Arrival in the Beautiful Country of Austria

On the train to Innsbruck... finally!

Jessica and I are happy to report that we arrived safe and sound yesterday night a little before midnight in Innsbruck, Austria.  Our expensive train tickets paid themselves off in the fun we afforded ourselves singing and dancing in empty train cars against the dark night skies passing over the border from Italy to Austria.   Trust me, those few moments of realizations that we had missed the train had been painful, but what’s done is done.  We agreed that everybody needs their crazy travel story, where things go wrong and trains are missed, so we just got one more thing checked off of our list I guess.

It was hard to get a true sense of the town yesterday when the city was asleep beneath heavy clouds of fog and the weight of thick cold air… not to mention the fact it was dark.  It didn’t matter too much though because we were just happy to finally be in Austria.  My cousin, Nino, met us at the train station where we shared some happy greetings and friendly hugs. He drove us to their home, which was a little ways up in the mountains snugged up in an inlet of trees and nearby homes.  It was really comforting to know we had a warm and comfy place to stay for the night.  And we definitely slept well, after having woken up at 4am and running around catching trains all day.

The Alps tower up from behind some thinning layers of fog.

Today my Uncle gave us each an Innsbruck card that he purchased for both of us that gives us free transportation around the city and free entrances to museums and even some rides on the several gondolas around the city.  We were a little overwhelmed at first, so he started out by showing us a little bit around the city.  I’m horrible with directions, but surprisingly I got a pretty good handle on where everything was.  From the Inn River that runs on the edge of town to the markets and Old Town, we had several landmarks that marked our way.  We ended up deciding to use today as an exploration day to get the feel for the city so we could begin using our card tomorrow, which would last us for three days. 

I can say now that I’ve really toured around Italy and seen quite a few cities and I’ve really loved every moment and enjoyed the cities, the views and the people, but arriving here in Austria, just felt like home.  I mean, yes, I’m ½ Austrian and my mom grew up only ½ an hour away from Innsbruck, which might have something to do with it, but something about the atmosphere of the town and the people just drew me in.  It was a perfectly quiet fall day and just walking down the streets with people all cuddled up with mittens and scarves sipping on beer and watching the world go by just made you feel like you belonged there.  There was a certain softness to it, from the buildings that ran along the wide cobbled paths in bright peach and turquoise colors to the way the mountains modestly boasted themselves against the skyline.  I loved the way the hills just softly rolled into the steep mountainsides, with housetops scattered along the green countrysides covered in forests and fields of green.  I loved it, and I loved the way how everything about my Austrian grandparents started to make sense after being able to take in their heritage for simply just a day.

A lovely fall day in Austria... loving the colors!

From fried and breaded chicken schnitzel to pictures of little girls dressed in their traditional Austrian drindls, and cowbells and cuckoo clocks, I basically soaked up all I knew of the country through their small home snugged in the mountains of Sun Valley, Idaho.  But being able to actually visit Austria I really was able to understand better my grandparents, and in turn, appreciate my roots and my heritage.  Just being here I really understand the culture and way of life so much better, and everything from the decorations that adorned their home to the yummy dinners that my Oma cooks for my family, it all makes that much more sense.  Just walking around and taking in the sights, smells, and pace around me, I guess it all kind of clicked together, and all the pieces of the puzzle began to just kind of fall into place.

I am so excited to have three more days here to explore and learn about the city of Innsbruck and the country itself.  It seems we have so little time when looking at all the things we can do, but I remind myself how lucky I am to have the time that I have.  Well, I better get started with another day of adventures!

Auf Wiedersehen!