Above the Clouds in Austria

We woke up in Innsbruck and didn't really have much planned for the day.

I've mentioned that this was a relaxed trip and we were probably remiss in our pre-trip planning.

Little did I know that THIS was what the day held in store for us!

I realize it's not a great picture.  But, I had to include it.

My eyes are closed because my smile is SO big.  I am bursting with joy.

On this day, we ventured up above the clouds and to the top of the world! 

With not much on the agenda, we wandered around the old city a bit

and followed a map to the base of the funicular that I had read about briefly.

We found this little station with an electronic ticket booth.

After trying to decipher the German we purchased two tickets to somewhere.

We really were just flying by the seat of our pants with not a clue what we were doing. 

We quickly realized that this was not your average ride up a hill.

The city of Innsbruck was soon spread out below us in all its beauty.

And up we went.

We got to the top and found another ticket booth.  This time for a gondola ride even further "up." 

I thought we'd gone far enough but TE quickly purchased tickets before I had time to consider what was in store.

I think I've mentioned my fear of heights.

And the fact that everyone else had on full ski gear, should have been a clue.

And UP we went!  Soon there was snow, lots and lots of snow.

And then it was foggy and cloudy. 

Up.  Up. UP!

And then suddenly, we were actually above the clouds and in the sun!

I get butterflies just thinking about it!  It was so fantastic and so unexpected!

And I was so amazed that I forgot I was afraid!

When we got to the top we hopped off and found ourselves at a full-on Ski Chalet at the top of a 

mountain!

This was a mountain that from below we didn't even know was there because it was hidden in the clouds. 

There were tons of people taking off down the slopes.  TE took another ride up even higher!

I was content to stay at the chalet and be amazed with the sites (and visit the Ice Bar). 

What amazing views! I've never seen anything like it!

There we kids learning on the bunny slopes and

adventurers heading straight down the mountain on more adventurous trails.
(Innsbruck has hosted not one, but two Winter Olympics.)

Obviously, we weren't exactly dressed for a day on the slopes.

But we weren't the only ones in jeans with a camera who had just come for an explore. 

We had a beer at the chalet and spent some time people watching and taking everything in.

I wish the camera could capture the entire experience.  I just don't have the words.

 

 

We could not wipe the smiles off of our faces. 

What a fantastic surprise to stand above the clouds and see the world spread out before you.

After some time relishing the experience, 

we reluctantly decided to head back down to the real world. 

We hopped back on the the gondola basking in the joy of an amazing experience.  

Since the sun was starting to set, the gondola was packed with tired skiers in full gear.

There was the faint sent of cold, body odor filling the air.

About 3 minutes into the ride, I was awakened from my revery by my husband yelping "Owww!" very loudly!

And the sound of a man yelling "Oyyy!" and then fussing, vehemently in German. 

I looked at TE and he was pissed!

I followed his gaze down, down, down to see the red cheeks of a precocious toddler

looking up at TE with blatant challenge all over his face. 

 The three year old skier was apparently annoyed with the close proximity and

had just stomped on TE's foot with his full-metal toe ski boot!

Hard! 

TE was so not amused and scowled back at the little tyke accepting the challenge.

The parents apologized, tutted and scolded the little monster, glancing nervously at TE's not-amused face.  

I, of course, made the mistake of giggle-snorting which made TE even more angry!

The rest of the trip consisted of TE fuming,

the toddler twitching to stomp that big foot just once more, 

the parents trying desperately to convince him not to

and me trying not to wet myself laughing.

And once again, I forgot that I was afraid of heights.  

Best. Day. EVER!

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Innsbruck, Austria

Onto, the next stop of our Winter Trip!

We had an overnight in Innsbruck and again we focused our short time in the historic city center.

The Inn River flows through the center of town and snow covered mountains surround the valley.

If Zurich is sophisticated and elegant, then Innsbruck is her more colorful neighbor.

The bright whimsical colors don't hide all of the rough spots and wrinkles,

but it's such a charming city.

Pastel colored, medieval buildings line the narrow streets and are full architectural character.

