Day 1 - Innsbruck, Austria

I was not able to write down my travel experiences last year for reasons I dont remember anymore. I regret that now, though, because I have forgotten most of the smaller details of that trip. So I promised myself that it wont happen again, now that I'd gotten a second chance.

Anyway, the first day on my tour is ending. Im now relaxing in my warm hotel room after hours of traveling and walking.

I arrived in Innsbruck from Cologne last night. It was a 5-hour train ride : 3 hours from Cologne to Munchen, where I changed trains, then another 2 hours from Munchen to Innsbruck. In short, I was dead tired by the time I arrived at the Innsbruck main train station at around 9:00 pm.

I booked a room at a budget hotel because firstly, Im traveling on a budget and secondly, it made no sense to pay a lot for a room that I only need to sleep in for a few hours.

Anyway, the hotel was a bus ride away from the main train station. Following the instructions I was given, I walked about 200 meters to get to the bus stop (I had to walk around in circles for a few minutes before I finally found the landmark).

At the bus stop, there was a ticket machine with - guess what - no english instructions. I tried to follow the arrows and picture signs and failed to get a ticket for about 5 times. I tried using credit card, then coins, then credit card again – to no avail.

Fortunately, a helpful stranger approached me and explained that the machine could not give out change, which was why my coins kept getting rejected. Unfortunately, I did not have the exact amount of coins needed for the ticket. Fortunately again, the helpful stranger shelled out her own cents to help me out – I was about 30 cents short. Thanks to her, I was able to get my ticket.

To make a long story short, I was finally able to get to my hotel and get a badly needed good night’s sleep. Before checking out the next day, I spent like 15 minutes looking for the important things I needed that I couldn't remember where I placed. Things like my passport and my wallet.

I was starting to regret stopping over in Innsbruck, like it was a waste of time and money, plus I had experienced so much hassle in my short time there.

But as I went outside the hotel, the view took my breath away. The Alps greeted me from the hotel doors. The view was so beautiful! The song “the hills are alive…with the sound of music” kept playing around and around in my head.

I don't know how else to describe the view, but let me put it this way – if you were an atheist and you saw it, you would start believing that there is a God. How else can something as wonderful like that happen?

From Innsbruck, I took a 2-hr train ride to Salzburg. The view on the way was still so beautiful it was worth the fare I had to pay. I arrived in my hotel in Salzburg about 2pm today and went on a walking tour immediately afterward.

But Im sleepy now and need to rest for a full day ahead. More about my day in Salzburg tomorrow…