We farewell beautiful Salzburg for the Tyrolean city of Innsbruck. The 2 hour drive actually takes us through Germany in part before turning back into this city in the heart of the Austrian Alps. The venue for the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics, I should not have been surprised that this is a city rather than a smaller town which is what I imagined.
The Nordkette cable car is our first stop here and the two cars take us up above the snow line to 7400 feet above sea level. The skies are overcast and the wind howling cuts right through me as we walk outside reducing the ambient temperature to below zero. It is a struggle to get around and keep the hands and cameras functioning.
Nonetheless this is a white snowy wonderland with a birdseye view of the city below. Having had our fill of photos we thaw out and enjoy a hearty lunch with a view.
Down in Innsbruck we arrive with only a couple of hours of daylight left. The sun is now setting here at 4:30pm. As we set out to explore the old city a drizzle graduates to rain. The historic old town is small but surprisingly pretty and we do what we can dodging the rain and taking photos.
Our last stop is St Jakob’s Cathedral a beautiful 15th century church. As with so much throughout here and going up to Germany it sustained heavy damage from aircraft bombing at the end of WW2. The subsequent restoration is amazing as this is an impressive, authentic structure.
