Our last full day in Innsbruck and we awoke to another beautiful, sunny, but cold, morning of minus 12, feels like minus 16, and plenty of snow still in our Airbnb backyard. We’d had a magical Christmas Eve and Christmas day in the Austrian Alps. While they don’t celebrate ‘Boxing Day’ in Austria, we were planning to make the most of another day in the snow!
Max, Di and Rene decided that they’d try again to visit Swarovski Crystal World, after our failed attempt on Christmas Eve. They made sure they were on the correct timed bus this time to make the shuttle connection at the HBF in Innsbruck.
The Wuth’s were keen to visit (and re-visit) the Bergisel ski jump, and we didn’t have time to do the ski jump and Crystal World. There was also the kids desires to do some more ice skating and sledding, so the ski jump it was.
Off to the ski jump….
With such freezing temperatures, we put on all the clothes and made sure we had the hand-warmers for our day out. It was the short walk back to the bus stop in Igls.
The Bergisel Ski Jump is on the mountain on the Igls side of Innsbruck, and we pass it every time we bus and up down from Innsbruck. So we caught our J bus part way down the mountain to the Kraftwerk stop and then had an interesting roadside walk in the snow and across some winding and very snowy paths.
We did get some amazing views across the buildings in Innnsbruck, as it was another crystal clear day. There was so much snow and ice, and despite all having snow boots on, Lorraine did have a small tumble on some ice, even in her grippy snow boots.
It was still minus 10 out and we needed our coats and gloves. It wasn’t Boxing day here but it was also a public holiday here in Austria, being St Stephen’s Day and not much was open but there were still plenty of people around.
From our roadside bus stop it was a 1.7km walk to the ski jump, up some winding ice hills. There was a bus that did take you all the way to the ski jump but it wasn’t very frequent today, and we hadn’t walked these paths during our 2016 visit, so thought the views might be good.
It turns out that they were indeed pretty good and we had excellent views over Innsbruck and of the surrounding mountains.
Innsbruck views….
There were a few lookouts on the way to Bergisel and we stopped for a couple of photos and to appreciate those mountains.
You’d hardly know that it was still minus 10 and absolutely freezing! None of us were feeling all that cold, with the exception of our hands that definitely required gloves and the hand warmers, or they’d freeze.
Bergisel ski jump is famous for having great views of the Innsbruck cemetery as you take off, which you can imagine might be a bit off-putting as you are flying through the air! On our walk way up to the ski jump we also had great views of the cemetery. It looked significantly bigger than it did from way up on the take-off ramp…..
Back to Bergisel
Once we reached the ski jump there was even more snow here than our last visit. It was however just as impressive. The ski jump hill first held competitions here in the 1920s using a more basic wood construction. The large hill was rebuilt before the 1964 Winter Olympics. The current hill was finished in 2003. We had noticed the tower is lit up different colours at night, which provided a great source of entertainment as we whizzed by on the bus back up to our house in Igls.
The stadium has seating for 26,000 people. With the amount of snow in the stands today, I’m not sure you’d want to be sitting in them! As we arrived the snow mobiles were out clearing the walkways and paths.
It’s always hard to appreciate how high or steep the ramp is until you are standing in front of it, trying not to imagine yourself hurtling down it at ridiculous speeds.
On our 2016 visit they were ‘grooming’ the ski jump which was a fascinating process to watch. Today it was all quiet and just a few tourists wandering around. This jump is used frequently World Cup and other events. During our last visit, a practice session was scheduled for that day, but had been cancelled due to high winds. Today there was no wind but also no ski jumpers.
We’d come for the views so it into the lift and up to the terrace. It was just as impressive as last time, although there was a lot more snow. As you go up and down the lift you can see the metre markers and it is so incredibly steep. You can see how far the jumpers have to descend before their skis even touch the snow.
We enjoyed the views from the terrace, where you could see all the mountains and the city. It would be an amazing view for the jumpers on a clear day, too.
The view below is what the jumpers see and just above the stands and end of the ramp is that cemetery!
Every time we are impressed by the bravery or stupidity of those who ski jump.
Hot chocolates with a view….
After the views from the upper terrace there were hot chocolates for those who could stomach food (not me, yet!).
We then checked out the height of the tower and top of the jump ramp.
We caught the lift back down to firm ground and climbed the snowy and very icy steps to check out the Olympic cauldron.
The stairs were so coated in snow it was hard to walk up them and we found some very large chunks of ice!
The views from the cauldron back towards the top of the jump ramp are pretty impressive. As are the views back over Innsbruck.
After the obligatory Olympic rings photos, it was down the gift shop. I’d purchased a T Shirt here 9 years ago that I adored and sadly had to recycle to the rag pile due to too many holes having developed. I couldn’t find the same one online, and low and behold they still had the same design and cut so that was my souvenir sorted! Soren found himself a keyring and Anto a cool ski jump beanie and similar T Shirt to mine. We may have to come back in another 9 years!
Afternoon snow fun….
It was now 11.30am and still minus 8 outside. We made our way out and towards the tram with a snowy walk, but it was mostly downhill on the way back at least. We hadn’t yet caught one of the trams in Innsbruck and the kids were keen as it both cut out some walking and was warmer than the outside air. The tram should have gotten us to the connecting bus in plenty of time but was running a bit slow so we missed our bus by a matter of seconds. It was way too cold to stand around waiting the 15 minutes for the next bus, and very few shops were open so we walked ahead a couple of stops to keep us warm. It at least burnt off those hot chocolates!
