Innsbruck

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The moment I stepped out of the train station in Innsbruck, I regretted that I wouldn't be spending more time there. I'll admit that nice weather had something to do with it—impressions of a city are often related to weather—but the city itself just gives off a great vibe.

I would be spending the night in Innsbruck, so I decided to go to the hostel and drop off my stuff first. I couldn't find the street I needed on my map, though, so I took the bus that had been recommended on the hostel's website. That ended up being the last bus I took, because the city is manageably small once you know your way around a little bit.

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I got to the hostel and checked in. The room was nice. No one was there when I got there. After throwing my backpack on the bed, I organized myself a little bit and bundled up again to head back outside: out and up. Considering the gorgeous weather, I decided to forgo indoor museums in favor of a visit to the biggest museum Innsbruck has to offer: its mountains. Youth Hostel St. Nikolaus is situated relatively close to the cable car up to Nordpark, so I headed there. While Nordpark is a destination mostly for skiers and snowboarders, I wasn't the only one who just wanted a nice view.

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The cable car route starts downtown, but I skipped the first section and hiked up to Hungerburg (806 m). From there I took the cable car to Seegrube (1905 m) and Hafelekar (2256 m). The ride was nice; it wouldn't have made me nervous, except that my sinuses started behaving the way they do at takeoff in an airplane. While takeoff is fine, I have the tendency to get incredibly painful headaches during landing: imagine giving birth out of your forehead and eyes. I didn't worry about this for long, though, because the view was stunning.

Seegrube is the main winter sports stop. I had a snack and a drink there, took a few pictures, and then I continued on up. On Hafelekar, I felt like I was on top of the world. I tried coming up with other similes and metaphors, but it was difficult. You can ski up there, too, but only if you are incredibly skilled or have a death wish. I concentrated on not falling off (the potential was there). After the cold overwhelmed my awe, I went to the little restaurant on the mountain and treated myself to Apfelstrudel and Glühwein. The Strudel was good, but the glass of Glühwein came with a packet of sugar. I suspect it may have just been hot and not mulled wine.

I guess Hafelekar isn't even that high—it's no Everest—but it was definitely high enough for me, especially because I did get a barotrauma headache on the way down. Luckily this didn't last too long.

It was getting dark when I descended; I decided to walk straight downtown from Hungerburg. I walked around and snapped photos, and when it got completely dark, I looked for food. I had delicious Rösti (like a giant hash brown) with vegetables at a place called Manna. For dessert I had hot chocolate with rum. By hot chocolate, I don't mean cocoa powder, I mean the real stuff, real chocolate: delicious.

I walked around a little bit more until, tired and cold, I went back to the hostel. There I talked a bit with my co-hostelers, three Americans and two Spaniards. Then it was bedtime. I had more countries to visit the next day.