Innsbruck

Innsbruck is cold this time of year, really cold and really beautiful. Here is Mark standing in the city square in downtown Innsbruck below the Goldenes Dachl, the most characteristic landmark in the city. Tirol is so picturesque all year round and it felt like coming home to spend an afternoon wandering its familiar streets. It was so cold, we had to duck into every tourist trap imaginable but it was fun to look at the trinkets there too. We ate a hearty meal at the Goldenes Dachl Cafe (sounds pretty Austrian doesn't it, wink, wink). There aren't many traditional Austrian restaurants open on a Sunday evening.

When we were nearly frozen, we decided to make our way back to the quiet town of Absam where we stayed overnight at the Landgasthof Bogner. We stayed at the same hotel when we visited Austria a few years ago, so it was fun to be back. The views from the gasthof are spectacular and the town is quaint, situated up in the alps.
We enjoyed every moment in Absam and were sorry to have to leave the next morning, but were excited to head back to Vienna.

On our way out of town, we recognized a familiar set of headlights and, star stricken, had to follow Herbie to get a picture so we could prove that we had seen him to our boys. Apparently, the Love Bug has officially retired to Absam in Tirol, not a bad choice if I do say so myself.

Sweet baby Luke loved the Alps! He thought the air was fresher, the milk tasted better (thanks to delicious Austrian food) and the sleeping was more peaceful snuggled against his dad's chest for warmth. He looked out the window as we drove back through Germany to reach Vienna.