Monday, December 10, 2012

INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA



Nick and I are planning a squadron ski weekend in Innsbruck, Austria in January. We wanted to get a feeling for the city, and the hotel where we've reserved rooms for the party, so we headed up this past weekend to check it out.
After 4 hours of driving in a snowstorm on Saturday morning, we made it to Innsbruck! It was colder than I could have ever imagined. I didn't get as many photos as I had hoped because it was so cold, but I'll share a few favorites.





We'll be staying at Hotel Innsbruck, which is right in the heart of the city. This picture isn't the greatest, but I love seeing Nick in Uggs. :)
















This is the view right outside of our hotel. It was stunningly beautiful...but, only 15 degrees! Brrrrr!!




















 There was even a Christmas market right across the street from our hotel.I know VERY little German, but it was surprisingly easy to understand. (Not to mention, most people speak English in Innsbruck.)








There were booths with meat, cheese, and hot wine at the Christmas market, but my favorite part were the ponies!
They didn't seem to be bothered by the freezing temperatures. :)

















After the Christmas market, we walked further into Old Town. There's a hotel there called the Golden Roof where Mozart apparently stayed. (I didn't get a very good pic of it)

Just down from the Golden Roof, there was this large stuffed statue. I couldn't figure out what he was, but everyone was taking pictures of him.











Just outside of Old Town there was shopping, shopping, and more shopping. There were more Swarovski crystal stores than Starbucks in California.
We stopped in one shop that had a little bit of everything in it. Nick loved this wolf hat with wolf paws to keep his hands warm. (Or maybe it was a "De Wulf" hat. :)

















 One of the activities we have planned for the trip is bobsledding! We went and visited the facility on Sunday morning. It looks a little intimidating! I'm still debating whether or not I want to try this in January. :)













































Nick also got to hit the slopes, and said it was amazing! He got to snowboard on a glacier, but he didn't have the camera, so we don't have any photos of that, unfortunately. He said the snow was amazing! He was snowboarding in 4 feet of powder, but it was only 0 degrees Fahrenheit on top of the glacier.






Overall, we had a successful trip, and we're so excited to head up there in January with our squadron!