Once our familiar J bus whipped us back up the hill we arrived back and the others had not yet returned from their Swarovski adventure. After some warm lunch in our chalet, Lorraine opted for a rest while the kids convinced us we definitely needed to do more skating and sledding. The ice skating rink in Igls is not too far to walk, but the J bus heads up the mountain through town a couple of stops closer, and we were carrying our sleds, so onto the bus we went. We did love that our bus stop had a ‘bread machine’ so you could grab bread even when the supermarket next door is shut.
It was pretty busy at the skating rink with everyone off for their public holiday. Soren decided he wasn’t keen on skating today and wanted to sled with me on the adjacent hill. The girls and Anto hired their skates and head onto the rink, continuing to improve their skating. It’s a nice little rink and fairly cheap. It would have been even cheaper if we had of lugged skates all over Europe and didn’t have to pay for skate hire everywhere!
The sledding next to the rink is free as you have to walk yourself to the top of the hill, but it’s a fun run and Soren and I got up some speed and got a good view of the others skating as we whizzed by.
There were plenty of locals and tourists out enjoying a beautiful sunny public holiday on the snow and ice.
We knew the ice skating rink was closing early due to the holiday. We had planned to head further up the mountain to the cable car once we’d had a skate and sled. Anto had checked online and the cable car up Patscherkofel was also shutting early today, so we had to quickly head off on the bus or we wouldn’t get a chance to go up, being our last day. Unfortunately when Anto called to tell me whilst I was out sledding. I stopped to take off my gloves and my phone fell in the snow and despite it being a soft fall it then decided it wasn’t going to turn on. As it turns out that was the last time my phone worked for the trip. We subsequently discovered that all the extremely cold (minus 16 or more) temperatures had weakened the screen glue and the screen had detached when it fell. A non-working phone was something I had to deal with later as we had a cable car to catch!
Off to Patscherkofel….
We jumped on the J bus and had a scenic ride through Igls and Vans and up to Patscherkofel. Lorraine, having had a rest, had been walking to meet us at the skate rink and join us for the trip up the mountain but hadn’t arrived by the time we were on the bus. We’d messaged her to let her know about the early closing time are we were hoping she’d jump on the next bus and catch up with us.
Patscherkofel is the mountain to the south of Innsbruck and also ski area that extends above Igls. The top of Patscherkofel is at 2,246m above sea level. Igls is at an altitude of 870m. The vertical drop between the two provides plenty of ski runs. When we were here in 2016 the cable car station was in Igls. It has since been redone and the new station starts at a higher altitude. We reached the cable car station via the short bus ride and made it before their closing time.
Once we got to the cable car there was no wait to get on, but they weren’t going to allow our sleds up with us. We knew how steep it was were sledding up there anyway, so we were happy to leave them behind and retrieve them on the way down.
The cable car goes up from 1000m at the base station to 1700m at the middle station, and then 1950m at the top. It’s a pretty steep ascent but we had some lovely views over the city.
Some very quick sightseeing…..
Once we got to the top we had a full 9 minutes at the top to enjoy the views over Innsbruck before the last cable car of the day so had to do some quick sightseeing. You could still ski or walk down but given we had no skis and it was about to get dark the cable car seemed a better option!
It was still pretty busy with skiers at the top and the light over the mountains was amazing. We quickly took in the views. You could see from one mountain range to another and Innsbruck, in the valley below. It was a foggy day when we were up here in 2016, so we definitely didn’t get these views. Even if we did get mountains of snow on that day!
Sadly we had to drag ourselves away and jump on the cable car to head down the mountain. On the way down we had lovely light over the mountains and excellent views across Innsbruck. You could even see the airport runway running through the valley. Even though it had been quick it was very scenic.
As we got to the bottom we found Lorraine who had just missed the last cable car of the day. She did get to have a bus ride back to Igls with us though! As all the skiers were finishing up for the day the line for the bus was long. Astrid and Zinnia did some ‘bum sledding’ while waiting for the next one to arrive, making the most of the snow.
Our crowded bus full of tired skiers was a slightly less relaxing ride than our cable car but pretty soon we were back in Igls. There were plenty of cross-country skiers and snow-shoers making their way along the trails back to the villages, through the fading light, which looked to be very scenic, if cold!
Twilight sledding…..
The kids, never done with snow activities, ensured that we stopped past the sled run near our house on the way back. The snow had compacted enough that we could get much further down today. Locals had told us that when it’s really good you can sled all the way to the next village. We got about 2/3 of the way there today. This made for lots of fun, although longer walks back up. With only the 2 sleds there were waits for turns. There was also a ‘cliff’ that Soren had a great time going over, but I refused to try, preferring the sled path, and no broken bones….
Eventually it was too dark and we had to head home. We’d done the last couple of runs in the almost pitch black as we had to drag everyone away!
A final Innsbruck feast…
For our last night with Rene, who was starting the trip back home the next day, we head out for some local Tyrolean fare. Not much was open, but a recommended place in Igls kindly found some seats for us at their drinks tables as they were fully booked. It was lucky we got there early as people were being turned away shortly after we arrived.
We had some great Tyrolean fare, with the ‘kids-sized’ schnitzels bigger than their heads (so you can imagine the adults) and my first proper meal in 2 days after the vomit-bug, I had some excellent käsespätzle I shared with Soren. Anto enjoyed some local meaty Tyrolean dishes, he declared very good, and Astrid conned a giant strudel out of Granny.
The minus 10 walk back to our house was refreshing but we enjoyed the beautiful village lights!
We had certainly enjoyed our stay in the Austrian Alps and a magical Christmas in the snow! The next day Rene was off to warmer places but the rest of us were heading to Vienna…..
Up next…..
After another ‘interesting’ train trip we made it to Vienna where we had a memorable dinner of Japanese food that involved an ‘Aperol shower’ for Granny. We then got to see the amazing horses in the Spanish riding school perform in the beautiful Hofburg Palace.
