Woke up near 5 am by some drunk youths who were shouting and fooling around. Surprisingly, I had good few hours sleep and was feeling quite fresh. Left my rucksack in the station with a euro2 locker.
By 6am, I set out to explore Innsbruck. It is very easy to fall in love with Innsbruck. This Tyrol capital was once a ducal seat for the Tyrolean Habsburg rulers. It is framed by Austrian Alps and so photogenic that at almost every corner you can see the glorious mountain range as a backdrop. From the hauptbahnhof, I walked along Museum street to reach the Hofburg and Hofgarten. I did not visit the palace but strolled in the garden instead. Hofgarten is a small quiet garden...so peaceful that I fell asleep sitting on the bench there :p The Dom St Jakob is just around the corner of Hofburg. Then I walked along Pfarrgasse to see the famous glittering Goldenes Dachl with 2657 gilded copper tiles on the roof. Emperor Maximillian used the 2nd floor balcony of this building to watch the street performers. Opposite Goldenes Dachl is Herzog- Friedrich street that is lined with beautiful baroque buildings with the Heblinghaus at the corner, being the most attractive of all. River Inn is the main river than runs across the city. I went to tourist office to gather information about Danube cruises and was looking at the sparkling Swarovski crystals at display while waiting for the office to open. Swarovski crystals are produced in Watten, a town 20 minutes from Innsbruck. One needs to pay euro 8 to enter the Swarovski factory hence I gave up on the idea of going there. Left the tourist office without any valuable information and walked southwards along Marie-Theresien street, passing by Annasaule and Triumphpforte.
Further down south is Grassmayr Glockenmuseum. The museum is named after Grassmayr family who has 400 yeas of bell making tradition. I was curious hence paid euro6 to visit this museum. I must say euro 6 is tad too expensive for such a small museum...euro 3.50 would be an appropriate fee. Well, at least I was educated about the early history of origin of bells, its function and the process of making a bell beside playing with bells of different tones. The bells were first used by the Chinese in 3000 B.C. Initially the Christians disapproved the usage of bells due to close association with pagan cultures but by 2nd century, bells were used as symbol of preaching and call to assemble. It is interesting to note how the bell making evolved throughout the centuries especially the design and ornamentation. The biggest bell is in Moscow weighing 214 tonnes! Bells went through series of bad times during wars. Bells usage was forbidden during French Revolution. In World War I and II, many bells were melted to build war materials. As a strategy against the church during German Reich, bells became victims as well.
Near the museum is Berginsel, a modern state-of-the-art building that is used to watch athletes training on the field. I did not go there though and walked back to the hauptbahnhof to catch a tram to Schloss Ambras (entrance fee euro10). I would not recommend taking a tram because it is another 20-30 minutes of uphill hike to the castle which is located at the top of the hill. Taking a bus would be a wiser choice because it stops right outside the main entrance. However, as I hiked the countryside to reach hill road, I had a great view of Austrian Alps...
Archduke Ferdinand II (1529-1595) converted the medieval Schloss Ambras to present Renaissance castle for his untitled wife Phillipine Welser (1527-1580) of lower social rank, and his two sons. Here, his massive collections armours, weapons and portraits are displayed. I am not really interested in the armoury or royal portraits but I did enjoy the vast collection of weird, bizarre and unique treasures in the Chamber of arts and curiosities. The beautiful Spanish Hall and the frescoes paintings on the Inner Courtyard of the Upper Castle made the visit worthwhile. Outside the castle is a lovely well look after garden and Bacchus grotto. In the past, guests were chained in this grotto and in order to gain freedom, they had to drink from a vessel filled with wine. By 3pm, I took a bus to train station to catch a train to Salzburg. Had late lunch of snitzelschammel :)
Reached Salzburg by 7pm but it started raining heavily. Took a bus to my hostel, Jufa Salzburg.
Goldenes Dachl
Austrian Alps
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