Christmas in the Mountains: Innsbruck, Austria

As a child growing up in the States, every two to four years I would enjoy watching the winter and summer Olympics. Being from Atlanta, home of the 1996 Olympics, I have always been interested in visiting other olympic cities. Day 2 of our road trip and our second stop was to Innsbruck, Austria, which was the host of the 1964 & 1976 Winter Olympics.

Olympic Stadium Innsbruck

As we literally drove over the mountain and through the woods, at night I might add, we really could not see the essence of Innsbruck. To our surprise on Christmas Eve, we woke up to one of the most breathtaking views, I have ever seen.

View from hotel looking into Old Town Innsbruck

Another view from our room

Christmas Eve is the last day for many of the Christmas Markets in Innsbruck. Also, we found out that many of the restaurants and shops close between 2-3 pm on Christmas Eve. If you don't make dinner reservations early enough (30 days in advance) be prepared to order room service, or be prepared to visit one of the Kebab places by the train station. They seem to really be racking up on this night....

Fortunately, we were able to see two of the Christmas markets, but we missed the main one. They were breaking down the main market by the time we got to it, but we did get to see one thing, a Swarovski Crystal Christmas Tree.  I can only imagine what this looked like at night.

Swarovski Christmas Tree

Inside the Crystal Tree

Explanation of all of the different crystals that made up the tree

As we continued our stroll through Innsbruck's Old Town, there were a few interesting creatures that we met along the way. Each of them had their own little story...

First, I would like you to meet Der Riese vom Glungezer (The Glungezer Giant). Legend has it that Der Riese vom Glungezer, lived in a cave on near Glungezer mountain. He would yell so loud that he would cause avalanches and mudslides into nearby villages. But like most men, he had a soft spot for the ladies. In one of the villages close to the mountain lived King Tulfeirner with his three daughters.  The giant fell in love with one of the King's daughters. In the picture below, the giant is dressed in his best attire to meet the King. Though he had all of the best intentions and really wanted to impress the King, there was just no way he would be the King's son-in-law. But the King was not completely rude, he did send this sweet giant back home with several baskets.

Der Riese vom Glungezer (The Glungezer Giant)

The Glungezer Giant in formal attire being photo bombed

Next, I would like you to meet Frau Mitt, who was a giant woman who lived on a mountain over looking Innsbruck with her son.  Frau Mitt was known for treating the poor very unkind. One day, her son came home all dirty, and she ordered a servant to clean him up with milk. Legend has it that the servant was a witch, and turned Frau Mitt into stone, and her land into a rocky deserted area unable to grow anything. Today, hikers are able to climb Frau Mitt.

Frau Mitt before being turned to stone

We could not visit Innsbruck without seeing some of the tourist attractions. One of the places I was really looking forward to seeing was the Goldenes Dachl (The Golden Roof). Built 1500, the balcony under the Golden Roof was used to protect Emperor Maximilian and his wife as they watched different events in the square.

Me with the Golden Roof in the distance

The Golden Roof

No visit to any European city is complete without a visit to a cathedral, but even more so during this special time of year. With this being said, we stopped by Dom zu St. Jakob also known as Cathedral of St. James which was completed in 1724, 52 years before the signing of the United States' Declaration of Independence.

Dom zu St. Jakob

The outside of Dom zu St. Jakob

Inside Dom zu St. Jakob

The Nativity Scene outside of the Cathedral