After a delicious breakfast at our great hotel, The Neue Poste, we took off, maps and guidebooks in hand to see what we could of Innsbruck by foot.
Innsbruck is located on the River Inn at about 1880 feet above sea level. The name Innsbruck is derived from the original meaning “bridge over the Inn”. It is a small (population 130,000) walkable city surrounded by glacier speckled mountains that you feel you can almost touch. The city bulges with tourists during the popular winter ski season.
The weather has been so fantastic, we can’t believe our luck. Just before we left the US, it was rainy and cold across Central Europe. Jan, our boat captain in Prague, mentioned that they had already had their first snow! And here we are with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70′s!
We first visited the Hofkirche. This church is notable for the 28 larger-than life bronze statues guarding the cenotaph of 
Maximilian I. The bronzes (both men and women are represented) are known as the Schwartzen Mandern.
Next door is the Volkskunstmuseum, which depicts life in the Tirol through its arts and crafts. It also showed the customs and mode of dress of the people in this region. Included is a display of handcrafted nativity scenes, a regional tradition.
After all this walking, we were ready for lunch. In an effort to eat like the locals, we stopped by the biergarten for a sausage on a bun. While I sat at one of the crowded picnic tables, Bill went off to buy the sausage. He came back with two bowls of unidentifiable soup with a cut-up sausage in each. It goes to show that when you can’t read or speak the language, you get what you get. (The sausage was good; I didn’t eat the soup.)
After lunch, we went to see the Hofburg, built in 1460 and rebuilt by Maria Theresia from 1754-73. Maria Theresia, her husband and her family of 16 children lived there at times and sought to restore the palace to its earlier importance. Unfortunately, the building is being renovated and although we purchased a museum guide, it was quite inaccurate as many objects and displays were moved or missing. The rooms we were able to see did give a glimpse of life in the palace. Once the renovations are complete, I think the museum will be worth the visit.
After a little rest back at the hotel, we went out for another stroll in the city and had dinner at a great little Thai place called Thai Li. After a gelato cone, we were back at the hotel to write this post.
