The weather is cloudy and snow flakes fall slowly from heaven like in a dream scene. Today we walked around the city, its a small town surrounded by the Alps, a beautiful mountain stream crosses the city, it is known for Olympic Skiing events, it has always been a important cross road in the Alps because the passes stay open all year long and are not blocked by snow. The Hapsburg dynasty purchased the Tyrol by fraud under Prince Rudolf 900 years ago, from that point on they continued to build and ruled for centuries of the great empires of Europe. They are still around and so are many of the institutions they created.
We visited the Tiroler VolksKunst Museum (Tirol Folk Museum) today, the Hofkirche and the Innsbruck Hofburg (church and Imperial Palace), all the exhibits are very well done and very interesting. Beautiful collections of Folk art and life, complete rooms or parlors with the famous porcelain stoves have been rebuilt inside the museum, they are all made of Ash, Oak and Pine wood, decorated with intricate carvings, the smell of wood still present, the rooms are 500 years old and give you a good idea of how life was then.
The Palace had one spectacular exhibition on Mountaineering in the Alps and the whole obsessions people have here with the mountains. There is also a special exhibit on water colours of the mountains and how artists used different hues to give the most authentic look at mountain scenes.
Look down any street and what do you see at the end of it, the Alps and eternal snow, majestic and domineering. This city is so peaceful and the people are very nice, we made some positive comments on the quality of the exhibits in the museums and the curators blushed and look all embarrassed. The city is very clean and tidy, people greet each other, its so civilized, it just puts you in a good mood. The Palace is devoted to the only women who ever ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Maria-Theresa, a force of nature, she had 16 kids, she had vision and was both a ruler and a mother, insisting her children should learn a trade, just in case. She became a widow at 48 years of age and continued to rule with an iron grip.
HofKirche, with the mausoleum of Emperor Maximilian, (1459-1519) he put Innsbruck on the map. He is to this day much admired in the Tirol. The tomb was recently restored and is quite beautiful. He is surrounded by bronze statues larger than life of his ancestors.
Courtyard of the VolksKunst Museum with a dusting of snow. It was previously an Episcopal palace.
Architecture of the 15th century in Innsbruck. Massive stone buildings.
In the green facade building Leopold Mozart and his son Wolfgang A. gave a concert.
One of the hundreds of artifacts on exhibit in the VolksKunst Museum, a crèche with a Tirolean theme.
There are also lots of excellent restaurants, most menus are in German only, but not too worry everyone speaks English and the waiters are happy to translate for you.
We visited the Tiroler VolksKunst Museum (Tirol Folk Museum) today, the Hofkirche and the Innsbruck Hofburg (church and Imperial Palace), all the exhibits are very well done and very interesting. Beautiful collections of Folk art and life, complete rooms or parlors with the famous porcelain stoves have been rebuilt inside the museum, they are all made of Ash, Oak and Pine wood, decorated with intricate carvings, the smell of wood still present, the rooms are 500 years old and give you a good idea of how life was then.
The Palace had one spectacular exhibition on Mountaineering in the Alps and the whole obsessions people have here with the mountains. There is also a special exhibit on water colours of the mountains and how artists used different hues to give the most authentic look at mountain scenes.
Look down any street and what do you see at the end of it, the Alps and eternal snow, majestic and domineering. This city is so peaceful and the people are very nice, we made some positive comments on the quality of the exhibits in the museums and the curators blushed and look all embarrassed. The city is very clean and tidy, people greet each other, its so civilized, it just puts you in a good mood. The Palace is devoted to the only women who ever ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Maria-Theresa, a force of nature, she had 16 kids, she had vision and was both a ruler and a mother, insisting her children should learn a trade, just in case. She became a widow at 48 years of age and continued to rule with an iron grip.
There are also lots of excellent restaurants, most menus are in German only, but not too worry everyone speaks English and the waiters are happy to translate for you.
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