From Swanberg in Germany, my daughter drove me over the highest peak in the Alps, the Zug, in the snow and wind, and finally arrived safely at the Austrian gateway to the Alps, the town of Erwald. The next morning, we had to push on to our destination, the small town of Innsbruck.
Austria is so beautiful! The trees and villages on both sides of the road were silvery white and enchanting! The thick snow on both sides of the road made us realise that this was a snowfall that had not been experienced for decades. The old Gothic churches stood like maidens, holy and beautiful.
I had in mind Austria, a landlocked country in the middle of Europe. It covers an area of 83,858 square kilometres and has a population of 8.05 million, and is more than 99% Austrian. The official language is German, the inhabitants are mostly Catholic, it is a neutral mountain country and has a very developed economy.
At this point I just heard my daughter ask me, “Mum, what are you thinking about?” I said, “I’m thinking about Austria! And this is the third time I’ve been to Austria!” My daughter said, “But this is the first time you’ve been to Innsbruck, the little town. Every time you only go to the capital Vienna and Salzburg, this time you will see the fifth daughter of Austria, the little family.”
Too late, too soon! It was only a forty-five kilometre drive and we were both in Innsbruck. In fact, I had done my homework before arriving: hereinafter Innsbruck is referred to as: the city of In, meaning the bridge over the river In. Because the river Inn divides the town into two parts, the locals have built a new town and an old town. Innsbruck is a city in south-western Austria, the capital of the Tyrol and the transport hub of the region. With Germany to the north, Italy to the south, Switzerland to the west and Slovenia to the east, the city is located at the crossroads of Central Europe and is extremely important. A beautiful city at the foot of the Alps, we couldn’t wait to have a look around and see what it had to offer! Today we didn’t waste a minute on the old town.
We parked the car and walked into the city. The first thing that caught my eye was that there were a lot of people at one place and they were all queuing in an orderly fashion, I was thinking what an age it is and that there are queues in Europe! Looking closer, there was a golden roof shining brightly in the sunlight! My daughter told me: “This is the golden roof, a landmark of the city. It was built more than 600 years ago for the engagement of the Roman Emperor Maximilian I. The roof of the three-storey palace is decorated with 2,657 gilded bronze tiles, and all visitors to the city have their pictures taken here.
The streets are lined with old Gothic-style buildings. The Palace Cathedral, a palace-style building, as it was the residence of the Emperor until around 1665! The town hall and towers, now within our sight, are also opulent and unmistakable.
Before we knew it, we were walking down a not too wide street, only to see a number of shops selling all kinds of bread and sausage drinks. My daughter told me that Austrian sausage bread is delicious, but not exported because the demand for the product produced exceeds the supply. In order to save time, we decided not to go into the restaurant and buy some delicious bread, sausages and two bottles of juice to make our stomachs happy, but it was important to feast our eyes on them.
It’s not surprising to see that the whole street is connected by a promenade in front of the businesses, with its life-like frescoes of flowers and birds! I first bought a Mozart bouncing doll for my granddaughter. I saw another three-storey floral fabric shop with a wide range of cloths to make all kinds of ethnic costumes, and there were many traditional European festivals, just in time to sew beautiful ethnic dresses for my little girl. The colours were so bright that I liked them all. I couldn’t buy more because I had to hurry, so I finally chose three varieties that I loved and bought them before leaving satisfied.
When I came to the bright and spacious street, I saw many bronze figures inlaid on the walls in front of each building, and the gold letters cast in bronze were very interesting. My daughter, who was my excellent guide, told me, “This mountain city in the bosom of the beautiful Alps, a ski resort, hosted the World Winter Olympics twice in 12 years, in 1964 and 1976, and its contribution to the Winter Olympics is already in the book of sports history,.” So, I understand that the city is very much about celebrity! The Austrians are not only simple, kind and hospitable but also wise!
As we walked, my daughter hurriedly called me to look. Ah! I was amazed! Suddenly, in front of us, a huge snow-covered mountain rose up from the sky. And in the sunlight, it was gorgeous, majestic, cloudy and hazy! The Jade Dragon is really three million in flight! I was so intoxicated that I really didn’t want to wake up ……
Over the years, I have travelled to many famous mountains and rivers around the world, but it is really hard to see such a fantastic view of Innsbruck! My daughter asked the locals and they told me that it is a rare sight to see! I was mesmerised by the heavy snowfall last night and the blue sky and white clouds today. What an encounter!
