Innsbruck

We traveled by train from Salzburg to Innsbruck. Salzburg was on the edge of the mountains, but Innsbruck is right in the alps.

We spent just a night and a day there, since we weren't skiing. We just wanted to see it and be in the mountains for a little while.

The sheer scope of the skiing and winter recreation around Innsbruck is phenomenal. We saw a lot of folks carrying skis around town. They hosted the winter Olympics there some years back (remember Franz Klammer winning the downhill?), and still have all those facilities. But after a day of modern winter recreation, people come back to a very traditional town.

Innsbruck itself has some history. Hapsburg emperor Frederic would address the common folks of Innsbruck from the golden roofed balcony (shown in the picture above). It also has a charming old town, and a lot of Austrian ethos. In fact outside the cathedral we found ourselves watching the end of an Austrian wedding, with members of the wedding party in traditional garb forming a canopy for the bride and groom as they emerged from the church (see pic at right).

We had a beautiful day there-- warm and sunny. The next day we left Innsburck and took a five hour train ride to Venice.