Innsbruck – Big Surf Daddy's Pix, Tix, and Licks

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.—St. Augustine of Hippo

We woke up this morning to our last day in Austria. We had a tasty breakfast in the garden of Hotel Nala and checked out. We loved this hotel.

We ventured into Old Town again with the children in tow and the ladies went to shop and the men performed their duties admirably with the children and kept them alive. Innsbruck is such a lovely city to wander in, good shopping, good eating, good architecture to admire, and of course the Alps are everywhere in the background.

We spent our morning in Old Town and gathered for lunch on the main pedestrian walk, Maria-Theresien-Strasse, and ate at Sensei for very good sushi. Afterward we enjoyed some gelato at Tomasseli Gelateria which is nearby.

We had a wonderful stay in Innsbruck and we loaded up and headed off for the two-hour drive to Munich.

In Munich, we stayed at Hotel Olympic. I need to say something about this hotel. It was very nice and the staff was very friendly and helpful. The hotel is located conveniently near the Viktualienmarkt and an easy walk to Marienplatz. There are numerous multicultural restaurants in the area. I researched the hotel online and it had good reviews and I will give it a good review here. Rick Steves book described it as “artsy”. However, I must tell you if you have an aversion to nudity in art, you may want to ask for a room that displays art that is more suited to your tastes. My son, who has a small daughter was given a room with a graphic orgy scene. The manager was called and he gracefully removed it and all was well.

We had already seen Frauenkirche on the day we landed in Munich five days ago. That day we had lunch on the plaza outside the church. We had an assortment of cheeses and sausages and sauerkraut at Nurnberger Bratwurst-Glockl am Dom. The food was very good. We used this time to have a reunion meal with our family that we hadn’t seen for many months since they had moved to Turkey.

Back to the day at hand. After checking in at Hotel Olympic, my son-in-law took our rental van back to the airport. While he was gone, we took the kids on a stroll to a park by the Isar River that runs through Munich. We met up with him later and had our evening meal at an Afghani restaurant across from our hotel, called Bamyan Narges.

We had a wonderful dinner here. All the dishes were excellent. My wife and I ordered Keema Bamyan for appetizer and an entrée of Quabelli Palau with grilled lamb.

Afterward, we went for a walk and found some good ice cream. It had been a good day of Innsbruck and Munich.

Next, our first full day in Munich.

One of the ornate facades in Old Town Innsbruck.

A narrow street in Old Town Innsbruck.

Row buildings in Innsbruck.

A window in Old Town Innsbruck.

One of the many outdoor sitting areas in Innsbruck.

Sensei is upstairs, not the restaurant on the ground floor.

Really, really good sushi at Sensei Sushi Bar and outdoor dining is available.

Tomaselli gelateria has delicious gelato in Innsbruck.

Hotel Olympic in Munich is a very good hotel with questionable art, but very good service and the location is perfect for Old Munich.

Wonderful dining on the plaza of Frauenkirche in Munich.

I previously took photos of golf courses, now it is dining experiences. This is another view of the outdoor dining on the plaza of Frauenkirche in Munich. We ate Nurnberger Bratwurst-Glockl am Dom, which is on the right.

Sausage, cheese, and radish platter at Nurnberger.

St. Maximillian Church in Munich.

The bank of the Isar River is a popular gathering destination in Munich. St. Maximillian Church is in the background.

Bamyan serves delicious Afghani food in Munich.

Keema Bamyan at Bamyan.

Quabelli Palau with grilled lamb was excellent at Bamyan.

Street scene near the Hotel Olympic.

Sunset clouds on our first night in Munich.

Ice cream of course at the end of a good day.

The mountains are calling and I must go.—John Muir

I don’t know if John Muir was ever in Innsbruck. If this is how he felt, he may never have left.

I don’t know who the official pretty city-rating people are, but if I was in that group, Innsbruck, Austria would definitely be at the top of my list. It sits in a valley completely surrounded by the Alps, which were snow-covered while we were there. It takes effort to keep from being photo bombed by an Alp when taking a picture.

We arrived in late morning after a night in Schloss Matzen Castle. We checked into the Hotel Nala which has to be the coolest hotel ever. Even the website is cool. I can’t express the level of coolness of this hotel…and very artsy.

While waiting for all the rest of the crew, my wife and I had a glass of Riesling in the beautiful courtyard. We then headed out for lunch at Machete Burrito Kartell. I must say this was the best burrito I have ever eaten.

We found a nice playground and park across the Inn River that runs through Innsbruck. We let the children play and some of us older adults rest. Of course on the way to the park we stopped so my daughter and I could get a pretzel and a croissant to eat on the way to the park.

We walked around the Old Town in Innsbruck. It is a very easy stroll through this part of the city. We loved the wide pedestrian Herzog-Freidrich-Strasse with its outdoor cafes and shops and historic buildings. Innsbruck’s Old Town has a nice mix of old and new. The old buildings intertwine with modern shopping.

We saw the Golden Roof, probably the most recognized spot in the Old Town. Built around 1500 and used by Emperor Maximillian I and his wife to gaze down on the festivals and stay above the tourists.

We also saw St. Anne’s column on Maria-Theresien Street. It was built in 1703. When you are lost from your group, this is a good place to meet, very easy to find.

Old Town in Innsbruck is very lovely and relaxing. Innsbruck has such a different feel from other cities in Europe that I have seen. It is much more laid back. We were there in early April, so I’m sure it gets much more crowded in the summer. We had a pleasant day, in the 60’s and sunny.

We decided to get take out pizza for our dinner since we were tired and didn’t want to take the children out again. There is a really nice pizza place across from the Hotel Nala called Gusto Pizzeria. It is owned by a lovely Turkish couple. The pizza was really good. But a word of warning, if you want a Margherita pizza, it means cheese only in Turkey. There was a communication problem but it was my fault because I did not read the description that was in English. It was a really good cheese pizza. The other pizza was very good also.

It was a good day in Innsbruck.