I traveled to Innsbruck on December 20-23rd, having heard it's a nice stop between Munich and Vienna. My bus arrived at 4:40pm, and my host Pharrell met me at the station at 6. We went back to his apartment, where I would stay the next few days. It was a really nice little one-bedroom apartment, and Pharrell had set up a mattress for me so I would be comfortable sleeping in the same room. He said my snoring and sleep-talking wouldn't bother him, which as it turns out is because he has the volume on both the television and radio as he sleeps.
That night he cooked us what he called a traditional Nigerian dinner of fish soup, chicken with tomato stew, and rice. He was heavy handed in pouring Hennessy, but I barely took a couple of sips because I'm not a big drinker, and I wanted to be on alert since I had just met him. We made small talk about where we came from, why we were in Innsbruck, and what we do for work. He showed me that he had gotten many groceries for my stay, and generously told me I was welcome to use whatever I wanted over the course of the next few days.
My host left early the next morning, and in my typical fashion, I slept late. When I looked up directions I saw it would take the same half hour whether I walked or took the bus, so I walked into town. I saw the old town and a bunch of beautiful churches. I walked down Maria-Theresian-Straße where they put a big Christmas market, and especially for the holidays they install larger than life giants and fairy tale dioramas, some which I knew (sleeping beauty, little red riding hood, the frog prince) and some which are local (a selfish woman turned to stone in the Alps, a donkey that s***s gold).
As the sun began to set I climbed Stadtturm, the highest tower in the city, to see the sky change colors over the Alps. While I was up there I heard music, so I looked down and saw they were having a Christmas concert at the Golden Roof, which is apparently Innsbruck's most famous site. Afterward I meandered through a
Christmas markets and met a very friendly Austrian couple. They spoke about as much English as I speak German, but they bought me several glasses of gluhwein (mulled wine) and used google translate as a conversational tool as we drank together. On my way back to the apartment I made sure to pass by the famous Triumphforte, which was the last tourist site on my to-do list that day.
Things got a bit weird with my host that night. He begged to photograph me, and couldn't understand why I was not uncomfortable with it. I have a strong belief in consent culture. When someone keeps asking me for something after I've said no, I naturally distrust them. I put my foot down firmly, which appeared to shock him and make him uncomfortable in turn. That was just about the end of it, but I didn't sleep much that night regardless.
I got my best sleep the next morning after my host left for work. When I woke up I made eggs for breakfast before walking out to the Golden Roof. I met a 23-year-old native Innsbrucker named Claudia who agreed to spend the day with me. We spent a while walking around the local folk-art museum, which had a variety of masks, traditional clothing, and intricate wood houses from the 17th century installed in the museum. From there we went to the Christmas market, where Claudia treated me to a hot fruit punch which wouldn't be complete without a shot of Captain Morgan's. Next we headed to a coffee shop popular with students, and talked for hours about what it's like living in the tiny Alpine town, what people do for fun, what schooling is like, and more. She's a lovely person and it was great to get a sense of life in Innsbruck.
I returned to the apartment around 9:30pm. My host was offended that I returned late, although he hadn't asked me to be back at any particular time. He wanted to teach me how to cook a traditional Nigerian meal, and I was happy to learn. We made fish, goat curry, and what I can only describe as a wheat-fluff to dip in it. It was delicious and different than anything I've tasted.
That night we got deep into conversation. He told me about his father, who has three wives and thirty-five children. He said he wants to have at least this many children, to honor his father. He told me he wants to move to America one day, and asked if I would bear his children to make it easier for him to immigrate. I was flabbergasted and quickly told him that I don't want children at all, but if I were to consider having children, I would want to adopt.
I didn't predict that the concept of adoption would infuriate him. He started ranting vehemently about bad blood, God's will, and that I as a woman should act submissive to men so they'll protect and care for me. I told him that's not my reality, that I could never love someone who needed me to submit to him, and finally that its ok we have different perspectives on family because there's no way we'd start one together anyway. This shut him down pretty quickly, and he went to bed shortly thereafter.
The next day I caught a Blablacar (like craigslist rideshare, but you pay the driver) out of Innsbruck and into Vienna. It was a tiny car filled with three men and myself. They were amazed to hear that I'm traveling alone and wanted to hear all about my experience couchsurfing, as none of them had done anything like it. The driver was an aerospace engineer from Mexico City who has been living around Germany then Austria for the past four years, and was heading to Moscow to meet his girlfriend. One of the passengers was Greek, studying in Innsbruck and meeting some friends in Vienna for the holiday. The other passenger was a doctor from Syria who started studying in Germany two years ago, before the war began. The stories he had to share were interesting and politically relevant. We all maintained lively conversation the entire 7 hour drive to Vienna, where we arrived at 7:30pm the night before Christmas Eve.