Innsbruck & Vienna, Austria

Innsbruck was highly recommended by a dear childhood friend who has since come back into my life and I am so grateful. We left the lush, green mountainous beauty of Bolzano, Italy and headed to Innsbruck, never leaving the lush green mountains, or the beauty. This area is stunning, with picturesque small mountain villages littered along the entire train ride until arriving in the valley of Innsbruck. The vibe here is similar to that of Truckee, active and excited for physical challenges.

We got our fair share of physical challenge walking to the top peak of the Nordkette mountain range (from the cable car) but still, a climb. The picture above is from this peak and the views are spectacular. From here, Jason picked his lines for when he returns one winter to snowboard.

On one side, green rolling mountains and on the other, more dramatic mountains of grey scree.

There is a small hut up here that you can rent a bunk and have a basic breakfast when you wake with the sun. This would be a fun place to stay. We hiked down to the second cable car, not believing that it would take the 1 1/2 as posted on the sign. We were serenaded with the sound of cow bells as we hiked down the steep and rocky trail. The sign was right and it took us the full 1 1/2 hours. People were charging up this hill, or running down it, which impressed us, strangely, only one hiker had water, which I found to be an odd fact as it was warm out and elevation gain is significant.

Innsbruck has one of the most affordable and best city tourist cards. Before pulling into a city (we figured this out late in the game) check the internet or head to the tourist office upon arrival to see if they have a tourist or city card. Depending on what you want to do, this little card can save you loads of money. The 48 hour Innsbruck Card (you have three options 24, 48 and 72 hour) cost us $86 and included all public transportation, all cable cars and funicular, all museum entrance fees and more. This paid for itself within the first 24 hours and we didn't feel so bad sprinting through museums.

Vienna a quick stopover after Budapest. We are tired of cities. We’ve seen enough cathedrals, palaces, basilicas and city architecture. We appreciate them but need a rest. Luckily, meeting up with Jason’s high school friend, who lives and works in Vienna, it was recommended that we hike through the vineyards above the city which would produce views and quietness.

This was exactly what we needed and we headed out to find Grinzing. Without an appropriate map, we just walked instinctually and stumbled upon the vineyard hiking trails. We were several hours early for tastings, (but did enjoy some local wines with our lunch), but the walk was beautiful.

We did go into the city center to get Jason a new pair of shoes. His first pair had over 500 miles on them and the heels had worn out. We saw all that we needed to by walking by, stating the obligatory “oh…ahh” and moving on. Vienna’s architecture doesn’t stand out. It looks just like most other European cities, except Budapest, of course. So far, Budapest is so far in front of the competition that everything from here on out may pale in comparison. But as a city Vienna does not fall short of Austrian attention to detail: clean, efficient and organized.

Our Airbnb host was adorable and skipped in joy around her apartment as she showed us the ins and outs. Vienna feels safe and offers some dining choices other than meat in sausage form.