Austria in general is one of our favorite countries in Europe. The people are just the friendliest people you will ever meet and the country in general is just beautiful. For my birthday weekend we took a trip to Innsbruck, Austria and a few places in Germany, which was busy but fun.
Innsbruck, the capital of Tirol, is an amazing and beautiful city in western Austria. Almost every turn throughout the medieval Altstadt [Old Town] frames a view of the Nordkette Alps. Many of the homes in the Altstadt are painted in pastel colours, while other buildings are adorned with pointed arches, flying buttress and ribbed vaults. Some of the buildings date back as far as the 12th century. You can find architecture from the Gothic period, as well as from the Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-Classical periods throughout the area.
The city of Innsbruck has also hosted the Winter Olympics twice, once in 1964 and once in 1976, which seems worth a note seeing as the opening ceremony for the 2014 Sochi Olympics is currently on!
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| Mariahilf quarter |
Herzog-Friedrich-Straße - This is the Altstadts main street that opens into the square in front of the Golden Roof. This square is where many of the activities and festivals took place.
The Goldeness Dachl, which was completed in 1500, is considered one of Innsbruck most famous symbols. There are 2657 gold-plated copper tiles on the roof that covers this 3 story balcony. The balcony, adorned with frescos, is where the emperor and his wife use to sit to watch events happening in the central plaza.
Innsbruck's City Tower - Built between 1442 and 1450 on what use to be the City Hall building. At one point it had a day guard who announced the hour and would alert the citizens of fires etc... There is a viewing platform at the top, which one can reach after climbing 148 steps, reaching 31 meters into the air.
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| Goldeness Dachl |
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| Herzog-Friedrich-StraBe |
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| Innsbrucks City Tower |
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| Innsbruck's City Tower |
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| Enjoying a late night snack |
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| Hofgasse |
St. James' Cathedral - This is a Baroque style cathedral that was constructed between 1717-1724. At the alter there is a famous painting of the Virgin Mary by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
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| Dom zu St. Jakob |
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| PJ gets board while I take pictures |
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| Annasaule |
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| Servitenkirche |
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| Maria-Theresien-StraSSe |
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| The Altes Landhaus |
Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz [The Landhausplatz square] - This square was designed by Austrian studios LAAC Architekten and Stiefel Kramer Architecture. It is a public plaza that is filled with undulating concrete surfaces. The goal of the design was 'to create a contemporary urban public space that negotiates between the various contradictory conditions and constraints of the site and establishes a stage for a new mélange of urban activities characterised by a wide range of diversity. The realised project consists of a 9.000 square meter concrete floor sculpture'. The square was designed well, but very empty...the images below are more of the monument.
Hadid also designed the Bergisel Ski Jump, which was completed in 2002. PJ and I tried to get up to see it before we left, but they were holding a huge jump competition on it and we were unable to get anywhere near it without tickets to the jump....next time.
Nordkettenbahnen - Another ride worth taking is the Nordkettenbahnen. It is the cable railway that takes you from Hungerburg to Seegrube and Hafelekar [Hafelekarspitze]. This cable car is for both skiers/snowboarders/and tourists. The ascent of the Hafelekar bring you to 2334 meters [7658 feet] above Innsbruck with 360 panoramic views of the city below and Alps surrounding you. Along the way the cable car stops at Seegrube, where one can grab a drink at an outdoor igloo bar! PJ and I were lucky and managed to grab the cable car that got us to the peak just in time for sunset.
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| The most beautiful sunset |
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| Innsbruck at dusk |
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| PJ outside of the igloo bar |
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| Inside of the igloo bar |
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| Inside of the igloo bar |
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| Inside of the igloo bar |
A small thing to check out is this large Swarovski store in downtown. The stairs are even made of crystal, and everything is cheaper than in the States!
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| Swarovski Christmas tree |
Final thoughts...If you are in Innsbruck, check out Culinarium in der Altstadt. They have schnapps etc... but they also have home made Feiner Weinbergpfirsich Fruchtsaftlikör!
If you are looking for a list of buildings to check out click here or here or here!
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