Morning split like a cracked gray soft-boiled egg (which we had for breakfast) revealing the bright blue underneath. Under this brilliant hue, the three of us took an exploratory bike ride under truly warm sun, past the bustling center, through the ‘burbs and out along the river. After lunch, late afternoon cappuccini and strudels in…
Morning split like a cracked gray soft-boiled egg (which we had for breakfast) revealing the bright blue underneath. Under this brilliant hue, the three of us took an exploratory bike ride under truly warm sun, past the bustling center, through the ‘burbs and out along the river. After lunch, late afternoon cappuccini and strudels in the last of the sun’s warmth on a busy corner (people watching never disappoints). We marveled at how classy European women (who, from the back, could be any age, pondered Dean) are… how do they pull off that certain je ne sais quoi? At dusk, a beverage up with the birds and a view to match, followed by a simple but bountiful buffet in the hostel. All in all, a splendid Tirolean affair…
1. Good morning Innsbruck from Tyler, Sylva and Dean, our fellow Colorado buddy who’s been touring in Germany for a couple weeks. It’s tradition at this point to all meet up in Europe somewhere to cause trouble.
2. Check out of first hotel; try to check into the other. It is too early, so eat pastries instead.
3. Pull the bikes out, find a bike path (very easy in bike-friendly Innsbruck) along the river. Pause for pictures.
3b. Pause longer to enjoy the view and the spectacular weather.
4. Follow the wrong path (for runners not bikers) in organized Osterreich (Austria). Follow it anyway, even once it turns to dirt, crosses the river and passes the airport, despite disapproving Austrian looks.
5. Pause for another picture of the dramatic mountains which the clouds no longer hide.
6. Find a sweet viewpoint which includes the airport. Wait for a plane to take off, which it does, just above our heads. What a rush!
7. Positively starved, look for lunch during “the witching hour” — the midday period when everything (restaurants, grocery stores) closes and we are inevitably hungry. Settle for beer and so-so food (and delicious beer!) in the touristy section.
8. Thread back through the busy center to our new hotel, Nepomuk’s, above the bakery we sampled earlier.
9. Pop over to the grocery store, come back, set up shop and enjoy a rest on the open air patio (which will host our pretzel, mustard, tomato, cheese, sausage, chocolate and wine dinner later…)
10. Locate Bar 360, which — not surprisingly — offers a 360 degree view of Innsbruck and is soon packed. A spritz? Ja, danke.
11. Check out the view as the last of the daylight sets off the city.
12. Enjoy the sun sliding behind the mountains as a chill sets in.
13. Walk back to the room and proceed to gorge ourselves and become a bit drunk with two German students — Julian and Tomas. Turns out they’re living at the hostel until they can find an apartment. Offhand, they mention their membership at a local gym called McFit (comes with a Happy Meal?) where they can “take free showers.” None of us thinks anything of it until the following morning when we’d like a shower. However, the shower door is missing; some detective work reveals it is on the patio. Now… how ever did the water get all over the bathroom? I’m quite clean, but I’ll never tell.
Now, after almost a week of dank, cold rainy Italian weather and a sky so low and heavy it seems someone’s sitting on it we fly south to Sicily. Sunshine and sandy beaches, cannoli, olives, citrus fruits and cannoli (Sicilian pastries the size of newborn babies filled with ricotta and other delicious morsels) await us. And apparently potholes that could swallow us and our bikes whole and packs of crazy dogs that are apparently released after tourist season is over… “Carry plenty of rocks in your pockets,” said Lisa, our friend and a tour leader for ExperiencePlus. During tourist season, the police ensure (somehow) that the mongrels are locked up. October, fortunately, is not busy season…
Whether or not this trip goes to the dogs, I’ll keep you posted. Stay tuned and until then, arrivederci!
Sylva Florence 
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