We arrived in Innsbruck as part of an extended pre-trip to a VBT (Vermont Bicycle Tours) bicycle vacation in the Dolomites in Italy. We had been here before but it was years ago and we had basically no memory of the city or where we stayed. It was one of those, “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium,” trips.

Innsbruck’s population is more than 100,000 people and it’s in a valley surrounded by the Alps with access to the Brenner Pass. This location makes it very popular for skiing; Innsbruck has hosted two winter Olympics in 1964 and in 1976. To get here, we had to travel for 20 hours with two layovers all while wearing a face mask. The layovers were lengthier than would be normal due to a reduced number of available flights. All this is attributable to Covid. It was our first trip overseas in two years and we almost forgot how to pack for such a trip.

And packing was different because we had to bring face masks, hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, as well as test kits for Covid. Our travel company advised us to bring the test kits because we needed proof of a negative test 72 hours prior to entering Italy. We also had to bring our proof of vaccination cards, or “green cards,” and these were required for entry into most establishments, especially restaurants in Austria. We also had to download the PLF, Passenger Locator Form, onto our phones before European travel. This was used for contact tracing.

After our flight, a shuttle picked us up at the airport and we arrived at our Innsbruck hotel around noon, too early for check-in. Our body clocks were off and we wanted to do nothing but sleep but we met up with our bicycling friends from around the U.S. – there are seven of us – who had all arrived at approximately the same time and started exploring.

We headed for the Old Town section which was only a few blocks away.

Our first stop was at the Stiftskellar, an outdoor restaurant that had a small oompah band performing. We had lunch here that included dumplings, goulash, and goulash soup. I loved the soup and had it twice more before we left Innsbruck. The band, not so much.

We checked in later and had a chance to clean up and organize our suitcases. Dinner that night was at the Golden Adler which means eagle in German. Lots of things are named Adler here.

I had some kind of fish with vegetables.

We were very intrigued with our lemon pressers that became a regular at most meals. They worked really well with a slice of lemon to squeeze out just enough juice for our fish or whatever.

Walking back towards our hotel that evening, we pass by the City Tower and there are steps to that tower that would have to be climbed another day. It was supposed to be 188 steps to the top with a good view of the city.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel in a very old section of the basement. We probably had our best breakfasts of the trip here or at least the most expansive. This included a selection of various types of bread, croissants, and muffins along with jams, honey, and Nutella; a table of cereals and nuts including Ross’ favorite muesli; fresh cut up fruit; cheeses and cold cuts; and a warm offering of scrambled eggs, undercooked bacon, and beans. Ross loves European breakfasts; they just don’t know how to do bacon.

Then we met with a local tour guide, Monica, who took us on a one-hour walking tour.

One of our stops was at the Hofkirche, the Court Church. We walked by this every day that we went into Old Town.

After entering the church, we passed though an inner courtyard to reach the sanctuary.

This church is famous for the tomb of the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I except that he is not entombed here.

The church and tomb were constructed by Emperor Ferdinand, as a memorial to his grandfather years after Maximilian’s death in 1519 but Maximilian was buried at Weiner Neustadt and his remains are still there and not in Innsbruck. Most interesting in the Hofkirche were the 28 life-size bronze statues that were also created to represent Maximilian’s relatives and heroes including the fictional King Arthur.

Then she took us into Old Town with the top of the City Tower in the distance. This photo looks like a scene from a movie but I don’t want to speculate as to which one.

We stopped to check out the Golden Roof which Maximilian I had built around 1500 on the occasion of his wedding to defray talk of financial difficulties. The building itself was completed at an earlier time and the roof is fire-gilded copper shingles. The fire-gilding process adds a layer of gold atop the metal shingles.

Diagonally across from the Golden Roof is the Helblinghaus. It’s very notable because of its Baroque style among the neighboring Gothic and Medieval structures. The house itself was constructed in the late Middle Ages but the facade was added in the 18th century. It’s located on Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse.

Our restaurant from last night is on this same street and Monica took us back there to point out the hotel that is connected to the restaurant and a list of famous people who have stayed in that hotel including Mozart in 1773 and John Glen in 1969.

She took us to a water spigot that we could drink from to explain how pure the water is in the city. Monica explained that the water is from the Alps and flows for years through the rocks gathering minerals before reaching the fountains in Innsbruck. Ross thought it tasted good.

Near the end of the street we saw this statue, Father and Son, watching for Napolean’s army which commemorates the war with France.

And further on, we reached a bridge across the Inn River, a 300 mile tributary of the Danube. Its source is in the Swiss Alps near St. Moritz in the Engadine area and it reaches the Danube at Passau, Germany.

Monica also pointed out these houses of different colors and said they were that way in medieval times when many people were illiterate and the colors allowed them to identify locations of various trades people.

Monica’s tour took us past some interesting shops including this one.

And this one filled with clocks and watches throughout several rooms.

After the tour, we took the Hungerburg Funicular, which was not far from our hotel, up to a small village where we caught the Nordkettenbahnen cable car to the top of Mt. Hafelekar. At 7,500 feet above sea level, we had a spectacular view of Innsbruck and the Karwendel Mountains.

The view from near the top of Mt. Hafelekar with the Inn River far below.

After the cable car dropped us off, the rest of the trip to the top was by foot. I didn’t make this part of the trip as I was feeling dizzy and just wiped out. Decided it was dehydration from the flight over. So I really started pushing the liquids. Ross and Tom are located in the middle of the photo below, probably checking out their GPS.

Jerry, Tom, and Cindy up among the clouds. Photo by Ross.

Ross at the top.

Waiting for the funicular to reach us for the trip back down.

After our trip back down to the city, I grabbed another bowl of soup and then went back to the hotel to rest. The rest of the group kept exploring. Dinner our second night in Innsbruck was at the Fischerhaüsl, a restaurant that Monica had recommended and it was very good.

Ross especially liked his South Tyrollean hash, also called Gröstel.

Our last day in Innsbruck started off with testing for Covid. Three of our group did it online with one of the kits we each brought. The other four of us walked to a pharmacy and were directed to a shopping mall across the street. We got tested there and went shopping for 15 minutes while we waited for the results. All was good. Then we headed back into Old Town.

We checked out the Cathedral of St. James, also known as the Innsbruck Cathedral and the Dom Zu St. Jakob. It’s in the Baroque style built in the early 1700s on the site of a twelfth century Romanesque church.

The church is most famous for two items, one is a painting completed around 1530, titled Mary of Succor, which is one of the most venerated images of Mary in Christendom. The church also contains the Tomb of Archduke Maximilian III.

A larger photo of the Mary of Succor painting which is located above the main altar in the church.

Ross, leaving the church through one of the large wooden doors.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around, shopping, and climbing the City Tower’s 188 steps. I checked out some china shops.

Ross enjoyed the view from the tower.

Dinner our final night in Innsbruck was at Ottoburg, another outdoor cafe with wonderful Tyrollean food. It was even more special because of the jazz duet playing just down the street.

Walking back to the hotel and looking towards Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse we say goodby to Innsbruck.