Time for two in Summer

You're finally coming to visit me! After you admired my snow photos, which I posted online virtually every day last winter, I'm particularly delighted to have the chance to show you Innsbruck in person after all this time. When you arrive, you can still picture my images of snow-topped mountains. Today, however, all of the white has melted away, and you are instead greeted by the view of luscious alpine meadows glistening under the sun in beautiful shades of green. "There's really virtually no other city in the world where you can see green landscapes wherever you look!", you exclaim, your eyes wide with wonder. And you're right: Innsbruck is indeed a truly unique city with an unparalleled location in the heart of the mountains.

In summer, the streets of the historic old town are lined with flowerbeds. People meet up for coffee on the banks of the River Inn. A group of young students raise a toast before sipping on aperol spritz, embracing the city's close proximity to Italy. A gentle summer breeze dances through the streets, and I just know that our next few days together are going to be absolutely wonderful. We want to enjoy the city but also plan to go out and explore nature every day. It's therefore great that Innsbruck offers plenty of options to tick both of these boxes in a new way every day. In fact, I've already come up with a plan for the perfect three-day break in Innsbruck. I want to show you my Innsbruck, the city I know and love – so that we can simply have a great time away from the tourist traps!

A few days ago, I pre-ordered a picnic basket from Klein & Fein in the Market Hall for us to enjoy. This excellent source of culinary delicacies is a restaurant and a food shop rolled into one, and given that we are huge fans of Austrian cuisine, I've opted for the "I'm from Austria" basket to kick off our break. We can therefore look forward to tasty treats such as mini chicken schnitzels, burgers, various salads and tartlets with fresh strawberries. Just the thought of it makes my mouth start to water! 

The brochure full of different WALKS through Innsbruck and its surroundings provides plenty of great ideas for excursions within the city and further afield. Some of the routes are also suitable for scooters or, as a less strenuous option, bicycles. Exploring on two wheels makes us more flexible and allows us to cover long distances without getting too out of breath.

Tour number 5 takes us through "young Innsbruck" and is the top item on our plan for our first day together. It leads us out of the historic old town to the Baggersee lake and then back into the city along the River Inn. There are plenty of sights and attractions that I can't wait to show you along the way! 

With our picnic basket in tow, we set off on our trip, crossing the market square to pick up our Stadtrad city bike on the corner of Marktgraben/Innrain. 

The modern Innsbruck Climbing Center is located directly on our route. I'm no expert climber but I do enjoy a bit of climbing fun secured by a rope every once in a while! We decide to stop off and take a look. After all, even the steep walls in front of the entrance are extremely impressive. The facility was built in 2017 and is one of the largest and most modern of its kind worldwide. In addition to its 3,000 m² of indoor and 1,500 m² of outdoor walls for rock climbing, the centre also offers an indoor bouldering area covering 1,025 m² plus 175 m² of outdoor bouldering space. It is home to a total of 500 lead climbing routes and 200 routes for boulderers. The moment you enter one of the halls, you immediately notice the special safety flooring under your feet. All year round, the centre's World Cup-compatible walls welcome the crème de la crème of climbing athletes training for their next competition. Who knows, maybe we'll even catch a glimpse of one of Innsbruck's climbing legends like Anna Stöhr or Jakob Schubert?! 

If we hadn't chosen to travel by bike, we could have used bus line F, which runs directly to the Baggersee lake. The bus route connects the city centre with Baggersee lake on one side – and the airport on the other. Public transport directly linking the airport and a top swimming location? Only in Innsbruck! That said, the Baggersee offers much more than just the opportunity to take a refreshing dip: next to the Archenweg entrance, you will find the headquarters of the ice cream parlour chain Tomaselli Eisproduktion. Maybe we'll have space for an ice cream after feasting on our picnic? After all, it's practically a must when visiting the Baggersee! 
The most impressive thing about the lake itself is its stunning mountain backdrop. I love to sunbathe on the south-east bank, where I can lie back and enjoy the wonderful view of the Nordkette mountains. The northern bank, on the other hand, has plenty of trees that provide good shade. And shade certainly comes in handy for the new Motorikpark obstacle course, where not only children work up a sweat while testing their skills and coordination! After all that action, we've certainly earned the right to leap off the jetty for a well-deserved splash in the lake. If only holidays were always so relaxing!

After a few hours at the lake, we hop back onto our bikes and cycle away, immediately crossing the bridge over the Inn. After reaching the opposite bank, we start to make our way back to the historic old town, but when we get to the Mühlau Bridge, we take a slight detour from the route in the brochure and cross back to the other side of the river. Using the cycle path is a more chilled alternative to cycling on the road. When we reach the Emile-Bèthouart-Steg bridge, we cross the river and enter Innsbruck's oldest city district, St. Nikolaus. The old buildings along Innstraße road are home to a multitude of small shops that breathe new life into this area of the city. When I'm here, I like to shop at Walde Seifen, browse around the "Kostnix" give-away shop and treat myself to what is quite possibly the city's best chocolate brownie at the Haepinest café. That said, we're not here to shop, so after a quick stop, we continue on to the final section of our tour. Before doing so, we take a photo of the famous row of colourful houses in Anpruggen. It simply has to be done! Although I've been living in Innsbruck for many years, this is a sight I really can't get enough of!

