22nd October Innsbruck

This morning we leave for Innsbruck with a quick stop in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Through the mist we could just work out the castle of the reigning monarch. I bought a fridge magnet and had a hot chocolate. I'm guessing the Prince was home as we could see smoke rising from a chimney...and we didn't find him down in the village buying the tourists a coffee which he is often found doing apparently. 

We then crossed into Austria following the Arlberg route through the Tyrol to Innsbruck. After checking into the hotel we went on a quick walking orientation around the town. In Innsbruck we saw the Golden Roof and the palace where Marie Therese gave birth to many of her children. Then we went to the Swarovski crystal shop as Swarovski is made in Innsbruck. I may have purchased one or two items ;) We then grabbed a pizza and beer for lunch before heading to St James' Cathedral. I bought a book about the history of the church which says about the interior 'the interior is a uniform area of severe monumentality in which the vigorous pillars supporting the saucer domes produce a repeated triumphal arch motif'...I can't compete with such a description! Trust me...it was beautiful and spectacular!!!!

This afternoon we took a horse drawn carriage ride up to a typical mountain village and enjoyed the magnificent alpine scenery. On the way up in the cart Patrick our tour guide thought it would be nice to drink some champagne and orange juice...a Bucks Fizz??? Well, I did warn him that I was strictly a Moet & Chandon girl, but he managed to twist my arm into a cup or two...or three and four (you get the picture). We stopped to admire those beautiful wooden  houses, the kind you see in books but think they're for the tourists...they're not, people really live in them. We were warned not to drink the pear and apple schnapps...I didn't listen! We stopped at a traditional Tyrolean Gasthof for a drink...a beer...and a red wine! Are you getting the picture. Just in case it was cold I took my new puffy jacket up with me, it wasn't cold, but I had some photos taken in it...just because! Oh...and there were a couple of champagne bottles that needed to be emptied before we got back to the bus too!!! Needless to say while I made it to the restaurant for dinner, I didn't make it to the part where you order...by then I was back in the hotel room...in the recovery position!!! And yes what my mother told me is all true...the bigger the bubble the bigger the headache! And you should NEVER mix your drinks....next time I won't be putting orange juice in my champagne!!!