When I was twelve years old I ice skated with what used to be called gay abandon. I had no fear, would orbit the Silver Blades Ice Rink in Liverpool at light speed for two hours every Saturday morning. Fifty years later it is a much slower shadow of my former self trying to make it round the outdoor rink in Seefeld, Austria. But I did. As you will have read in yesterday's blog (there will be a test) it was Carnival Time in Innsbruck, celebrating Shrove Tuesday, ...

Daughter C and I had decided a day off was in order. Which presented two problems for me: one is that a day off not seeing what there is to see in Innsbruck seemed to be transgressing some law of tourism, and two, what would I blog about? I needn't have worried. Early afternoon I decided to explore some of the old part of town, the one with the charming ornate buildings, narrow streets, bell towers, churches and hidden treasures only discovered by nosing around....

Having crossed some borders in the last week, my international vocabulary is under stress. I am getting tongue-tied, and have to make a conscious effort to remember which country I'm in. (I know, first world problem...) I needn't worry, because the locals know instinctively that I am not one of them. I don't understand how. This morning I walked into our local Innsbruck cafe and the fraulein behind the counter immediately greeted me with 'Hello' before I could e...

Apple strudel was on my mind as I walked the almost-empty streets in search of a convenience store. The local one was closed, being Sonntag here in Innsbruck, and everywhere else in this time zone I guess. Innsbruck is nestled among mountains. Some places are perched, others are adjacent, clinging, or sprawled, but Innsbruck is just nestled. The last time I saw it was just over thirty years ago. I arrived in darkness and left at dawn - having only the time it t...

The train from Oulx to Turin was of the short regional variety, a multi-carriage railcar in reality, but very agreeable. And new, and spotless. Catherine and I were the only ones in our carriage, which initially made me think we'd accidentally settled into first class, until I realised there were no separate classes on the train, or people for that matter. We wove our way along a sometimes windy track, through tunnels, alongside cliff faces, and - over to our le...