Our Introduction to Innsbruck

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After leaving the wonderful castles of King Ludwig II we headed towards Innsbruck in Austria. We were travelling in a motor-home and enjoyed motoring up through the mountains. Some of the town names made us laugh. We drove willy-nilly into the centre of Innsbruck and ended up following a tram down a street. I was panicking but Vince said it would be okay while the tram stayed in front of us. There was a jazz festival on in the centre of the city and we listened to one group playing on the street. The music created a carnival atmosphere and one couple couldn't resist dancing to the music. Also watched a girl create big bubbles like Paints on Slate does and another in grey posing as a human statue. We took the Hungerburgbahn funicular railway from the station designed by renowned Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid. We took the railway and cable car up to Nordketten ski chalet. We later took a shorter cable car ride to the very top. There were dozens of people here, many camping in tents. What looks like pieces of fence across the little gullies is, I guess, to slow the descent of snow slips. The views from the chalet were spectacular. We loved our camp site among the mountains and witnessed a spectacular storm as we were heading home. On our second night there we met up with Emma Timmis and her friend, Mike, who were riding their bikes through the area. Late in 2014 Emma had run across Africa from east to west completing a 2,444 mile run through five African countries. Mike had been part of her support team. This was the equivalent of 94 marathons in 89 days. We really enjoyed chatting with Emma and Mike and were blown away by Emma's achievement. I am always fascinated by the stories people have.