Gutshof Zillertal Mayrhofen

Again it was snowing when we woke up but again it wasn't sticking although it was still on the trees at the Alpine Zoo which we went to in the morning. This was Tara’s choice as usual. Greg's favourite was the brown bear which was lying with its head on its paws on a log, probably contemplating whether it was time to hibernate. My favourite was the lynx which was high up in a tree. By the ...

Woke up to Greg saying that it was snowing- what I thought was rain on the forecast had eventuated as snow- to Tara's disappointment, it wasn’t sticking so she couldn’t play in it. After breakfast in the hotel we walked across the bridge to the old city to what is the biggest attraction in Innsbruck, the Golden Roof and the Golden Roof Museum. This building was built by Frederick IV in 1420 as the residence of the Tyrolean sovereigns ...

Walked to the train station and did an expedition to the supermarket to spend our last Swiss Francs as we are back to Euros in Austria. Had a stopover in Zurich for a while and then caught the train to Innsbruck. Again this was a scenic trip over the mountains and it started snowing and was very deep as we got higher- just beautiful scenery. Innsbruck is surrounded by mountains, all of which had snow on them.

We checked into our hotel where we ...

I was a little bummed (only a little) that I would miss most of the Fall season in Atlanta - it's my favorite. When I arrived in Innsbruck it quickly turned my frown upside down. The leaves are changing colors, and with the mountains in the background and the nip in the air - Austria makes for a perfect Fall experience.

Innsbruck is very quaint, and there are mountains peaking ...

... to be 2km longer though..so not so impressive now, it seems to be melting a bit!
We parked the car, walked around, walked up to the Swarovski viewing area and had a look for food but it wasnt that appetising, so after a visit we headed back off...and down the pass. It was around 3pm by the time we hit Winkel, where we decided food must had and stopped at a Cafe for a pizza, which was pretty yummy! The ...

... what the catch was as we all agreed this would cost
at least $100 at home. Were they going to try and sell us a time share or
something or make us buy something at the end? Apparently not. I guess the Austrains love showing off their
land to foreigners and are more than glad to do it for free. AWESOME! The hike
ended up being around 10 miles and was stunning. It had everything one would
associate with the alp… ...

... been cleared and there was a wrapped set of cutlery that they left behind when clearing the table, and he got stuck with this one. The waitress refused to give him a new set. It was a bit strange as it would cost her nothing but 5 seconds to get him a new one and make him so much more comfortable eating his meal. He took the risk and hoped that the cutlery hadn't been played with by the previous occupants of our table.

It was time to move on so we piled into the car and ...

... well as a crystal on display that is larger than my head. The exhibits in each room vary considerably. In this case I think the pictures describe the museum much better than I can. Once at the end of the museum rooms, the visitor must pass through the showroom and store before leaving the facility. Mom and I had a lot of fun in the store and the men waited patiently for us to decide on ...

... to Maximillian. The most interesting part was the 20 minute film that is sort of a " life and times" of big Max and his key role in the development of Innsbruck. After this, we headed down the street to the "Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum" or Tyrolean Folk Art Museum. It is full of beautifully painted furniture, everyday tools, utensils, and even whole rooms taken from the 15th century to the present (see pictures - check out the picture of the bed ...

Sadly, I dont remember much about Austria. Too bad because I have read so much about it lately as the music and art centre of Europe in the 1700s, I'd love to check that out.
I asked my dad recently if we had been there before. He said, 'oh yes, many times, we loved it'. Hmm, what a pity. I suppose it still counts because the images of scenery must be in my mind somewhere... curse this short memory of mine!