We spent a day in Innsbruck on our drive to Italy. Even in the summer the weather felt cool, almost like a warm winter day. Innsbruck is surrounded by very high mountains to the north and south. Each mountain is over two thousand meters high. Innsbruck is famous for it’s winter sports, I still remember watching a recording of the winter Olympics hosted in Innsbruck (I can not say with certainty which year it was). Peter told me it is not a place for a girl like me because I do not particularly like cold weather, he said even in the summer it can suddenly get cold.

The coffee shops were a welcome treat: I particularly loved the cheese cakes and the surroundings. Beautiful streets, architecture and the mountains covered in snow.

Innsbruck is an 800 year old town located in Beiren. The city is called like the river the Inn. This river was very important for the trade with Italy and Switzerland. The old town of Innsbruck has a lot of interesting middle aged houses. For example the house with the golden roof. The old centre is worth to visit. It has a very nice character real "Beierens" as if you walked right back in time where you see the carriage and the beautiful dressed woman with long dresses and wigs. Also the gentleman with high hads and in Jacqet going to the opera or Ball! I really can imagine that when i walked there.

If we did not take this road, we turned to Austria and to the Oetztahl, Langenfeld. Sometimes we stayed there for a few days. This rea is very nice in winter and summer. For climbers and bikers this is a very good place to be. For us  walking was a good option, and that is what we have done! I still can feel the climb to the waterfall. Everytime you see an edge, you will think that you reached the waterfall. But what a mistake. What a long walk!  But it was really worth it!!!

Sometimes we took the road through the mountains to go to Italy, but you have to be quit sure what you are doing. The Timmelsjoch is high 2.500 meters and on top of the mountain you are almost in Italy. But than it beginns. Very narrow roads, steep, and an huge amount of curves. When you finally enter Meran you have had it with curves!!!! For a motorcycle rider, this is an amazing road to drive.

Gruss Gott,

Well, what a packed two days we´ve had. Arrived in salzburg from vienna yesterday and spent the arvo madly chasing around salzburg hitting the sites of The Sound of Music. Unfortunately the tour times didnt suit us so we had to do it ourselves! Went up to Nonnberg Abbey (where we first encounter Maria and the Nuns) and i had my photo taken in front of the gate which the Von Trapp children stand at looking for Maria! So cool! The ACTUAL gate where it was filmed! The Abbey is still home to a congregation of nuns but they still let the public wander around the outside and just inside the gate. We tried to find the cemetry where the family hid in the film but no such luck even though the lady at the tourist office said it was right nearby. Oh well, something for my next visit to Salzburg.

We then went to the other side of the Salzach River to the Church where Maria and the Captain get married. We couldnt go inside but took lots of pics of the outside of course! Then headed down to Mirrabella gardens where the `Dow Rae Me' scene is filmed. Wandered through the gardens and sat on the fountain which Maria and the kids dance around then stood on the stairs where they finish the song and Julie Andrews hits that really really high note. I think ive watched the flim too many times...But great to see all the places. Next time i will definently do the tour to get out to the Von Trapp house and Gazebo which are further out of town.

Finished the day in Salzburg by trying some of the cusisine-authentic austrian apfel struddel. Sooo good!

I must say i was very impressed by the hostel in Salzburg. Both the places we stayed in Vienna and Salzburg are part of the original YHA chain and are some of the best hostels we've stayed in. Situated on the edge of the Salzach woods, the Salzburg hostel was very clean and organised and included a good brekky. And best of all it was cheap!

Today we caught the train to the heart of the Austrian Alps and Tirol, Innsbruck. Being a fairly compact city we have found it easy to walk around to see the sites. The highlight of the day has undoubtably been catching a gondola to the top of an Alp. Situated about 2500 metres above sea level, it offered breathtaking views of the mountain range and the beautiful city of Innsbruck below. I have some superb photos which i will upload a little later in the trip. It was of course quite cold up the top. The ride up was great with a see through gondola allowing us to take in 360 degree views. The different autumn colours of the trees on the moutains made it all the more grand and there was snow at the top!!! A real novelty for us west aussies! Anna was trying to make snow balls...

