Beginner’s Guide to Innsbruck, Austria

Beginner's Guide to Innsbruck
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Jenn: Hey everyone and welcome back to the Travel Mug podcast. It is officially the time of year that I am sad that I am not in Europe at all of the amazing Christmas markets.

Meggan: I get that, but I feel like I'm sad all year round that I'm not in Europe, but I can, I, I totally see this time of year has that special zing to it.

Jenn: Yeah, they just do it so much better than we do, I have to say. So, to make me feel better, we are going to do a beginner's guide to Innsbruck, Austria. So, Meggan, you visited here in 2022, is that right?

Meggan: Did indeed.

Jenn: Okay, so as with all of our beginner's guides, this is a general overview, things you should do, things you should eat, things you should see.

It's just like a great jumping off point, especially if you just need a little bit of inspiration to get started. So, Meggan, let's dive in, shall we?

Meggan: We shall, and I think, you know, it's a great place to start in terms of a little bit of Innsbruck backstory.

Jenn: Yeah, let's do that. So Innsbruck is the capital of the state of Tyrol, and it has a rich history dating back to the Roman times. It was an important military and trade settlement in the beginning, thanks to its strategic location in the Alps, at the junction of great trade routes from Italy to Germany via the Brenner Pass, and from Switzerland to Western Europe.

So in the Middle Ages, Innsbruck was under the control of the Habsburg dynasty and became the residence of Archduke Ferdinand I in the 16th century. And under the Habsburg rule, Innsbruck really became an important cultural and political center. Now, during the Napoleonic Wars, Tyrol was ceded to Bavaria, which was an ally of France, and it actually remained part of Bavaria until 1814.

But during World War II, Innsbruck was the location of two sub camps of the Dachau concentration camps, including a special camp for prominent figures. And the city did suffer heavy damage thanks to 22 air raids during World War II. After the war, the city was rebuilt and this now beautiful city is a hub for winter sports, tourism, education, and more.

Meggan: It has really came back from being a location of Nazi subcamps, so that's nice.

Jenn: Yeah, that's really great.

Meggan: We love, we love a rebirth. We really do. So let's talk about, um, and I'll of course add a little bit of input, but why don't you kick us off in terms of like how to get there, how to get around, that kind of thing.

Jenn: You definitely have a lot of options. So if you want to fly in, the Innsbruck Airport is known locally as the Kranebitten Airport. It is the largest in the region and you can find non stop flights from several European cities, not really non stop flights from North America, so you will have to connect somewhere in Europe if you're coming from North America.

You can also arrive by train. Innsbruck is well connected with Vienna, Munich, Zurich, and Verona, and the main train station's just like 10 to 15 minute walk from city center, so that's pretty convenient. And finally, of course, you can drive. Meggan, how did you arrive when you got there?

Meggan: Yeah. So we arrived by car as this was part of our three country road trip. So we drove into Innsbruck from Switzerland and there were so many tunnels on that drive, including one that was 15 kilometers long. It was crazy. And I can attest that tunnel vision. Is a thing. We were partway through the tunnel and I just, it finally dawned on me.

I'm like, how long have we been in here? Cause it, it really feels like a long time and Peter's like, yeah, I didn't want to tell you cause if you didn't see, but this kilometers, this tunnel is 15 kilometers. I'm like, oh my goodness. Anyway, it was, it was wild. And the thing I remember most about that day we arrived in Innsbruck was that we had breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Liechtenstein, and supper in Austria, and only in Europe, you know? That's, here in Nova Scotia, you, Could travel the length and do that in just this province. So it's amazing. You can do it three countries in Europe, but once you arrive, getting around is fairly simple as well. So we walked around the entire time. The only time we used our rental car was when we decided to take a 45 minute drive and go to cross the border into Italy to like a border town for lunch. The city itself of Innsbruck is compact, so it's great for walking if you're able to. They do have a tram system, which can make it easier if you aren't up for walking everywhere, of course, along with cabs and whatnot.

Jenn: Perfect. Alright. So where should people stay when they're heading?