We found the prices in Austria much more reasonable.

And like Switzerland, we didn't have a bad meal.

Take a look and tell me what you think?

   

 

   

  

    

Tomorrow I will share our mountaintop experience!

If you've popped over here from the Move Guides  featured guest blogger article

then welcome to my little corner of the blog world.

I'm so glad you are here and I hope you stick around for awhile.

I'd love to hear from you!

xoxo

Selena

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Austria and Switzerland Winter Trip

Hi.  It's me. 

I'm back and feeling quite contrite. 

I'm sheepishly peeking out into the midst to see if I have any readers left. 

I hope I didn't really offend anyone with my little hissy fit or the photos.  

It was all very tongue in cheek and I promise I won't do it again.  

Much.

If you are reading this then you can relate or you have just forgiven me.

Either way, I'm glad you are here and I'm lovin' the comments you left.

Now as promised, I'm on to nicer endeavors.  

Let me tell you about our Anniversary Trip to Switzerland and Austria.  

 After much discussion, TE and I decided that instead of heading South in search of warmer temperatures,

we would just embrace the cold and make it a Winter Trip.

We flew out on Friday evening after work to Zurich, Switzerland. 

It was a quick two hour flight with only about 15 people on board.

After two nights in Zurich, we boarded a train to Innsbruck, Austria for one night. 

And our last stop was Salzburg, Austria for our last two nights.

We flew home on Wednesday afternoon

We pre-booked our hotels with advice from Tripadvisor.com and were happy with our choices.  

We aren't too fussy about hotels.  Location, cleanliness and good customer service are the things that we value.

The three that we picked all fit the bill very nicely.

 Zurich

 Innsbruck

Salzburg

All three of them were close to the Old Town Center and the river

which are common characteristics of each city.

We splurged a little on first class tickets for the three hour train journey from Zurich to Innsbruck.

Nice big comfy seats with lots of room and amazing views.

On a side note.  Did you know most trains have seats facing both ways,

meaning you could be facing backwards at times on a journey?
How did I not know this until recently?

Riding backwards happens to really do a number on my stomach.

I go a crazy shade of grey and my insides start making awful noises.

(I told you I was a bit of a princess nightmare.)

 I do get really sick so TE always tries to make sure he books seats for us facing forwards.

The challenge on this journey was that for part of the trip, we were facing one way.
Then after a particular stop the train reversed and we were facing the opposite direction.  

TE thinks he deserves lots of sympathy that he had to try and make sure I was facing the 
wrong way for the least amount of time. 
I think I deserve the sympathy for having a wonky stomach.
  

 It's a good thing we had the extra room because I actually spent part of the trip 

sitting in my seat on my knees facing the back of the seat.

TE just pretends he doesn't know me.

 

 After less than an hour, I was happily facing in the right direction with a settling tummy

so I could focus on the amazing views along the way.

Crisp, blue skies and pristine snow.  Majestic mountaintops and charming cottages.

Fuzzy evergreens and floating clouds.

It was just beautiful.

 There is something so relaxing about watching these views flash by

and thinking about the people that live and work in these places.

From Innsbruck to Salzburg we were in standard class.

The train had a hallway along one side of the carriage.

On the other side were compartments with glass doors that each seat six people.

Three facing backwards including TE and three facing forward (me).

There is plenty of room above for storage and the seats are comfy.

Everyone just settles in reading or watching the world go by in comfortable silence.

It was five wonderful days and I think it was one of my favorite trips so far.

We had really good weather, just a few random showers.

 There was plenty of this.

And a daily serving of this.  

Pork Schnitzel with a nice squeeze of lemon, parsley potatoes and cranberry sauce.

So nummy!

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting about each of the places we visited

and some of the things we did along the way.

 I hope you will follow along.  

And please tell me I'm not the only one that gets sick from facing the wrong way on a train!

xoxo

Selena

Sorry about the quality of the pics taken from the train windows.  And as usual, this is not a sponsored post.  However, if anyone would like to sponsor a future excursion, please make yourself known.