This arvo we wandered around the Old Town of Innsbruck. Saw the 'gold roof´ of Innsbruck as well as numerous churches. And i couldnt resist trying an authentic 'palachinken' with choc sauce and mountain cream. Mmmmmm.

Drove over the mountain passes of western Tirol, Austria from Fussen, Germany through to Innsbruck, arriving around 7PM.  Had booked a hotel that morning at the Hotel Innsbruck in the Altstadt, and I must say, I was pleasently surprised with my accomodations!

Settled in and then headed into the center of town for some dinner, a little evening sightseeing, then settled in at the Elferhaus for as much beer as I could handle before bed...which based on the past couple weeks, wasn't much!

Woke up early in the morning and caught a spectacular Alpine sunrise over the city then wandered back to the hotel for some breakfast and a shower.  Walked around the city then, getting hit with the scaffolding bug a few more times but getting to see quite the sights in Innsbruck, including the amazing views from Bergisel, which I thought I was an hour too early for, but turned out I was right on time to be the first visitor of the day!  That was luck!

Finishing up around 11:30, I had just enough time to head back to my hotel to check out, and decided not to head back to Eindhoven, but to make the short journey to Salzburg.  Took a few minutes to book a hotel in Salzburg then headed out to the car for the very short drive to where the hills are alive...

We came in this hotel in the middle of the night. And we were friendly welcomed although it was very late. They had one room left, and it was for 4 persons. We were just the two of us. He gave us the room much cheaper. Breakfast is at 7 but we had to leave at 6. So we thougt no breakfast. But the receptionist made a breakfast for us. Fresh coffee warm bread. He had done his best to make this short stay a nice moment to remember. Very friendly. The hotel is situated in the centre of Innsbruck. In the winter it would not be a problem, but in the summer it is a lot of noise on the street. specifically the cars which drove very fast. But for a short stay i would recommend this hotel.

Today is my first foray into the mountains.  The weather is good again although the morning sun seems to struggle a little today to burn away a fine but perceptible veil of mist in the valley within which Innsbruck sits, and amidst the mountains all around.  At the time of writing (12.00ish) despite blue skies and heat upon my skin this has remained the case.

I catch the ‘J’ line or ‘Olympia Express’ bus up out of the Innsbruck basin to the two times Winter Olympics village of Igls (pronounced “eagles” and the games were in 1964 and 1976).  I stroll up through Igls slowly to give the sun a chance to lift the misty pall.  It’s then 17,40 Euros for the Patscherköfelbahn or seilbahn (cable car) the majority of the way up the mountain.  Quite a lot but what ya gonna do?  This gets you about 1,952 metres up Patscherköfel leaving me to stroll the remaining 300 or so metres to the 2,250 metre summit upon which sits a weather station and a pleasantly situated restaurant.

A Tale : In season, particularly skiing season there is a chair lift that will take you the remainder of the way up but it is not operating at this time.  Despite our several holidays in the Tyrol (Tirol) region of Austria as a young family my mother lived in mortal fear of these precarious means of mountain transportation.  Famously once, ascending on a chair lift into anxiety she asked my (then very young) sister “Please Katie talk to me.  Go on, talk to me please.  About anything!  Anything at all, just keep talking to me to take my mind off things!! PLEASE!”  After much careful consideration  (probably a little too much for mum’s comfort) my philosophic sister pitched in with the following diversionary enquiry : “Mummy.  How many cows do you think there are in the whole entire world?”.  A question posed (I think?) with utter sincerity, this produced enough hilarity and surreal distraction that my sis’d actually succeeded in her task!  Mum arrived safely at the top.

