Innsbruck weekend

This weekend we went to Innsbruck and it was probably the most fun I’ve had thus far. Innsbruck is really pretty; mountains surround the city so everywhere you look is a giant peak. We arrived in Innsbruck on Friday evening and then had a delicious Austrian dinner. I had the mixed grill, which was sausage and steak and green beans, and it was very tasty. Then we went out to drink a beer but we got on the wrong tram and ended up at the garage and the tram driver was parking his tram for the night. So, we then had to trek all the way back to our hotel but at least we got to see the whole city of Innsbruck! Saturday was a lot of fun; we got up early, packed some lunches, and headed to one of the mountain for some hiking. To get to the mountain we rode a bus with a really friendly Austrian lady who was a big fan of George Bush and she helped us get off on the right stop and gave us directions. We arrived at the mountain and started hiking up. I don’t think we were on any hiking trails, we just made our own way but I think its more fun like that. Since the mountain hosted the winter Olympics in both 1964 and 1976, there were lots of Olympic bits and pieces still on the mountain. On our hike up we found the old bobsled and skeleton track, which was really cool. The banks on the turns were super steep, and watching it on TV doesn’t really do it justice as to how extreme the track is. As we hiked further up the view of Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains grew better and better. The city looked really pretty from up there and the view with the mountains behind it was stunning. After a few hours of hiking, we stopped to eat our lunch in a really pretty area surrounded by flowers with a water fountain by the trail. We met an old lady who was also hiking the mountain. She didn’t speak any English but with our limited German we were able to gather that she was from Innsbruck and that she was 82 years old, and then I felt really out of shape. After the long and peaceful lunch, we hiked a little more and started down the mountain. After hiking for around five hours, we made it to the bottom and then went to the Lanser Sea, a big swimming hole. After the long hike, the 24-degree water felt amazing. The cool water was so refreshing, I could have stayed there all day but we had to catch a bus back to Innsbruck later that afternoon. Once back in Innsbruck, we went back to the same restaurant we had been the night before because it was so good. I got the chicken cordon bleu and it was fantastic, probably the best cordon bleu I’ve ever had. Then we washed up and went out for the night. We ended up going to the casino, which was fun. It was my first gambling experience, and I came out only one euro down which is a win in my book.

    For as much fun as we had in Innsbruck, the train ride back to Bonn was equally bad. There was a wreck ahead on our route, so our train had to constantly stop and take detours and was delayed further and further each time we checked. We ended up getting back to Bonn three hours late, but the weekend was worth it. We all had a blast in Innsbruck. I really want to come back to Innsbruck in the winter and see the mountains with snow covering their peaks because I bet it is gorgeous. I also love to ski and snowboard so Innsbruck would be a paradise for me in the winter. Now I am back in Bonn for just a bit before going to Norderney later this week.