Even McDonalds make their yellow arches fit the local style.
Our epic Alpine expedition finished in Innsbruck. I suspect that, like us, most visitors expect Innsbruck to be no more than a place to stay between more extreme adventures.
Innsbruck has a long history with the Hapsburgs, a university, an Alpine Zoo and a lot of suits of armour in Ambras Castle. There are shops selling Tyrolean steins and lederhosen to tourists, rides in hose-drawn carriages and a couple of interesting museums.
But we just wanted a place to relax. Innsbruck’s old town has been preserved with businesses working hard to attract and charm us. The signs are good.
Most of the best sights in Innsbruck are at window level.
The no-nonsense Dutch have a no-nonsense name for these things – ‘uithangborden’ (out hang boards). In English I could only find the word ‘signs’ as an equivalent. Maybe someone can help me with a better English word for them.
All we needed to find was a hot shower, a beer and a meal – it couldn’t be too hard.
We found them all, with a view of the Inn River, and a final look at the mountain backdrop as a bonus.
Would we go back to Austria for another hike? Definitely!
Reminds me of Salzburg! Good pictures.
Thanks Andrew. I haven’t been to Salzburg, but I suspect Mozart is more in evidence there than he is in Innsbruck. Don’t know if Wolfgang Amadeus was much of a hiker.
And Sound of Music of course. Interesting that in Salzburg I was also impressed with the discreet MacDonalds sign.
Oh yes, those von Trapps could climb every mountain and ford every stream, singing Edelweiss with lonely goatherds high on hills. They would have loved Innsbruck.