As I stroll up the easy route to the summit the views of the Austrian Alps are just staggering (even behind the hazy mist) and once at the summit you have a 360 degree panoramic view if you wonder about a bit.  On my way up whilst sat scribbling these notes an American couple advise me that I’m looking down at Europe’s highest bridge in the distance and humorously dictate that I should write the following ‘I’m sat here looking at Europe’s highest bridge the Europabrücke’.   So there you have it.  Their words are immortalised here through my ‘pen’.  I have slight amusement in confirming my suspicion at the time that they are actually wrong anyway as the accolade of highest bridge in Europe has since been nabbed by Norman Foster’s gravity defying ‘Millau Viaduct’ in the Tarn River Valley in the south of France this standing at 891 feet above ground level, the Europabrücke only managing 630 feet. Oh well.  An English couple at the summit today also advise me that with great heights come great tragedies as Europabrücke was also formerly Austria’s, if not Europe’s most frequent sight for suicides.

Sadly despite it’s continuing efforts the sun cannot shift the misty haze that impedes one’s gaze today.  This is a shame as I’d bet my bottom dollar that on a clear blue day this walk (factoring in its relative ease and accessibility to all) must afford some of the most spectacular views in the Alps, if not in the whole of Europe.  Peaks, crags, valleys and rivers thrust, plateau and wend their way into and across your field of vision in every direction.  Today though the mist acts as if very fine sheets of tracing paper were being held in front of your view removing the clarity, colour and definition that the camera, if not the soul craves from such vistas.  As it is there’s something quite calming about the opaque, almost paper-cutout shapes created and getting ever fainter the further back you attempt to stretch your gaze.  The Alps fade and recede into the whitening hinterland until they become one with the token cloud line that is present in the distance today.  The effect is somewhat reminiscent of the gentle near-monochromatic silk-screen prints of mountain scapes that tourists often return clutching from holidays to China or Japan.

I descend.  A butterfly seems to follow me for a while and the grasshoppers that I used to catch within my palms and terrorise my sister with chirrup away invisibly now as once they did when we were young.  The seilbahn deposits me back in Igls, 900 metres above Innsbruck.  The bus completes the return down and we have a sweeping, momentary glance of Zaha Hadid’s architecturally graceful 2006 reworking of the Innsbruck ski-jump.

I stroll around town for a while vaguely following the red line route on the map delineating the path of the sight-seeing bus.  Blue skies battle forth over the northern mountain faces as I zig-zag back and forth over the very fast flowing river Inn.  As I write this now (17.30ish) I have ‘eine grosse hell bierre’ and await the arrival of my ‘Wienerschnitzel mit pommes und salat’… “YUM!”  I am also looking for the second time today at the Goldens Dachl, the name of a building originally constructed in 1420 by Friedrich IV as a home for the Tyrolean royalty and was later embellished and gilded by a later patron with its now famous oriel window covered with 2,738 fire-gilt copper tiles.  These lend a certain majesty to the otherwise slightly drab façade and reflect as much of the remaining early evening sunlight as they can muster from the skies above.  I still see blue but the mists have been gathering, and I sense my first bought of genuine travel rain is imminent!  For now though, schnitzel and beer!

(19:40ish). It has rained. A little,.  Ever so briefly, but nevertheless the Sunshine Kid’s weather talisman is tarnished if not quite broken.  Oddly the sunset tonight though makes the mountains look as if they had been set alight.

After our castles yesterday it was back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for another night.  A good nights sleep and we are ready to move on south.  First today we we get to se Innsbruck, Austria.  The drive thru the mountains is beautiful and breathtaking.  There was one hill that we had to go down that was so steep it was scary, 16% downgrade!

We took a walking tour around the old town section of Innsbruck, through the narrow little streets and the church and finally to the Hapsburgh’s mansion that ended up belonging to Maximilian, and where he built the Golden Dachl.  He added the balconies with the golden roof so that the he could watch the square below and the games that went on.  

