Austria - Innsbruck
Even just going into (and out of) Innsbruck on the train you know you are in a special place. The alps are simply amazing and European trains zig zag through them like they were made to go together. The alp towns, bridges, rivers, castles, chateaus, and really everything you see will just amaze. What a place to live, if you like living in the 1500’s, haha. Gorgeous though. Innsbruck itself is pretty small. The outdoor activities seem to be aplenty, but the main thing to do, as far as I can tell is to take the Hungerburg funicular and the Nordkettenbahnen/cable car gondola thing (gotta love those kinds of names) up to the top of the Hafelekarhaus…er…take the cable car up to the top of the mountain. To get to the top you take 3 separate rides, which all have amazing and frightening views. The very top can only be reached by foot and is worth it. I was greeted by an amazing glider that kept whizzing by with a smiling, waving pilot…pretty cool…and the entire view is surrounded by snow capped and snow covered mountains. It would be really cool to go snowboarding up there one day, but the season hadn’t really started yet. On the way down I had a high altitude beer with a really nice Canadian couple who happen to be cattle ranchers! So we had an amazing talk about the beef industry. That night, at a somewhat trendy bar I met another really nice couple and the guy happened to be from DC! Weird shit.
Anyway, beautiful town, good pedestrian streets, some nice buildings, but not much to speak of unless you are there for winter sports. The experience was great, but not necessarily because of the town.
Notes to self:
-No real need to go back. An overnight train though the Alps would be a ton of fun.
The Penz Hotel - Oct 2013
Awesome place. Frommer find (pretty sure I love that Arthur even if more often than not he is just steering me away from the shit I would hate). This hotel is modern with sweet alpine touches. The lobby is beautiful with this completely open elevator area right at the front. Rooms have hard wood, great bathrooms, and modern conveniences. It was the classic chateau action that I wanted with the modern touches of 2013. Location was great, a block away from their pseudo pedestrian street, Maria Theresien Strasse, and a short walk from the train station. Lastly, I have seen some included hotel breakfasts in my day, but so far, I have never seen anything like this. In the US it would only be offered at something like a grand casino buffet. I mean they had everything. I had to get like 10 different pieces of fruit because I swear to god, I had never even seen them before in my life. The spread was amazing, and the staff was awesome. Great bar on the top floor too…reminded of the W DC bar.