Austria, Day 5…Innsbruck and a Train Ride to Garmisch, Germany

The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.—G.K. Chesterson

I started my day not knowing I would be riding a train to Garmisch.

We began with a delicious breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Nala. We had a croissant, fruit, and coffee. We ate in the garden.

We headed into Old Town again. The women shopped and my son and son-in-law were on guard duty with the children, so this gave me the perfect opportunity to get some really good views of Innsbruck. I took the steps up to the top of the City Tower after paying my three Euro fee, a discount for achieving my age. The views are incredible from this vantage point, you get a good sense of how Innsbruck sits in a valley surrounded by the Alps.

At some point, it was decided that we were going to ride the train to Garmisch, Germany. So I decided that it would be appropriate to buy some cheese and bread to eat on the train. As I see it, any excuse to buy cheese and bread in Europe is worth it.

We entered Il Gusto da Leonardo, a small Italian eatery. The man behind the counter was very entertaining. He sold us some really good cheese and bread.

The most fun I ever had buying cheese and bread.

We grabbed lunch at Baguette across the street from the station. This is a large chain. Normally we would not eat at a chain restaurant or cafe, but with three children in tow, we could not look around too long. It was convenient and a good location. The food was good and I don’t regret stopping here at all. The children were getting restless and it was nap time. There was a painting by our table that summed up the mothers feelings at the time just before the train ride.

Check out the mother in the middle of the couch. Be ready for some of these moments when traveling with small children.

We boarded the train for a quick side trip to Garmisch. This would take us through beautiful scenery through the Alps. We saw small villages and highlands. It is about a 90-minute ride and well worth the time and the cost of the tickets. Of course we had cheese and bread to munch on.

We knew we didn’t have much time to spend in Garmisch. Part of our crowd went to the park and did some shopping and stopped for ice cream. The other part of our crowd went to the base of Wankbahn Mountain and rode the small gondola up to the top. We did this just for the view. We had one of our granddaughters with us. We had to perform a high altitude diaper change in the small gondola, no small feat.

The view of Garmisch from the gondola was incredible as the city just kept getting smaller while we rose higher. The views from the top of the mountain were more grand. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a side trip from Innsbruck.

We rode the train back to Innsbruck.

For our evening meal, we ate at Ufo Casa , a Mediterranean restaurant with some Turkish dishes. Everything that was ordered here was so delicious. I sampled all dishes.

Time to call it a night for our final night in Innsbruck. Tomorrow on to Munich.

Top of Triumphal Arch.

St. Anne’s Column.

One of the saints on St. Anne’s column.

I love the ornate window.

Fresh flower market.

I hope you don’t suffer from high anxiety on these steps up and down to the top of the City Tower. Tremendous views await all those who climb these steps.