Also, while we were there we went down the street just a few places and got to look through the Swarovski Crystal Showroom and museum.  This is bling central!  What can I tell you, from little colored crystal tips on pencils to some of the dresses worn by Hollywood motion picture actresses and everything in between.  This was fun to look at.  And I ended up with a nice little souvenir!

On a little farther south to the Brunicio, Italy for lunch.  We  had pizza naturally as our first meal in Italy, and just down the street we saw a bakery with some of the most wonderful looking strudel. We just had to have some.  And I am so happy to say it was even better than it looked!

Then back on the bus and on south over the Dolomites, those amazing peaks that seem to grow straight up at the sky. And finally down out of the mountains and across the low hills to the near level of the costal area near Venice.  We pulled into our hotel just after 5 p.m.

Due to its location between high mountains, Innsbruck serves as an ideal place for skiing in winter, and mountaineering in summer. There are several ski resorts around Innsbruck with the Nordkette served by a cable car and additional chair lifts further up. Other ski resorts nearby include Axamer Lizum, Igls, Seefeld, Tulfes and Stubai Valley. The glaciated terrain in the latter makes skiing possible even in summer months.



The Olympic Winter Games were held in Innsbruck twice, first in 1964, then again in 1976, when the Denver, Colorado voters rejected a bond referendum to finance the games. Along with St. Moritz, Switzerland and Lake Placid, New York in the United States, it is one of three places which have twice hosted the Winter Games. It also hosted the 1984 and 1988 Winter Paralympics.



Other notable events held in Innsbruck include the Air & Style Snowboard Contest from 1994 to 1999 and the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2005. Together with the city of Seefeld, Innsbruck organized the Winter Universiade in 2005. Innsbruck is also one of the host cities for Euro 2008 which is to be held in Switzerland and Austria.

Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. It is located in the Inn Valley at the junction with the Wipptal (Sill River), which provides access to the Brenner Pass, some 30 km south of Innsbruck. Located in the broad valley between high mountains, the Nordkette (Hafelekar, 2,334 m) in the north, Patscherkofel (2,246 m) and Serles (2,718 m) in the south, it is an internationally renowned winter sports centre, and hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. The word bruck comes from the German word Brücke meaning "bridge" which leads to "the bridge over the Inn".

History

Earliest traces suggest initial inhabitation in the early Stone Age. Surviving pre-Roman place names show that the area has been populated continuously. In the fourth century the Romans established the army station Veldidena (the name survives in today's urban district Wilten) at Oenipons (Innsbruck), to protect the economically important commercial road from Verona-Brenner-Augsburg. Connections along this road were interrupted during the Migration Period in the fourth century.

The first mention of Innsbruck dates back to 1187 (Oeni Pontum or oeni pons which is Latin for bridge (pons) over the Inn (Oenus), which was an important crossing point over the river Inn. The city's seal and coat of arms show a bird's-eye view of the Inn bridge, a design used since 1267. The route over the Brenner Pass was then a major transport and communications link between the north and the south, and the easiest route across the Alps. The revenues generated by serving as a transit station enabled the city to flourish.

Innsbruck became the capital of all Tyrol in 1429 and in the fifteenth century the city became a centre of European politics and culture as emperor Maximilian I moved the imperial court to Innsbruck in the 1490s.

During the Napoleonic wars Tyrol was ceded to Bavaria, ally of France. Andreas Hofer led a Tyrolean peasant army to victory on the Berg Isel against the combined Bavarian and French forces, and then made Innsbruck the centre of his administration. The combined army later overran the Tyrolean militia army and until 1814 Innsbruck was part of Bavaria. After the Vienna Congress Austrian rule was restored. The Tyrolean hero Andreas Hofer was executed in Mantua; his remains were returned to Innsbruck in 1823 and interred in the Franciscan church.

In 1938 Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in the Anschluss. Between 1943 and April 1945, Innsbruck experienced twenty-one bomb attacks and suffered heavy damage. The KZ Innsbruck-Reichenau concentration camp was located here.[1]

In 1929, here in Innsbruck the first official Austrian Chess Championship was held. The winners were Erich Eliskases, Eduard Glass.

