October 5 – Innsbruck

October 5, 2016 – Innsbruck
We took the 9:10am train from Seefeld to Innsbruck. It was cloudy and misty when we left. The forecast for Innsbruck was sunny with a high of 48°. We were all bundled in our warm coats.

When we got to Innsbruck at 10am the tops of the mountain were covered in clouds. Our local guide, Christian, met us at the train station. He took us on a 2 hours tour mostly in the Old Town. The city has many buildings that are beauitfully decorated. The high point was going into the Cathedral of St. James. The inside was amazing with painting and statuary everywhere The ceiling looked like it was divided into 4 concave domes each with a different painted scene but the ceiling is flat and only looks curved.
After the tour we went to Sacher Cafe for lunch and dessert (of course) was Sacher Torte. As we ate dessert, a local woman, Monica, told us about the Allie liberation and the hardships during the 10 years after World War 2 when they were occupied by the French. It was very interesting.
After lunch Carol and I went to the 7th floor of the Rathaus (City Hall) for a view of the city. The clouds had cleared and we could see snow on the mountain tops. We also walked to the Triumphal Arch buult in1765 which celebrates the marriage of Maria Teresa’s son on one side and the death of Maria Teresa’s husband. Through the arch we had a great view of the Olympic ski jump ramp.
We decided to take the 3:08pm train back. We got to the station at 2:50pm and Carol decided to visit the WC. When she came out she was waving to me so I went down to meet her and she told me she left her wallet in the WC. We walked back and I had to ask another woman for change because to open the stall door require .50 euro. No wallet. We went to find the Lost and Found which luckily was just outside the WC area and they had Carol’s wallet. Everything including her cash and ATM card were still inside. We rushed up the stairs and got our the train with 2 minutes to spare.

Tomorrow is our last optional tour. We will be going to Bavaria and visiting Oberammergau and Linderhof Palace.