Innsbruck

We left St. Veit an der Glan, this morning, the small town nested in the foot hills of the Austrian Alps. As we were leaving, kindergarten aged kids were being dropped off at their school, a quaint little two story banana yellow house behind the hotel. The little girls were in the traditional dirndl dress and the boys were in lederhosen, all very cute.

It was a rainy travel day to Innsbruck. We travelled through northern Italy with a stop lin the Dolomites section of the Alps. The scenery was breathtaking. Some of the most dramatic mountains I have ever seen. What is even more amazing is that in Cortina, there is a chair lift in 3 levels to take (crazy) people to the top, above the clouds, to ski down. Unbelievable! We had a great lunch in an Italian restaurant in Cortina. Salad, pizza and great red wine. I am going to continue to keep wanting to eat like this when I get home.

Some sections of the mountains appear to have the entire face of the hill cut off leaving beige yellow stone exposed. This is how they mine for limestone, which is used for making cement. There are also areas of landslides which can close the roads unexpectantly.

We are seeing some incredible scenery. Mountains with land sides, water springs coming out everywhere, waterfalls and the lovely mountain farms. They are stunning. Many are located way up the mountainside, most with a limited access, certainly not by car. Good view, but I imagine it would be a tough life style.

We are in Innsbruck , with a hotel room over looking the Olympic ski jump. All settled in and ready for bed. Off to explore the town tomorrow and have a ride in the tram to the top of the peak.

TTFN