Demography

A majority of Innsbruck's people are of Tyrolean ancestry.

However, as with many European cities, there are small yet thriving minorities that co-exist with the European majority. These include Turkish, North Africans, Indians, Roma, and even Chinese and Nepali. Many of aspects of their culture can be found throughout the city, such as markets, restaurants, and shops; some even still speak their traditional language in everyday life. They, too, have had a lasting effect on the city of Innsbruck.

Climate

Due to its altitude and position in Central Europe, far from the coast, Innsbruck has an hemiboreal climate (Köppen classification : Dfb). Winter is cold - colder than those of most major European cities -, and snowy. Winter nights can get frigid, occasionally dropping to -12°C.

Spring is brief; days start to get warm, often over 15°C, but nights remain cool or even freezing.

Summer is highly variable and unpredictable. Days can be cool (17°C) and rainy, or sunny and extremely hot, sometimes hitting 34°C. In summer, as expected from an alpine climate, the diurnal temperature variation is often very high as nights always remain cool (12°C on average, but sometimes dipping as low as 6°C).

Main sights

Buildings

    * Golden Roof

    * Kaiserliche Hofburg (Imperial Court)

    * Hofkirche (Imperial Church) with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

    * Altes Landhaus (old federal state parliament)

    * Altstadt (Old Town)

    * Annasäule

    * Helblinghaus

    * Maria-Theresien-Straße (Main Street)

    * Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck (Theatre)

    * Triumphpforte

    * Bergiselschanze, designed by Zaha Hadid.

    * New Hungerburgbahn, designed by Zaha Hadid.

Museums

    * Riesenrundgemälde

    * Schloss Ambras (A Castle)

    * Tiroler Landesmuseum

    * Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum

    * Zeughaus

    * Tiroler Museumsbahnen

    * Kaiserjägermuseum

Churches

    * Ursulinenkirche

    * Dom zu St. Jakob (St. Jacob's Cathedral)

    * Hofkirche

    * Stift Wilten

    * Wiltener basilika

    * Spitalskirche

    * Liebfrauenkirche

    * Jesuit Church

Parks and gardens

    * Alpenzoo (Alpine Zoo)

    * Botanischer Garten der Universität Innsbruck, the University of Innsbruck's botanical garden

    * Hofgarten

    * Rapoldipark

    * Schlosspark Ambras

Cultural events

As a very popular tourist destination, Innsbruck organizes the following events every year:

    * Vierschanzentournee (Four Hills Tournament)

    * Innsbrucker tanzsommer

    * Bergsilvester (New Years Eve)

    * Festwochen der Alten Musik (Weeks of Classic Music)

    * Christkindlmarkt (Christmas fair)

Sports

Due to its location between high mountains, Innsbruck serves as an ideal place for skiing in winter, and mountaineering in summer. There are several ski resorts around Innsbruck with the Nordkette served by a cable car and additional chair lifts further up. Other ski resorts nearby include Axamer Lizum, Igls, Seefeld, Tulfes and Stubai Valley. The glaciated terrain in the latter makes skiing possible even in summer months.

The Olympic Winter Games were held in Innsbruck twice, first in 1964, then again in 1976, when the Denver, Colorado voters rejected a bond referendum to finance the games. Along with St. Moritz, Switzerland and Lake Placid, New York in the United States, it is one of three places which have twice hosted the Winter Games. It also hosted the 1984 and 1988 Winter Paralympics. It is now bidding for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics.

Other notable events held in Innsbruck include the Air & Style Snowboard Contest from 1994 to 1999 and 2008 and the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2005. Together with the city of Seefeld, Innsbruck organized the Winter Universiade in 2005. Innsbruck's Bergiselschanze is one of the hills of the famous Four Hills Tournament.

