Day B—Innsbruck—“You can order in English!”

Such a big pot...such a little cup!!

Our 7:30 wake up call came at 6:35am.  It is not clear why.  But, we got up eventually and headed down to breakfast.  That’s when the most exciting thing happened…I asked for a coffee, and she brought a cup, filled it from the pot, then said “I’ll just leave the pot here!”  :-O 

OK, those clouds are fine...just no more!

We headed out for our city tour at 9:00.  Innsbruck is named for a bridge (Bruck in German) over the river Inn.  But there are several bridges, so…?  It was a nice little bus ride around, and then back to the city center, where we walked through and saw a bunch of stuff.  Old buildings, narrow alleyways, broad squares.  It was all very nice, but after 16 old European towns, they start to blend together.  We stopped at Hofkirche, the tomb of Emperor Maximillian I.  He employed artists like Durer and Vischer (the Elder).  Maximilian lived from 1459-1519, and gave Innsbruck a prominent position in Europe.  Surrounding the tomb are several statues of the people who were important to “Max”.  Presumably, he wanted to be surrounded by family and friends…except he did not die there and they weren’t going to bring his body across the countryside.  So, his friends stand idly forever watching an empty tomb.  

Triumphal Arch with the Alps in the background.

The Innsbruck valley and Alps.

Just the Alps.  No foreground!

The courtyard next to Hofkirche.

As we walked into Hofkirche, are met with these guys!

The Emperor and his wife.  He was known to be
a bit of a "womanizer", which might explain
why he is even here looking around?

The Nave.

The line of bronze statues on one side facing the tomb to the left.

I just think these guys look like like hams!!  Especially the fourth one, leaning on his pike!
But the hands of most of the statues are positioned to hold a candle.

Look at all of the weird signs...like that yellow M??

The Hills are alive...Yeah, it's one of them!

The newlyweds!

We walked on through the city and came upon a band assembling to play.  As we gathered, the music began, and a bride came down the stairs with her new groom.  It was a cute little celebration there in the city square.  

There's that yellow M again!!

After the tour, we went off to find a post office, and then grab a little lunch.  We found a nice little restaurant, a cafe, with a quaint upstairs and great view.  Something seemed familiar about the place, though, so maybe it was not a local place?

Yes!  Royal Kase!! (Cheese) (it's a 1/4 lb-er)

This was the upstairs dining area!  (Theresa in the corner.)

We then headed up to the “Top Of Innsbruck” (Nordekette).  First we needed to take a funicular, which, since it was “public transportation”, required masks.  We started at 1837 feet altitude.  After a couple of stops and 1000 feet up, we got on a cable car, off, and onto another cable car, to arrive at Hafelekar, at 7400 feet altitude.  Our ears were popping the whole way up!  Inside the cars it was a little stuffy and hot, since the windows that afforded a nice view also made for a nice greenhouse.  But the doors opened, and the fresh and cool air was great!  On the top, the sun felt hot, but the air cool, so perfect for sunburning!!

The "fences" prevent avalanches.

Panorama in Three Parts...Left...

Middle...

Right!!  Wait...what's that...?

And AIRPORT!!!

An Alpine view from the top.

I thought about heading this way... but...

This path is a little better!

At the peak.

Also at the peak.  Before my picture, I waited while this 
guy stood on this wall taking selfies and walking.
Note, on the far side, there was 18 inches of ground to 
catch before 60-75 degree rocky slope.

The bird acts like this is no big deal!

This grass looked like a putting green!! (up close)

Another Alpine view.

An AIRPLANE!!   Probably from that airport.
It's funny looking DOWN on flying airplanes!

This path was NOT Theresa's friend.
That's not an illusion.  The corner is an "edge".

Lunch (2.0)!  Now THIS is goulash (to me)!! 
The cake was AWESOME too!

We walked around and explored a bit, some together and some alone.  A few spots were not comfortable if you do not like standing on the edges of drop offs.  There was one direction I considered going, but there was some snow.  OK, not a big deal.  I got close and looked at it, while thinking about my fairly smooth soled tennis shoes.  I noted that the slope on each side was sharp, and went down a LONG way.  I saw the rope tied to several posts, and one was laying down.  Hmmm.  I stepped closer and saw it was a wood 2x2 with a sharp point, and the point wasn't dirty, like it never went through the snow into the ground.  If they all were like that, and I did manage to grab the rope, all I'd likely do is pull them all down with me.  Maybe not.  Risk v. Reward did not pass.  But the other views were pretty great, and I may have seen Switzerland from there (not sure…the border was still 5-7 miles away)!  We decided to have a little snack up top and take a moment to enjoy the views a little longer.  We figured out what we wanted, and Bill did his best to order in German.  The woman said “You can order in English.”  I responded, “Yeah, but I’m trying to work on my German.”  She retorted “It won’t take so long!!” 

A surprise visitor.  Made the birds look bad!

One very crowded cable car!!  Note the emergency ladder
at the ceiling.  Not really room to get it down here!

Not exactly "dinner", just snacks.  All for about 7 Euros.
The beers ranged from 0.49 to 0.69 Euros.

We made a few stops on the way down, to check out the environs.  This included a little church for St. Theresa.  At the bottom, we found a Hofer (“fake Aldi’s”) to buy some “groceries”.

Back at the hotel, we found our friends Mike and MaryAnne, and enjoyed our leftovers from yesterday.  Turns out the staff were happy to plate and heat our leftovers for no charge!  Another couple from our tour joined us and we visited a bit, before M&MA headed off for their Tirolean performance night, and we headed back for a night off!  Watching Star Trek Next Generation in German with some $0.60 beer!!

Tomorrow, we head to Oberammergau to see the Passion Play.  We leave the hotel early, and the play ends at 10:30PM.  So, we are not sure if there will be a posting tomorrow.