Ahh, Innsbruck, Austria...where do I start?
On the train ride there, I could immediately gather a feeling for the style and culture of living for Austrians (which is one that I adore). I continually saw smaller clusters of houses placed on large plots of land, nestled into the hillsides of the Alps; a sight that is sure to take even the most experienced traveler's breath away. Even better was the town of Innsbruck. It was the most quaint town, despite its partially larger size, that sat at the foot of some of the most beautiful parts of the Alps. It had one style of architecture throughout 90-95% of the city that emitted the most peaceful, historical, cultural, and 'cozy' ambience that I have ever been surrounded by. We ambled through the little cobble stone alleyways, passing all sorts of stores; old mom and pop toy stores, shoes, snow apparel, modern/chic clothing, pizza shops and many more. We found our hostel, after re-checking the map a few times, and I instantly was awestruck. We checked in at the pastry cafe that the owners also owned at street level and were then led through the old wooden doorway, up several flights of aged, natural stairs and into our room which contained 4 beds and a cozy table that sat by a bay window. The view looked down upon one of the alleys that pierced through the many 5 or 6 story edifices, where we could see tourists and locals alike, walking and holding hands. After we settled in a little bit it was still early enough for us to have time to head out and see what else Innsbruck had to offer at nighttime. As we walked we snapped picture after picture, falling victim to the breath-taking Alpine background that was partially covered by the quaint foreground of antique buildings. It wasn't until we saw the largest pieces of pizza we had ever seen that we realized how hungry we were. Now yes, I was aware that I didn't travel to Austria to have pizza, but we simply just couldn't resist trying these humongous slices. I felt a little complimented as I walked through the doorway into the pizza shop that couldn't have been more than 200 sq ft because the Native owner asked, "Italian??" I responded, "No, no. American," as he chuckled a little to his self and I couldn't help but to join in. I indulged fully into the pizza slices, finishing every last bite and then headed back out after thanking the generous man and wife for the meal. We zig-zagged past more stores and bakeries until we found a bunch of booths, containing food, drinks, toys, and souvenirs. It was pretty brisk out, and we couldn't help but to notice everyone walking by with little steaming ceramic mugs that were painted with the local language. We figured out where they were coming from and bought some "Punsch mit Amaretto" to help warm us up. Then, after looking at some maps and brochures pertaining to tomorrows activities, we went back to our hostel for the night, where we met 2 guys from Maine who were also traveling around Europe.
We decided that it would be better to relax a little for the day after our arrival rather than skiing right away, so we chose to visit Zaha Hadid's design, the 'Bergisel' (courtesy of my wishes). Because Innsbruck housed the Olympics twice, in the 60's and 70's, this was constructed and renovated to serve as the venue for the long jump skiiers, men who were surely out of their minds (if you see some of my pictures you will realize why). Another plus to seeing the design was also the views that it offered when standing atop it. Words cannot describe. And that is precisely why I took almost 200 pictures.
Because the hostel we had for the first night was booked already for the second night we had to return to the city and check into another hostel, one that also had good reviews. As we checked in we flooded the receptionist with questions about skiing for tomorrow. Lucky for us, he spoke very good English and was extremely helpful with all the details we needed. We went back to our room to relax after all the walking of the day and to get things prepared to make dinner in the hostel's kitchen. As we entered the room we met a cute Finnish girl who had all her belongings strewn about, looking for her key. We talked for a little and she headed out as we went down the the crowded kitchen to eat. I was absolutely starving and excited to make and eat the €3,86 meal Berta and I had gotten together at the supermarket...Pasta and Zucchini with Parmesan; however, due to the language barrier I did not exactly get to enjoy it. The sad thing is, I still couldn't tell you what the German words for Cooking Oil and Vinegar are...but I know they're not the same. I realized this as my nostrils flared up in disgust after smelling what Berta had poured into the zucchini's skillet, THINKING that it was oil. Nonetheless, I ate what I could (after we had rinsed it off with water and added a random assortment of whatever else we could find) until I had no appetite anymore, and went to bed..stoked for finally being able to ski in the Alps.
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