and you have to get out to switch containers. The stop after Hungerburg is Seegrube-1905m (6,250ft) and then the last stop is Hafelekar-2256m (7,401ft).
My ears popped the whole way but it was a very thrilling ride with beautiful views in the car and at each stop. At the last stop you can climb a stony path to the summit that is treacherous if you’re looking through a camera lens and not at the ground. It’s about 15 minutes to the peak, “Kleiner Solstein.” Innsbruck is actually the capital of Tirol (also Tyrol), an Austrian state that is considered the “Heart of the Alps.” From the peak of Nordkette you can see Germany, Austria and Italy. It was very windy but very awesome.. I can’t decide which photos to show!
I had an amazing day.. I’m running out of adjectives to describe everything I’ve seen.
My first “newsworthy” issue happened on the way back from Austria. I was exhausted but suddenly as we reached the German border there were border patrol and police (POLIZEI pronounced pole-leatz-eye) coming through the train checking passports and rounding up refugees, which the train had been filled with. I didn’t look into politics but I heard that Germany has accepted too many refugees and is now enforcing some other sort of process. It was alarming but I don’t think that I was ever unsafe. The refugees were (for the most part) cooperative and the German police were straight and to the point. They searched the bathrooms and places between seats. I was never asked for my documents. We did make a stop to drop the refugees off and our train was about 10 minutes late arriving in Munich.
Unfortunately I did not think my train choices through and I returned to Munich right as Oktoberfest was closing.. the station was FILLED with drunk people of all kinds. I ended up just walking around in circles since I didn’t want to venture outside in the crowd with all of my crap (I have much more stuff after being in Germany with my friends :) !!!) I also was able to get rid of the rest of my euros by treating myself to a flower crown.. It was supposed to be 5€ but one of the flowers was falling apart and I had like 3.68€ left so the made a deal.
My overnight train from Munich to Cologne (Köln) was less eventful. I was bunked with four German girls who had come from Köln for Oktoberfest. They were very polite and friendly! I tossed a bit and woke up a few times when the train stopped.. this sleeper train, the city night line by Bahn, was not as nice as the caledonian sleeper by Scotrail.
I was able to wash up before leaving for Brussels, Belgium (Bruxelles) and am now awaiting my train from here to London, which I’m told may be delayed due to an incident with refugees earlier today. They speak French here in Brussels, I didn’t know that! I’m leaving now on the Eurostar train, I think it was the Thalys train from Brussels where that terrorist was. Anyway, all is well and I’m ready for FALL OUT BOY tonight!!!
PS- Big surprise no wifi on the train. Also I’ve paid easily over $20 throughout my trip to use wifi and at other times I simply had no access. Ireland wins in the free wifi and wifi access department, Scotland second place, and so far in my experience the rest of Europe just doesn’t have it free or available very often.