On Vacation - Innsbruck, Austria

After five nights in Piedmont we started our travels toward home. Since it is a ten hour drive from Piedmont back to Prague we decided to fit in one more night of vacation and stop in Innsbruck which happened to be perfectly situated between Piedmont and Prague at the five hour point in the trip. I had really wanted to see Prague as my father proclaims it to be the most beautful place in Europe. As we left Piedmont and drove past Lake Garda the drive alone was beautifully stunning. Driving between mountains in the Trentino/Alto Ridge area of Italy is amazing. The highway runs down the center with villages and vineyards along either side up to the base of the moutains. As we came into Austria you could see snow on some of the mountains which in August I assume were glaciers. You continue on this highway right into Innsbruck where we were surrounded by mountains. We checked into our hotel and went up to our room on the eleventh floor and looked out our windows to an amazing view of the mountains. Dad was right...it is truly a beautiful place.

While I'm not sure I would call it the most beautiful place in Europe it definitely ranks up there. After checking into the hotel and marveling at the view from our window we headed into the old town. The old Town was small and easily walkable. It is what I picture when I picture being in Austria...walking around a village and being able to look around and see massive mountains. After walking around a bit it was time for dinner. We stopped at a beer garden for dinner since it was simple. The food was fine although I did not eat what I ordered. I ordered a sausage but when it came in a plate of boiled water it did not look appealing and after one bite I couldn't get over the texture. It wasn't that my food was bad but rather not something I was willing to eat. While we ate dinner there were drummers in dress-up clothing along with what appeared to be the King, Queen and their court. It was fun to watch the drummers especially because they practiced in a tunnel so the sound was even louder. The girls were fascinated by it so after dinner when we saw the drummers marching through the town playing we walked along with them on the way back to our hotel.