Tirol, Ӧsterreich

We arrived in Innsbruck around 2 PM and caught the bus to the small village of Tulfes, where we stayed the next three nights. The scenes are breathtaking here.

Everywhere we look the mountains loom over us. The peeks are in this season bare. No snow is present. The fields bath the landscape in green and yellow hues. Flowers are in full bloom. From the house we are staying in we can see the farmers about their daily chores driving by in their tractors with heavy loads.  Hey and manure seem to be prevalent. The air in places is a bit ripe, but out here in the country side the air is fresh and life pleasant.

We visited another little town called Hall in Tirol. Our first stop was here. We wandered about walking across the cobblestone streets and byways that crisscross the town. We stepped into a few churches and gazed upon the remains of the faithful.

Dead Saint on Display

In Innsbruck were we spent most of our time, we visited a few of the local sites:

• The Goldenes Dachl

• Dom St. Jakob

•  The Hofberg

• Schloβ Ambras

Innsbruck was a popular destination for Habsburg royalty. They visited Innsbruck frequently after the Tyrol was acquired by Österreich since the time of Maximilian I. During the Napoleonic Wars the Tyrol was ceded to Bayern (Bavaria) until the people of Tyrol revolted and it returned to Österreich. Being one of the first passes over the Alps it has been a key political and economic center.  

We did a lot of wandering through the streets and seemed to shop constantly. My feet are killing me! Thank goodness we are on the bus so much. It takes about thirty minutes just to get back to our apartment.

We leave for Venezia, Italy (Venice, Italy) on Saturday.

See you all soon,

Jeremy