So, the thing about ski trips is that one is always going up and down. Emotionally, this has been a bit of up and down. Dropping the kids off after a night in Munich was weird. Suddenly our family ski trip was missing a family. Now it is our ski sabbatical!
The first few days post-partum, we had a bit of flat ground in Innsbruck; we happened to arrive along with an Arctic blast. All of Europe is in a deep freeze, and it was just too cold to ski in Innsbruck. The daytime highs were -20C and there was a nasty wind. So, we were tourists in a beautiful place. But, given that it is a ski trip, there was still lots of up and down. We found amazing ways to get up, and one very thrilling way to get down!
There are 2 major ski areas accessible directly from the city, Nordkette and Patcherkofel, and we saw both of them. Nordkette is the more beautiful going up: Zaha Hadid designed the stations for the funicular that runs from the city to the tram going up the mountain. It was a beautiful start to the adventure.
The first few days post-partum, we had a bit of flat ground in Innsbruck; we happened to arrive along with an Arctic blast. All of Europe is in a deep freeze, and it was just too cold to ski in Innsbruck. The daytime highs were -20C and there was a nasty wind. So, we were tourists in a beautiful place. But, given that it is a ski trip, there was still lots of up and down. We found amazing ways to get up, and one very thrilling way to get down!
There are 2 major ski areas accessible directly from the city, Nordkette and Patcherkofel, and we saw both of them. Nordkette is the more beautiful going up: Zaha Hadid designed the stations for the funicular that runs from the city to the tram going up the mountain. It was a beautiful start to the adventure.
And it was very beautiful at the top!
Patcherkofel, however, was the winner in terms of going down. That is the home of the Eiscanal, the sliding track from the 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck. We went along to do the "GasteBob", that is we were ballast on a hurtling missile down the bobsled track! It is extremely uncomfortable (especially with a large German man with a huge head sitting directly in front of you) and incredibly thrilling. A definite highlight!
Best to view the video with sound
Innsbruck is outrageously beautiful. Every street affords a view of mountains. The old city is a maze of medieval streets lined with buildings with painted facades and decorative iron signs cantilevered out over the streets. And, in keeping with the up and down theme, apparently Watson and Crick designed the staircase in the city tower...
We stayed in a tiny apartment in a 550 year old building just across the river from the old town and the market. Despite the bitter cold, it was a wonderful few days.
And now, back to the ski trip - westward to the Alps!
Good job riding GasteBob - new Olympic hopefuls? Breathtaking shots!
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