Innsbruck

Innsbruck is the sleeping heart of Tyrol, and this late mediaeval city offers visitors a lot. We loved the architecture of the city, but we loved the friendly Austrian welcome we got in the local hotels and pensions. This area relies on tourism, particularly during the winter months, but it’s worth spending a day of your skiing holiday exploring this historic city.

The Imperial Palace (the Hofburg) has nothing to do with David Hasselhoff or Darth Vader. Instead, it was the seat of government for the Tyrolean region. Rococo features and furnishings grace this palace, and you should experience this incredible piece of Austrian history.

Once you’re filled up with culture, why not visit the Goldenes Dachl, the golden roof, that overlooks the main street of the old town where the emperors used to issue their proclamations. In addition, Innsbruck offers museums on bells, Tyrolean history, folk art, and renaissance homes. The Tyrolean history museum was fascinating, and it explains a lot about Innsbruck.

Of much more interest to us was the Innsbrucker Tanzsommer, the summer dance festival held in mid-June to early July. A series of dance events, ranging from classical styles to modern dance, are available, so it’s a great opportunity to enjoy something different.

For great views, you have to travel up to Seegrube, where you will see the Inn valley from 2,000 meters (6,500 feet). There are also a lot of scenic walks up there, and the two towering mountain ranges just add to the majesty of the city.
The city’s major winter attraction is the snowboarding and skiing runs that grace the slopes around the city. There are regular events that attract experienced snowboarders and skiers from around the world, such as the Billabong Air and Style event. This is a chance to meet alpine heroes and marvel at their sheer skill.

The nightlife in Innsbruck is surprisingly good. For something different, look under the railway bridge, known as the Viaduktbogen. This area offers great drinks, a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and very late opening times. To be honest, we’re not sure if they actually close. For something less club-like, try Theresienbräu, a pub in the center of the city. It makes its own beer and the food is rather good.

While winter is one of the best times to go to Innsbruck, there is much to do all year round. If you’re ever stuck for something to do, ask your hotel staff to recommend an activity. It could be walking, drinking, eating, or seeing the local sights. We found that everyone is really friendly in Innsbruck, and it’s a great place to explore.

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Quoth the Raven: Gesundheit!

Sure, we love our culture, hence the unsubtle title of this post. But a number of people travel to Austria to look at the local wildlife, and we thought we’d look at what there is to see.

There are a lot of places that cater to wildlife holidays, from isolated apartments and huts in the mountains to hotels that act as a base for nature lovers to explore. Here is a quick rundown of what you’ll hopefully see in Austria.

Mammals

Mammals are abundant in Austria, and some unusual varieties exist in the relatively isolated alpine regions. Wildlife holidays often take you to the mountains to see these animals.

Deer

The abundance of deer in Austria occasionally leads to a large 500-pound animal plowing through the windscreen, so be careful on those rural roads. In the mountainous areas, fallow and roe deer run, whereas in the lowlands, red deer are more common. You’ll often find you return from your wildlife trip to be greeted with a plate of venison, such is the love of hunting and managing wildlife in Austria.

Chamois

The alpine chamois is what you’d get if you mixed up badger and goat DNA and bred the result. This goat-like creature is a source of chamois leather, and it is apparently very tasty. If you want to get close to the animal, they usually look for danger below them and ignore anything above them.

Alpine Ibex

The alpine ibex is a goat with comedy horns. Big curly horns. They’re normally found halfway up mountains or climbing up dams. We’re not even kidding about the dams. What looks like a photoshopped image of goats on the side of a dam is actually real.
Birds

In the valleys, particularly around the lakes, are numerous bird species. Seewinkel and the Great Hungarian Plain are great areas for a wildlife holiday.

Wryneck

This unusual member of the woodpecker family looks like an oversized sparrow or thrush with a Mohawk. It’s not exactly a proper woodpecker because of its tail feathers, but it pecks at wood to get at ants and it lays its eggs in a hole in a tree, so to us it’s close enough. Like an owl, it can turn its head nearly 180 degrees, which looks weird but cool.

