30 April 2023
Whereas my stay in Vienna was packed with visits to magnificent palaces, world-class museums and lovely cafés, my time in Innsbruck has been filled with memorable activities that have captivated my wandering spirit.
Frankly, I had not read much about Innsbruck going into this trip, so I was pleasantly surprised with the astonishing sight that greeted me – a colorful, vibrant, athletic and historic town and the snow-capped peaks rising majestically beyond it.
A few days before setting foot in Innsbruck, I googled “things to do in Innsbruck” and two activities caught my eye as they seemed right up my alley and were also very well reviewed. First was a half-day Tirolean food tour (Innsbruck is the capital of Tirol state in Austria) and the second was a half-day e-bike tour to the Alps.
The first was an easy choice as I’ve always felt that one of the best ways to get to know a country is through its food. Kurt, our guide, provided an impeccable tour of Tirolean cuisine punctuating his spiels with bits of history, funny anecdotes, and even lovely family stories (Kurt is a true-blooded Tirolean who grew up and still lives in the region). As he gave us a small cube of sugar flavored with cinnamon after a meal, he reminded us how there must be a direct pathway between our senses and our memories. A scent, a taste, music, and sights become triggers to distinct memories and emotions in us. And I nodded and sheepishly smiled as thoughts of Christmas wrapped me in a warm hug as the cube of cinnamon-infused sugar melted in my mouth.
The second was a bit of a leap of faith. Although I enjoy biking even in the urban jungle that is NYC, I had only tried to e-bike once and honestly I wouldn’t consider myself in the best shape at the moment. But the allure of experiencing the Alps on two wheels captivated me and what better place to do this than in Innsbruck. The ride turned out to be phenomenal! Anton, our Aussie guide, was very patient in teaching us how to use the gears and breaks of the e-bike and kept a watchful eye as we went through this adventure.
The first part of the ride was an uphill climb through winding gravel paths, a few of which were awfully close to mountain edges. I kept my sight forward and focused on what I had to do. The e-bike was definitely helpful and the steep hills I wouldn’t typically manage on a regular bike became, at least, doable! The scent of mountain air invigorated me as well. Past the highest point of our climb, near the ruins of Thaurer Schlösl, an 11th century castle, we started our descent. We glided through long stretches of downhill paths, swishing through mountain roads damp from the rain the day before, cruising along green fields dotted with spring blossoms. At the quaint town of Hall in Tirol, we came upon a lively weekend market celebrating the unheralded “radish” at the town plaza. From Hall in Tirol, we biked through ten kilometers of lovely relatively flat paths to reach Innsbruck.
As I walked back to my hotel after the ride, physically tired but mentally energized by the experience, I looked up at the mountains in front of me and now could identify some of the landmarks we passed during the ride. I sighed with astonishment at the sight before me and smiled. The magnificence of the scene was still there, but, this time, so was a newfound intimacy.