Innsbruck is home to the football club FC Wacker Innsbruck, which will play in the Austrian Football First League (second tier) in 2008-09. FC Wacker Innsbruck's stadium, Tivoli Neu, is one of eight stadiums hosting Euro 2008 which is taking place in Switzerland and Austria in June 2008.

Tourism

Tourism is the most important source of income for the city authority, largely because of Innsbruck's beautiful town centre with its historic buildings, the friendly ambience and the extensive sport facilities both in winter and in summer.

Miscellaneous

                Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (April 2008)

    * The international headquarters of SOS Children's Villages, one of the world's largest charities, is located in Innsbruck.

    * Innsbruck has two universities, the Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck and the Innsbruck Medical University. The Innsbruck Medical University has one of Europe's premier ski injury clinics.

    * Douglas Adams claimed that he got his idea for the novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy during a visit to Innsbruck in 1971, lying drunk in a field looking up at the stars.

    * Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen, an international fellowship programme for visual and new media arts, is located in Innsbruck.

    * The international headquarters of MED-EL, one of the largest producers of cochlear implants, is located in Innsbruck.

    * Innsbruck boasts two large lakes, Baggersee and Lansersee. These lakes are popular hangouts for locals during the spring and summer.

    * In the TV series Friends, (Season 1, "The One With the Stoned Guy") Chandler claims that he had waited tables during the Olympic Games in Innsbruck 1976. (Although he would have

I dont remember as much about what we did here. We started out at Swarovski Crystal Worlds (Swarovski Kristallwelten) which was more of a bizzare art museum utilizing crystal than anything terribly educational but it was still very neat. I got a picture of the piece done by Salvador Dalí and we also bought some nice souvenirs at the shop (the largest Swarovski shop in the world) at the end. The necklaces I got were really rather cheap compared to how much you pay back in the states and the variety was unmached.

Our tour then led us to the old town area where we were shown the Golden Roof and the outsides of some buildings and finally a chuch. The painting of Jesus and Mary at the center behind the alter is supposedly the most copied Jesus and Mary in the world.

The next morning we would fly back home. So as it was our last day in Europe we strolled around just enjoying the archetecture and of course had a nice lunch. It was the first time we found French onion soup on a menu which we thought was rather odd. I made sure to have hot chocolate as I have yet to have a half way decent cup of it in the states. Next time I come to Europe I really want to spend my time in Salzburg and maybe Munich. I really liked all the Germanic areas I saw (or perhaps its really Bavarian) though it is possible my British friend will kill me if I dont make it to England! Ah well we'll see!!!

Hotel Altpradl is in Innsbruck and is easy to find with plenty of signs leading you right to the front door. Located in a residential area the hotel is within walking distance of the city center. Our room was large with a great view of the rooftops and surrounding mountains. There was a large double bed and a twin bed under the window, with plenty of seating and storage. The bathroom was a little small but served its purpose. As do most hotels, continental breakfast is included in the price. The hotel was clean and well maintained with a friendly staff. The central location and the view from the room made this a great choice and good value.

The hotel itself is beautiful, great lobby, great bar, gorgeous pool, sauna, steam room. Rooms are very attractive, modern and comfortable. The food and the buffet that's included with the stay if you gat a package deal is amazing. Overall we were extremely satisfied. Only the bed was a little weird because it was made of two twin beds joined together but that maybe how they do it in every hotel. We arrived on a Wednesday night in February and the hotel was rather empty so wwe asked to get a mini suite instead of a regular room and they gave it to us at no cost. My boyfriend and I both loved the hotel. We stayed there to enjoy the city and to ski.

The Hilton Innsbruck is one of the most comfortable hotels that I've stayed in throughout the entire Euro trip. The breakfast is great as well, even though it's buffet, they'll wait on you hand-and-foot with a vast selection of fruits, cereals, eggs, etc. I can definitely say that I was not disappointed staying here. It had a great location just a few minutes walk from the train station and it was very close to the old town, so you can see all the major tourist attractions around the area. It also had a great view from our room. Surprisingly it was only about 115 Euros a night staying here, so you get your money's worth. The hotel desk staff were friendly and accomodating -- they will convert money for you and offer you whatever you need to make your night a comfortable stay. I think overall it was a comfortable place to stay for a decent amount of time. The beds were comfortable and the bathroom was a good size. I would stay here again if I were to visit Innsbruck again.

