Innsbruck, Austria = Awesome

The 30th and 31st of December, 2011

When people have asked me “if you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?” I have taken the question very seriously…because honestly, living in another country is a very true and dear dream for us.  For the past year or so my answer has been Austria.  We have been to Austria several times and each time have been enamored by the beauty of it, by the spirit in the air, and have absolutely loved the quaintness and amazing sense of tradition and history within the towns.  (Vienna is a city of grandeur and splendor).  So…as we were arriving in Austria this time…I had a pretty critical eye and was waiting to be “proven wrong” about where I have been stating I would love to live…but honestly?  Within the first thirty minutes we were in the country I couldn’t stop saying…  I really really love Austria! 

Innsbruck is fantastic.  And our hotel and its location were absolutely amazing.  As we set out for Altstadt (Old Town) and it was absolutely enchanting and beautiful and I really had my magic Europe moment of the trip as we turned down alley after alley and found beautiful shops and streets draped in Christmas light glittering from head to toe.  Innsbruck’s Christmas market was also amazing!  Full of delicious hot glühwiens and wonderfully yummy snacks of bratwursts and apfelstruedels.  The wares they were selling were also far better priced than in Switzerland and I was able to pick a prized Christmas ornament of the trip for myself.  It was snowing, the lights were glittering, I was clutching my mug of hot glühwien and enjoying a hot apfelstreudel – I had made it to magic Europe!  :)

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But!  It was New Year’s Eve!  So we showered and geared up for festivities – we found out our hotel was going to be in the center of it all and that the fireworks were going off across from the bridge.  There were vendors all over serving all kinds of yummy food and drinks and we decided tonight was definitely a street food night.  Overall New Year’s Eve was a lot of fun – possibly the most fun of any we have had.  It was just cold enough that we didn’t want to be out all night…but we would go out for 30-60 minutes and enjoy the atmosphere and duck back into our hotel room for a little while to warm up again and then head back out – it made it very comfortable and a lot of fun.  We rang in the New Year at a grand stand with a performer and dancers (who were more or less lip syncing to DJed music) and a crowd that was dancing up a storm – mainly to American music.  No lie…when we were under five minutes the song that was playing was Sweet Home Alabama!  And then the crowd counted down and it was 2012 and fireworks were going off all over as the music changed to Austria’s famous “The Beautiful Blue Danube” song was playing. We broke out our mini bottles of champagne and toasted to a new year of opportunity and adventure and soaked in the jubilant spirit of the crowd as the fireworks crackled overhead!  

The party continued into the night but we headed back to crash and get some amazing sleep despite the fact that the sound of the music and the crowds was roaring right outside our window.  All in all…one of the coolest New Year’s Eves we have ever had!  :)

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