After a short stay in Salzburg, we took the train through the mountains to Innsbruck. I found Innsbruck to be a charming little town with an "Old Town" area full of lots of cozy pubs, cobblestone streets, and great mountain views.
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| Golden Roof in Old Town Square |
We didn't have a lot of luck with the weather when we first arrived. It was overcast and rainy the first full day we were there. We decided to take the cable car up the mountain to the "Alpenzoo" which we didn't have high hopes for. After we failed to see one beaver at the beaver exhibit (first one after the entrance), and then couldn't see snakes or other critters due to hibernation, we were worried that we wouldn't see anything. Fortunately, we kept going through and saw a bunch of interesting alpine animals - wolves, lynx, ibex, bears, etc. The zoo had an open concept and none of the animals seemed like they were caged in. They had lots of space to roam, and pretty natural conditions. We ended up being impressed with the zoo after all!
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| At the Alpenzoo |
After leaving the zoo, we got a glimpse of the beautiful mountain views as some clouds finally cleared. However, it didn't last long. The next day we planned to go further up the mountain so we really hoped that we would be able to see SOMETHING!
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| Finally starting to clear up... |
On our second full day in Innsbruck it was cloudy again, but the weather said it would be sunny. We decided to fork over the money to go almost to the very top of the mountain by cable car. The very top of the mountain had ski runs reserved only for experts, so we went to the second-highest stop called Seegrube on the Nordkette mountain. The cable car was packed and we waited a lonnngg time surrounded by hardcore Austrian skiers and snowboarders with all their gear. Miraculously, when we finally got our turn to go up, things started to clear, fast! When we got to Seegrube most of the clouds had cleared and we had amazing views of Innsbruck surrounded by mountains.
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| What a view! |
It wasn't as expensive as we thought to buy a ski pass and rent gear. We ended up having beautiful weather and a fun time skiing! It was only my third time skiing so I stuck to the easy slopes. It was still a lot of fun, and the view was the best one I've ever seen... incredible! They had deck chairs out facing the mountain view so people could just sit down and enjoy the scenery.
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| Skiing at Nordkette |
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| Goodbye Innsbruck! |
Another beautiful city, and on to the next... Vienna!
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