Black Redstart

This species is best described as a flycatcher with a red . . . behind. Absolutely lovely as they dash around catching the local annoying insects, their aerobatic displays are a joy to behold.

White Storks

If your hotel owner curses as he or she lights a fire and the chimney is blocked, it might be because a white stork has nested in the chimney. As you’re travelling along, look up, and you might see the giant nests that they like to make.
Anyway, these are just a few of the species that you will see out and about in Austria. Keep your eyes open, have a good pair of binoculars, and ask your local hotel for advice on the best spots to go for your wildlife holiday.

Oh, and if you’re hoping to see a black eagle, which is on the Austrian coat of arms, you’ll need to head to Central Asia!

Sleepless in Salzburg

I was up quite late in Salzburg, and I decided I wanted to go out and explore the nightlife in Salzburg. Our pension had a very flexible 24-hour entrance, so we decided to take advantage of it. The postcards of the snow-clad city make it look idyllic, and the reality was even better as a friend and I sought out the local hotspots.

We started by heading out to the old town, the Altstadt, to get something to eat. We passed numerous bakeries, which were unfortunately closed at this time of the evening, but the displays we saw made us very hungry. We decided on traditional Austrian food, so we went to the Herzl Tavern. The cheap but filling food, good beer, and great staff put us in a great mood.

We then set off to explore the local nightlife. There are a lot of provincial-style pubs in Salzburg that really replicate the feel of Austria. While we weren’t drinking much, wherever we were, we were welcomed, and that’s what we liked about it. No pressure, not much loud music, and good conversation. We bumped into several people who were traveling like us, so we had a great time meeting and greeting. We chatted and found our way to a few more bars. A few places stood out to us: Gastlokal Fridrich for the art on the walls and the great music, Monkeys Bar for its fantastic views over the river, and the Jazzit Musik Club for the awesome jazz being played. If you’re after a vibrant and energetic clubbing scene, Salzburg is not the best place to be, but if you’re after a beautiful city with a friendly atmosphere in its bars, I would recommend it.

We staggered back to our pension a little poorer but very happy, thanks to the nightlife in Salzburg.

The next day, we thought back to some of the places that were recommended to us. The idea of monks brewing beer appealed to us, so we went for a glass at the Bräustübl Tavern, which is in an Augustine monastery. It brews Augustine beer, which is similar to a sort of stout. If you’ve never heard of stout, it’s similar to Guinness, but this is much better. We sat outside in the courtyard, but it was a little cold, so we hurried back in. The courtyard is very pretty and relaxed, and it would be fantastic in the spring and summer. Having been in Austria for a while, we felt it would be good to speak English for a bit, so we ended up heading to O’Malley’s, an Irish pub along the river. The bar staff speak perfect English, and some of them are native English speakers, and you generally get a taste of home when you’re there, whether it’s watching rugby, football, or other sporting events.

Having spent a while in there, we ended up heading back to our pension as we were going to go hiking the next day. We met a bunch of awesome people, though, and that made our Salzburg trip very memorable.

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The Sounds of the Alps

The Austrian Alps form a stunning backdrop to any visit, particularly for a long-running musical set in Austria. Of course, I am referring to The Sound of Music. Set in Salzburg and the Austrian Alps, the majestic scenery adds to this classic musical film. And you can walk, eat, and sleep in it, just as thousands of others have.

Innsbruck is a great destination to start a walking tour. Nestled in the Tirolian Alps, Innsbruck was built around the bridge over the river Inn (bruck means bridge), where travelers could find rest at one of the city’s hotels or inns. To the north of the city are some great hikes and treks in the Karwendel Alpine Park. This can be reached by cable car from one of the resorts around Innsbruck, and day trips are easy to arrange. Buses travel frequently to the outlier villages around Innsbruck, such as Igls, Mutters, or Telfes, where you can enjoy the wildernesses available in Austria.