Meggan: Yeah, so really your first question, honestly, I guess when you go anywhere, should be like, why am I going? What do I want to do? And there are lots of options, including old town, uh, there's locations close to ski hills, or maybe you need to be close to tram stops or the train station, or are you, uh, are you under budget constraints and you need maybe somewhere cheap and cheerful? So it really just depends on like what you're looking for. There are many Different options for hotels, both budget and luxury, as well as inns and Airbnb options. And there are also are apartments and chalets available for rent as well. Um, Innsbruck has a lot of charm and it is beautiful. So the Old Town area, of course, is amazing. As with a lot of European cities. So if you can find something reasonable there, I would always say go for the Old Town. When we stayed, we booked on Booking. com, where there are many different varieties of accommodations there, so it's not just hotels. And we did choose Reidz Apartments. Innsbruck, and it's R I E D Z. So it was uphill from the city center. I do want to mention that. So keep in mind as the hill is a bit of a trek, but we did love the location. Um, it was in a quaint and quiet neighborhood. There was like a cool bakery across the street, which of course, Um, and it had, it was an actual apartment with access to laundry, which we needed at that point in the trip, plus a full kitchen. It was really great. And I'd highly recommend it if you are up for the walk down and back up from the city center.

Jenn: Down is not usually the problem. It's back up!

Meggan: I regretted it a couple of times, but we made it.

Jenn: Alright. So let's dive into what to do. And of course we need to start with the Christmas markets because that's what's on my mind, you know,

Meggan: Guess what brought us here, really?

Jenn: that's what brought us here. So if you're headed to Innsbruck to see the Christmas markets, book your trip around mid November to like mid to late December, I think they kind of roll up around the 23rd of December. So Old Town becomes a festive Christmas market with colorful stalls, um, selling Christmas crafts and traditional Christmas music plays from the golden roof, which we'll talk about later. There's also a market on Maria Theresian Street where you can find more market stalls, mulled wine, of course, and delicious snacks.

That's probably where I'm going to hang

Meggan: Mulled wine and snacks. Let's do it.

Jenn: And at Market Square, you'll find a family friendly market. It has like puppet shows and storytelling and a traditional carousel. And if you want to get out of Innsbruck, you can also check out Hungerburg, St. Nikolaus, and Wilten. They all have their own Christmas markets and things to do. So you can really make a Christmas themed trip out of it.

Meggan: You can indeed. And I read recently that past, um, guest of the show, Lori from Memory Bank Travel, was actually selected recently to do the Christmas markets in Europe and she's going to Innsbruck.

Jenn: Ah, that's so

exciting.

Meggan: her!

Jenn: I'm jealous.

Meggan: Me too, me too. Now, let's talk about a little bit of outdoorsyness, which isn't necessarily me or you,

Jenn: Yeah, I don't,

Meggan: but it's other people, so let's hear about it.

Jenn: I don't think we're gonna do this, but as we'll chat about later, Innsbruck is a great place for skiers and snowboarders. There are nine ski resorts that have joined together to form the Olympia Ski World Innsbruck, and the closest ski resort is Ax, Axamer Lizum. Not my

Meggan: We're trying.

Jenn: Probably not great, but it's just 20 kilometers away from the city The ski season typically starts around mid to end of november And ends around the mid to the end of april so you can definitely do a skiing christmas market trip if that is your jam

Meggan: Now, if that isn't your jam, how else can we sort of get outside?

Jenn: Yeah, so one of the things to do is to climb the city tower for the views, and you know we love climbing a tower for the views.

Meggan: We love it, but we also hate it.

Jenn: Yeah, I mean, yes. So, right in the heart of Old Town, City Tower apparently offers the best views. The tower was built between 1442 and 1450 as an observation tower, so that's literally what it was built for. But be warned, you do have to climb 133 steps to the top. Tickets are just €4. 50, and it's open, uh, all year daily.

Just double check the hours, uh, depending on the time of year you're going it does change.

Meggan: We did not do that. I got city views, which I'll talk about later, but we did not do that.

