Woke to an unusual sound after last weeks weather, water falling from the sky. Lingered over what was a very good breakfast in the hope the rain would clear. Fish has been missing from t breakfast buffets so far this trip but this morning I had a choice of smoked salmon, smoked trout and herring, and a glass of bubbly to accompany it. My coffee came in what looked like an antique silver coffee pot, it could have come straight out kf Downton.
Top of my list to do in Innsbruck was a visit to the Alpenzoo, and it's bears. However given the weather decided to start by visiting the Hofkirch. The church houses a massive cenotaph to Emperor Maximillian. The cenotoph takes up most of the nave and is surrounded by giant bronze figures of past great leaders including a Arthur, King of Englamd. I didn't think Arthur ever ruled England and fought against the english.
Had a look around the round the museum next door which contained displays about tryolean life and handcrafts. It included a display of nativity scenes, some of which were I suspect not entirely reliable whilst some must seemed slightly strange. There were also displays about life and death and the festivals that are celebrated in tyrol through the year.
When we came out it was stll raining, so we then went to the tram museum. We arrived just in time to go for a ride on one of the old trams they were running. Have to say the new ones feel a lot smother, but it was still a nice way to see some of Innsbruck. The museum itself was very small with photographs and documents about the development of Innsbruck tram network.
The rain had begun to show signs of begining to ease and Andrew's shoes showed signs of leaking. So we went back to the hotel for Andrew to change his shoes. Then we headed to the Alpenzoo, the zoo is part way up the mountain outside Innsbruck. To get there we caught the kettlebell mountain railway, which acts as a ski lift in winter. The zoo itself was bigger than I expected, we saw fish and toads and lizzards as well as wolves and wild boar. There was a small collection of domesticated animals, cows, pigs,goats, chicken etc. There were also a few unexpected things, one being the tombstone of a man from Coleshill, the other a moose. However the zoo kept the best to last, walking down the path to the viewing point of an enclosure, I turned the corner and found myself face to face with a bear! The bear kept coming up to the window to say hello. Andrew eventually managed to drag me away from bear watching and we headed back to the hotel for a break before dinner.
We dined at the Theressien Brau. As they had pork knucle on the menu Andrew was very happy. The bar brews it's own beer which tastes very nice. The bar blends traditonal beer hall with a modern industrial feel from pipes running across the ceiling and making up the shelving around the bar. After dinner we just headed back to the hotel bar for a couple of beers beforw bed.
from my LiveJournal, Jane Williams - The Wombling World of Madness
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