Innsbruck, Austria

A few weeks ago I went on another tour through work to Innsbruck, Austria with a few of my friends: Amy, Alana, and Emily. Emily was a guest at the hotel and we became friends on the tour.

Innsbruck is only about 45 minutes to an hour from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Innsbruck hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. It is a tourist town due to its beautiful architecture, winter sports, and history. It also boasts great shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.

First, we went to the Swarovski Crystal Factory is in Wattens, Austria, which is right outside the city of Innsbruck. It is considered the most famous crystal in the world. Next to the factory is a crystal museum and gift shop. Outside of the museam is an enormous waterfall face carved out of huge bushes. Its eyes are made of crystal and they change colors every few minutes. (You can see a picture of it above). The crystal museum is not what I expected at all! It is a modern art museum where each piece of artwork contains Swarovski Crystal.

Next, we went into the city. It was Christmastime, so naturally Innsbruck was full of Christmas markets. They are open-air markets featuring knick-nacks, food (like sausages, bratwurst, kasespaetzle), and the traditional Christmasmarket drink: gluehwein (hot spiced wine). I didn't buy anything except for food and gleuhwein because most of the stuff they sell is junk you could get at a flea market, but they are fun to browse around. After visiting a couple markets, we walked around the city. On the way out of town we visited two Roman Catholic churches that date back to the 15th century. They were so beautiful! Everything was in marble and gold. Pretty spectacular. One of the churches had a statue of Pope John Paul II with a framed rosary he gave to the church. I took a picture of it and I will post it later. It was an intense feeling being in the same church that he once visited. It was a nice trip and I can check Austria off my list. So far I've been to Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, & Ireland.

My next trip is Florence, Italy. I am going February 4-7 with Sarah and her friend, Carrie, who is coming to visit from the states. We are driving there and staying with one of Sarah's friends for FREE! :) We are also going to make a trip to Pisa on the way home (it's only 1 hour from Florence). Should be amazing!!