One unusual walk we’ve discovered is a herbal walk that starts in Oberau, barely just inside Germany. It features a herb farm, Holzalm Farm, at 3,600 feet, and the knowledgeable expert who accompanies the walk every Tuesday will leave you filled with the knowledge of herbal lore. It’s only a short bus ride from Innsbruck, so it’s well worth seeing if you’re interested in herbs.
Achensee is a lake in the center of Tirol between Rofangebirge to the east and the Karwendel Mountains to the west. This warm alpine lake, fed by a glacier, offers the chance of wonderful nature walks. We got some lovely shots of flora and fauna during our hikes, so it’s a real photography lover’s area. Part of the Tyrolean Eagle walk passes through Achensee, so if you are cycling or walking through the area, spend a day exploring the stunning scenery.

Spas and baths are another attraction of Tirol, which lead to a visit to The Bad Häring Spa Center. Bad, as it happens, just means the town has a spa or hot water spring (i.e., a bath). It’s a sulfur bath, so it has an interesting smell, but the treatments offered were very relaxing—just what we needed after a week of walking.

If you’re up for some mountaineering, the via ferrate (iron road) or Klettersteige offer a great way to explore more isolated mountains without the risk of injury or falling. These routes use iron ladders, maintained ropes, and other methods to make the mountains more accessible to all. While my partner thinks it’s cheating to use a ladder to scramble up the side of a cliff, it does make the higher peaks available to anyone, and experienced mountaineers can always use the traditional (harder) methods of scrabbling up the side of several billion tons of rock. Either way, pay attention to the difficulty of each route, and you can often find extra information in your hotel or apartment about the precise routes and difficulties.

Tirol is one of the most travelled to areas in Austria, so be prepared to find lots of like-minded people trekking with you. It’s a great experience wherever you go, and as long as your voice isn’t as terrible as mine, you can even sing something from the Sound of Music.

Viennese Waltz

We love staying in Vienna. Whether it’s at the end of a long cycling trip (see the Donauradweg cycle route) or at the start of a new trekking adventure, Vienna offers diversions galore. Vienna is food, is wine, is beauty, and is culture.

Our trips to Vienna often start with an intense planning session in our hotel room. Where have we been, where haven’t we been, and where shall we wander. We try to include as many sights as possible, although sometimes we still don’t have enough time to see everything!

The Spanish Riding School is one of the oldest dressage schools in the world. Sure, it’s a bit pricy, but the elegance of watching horses trot in complex patterns, jump over gates and barriers, and generally be controlled by expert hands is a pleasure in itself. Not to mention the architecture. Book well in advance, however, as tickets are sold out very quickly.

Schönbrunn Palace and the zoo accompanying it are classic Baroque marvels that can take all day to explore. You mustn’t miss a tour of the residence and the chance to admire the opulent surroundings. We loved the Tirolian gardens there and nearly became lost. Fortunately, we stumbled across one of Vienna’s big secrets: a surprisingly good puppet show hidden near the back of the gardens. The zoo has everything a zoo could want: pandas, giraffes, and thousands of butterflies. The Borneo exhibition is always worth a look, although it does get very warm in there.

Vienna’s Ringstrauss (ring boulevard) is an awe-inspiring piece of architecture. Around four miles long, it circles the city center like a set of walls; indeed that’s where the city walls were until they were torn down in 1857. For a lovely walk, start at your hotel and follow the boulevard around. On the way, you’ll encounter the State Opera House, the Museum of Fine Art, and the Austrian Parliament.

If it’s food you want, we would recommend the sublime Hotel Sacher in Philharmonikerstrasse. It’s the ultimate in Viennese cooking. If you’re after something less pricy, try the M Lounge in Hermanngasse or the Restaurant Der Kuckuck in Himmelpfortgasse. Both are excellent restaurants serving great Austrian food. We felt the M Lounge was very cheap for the food it offered, and we were surprised it wasn’t full when we went there after our epic cycling trip.

Finally, you must visit Vienna’s historic center. It’s like looking at an old photo of how city centers used to look and then realizing you’re in the present. Vienna has so much to offer every visitor, from great zimmers, apartments, and hotels, to delicious food, great coffee, and amazing attractions.

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