This hotel looks very nice and lovely. It’s in the capitol of Tirol, surrounded by mountains. And my experience with people from Austria is that they are very friendly and helpful. But, there is one exception… HOTEL BINDERS! For me and my mountain loving boyfriend, I had arranged a visit to HOTEL BINDERS and stay a few days in Innsbruck. I had contacted the hotel if there was a free room, paid my deposit and never looked at some strange German word somewhere under all the information that mattered in my e-mail contact. I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, when the journey came closer, something unexpected came by so I was wondering what happened if I canceled the trip and asked this question. All I got were answers that due to the nature of the deposit they couldn’t return my money (c’mon…paying by internet isn’t that difficult!) and that I must have been informed about a cancel insurance (the strange German word had indicated this, because after my payment they suddenly translated it for me en pointed the word out for me, because it was somewhere between a whole lot of words) and they always recommended it to their guests. Yeah sure, after they had paid the money, like in my case?! I told him about the misinformation etc. But to make a long story short, the man had cancelled my booking without any confirmation from my side, because I was just asking the question ‘what happens if…’. And that was that. I decided not to agree with all of this, because of my loss of money (€178,-), so I contacted the European consumer commission and explained everything. They contacted the hotel, to negotiate about getting me (some of) my money back. But probably the employee was living in his own fantasy world, and told this commission that I had contacted the hotel by phone and I was speaking perfectly German and perfectly rude, so I must have understood the German information about cancellations. That’s why he wouldn’t give me (some) money back. Excuse me?! I have never phoned the hotel! So first cancelling a booking without any permission and then making up this phone call. Be warned people. Don’t take any risks making a reservation at this hotel. I know a lot of friendly Austrian places, but this is definitely not one of them! And who knows what kind of made up story HE has in mind for you….

The schedule is really starting to take a toll on my sleeping cycle. At least it's getting me back on track for what's coming up in the states. Anyway, Mannheim was a short stay once again. I think after this, every other city that we stay in will be at least 2 days and 2 nights. Our next destination will be at Innsbruck in Austria. Basically, we'll be doing a complete reversal of where we were before. I hear that it's going to go down in Austria for Euro 2008. Kinda looking forward to it.

The bus ride through the mountains is definitely a site to see. The city that we're approaching is called Neuschwanstein, and it's located on the outskirts of the alps. If I had to estimate, it would be about a four hour ride plus traffic.

When we arrived, the first thing that struck me as weird was the weather. Of course in higher altitudes, you'd expect it to be cold... but it was a bit humid. Also, there were a lot more flies roaming around than usual. After the usual bathroom pit stop, we decided to try a restaurant that served the fine Austrian cuisine that consisted of white bratwursts, potatoes, sauerkraut, cheese noodles, and meatballs. Interesting choice for lunch of course, but what can I say? I'm not a picky eater... although I have been eating gummy bears on a consistent basis ever since I left Amsterdam.

After we departed from Neuschwanstein, it was straight for Innsbruck from there. I'll spare the details and say that we got there roughly around 6pm, which in theory was enough time to wander the center and do some shopping just before dinner. Around 7:30, we got on the tour bus that went straight to this restaurant... whose name that I can't remember. Let's just say that there was a lot of crazy Oktoberfest entertainment and booze to go around. Some guy in our tour somehow twisted his ankle by slipping on a wet spot in the bathroom and was rushed to the hospital... which was weird since he was the only one that we really communicated with. I wish him the best of luck and hope he gets better. Now it's time to get some sleep.

UPDATE: Germany just beat Turkey in the Euro 2008 Finals 3-2, and it's going crazy out there! I can only imagine what it would be like if they lost.