Jenn: You should not do this one. That's okay. Um, another thing you can do is the Court Church and Museum of Tyrolean Folk Art. So, even if you aren't religious, I definitely recommend visiting the Court Church. It's a historically important church to Innsbruck. And it's where you'll find the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I.

Fun fact, the tomb is actually empty because he's buried elsewhere. So there. It is. Yeah, I think he designed the tomb, but that was not put in it.

Meggan: like, no, I, I, I mean, it's cute, but I think I'd reside somewhere else for eternity.

Jenn: Along with the tomb, you'll see 28 life size bronze statues guarding the tomb. And of them, it includes King Arthur, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, and Elizabeth of Luxembourg. So he's being

Meggan: So there, They're guarding an empty tomb? Is that what you're saying?

Jenn: yes,

Meggan: Okay. Okay.

Jenn: yeah. Adjacent to the church, check out the Museum of Tyrolean Folk Art, where you can see carnival masks, traditional costumes, and household items. Plus, there's a secret passageway to the church, where you could admire it from a different angle, and like, who doesn't want to go through the secret passageway?

Meggan: I would be into that.

Jenn: Yeah, tickets are about nine euro, so not too crazy for that. And my last suggestion before Meggan gets into hers is St. James's Cathedral, also called Innsbruck Cathedral, another church. I personally love visiting churches, even though I'm not religious, uh, but they're usually quite beautiful.

This one's another famous landmark of the city and was one of the most important stops on the Way of St. James Pilgrim route during medieval times. So it was originally built during the 12th century, had to be rebuilt during the 18th century as it was damaged by earthquakes. It is free to visit, but you have to pay a fee to take photos inside. Reviews on TripAdvisor said that the fee was like one euro, so pretty reasonable.

Meggan: All right. Or don't take a photo and do it for free.

Jenn: Or, or that, yeah, I mean, for sure. If you don't have a euro on you, then you're just using your eyes.

Meggan: Just use your eyeballs. Take a mental picture. Excellent. Well, , in terms of, um, maybe tagging on to some of the outdoor things you mentioned, , something that we did and something I highly recommend is the Hafelekar Cable car to the top of the mountain, which is the Nordkette mountain range. It is open daily nine to five, takes less than 20 minutes in a cable car with a cost of just under seven euros. This is a great way to get panoramic views of the city and beyond. So this is probably, I'm gonna say, Probably not the reason. This is why I didn't do the climb at the tower. I did see it from this angle and it was breathtaking. There is a restaurant at the top. We probably spent an hour plus up there hiking around, enjoying the views and just taking it all in.

There was still some snow up there and it was like, Uh, June, so we made some snowballs as one does. And you can get the cable car right from the Old Town, so very convenient. And if you have a car, there is parking there as well.

Jenn: That is very convenient.

Meggan: I know. Something you've mentioned, but I want to elaborate on just a little bit more, is Maria Theresian Street.

So , this is a pedestrian street, great for people watching with lots of cafes, the Tyrol Mall. Lots of shops. We got a coffee, honestly, and sat and watched the goings on there for at least an hour. We also strolled through and there were various activities happening, including a music group, um, acrobats. You never know what you're going to find on a stroll through there, like, given, any given day sort of thing. It was, it was very interesting. I do love a pedestrian street.

Jenn: Same. We don't have enough pedestrian streets

Meggan: We don't. To walk, like, carefree in the middle of a street is, there's something to be said for it.

Jenn: It's amazing.

Meggan: It is. Uh, something you also referenced is the golden roof or the golden dachl, I suppose, considered the most famous symbol of the city. It's located in Old Town, like you mentioned, and it is made from 2, 657 fire gilded copper tiles.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: So not golden, but it has a golden sheen.

Um, so this was completed in 1500 to mark the wedding of Emperor Maximilian I to Bianca Maria Sforza. Uh, we saw it, we got pictures, it was lovely, but also it is a roof. You know, at the end of the day. So I guess that's what landmarks are though. If you haven't seen it, you go see it and then you've seen it.

