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Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing & friends.

Day 138 — Arrival in Innsbruck
18-December-1971 (Sat.)

TRANSCRIPT

Innsbruck
Didn’t sleep too good [well] on the train. I drank too much coffee before I left.

Arrived in Innsbruck around 7:30. Was a beautiful day. Sun shining. The scenery and mountains were beautiful. After I got my room, I decided to walk around the town. Innsbruck really doesn’t have that much to see. I took in most of the important sights, and then I decided to find out about skiing. I was too late to be able to ski in the afternoon. So I did nothing. Went to rent boots and found out that the skis I brought (Herr Gabler) had bad bindings. So I had to rent them anyway. At night, had a great meal and talked and drank with a bunch of people. (Canadians)


REFLECTIONS

Innsbruck arrival. I arrive in Innsbruck at 7:30 am. Apparently, I didn’t sleep well on the train. It wasn’t the coffee, it was the train. After settling in at the hotel, I take a walk around Innsbruck. Please take my “not much to see” comment with a grain of salt. As a poor student who is not renting a car and limited to walking around the town near the hotel, I have no idea where the major sightseeing venues are, where I should be visiting, and didn't have time to visit museums or churches. I should have bought a guide book.

Innsbruck has a lot to see. Innsbruck is the capital of the Tyrol province. Its architecture reflects Baroque, Rococo, and Gothic influences. As a layman, I just liked the old town feel of Innsbruck. The distinctive St. Anne's column in the center of town is a landmark of Innsbruck with the mountains as its backdrop (opening photo). Here are some of the sights: Maria Theresa's Hofburg imperial palace (as opulent as in Vienna); the Baroque cathedral Dom St. Jakob; the Hofkirche which houses the tomb of Maximilian I; the Goldenes Dachl with its golden roof and gilded cooper roof tiles (see photo right); the Schloss Ambrass museum, and Innsbruck's famous old-town street, the Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse with its Baroque buildings.

Glorious Alps. Of course, the scenery of Innsbruck includes its surrounding snow-laden mountains, the glorious Austrian Alps. I did take a lot of pictures and will post them in the blog, and in the Pictures and Slide Shows areas.

Preparing to ski. Surprise. I brought skis with me that were given to me by my horn teacher, Professor Gabler. How nice was that? Too bad the bindings were not good. So, I needed to go with ski rentals. Ready for skiing tomorrow.

Dinner. It sounds like dinner was delicious, enjoying the company of some Canadian skiers.

John

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Tags: Innsbruck, Austrian Alps, skiing, train travel, first time