We arrived in Innsbruck Austria fairly late in the afternoon of Friday 7/26/02, after leaving Bregenz that morning. (See page 16.) Earlier that afternoon Kitty discovered that the screw from one of the ear pieces of her prescription sunglasses was missing - and everyone knows how small those are. On our approach to the Innsbruck Hostel we searched for stores that housed optician, an oculist, or eyeglass sales but didn't see any. We did however obtain a city map from the hostel clerk and some general directions as to where we should find the kind of shop we needed. Off we went at a clip with umbrella in hand since the skys were definitely threatening. The majority of the photos below were taken after we successfully found a shop and had the repair made - gratis as is done routinely in North America.
The Innsbruck Hostel, originally built as a dormitory for the Olympics back in the '70s, is located in the Tyrol section to the east of "downtown" Innsbruck. We later moved our car to the off street parking in back of the building. Our street facing room on the 4th floor of the building closest to Paul suffered somewhat from the noisy traffic. We wished we'd asked for a rear facing room which overlooked the Inn (name of the river; "Innsbruck" means "by the Inn").
We hurried towards the city center hoping to find an optician before stores closed at 6pm and a threatening downpour.
After successful sunglasses repair, we could enjoy the sights of the city which included the colorful buildings and streetcars.
We enjoyed a snack of Austrian Italian pizza - a great favorite judging from all the Italian restaurants and pizza places.
Down one lane and up another in the oldest section of Innsbruck.
This colorful building in the rear is a hotel - just love those flower boxes. And notice the decorative painting on the buildings to the left.
A local band was in dress rehearsal for a performance later that evening.
After returning from the approximately 4 mile round trip, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner at a pleasant find just a block from the hostel. The mixed salads we ordered first were necessary for sufficient vegetables with the cod and pork roast dinners; the apple strudel was tasty. We found it strange to not be offered glasses of water but rather be charged for a liter of spring water.
The restaurant was also a "beer hall" of sorts that presented a regular show of Austrian favorites for tourists from all over. We just listened from the adjoining dining room but Kitty snapped this picture from the hall rear. (Sorry for the blur.)
We could still appreciate the restaurant's lovely garden in the dark after we finished dinner.
Paul was forced to sit under the only ceiling light in our hostel room, before we retired for the night, in order to study the map for the next day's drive.
Yes, that's a real car we spied after breakfasting the next morning at the hostel and taking a walk. Paul thinks it would be fun to have one for driving around Toronto.
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