Innsbruck Christmas

(Aileen)
We’ve just returned from an amazing X-mas break in Innsbruck. It was the perfect work-detox mix of gorging on sausages, pretzels and gluhwein, and strenuous skiing.

23 December - A shaky start, a (ful)filling finish
It’s an early start with a 5:30 am trek to Clapham Junction to catch a train to Gatwick. We get to Gatwick just after 6 and it’s an absolute madhouse. Aren’t people supposed to be relaxing at home with friends and family? Not the crazy travel-crazy British. It should no longer come as a surprise, but does every time.

The £20 additional fee we paid for speedy boarding pays for itself as we slink past the lines 20 people deep to the 1 man-long speedy boarding queue. Phew.

It’s just as hectic past the security lines. And of course our flight is delayed. The bus doesn’t come on time. We miss our take off slot. The bacon butties are all gone by the time the food cart rolls by (they were all gone by the first row) – which is just as well as we saved tummy room for the goodies to come.

It’s almost 12:30 by the time we get to Innsbruck. We’re exhausted. The cash machine doesn’t like our debit card. We hop into a taxi without Euro. The taxi doesn’t take credit card. The tax driver gets all grumpy. I hop out at a cash machine to get enough cash to quiet him. We finally get to our hotel and check in. It’s been a long morning.

After checking in, we head out to check the Innsbruck Christkindl Markt. It’s smaller in comparison to Salzburg’s, but has the requisite gluhwein and wiener stands. By 7:00 PM we’ve consumed:
• At least 4 rounds of gluhwein
• A sausage in a roll
• A pretzel
• A potato pancake with sour cream sauce
• A sausage with roll on the side
• A trio of Austrian gnocchi - with bacon, spinach, and fried
• A deep fried donut-like disk with powdered sugar
• A round of Austrian beer

In addition we dropped by the speck store and picked up a chunk of speck, a happy chunk of cured bacon and a small bottle of Austrian mustard. Delicious stuff.

We stumble home, bellies full and gluhwein working its wonders. We set the alarm for 6 am and fall into a peaceful slumber.

Some pics from the day (L-R): Smalls by the Goldner Daschl, Gluhwein and Pretzel, Christkindl Markt




24 December – A taste of the Tyrolean Alps and Snow Ploughing
We’re dressed and out of the hotel room by 7am, to catch a 7:20 bus to Stubai Glacier. Our plan is to stop by the Ski School in Neustift to arrange for cross-country lessons and rent gear. We have absolutely no idea where to get off, so we check the bus schedule for each stop and take a guess. It’s a pretty good guess. We manage to arrange lessons, rent our gear, and catch another bus up to Mutterberg to catch the gondola up to make our 10:30 lesson.

On the bus up we get a good dose of the Alps. But it’s no match for the breathless views of the gondola ride up. Amazing.

We find Roman (our cross country instructor) and 3 Frankfurt ladies (our fellow students) at the start of the cross country track. The views are incredible. The snow’s pristine. The clouds break every so often to reveal crystal blue skies. We start the uphill trek. It’s quite the workout, but a lot of fun. As you swish along you hear nothing but the smooth swish of your skis, and your breath (or mumbling as you struggle to move along).

About 3 quarters of the way through the track we find we’ve managed to ascend to a bit of a hill, and receive an introduction into the art of snow ploughing a.k.a. stopping on a snow slope on skis. Everyone manages to take a fall at least once. The snow’s wonderful.

Two hours later we head back. We make our way to the bar/tent with Euro disco music blasting and steal a cheeky beer. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but quite eager to get back out on the snow, and maybe even…ta da da daaaaaa….try skiing.

We run into (or rather purposefully meander to) a chicken rotisserie and stop for lunch a.k.a the most amazing crispy skin roast chicken at 2300 m above sea level, in -15C temps, with incredible views of the Tyrolean Alps. The cups of gluhwein help to keep us warm.

Afterwards we take the plunge and sign up for a 1 day skiing lesson, and spend the rest of the afternoon pulling together all the rental gear – boots, skis, poles, trousers – quite the gear intensive sport.