RELAX AND REFLECT
Directly behind the colourful buildings is the Mariahilf Parish Church, which was built by Christoph Gumpp in 1647/48. Gumpp was the founder of a true dynasty of master builders and played a major role in shaping Innsbruck's cityscape over many years. A particularly attractive feature inside the building is the high altarpiece created by Johann Paul Schor, which shows the history of the church. We sit back and enjoy the peace, quiet and cool air. For a few minutes, we simply immerse ourselves in our own individual thoughts. 

We then continue for a short distance until we reach the wall by the river in front of the university. We decide to sit down and bring our day to the perfect close. It's a particularly popular location among students, who like to meet up here to enjoy the last few rays of sun on the banks of the River Inn. We take off our shoes and dangle our feet over the wall. From here, we have a wonderful view of the impressive Nordkette mountain range towering over the city. Thankfully, we won't have to climb all the way to the top: the Nordkette lifts and cable cars take passengers up to 2,000 metres above sea level in a matter of minutes, and we can't wait to enjoy the journey!

"Forest therapy" is currently all the rage in the world of wellness. It actually comes from Japan, where "Shinrin-yoku", forest bathing, is a recognised medical treatment. The people of Tyrol have always regarded forests and mountains as sources of energy and strength, and conscious components of mindfulness are now being increasingly integrated into this nature therapy. We set off to the village of Mieming, about 40 minutes away from Innsbruck, to explore this trend and go on a mindful walk through the Mooswiesen meadows. The landscape here is a beautiful combination of a biotope and larch meadows and the perfect place to take time to discover and observe nature at its best. For an authentic experience, we leave our shoes in our rucksacks and walk barefoot on the soft forest floor.

Farm shops are becoming increasingly popular and prevalent both in and around Innsbruck. A particularly impressive example is the Steiererhof in Mieming. This self-service shop offers fresh and long-life products from the local region, pasta made using eggs from the farm, flour from the Inn Valley, potatoes grown by the neighbour and at the weekend, freshly baked biscuits from the owner's mother-in-law. It is one of my favourite shops and I love to come here whenever I'm in the area. Today, we also grab a coffee from the self-service machine and sit down on the comfortable bench in front of the farm shop.

On our way back, we stop off in Kematen to use the Kneipp facility near the bus stop by the church. A walk through a Kneipp pool is great for body and soul, whatever the weather. Our feet are already warm from all the walking and are therefore ready and waiting for a splash in the cool water. The difference in temperature activates the body and mind, stimulates circulation and strengthens the immune system. We haven't planned to do much else today. As is so often the case, less is more!

On Sunday, it's finally time for a special highlight: I've signed us up to attend a yoga session out in the fresh air up in the Nordkette mountains! Thankfully, the weather has decided to play along and the sun smiles down on us even in the early hours of the morning. We first take the Hungerburgbahn funicular, which has futuristic stations designed by the famous architect Zaha Hadid, up to the Hungerburg district. We then continue our journey by cable car and, less than eight minutes later, find ourselves standing at an altitude of nearly 2,000 metres above sea level. Paragliders are preparing to take off, hikers and cyclists are reaching their destination, and children are enjoying what is probably the playground with the best view of the city. There's certainly plenty going on up here! After everyone has arrived, we gather our things and set off on a brief hike to a platform on the Panoramaweg panoramic trail, away from the hustle and bustle.

The yoga session has been adapted to fit the location and is also suitable for beginners, which is good for us! With every exercise and repetition, I feel a sense of inner calm spread within me. Isn't it just wonderful to have a chance to stop, breathe and enjoy the views off into the distance while your thoughts run free? While doing so, you might even catch a glimpse of an inquisitive Alpine chough flying past or spot a chamois up on a distant ridge. One thing's for sure: I've definitely never breathed as intensely as during this yoga session.

After our yoga session, we laze around in the sun loungers near the Seegrube lift station and treat ourselves to some apple strudel. After all, we've already completed our workout for the day! There is, however, one more thing I want to show you: the view from right up at the top. We therefore take the cable car up to the Hafelekar lift station. Now you really can enjoy the best view Innsbruck has to offer. You can even see right across to Italy! We can also clearly identify the route we rode on the first day of our break – look, there's the SOWI building, the Baggersee lake, the Climbing Center and even the Market Hall! 
An excursion like this up to the top of the Nordkette mountain range is a fitting finale for your visit. That said, we still have a couple of hours left, and I know you want to take a piece of Innsbruck back home with you ...  

On our way to the station, we pay a quick visit to the vending machine in front of the Wilderin restaurant. Since the start of 2021, this machine has been offering freshly cooked delicacies made using local ingredients. For foodies like us, these culinary delights are ideal souvenirs and holiday gifts. The "Thesi" range offers passers-by the chance to purchase dishes such as goulash, beef broth, apple strudel or even salted caramel ganache in glass jars. They not only look great but also taste delicious – full of the wonderful flavours of mountain air and holidays! All you need to do is heat them up at home (other than the cold desserts!) and enjoy your meal. This is the perfect way to take a taste of Innsbruck back home with you and relive that holiday feeling when back in the office on Monday.