There’s just something about mountain towns that I adore. Maybe it’s because my first European vacation featured mountains and beautiful scenery. Maybe it’s because I like the crisp, clean air. Maybe it’s because I got engaged at the top of a mountain in Europe. Whatever it is, I am so, so happy in the mountains.
Innsbruck, Austria is no exception. Innsbruck is a wonderful mountain town on the smaller side with all of the class and sophistication of a larger city. And oh! It’s been PERFECT for us since the Christmas market is open and there are so many things to see and do!
I won’t drone on and on too much…I’ll let the pictures do the talking!
Since it was a Sunday, there were people everywhere! The shops in the old town were all open, but most of the rest of the city was shut down. It was busy, it was exciting, and the booths were all filled with delicious or beautiful things! Everyone at the booths spoke English, so even though we tried to speak a little German, the workers were all very nice about speaking English.
After meandering around the market for a bit, we decided to hike up to the Alpenzoo, which is a zoo of creatures all local to the Alpines. It was wonderful since I hadn’t seen some of those animals before!
The wolves were a particular favorite of mine. Part of me felt terrible that they were enclosed at the zoo, but another part of me was so happy that I could get so close to them.
Then there were barnyard animals, which I’m not usually super gung-ho about, but there were baby piglets!! How could you not aww at them??
They were SO cute. Mike liked the big horned lamb and they kept making faces at each other. True love.
Oh, and see this picture?
See the tiny buildings on the ground? Yeah, we walked up here from down there. Mike said it was a “short walk” and it ended up being a “short mountain hike.” We took the bus back down to save our legs for the rest of the trip.
After the zoo, we headed back to the Christmas market for some more glühwein (hot mulled wine) and other treats!
Our second day here was more dedicated to shopping since we don’t have any Christmas gifts for each other. We both got new winter coats, and Mike got a few other needed items at a department store that was very nice. Really, all of the stores in Innsbruck were high-quality, classy stores that we could find any number of items that we loved. Innsbruck had some great shopping!
After shopping, we hit the Christmas market back up for more food and glühwein (I’m telling you, this stuff is amazing).
All in all, I LOVED Innsbruck. Going during this time while the Christmas Market was open was a wonderful decision. The weather wasn’t too terribly cold, and when it did get chilly, there were plenty of places to duck in and warm up. We also didn’t spend too much money here on food since the street vendors were so accessible and cheap. You can see our new coats in the above photos, and while they weren’t exactly cheap, they were good, necessary buys. Plus, doesn’t Mike look so dashing in his new scarf? I’m obsessed with it.
The first two days of our vacation have been so wonderful! I’m excited to see what Salzburg has in store for us. We’ll be driving there tomorrow, so stay tuned!!