We head back to Innsbruck on a late afternoon bus and get back with just enough time for a speedy shower and change before heading down to Christmas Eve dinner in the hotel. The food’s quite disappointing (and not cheap!!) – a mound of mashed avocado with way too much salty cured fish to start, a mediocre duck breast with sad sides as a main, and a not very good marzipan cream choux pastry desert to finish. We’re too tired to quibble, and a bottle of red followed by a bottle of Sekt (Austrian sparking wine) are sufficient to appease. It’s been a long, strenuous day and we welcome sleep.

Some pics from the day (L-R): View of the Alps from the bus, Gondola ride, Ed climbing a hill, Roast chicken


25 December – Snow ploughing frenzy
It’s an early rise on Christmas Day as well. We plan on taking the same 7:20 bus and wake up a little earlier to enjoy some stolen and Christmas tunes in our hotel room before heading out.

We get to the glacier with enough time to tuck in a pretzel washed down with some coffee. The canteen is brimming with skischule instructors. Energetic teenager looking kids in their Skischule jackets. We’re nervous. What have we signed up for?

It’s a beautiful day for skiing. Crisp air, blue skies, fluffy white snow. We head to the big Mickey Mouse where all the kiddies are congregating. We’re absolute beginners after all. Ed shyly asks where beginner lessons are. The instructor smilingly asks “For your children”? We sheepishly say no, and she points us to an area up a small hill where adult groups are congregating. It’s a struggle up the hill in clunky snow boots. I’m breathing heavily by the time we get up.

Himml, our instructor (barely twenty) finds us, herds us back down the hill  (descending in aforementioned clunky boots is difficult too!), and over to a corner by another group of students, who obviously started the day before. They look comfortable skiing down a short slope and stopping. We can barely stand on the skis.

Our first slide down a mild slope has us feeling sufficiently wobbly kneed. Four hours, hundreds (what felt like) of snow ploughs and burning thighs and legs later we’re exhausted, but snow ploughing quite comfortably. It was tiring stuff but we had a blast. Loved it. Our only regret is not having enough time to take more lessons.

We hobble onto the last bus back to Innsbruck and take a nap on the way in. We’re exhausted. And inconveniently have dinner reservations at a restaurant about a mile from our hotel. As we walk back into town we’re wishing the Christmas Market is open so that we grab a quick bite and then collapse into bed. No such luck. The market is closed. We toy the idea of skipping dinner. But make a valiant effort to get dressed, catch a taxi (we could barely stand much less walk) and make it to dinner. We had an excellent meal which more than made up for Christmas Eve dinner. Ed starts with a belly warming frittatensuppe (noodle strips in rich beef bouillon), I have the goose essence soup. It comes served in a cappuccino cup with a poached quail egg floating in the rich broth. On the side is another cup of creamy truffle froth. Delicious.

For mains we go traditional. Ed has a mighty fine specimen of a wiener schnitzel. I have boiled prime beef, which is served with a wonderful piece of bone marrow and some roasted potatoes. We have a nice bottle of Austrian Riesling to go with the meal.

To cap off we have the warm apfelstrudel with whipped cream. It’s delicious - flaky light crust, apples with the perfect balance of tartness, sweetness, and spice.

As we leave the restaurant, a free taxi drives by which we hail for the 3 minute ride back to the hotel. Perfect end to a great day.

Some pics from the day (L-R): Ed with skis, By the ice climbing pillar, Taking a break


26 December – One last go
We have mid-afternoon flight back and the airport is only 10 minutes from town centre so we spend the next day having one last go at the Christmas Market. Several cups of gluhwein, sausage, beer. We also take a stroll through town to catch some sights we missed while being up in the mountains the past 2 days.

The flight back is pleasantly uneventful. Leaves on time. Arrives back in London early.

We had a great time in Innsbruck. We arrived tired/drained/distracted from work, with no specific plans other than to relax, and managed to spend 2 glorious days up in the glorious Alps skiing, and also savour the goodies on offer at the Christmas Market. I’m looking forward to the next opportunity we can get to savour snow, and maybe learn to make turns on skiis!

Some pics from the day (L-R): Gluhwein, sausage

For all our pics of the trip, please visit our Ausrtia pics accessed via the Smallzone.