I don't know what else to say. It's a roof.

Jenn: Checkmark,

yeah.

Meggan: I, I was there. They said I was there. Um, so yeah, that is the roof. So moving on again some outdoor space. I would say Hofgarten is a great place to visit, which is the Imperial Garden. So it is 25 acres in size. This is the Royal Palace Gardens, and it's a really lovely walk.

There are lots of mature trees, green spaces. A set of ponds and a children's play park. I didn't go there, but there is one. Um, there is a pavilion that dates back to the 1700s there as well, where there today are often concerts and chess tournaments, those types of things. The park is located in Old Town, and this location goes along with the very fact that Innsbruck is compact. And it's walkable with lots to do and it's beautiful.

Jenn: Sounds like a nice place to spend a lovely afternoon.

Meggan: It was, it was, it was so warm. So it was really nice to go there too under the canopies of like the mature trees and stuff. It was very, very enjoyable. Um, something I probably mentioned back in 2022 when I did my trip recap. , so if you want to skip this part, go ahead, but I'm going to mention it again. And that is the M+M bar, which is located at Instrabe 45. It's open Wednesday to Saturday. This is a cocktail bar that I still think about to this day, and I'm not a big drinker, really not. I, I don't really love, um, I like drinking, but I don't love the taste of alcohol, so therefore not a big drinker, but in the evenings, we do like to explore the nightlife of a city, and using trusty Google Maps, we did find this bar based on ratings, and my goodness, it was great. So it's a bar with outside seasonal seating. They're seating inside upstairs and downstairs. We like to sit at the bar when we're in a new city. We find it conducive to talking to new people and chatting with the bartender. And we were able to do this at M& M bar, which was great. We did meet some locals and I had a cherry vanilla pina colada. And when I say it is one of the best drinks I've ever had, like, I truly mean it, and I think about it a lot, and again, I'm not a big drinker, and I've actually recommended it to a few people, and one person wasn't a drinker, and they went there and ordered it virgin, and was able to get it. So that's also an option.

Jenn: Amazing.

Meggan: I know. So the presentation at the bar is amazing. The atmosphere, the lighting is fun. They have great bar snacks. I love a great bar snack. Um, Peter enjoyed his drinks as well. And the bartender who was one of the owners was able to create a drink for him too, just out of ingredients he enjoyed, even though the bar menu is huge with so much choice. It's just a really fun place to go with a great atmosphere, great drinks.

Jenn: Sounds super fun.

Meggan: It was. And then finally, I wanted to mention Ambras castle. So dating back to the 10th century before Innsbruck was a thing, um, this castle has been mentioned. So a renaissance castle is located in the hills above the city. It was built by Archduke Ferdinand. These days the castle is used as a museum with varied and important collections, such as the Habsburg portrait gallery, A fresco in the courtyard dating back to the 16th century, uh, glass collections and more. There's really so much history in this one place. It's pretty incredible. And the cost for adults is 14 euros. And children and young adults are free. What young adults means to them, I do not know. But good luck. I hope it's free for you. Right.

Jenn: Oh, that's not, yeah, that sounds so fun. So much history, definitely, um, to be seen here.

Meggan: Mhm.

Jenn: Alright, so let's talk about one of our favorite subjects. Yes. Which is food.

Meggan: Indeed. So, I mean, there are a variety of restaurants and options, obviously, to eat in Innsbruck, including the option of visiting the grocery store. I want to mention that. and you can eat in your accommodation if you have, of course, a kitchen. Food at the grocery store is very reasonable, especially if the last country you were in was Switzerland. We felt like kings and queens once we got to Austria, and not that Austria is quote unquote cheap, but just comparatively, we're like, we'll have that cheese, all the cheeses. Um, anyway, we felt like we had a lot more money in Austria. Anyhow. Um, in terms of restaurants, we had Italian and Korean. Those were two standouts that we did have while we were there.

We had some really amazing pizza. And a quick Google search informed us of some traditional Austrian foods that you should try. So, Jenn, do you want to talk a little bit about some traditional foods?

