Friday, July 28, 2006

The grass is greener in Innsbruck

Travelling without a map can sure be fun -- although it may induce a few periods of panic for me -- but travelling without a sure destination or not knowing exactly where you'll be in a few hours is also just as fun.

Heather and I randomly went to Innsbruck on our last weekend -- we did not know the city at all, heck, we didn't even know the size, but we knew we wanted to go down to lovely Tirol, Austria, specifically Innsbruck.

I must say, it is a beautiful city. We walked for hours the first day, just exploring the city, going in and out of shops, drinking cold, yummy drinks, and walking in the Fußgängerzone. In the evening, we sat by the river eating chocolate, and then we had the great opportunity to hang out and chat with some very interesting and cool Austrians in first a funky bar and then in the Irish pub. It was simply wonderful.

The following day found us at one of the many Innsbruck museums -- this museum in particular was having an exhibit called, "100 000 years of sex", in which basically sex was researched from before the Middle Ages until the Victorian Age. It was quite interesting, although they could have done much more with it. We also viewed their modern art collection, as well as a special science exhibit. It was a sweltering hot day, so it was wise to spend much time in museums.


On the train back, Heather and I ended up running into a French-Canadian family that were from Northern Ontario, near Timmins. They were extremely friendly, and they asked us of all the cool and fun things there is to do around Füssen, which was one of their next destinations. We recommended the usual things, such as the castles, the museums, swimming in the lakes, and we also suggested that they go to Heather's restaurant for Apfel Strudel.

The train dropped us off in Reutte (still in Austria, but only about 15 km from Füssen), and no sooner had we gotten off the train that we realized that no more buses ran to Füssen that day. Simply lovely. We decided to do the ol' hitchhiking thing (since we had become practically pros at it) but because we were on a different road, not as many people were going to Füssen. It took awhile before we were picked up (two drivers before had stopped for us, but they were not going to Füssen). Heather and I ended up wandering past a town called "Pflach", which made us laugh. The heat coupled with exhaustion, feeling sticky, and us not getting a ride made us laugh, chortle, and giggle at practically anything. However, the driver that ended up picking us up (and who was going to Füssen) was a woman! I was extremely impressed, as was Heather. So, there are women who pick up hitchhikers!

As it stands now, I only have two and a half days left at the hotel! As of the 31st, my vacation commences. I can hardly wait for my travelling time, as well as arriving back in Canada. It should be an exciting next few weeks!

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