Innsbruck

So, the past three days have been very eventful (although I have found this to be the case with most days).

On Wednesday, I checked out of my hostel in Salzburg and boarded the train to Innsbruck, austria. The views along the way were incredible- I almost hated to pry my eyes away from the window. Innsbruck was just as beautiful as Salzburg, or maybe even better. The town is surrounded by a ring of mountains; they are so close that ere is a cable car from the central train station to the top of a nearby peak. Needless to say, the views are pretty sweet. I was tired once I checked in, so I read a little and went to bed early.

The next day was one of my favorites. I went on a free guided hiking tour; we took a tour bus about 30minutes into the mountains and disembarked in the middle of an alpine meadow. Over the next four hours, our group of ten walked along a glacial streambed, between towering mountainsides and past glacial waterfalls. There were cows and sheep grazing high on the slopes, and the view was surreal. It somewhat reminded me of the pictures you see in National Geographic. One of the cooler vistas was at the halfway point; we stopped at a cabin to rest and you could see the path we had just hiked between the mountain ridges. There was evidence of an old glacier on one of the hillsides - the ground was strewn with boulders and you could see where sediment had flowed down, years ago. I think it would be impossible to snap a bad photo there.

Today I woke up to a steady drizzle, so I ate breakfast and went back to bed for on hour nap. When I woke up the skies were clear and I walked to the center of town. I was hoping that the imperial gardens would be a nice place to visit, but they turned out to be so-so. My day really perked up, however, when I happened upon the John Phillip Sousa performing band playing outside the town performing arts center. They were quite good, and finished the concert by playing a European marching medley, with each of the Western countries represented. At the very end, they transitioned to a rendition of The Stars and Stripes Forever, which made my day.

I spent the next couple of hours browsing through a couple of massive outdoor stores (skiing, mountain climbing, cycling, backpacking, running, soccer, and more, all in one store!) and checking out the town center. I am looking to go hiking again tomorrow, and hope to give a good report!


Today I