Jenn: Sure. Of course, we have wiener schnitzel, gotta try that, um, Apple strudel, which would probably be one of my personal favorites,

Meggan: Yes.

Jenn: Tafelspitz, which is a boiled beef dish, uh, Beuschel, I'm guessing, um, a hearty stew, and it is made of organs and such, so, yeah, Just be, uh, sure that you want to eat that before you order it.

Meggan: It is traditional, so if you're really diving in, there you

Jenn: Yeah, I'm sure Ryan would eat it.

Meggan: Really? Oh, that's cool. I'm so glad that people are like adventurous. I'm obviously, I'm sure they're, and I'm, I'm semi adventurous, but the word organ gets me.

Jenn: Yeah, that one gets me too. Brettljause

Meggan: would say.

Jenn: Okay, this one looks like a charcuterie, so I think we could have that one. It's like a snack platter with breads and meats and pickled vegetables and spreads. I'm gonna order that and not the organ stew.

Meggan: We'll let Ryan get the stew. We'll get the board. We're good to go.

Jenn: one that we're more familiar with here in Nova Scotia is goulash.

So it's a hearty dish of meat and veggies. And lastly, Kaiserschmarrn, Kaiserschmarrn, Kaiserschmarrn,

Oh, my German is not great, but that one is a dessert pancake.

Meggan: So there are, I would say though out of that list, it's depending on of course what you eat. There's of course meat heavy stuff. So if you're a vegetarian, keep that in mind or vegan. But there's definitely like traditional foods to be had if you are sort of on a culinary adventure as well there.

And of course we did have, uh, Wiener Schnitzel when we were in Germany. Um, and so it's kind of popular throughout the region, but I would say definitely give that a try. But yeah, lots of traditional options.

Jenn: yes. Yes.

Meggan: So Jenn, we love a fun fact. Do let us know some, some things about Innsbruck.

Jenn: All right, so, Innsbruck hosted the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. They've also hosted the Winter Paralympics in 1984 and 88, and the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976. So, , they've put all those ski hills to good use with Winter

Meggan: very Olympic y.

Jenn: Yeah. Um, a small town, Watten, located, uh, 17 kilometers from Innsbruck, is the hometown of the world famous jewelry brand, Swarovski Crystal. So you can visit Swarovski Kristallwelton. It's like a park, an art museum, and of course, shopping. You can buy stuff. And a restaurant. So it's like the theme park of Swarovski.

Meggan: I did see Swarovski stores there as well, so that makes a lot of sense.

Jenn: It does. Uh, one thing I thought was really interesting to us travelers is pilots need special training to land at Innsbruck's airport because of the topography, uh, of Tyrol and the strong winds, so apparently it's tricky, so I want them to have the special training.

Meggan: Yes, please.

Jenn: The name Innsbruck means bridge over the inn, inn being the beautiful river that runs through the city.

Yeah.

Meggan: definitely. And that is one thing we actually didn't mention in terms of the beauty of the city as well is the river literally runs right through it and it lots of little foot bridges and those kinds of things that just make it even more charming. Like, it's just so charming. And, you know, I think we've covered a lot again.

Beginners guides are just sort of brushing the surface. That is it for this week's episode. Um, again, Austria is beautiful. It's cozy. It's charming. We just can't recommend it enough. We've learned a lot today. And I think I definitely want to go back. I told Peter that before. I'm like, even if it's just go to that bar, I want to go back.

Jenn: I got to get back.

Meggan: know, I know. So you can follow us for some pics of Innsbruck over the coming weeks on social media at TravelMug Podcast, um, Facebook and Instagram in particular. Watch the episode, if you prefer, on our YouTube channel.

You can see our smiling faces. you can also catch up on past episodes from our website, travelmugpodcast. com. And of course, listen to episodes wherever you get your podcasts, but you know that because you're already here. And we're really grateful. Thank you so much for listening, um, and tuning in every few weeks and until next time, safe travel and bye.