Visiting Innsbruck, Austria!
When Dave’s family decides to plan a family reunion vacation- they go big! I mean really big!
When they pitched the idea of Innsbruck we were so thrilled- neither of us having been there and when we researched it there were so many biking trails and hiking trails that we couldn’t wait to board the plane.
Right off the plane, after a 9.5-hour flight, and a 3 hour taxi ride to the hotel- I was still smiling, but who could blame me, Innsbruck was so beautiful.
This was our “end of the day” happy hour- 2-euro, one block from hotel, drinking hole. It was fabulous.
An outdoor library for all to take a book from and find a comfortable place to read. 🙂
Inns River runs through Innsbruck.
Innsbruck has religious figures on the buildings and random crosses throughout the city.
We rented E-bikes and traveled to Halls in Tyrol. It was a beautiful trail with lots of locals out biking, running, walking dogs…
We stopped for a beer to cool us off. Even though the weather was predicted to be raining and cold all week we had sunny and warm weather every day. So glad the weathermen were wrong!
Day three, we headed to the Nordkettenbahnen lift- Innsbruck’s cable car. A must if you travel to Innsbruck. The panoramic views are too good to be missed.
I was starting to feel a little weary after very little sleep and so much activity so I chose not to go to the very top of the mountain. Instead, I sat in a comfy restaurant and ordered my favorite food of all time when in Germany or Austria- Goulash Soup!!
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Day four-Took a long bike ride (40 miles) west of Innsbruck along the Inns River and the Alps.
Day five- some of us decided to take the train to Mittenwald, Germany. The town was picturesque. It’s located in the Alpine peaks of Bavaria and is known for its colorful painted houses and beautiful window boxes.
Cute little restaurant. One could sit here and drink beer for hours 🙂
We walked around and just soaked up the beauty of this fairy-tale town with the Alps peaking up in the background.
We also took the Karwendel cable car up 7000 feet to the top of the mountain to enjoy the spectacular views.
I was surprised at how many dogs we saw in the restaurants. They sometimes clashed with other dogs and became loud with their barking. I guess the Germans are used to this??
Day Six- was spent in Germany again at the Eagles Nest- Hitler’s home away from home. This is where his mistress spent most of her time during the war. Hitler himself only visited the Eagles Nest 14 times- he was afraid of heights. The history behind the constructing of this building was very interesting.
1945 photo of the Eagles Nest entrance. One would take an elevator up to the top where Hitler’s Eagles Nest was located. Photo Credits- U.S. Army soldier in occupied Germany – From the family collection of an acquaintance, uploaded and used here by permission. Previously uploaded at en.wikipedia;
The famous marble fireplace given to Hitler by Mussolini.
Machine guns were placed in these holes and could shoot anyone who entered the Bunkers without an invitation.
This is the view from their room. The Sporthotel Villa.
Sausages and pretzels abundant. Cutest little restaurant we found to have some apps and a few beers.
Day seven- we rented E-bikes to explore Igls.
Dave trying to find his way in the woods. 😉
He found he way to the oldest brewery in the world!
Another Goulash soup for me. Dave had a burger and fries and we both enjoyed a German beer in Munich for lunch. After lunch we rented bikes and toured on our own all over Munich. We had such a nice day riding through the English Gardens and surrounding areas.
The next day we headed on a train to Regensburg. Such fun and great shopping. We love visiting this old Gothic town with its cobblestone streets and beautiful old churches.
On train heading to Landshut from Regensburg.
Dave bought a few local beers from a brewer in Regensburg for the train ride. He loves his beer and he loves to support local brewers.
Landshut was quite lovely.
Our last day in Freising we decided to go big then go home. We ate at Kathis Steakhouse. Probably the best hamburger I have ever eaten. I don’t eat many of them, but this one was memorable.
Lots of pictures and if you made it to the end- thank you:) We spend time on this blog so we can catalog our trips and therefore remember where we have traveled. We travel often and it’s nice to have a place to call our own on the Internet. Oh, for the record, we do love a good beer, but we have discriminate taste. We only drink higher ABV beer and we prefer dark beers over ales. We limit ourselves to two beers per a day and we rarely go over that limit. On this vacation we stuck to German beers and did not indulge in any wine. Once we got home, we did a detox to cleanse for a few days. The problem we always have with drinking beer, even if it is only two beers a day while in Germany or Austria, is the weight gain. We make sure to run daily and bike hard when we can.
We stayed at Marriott properties again for this trip. The AC in Innsbruck and the Marriott in Freising, Germany. Both very nice hotels with a free breakfast for Rewards members.
Karen