Christmas-Fever floods Innsbruck...

As we head into perhaps the PRETTIEST time of year in Tyrol, it seems appropriate that I post about just how beautiful it is here.

For the past two weeks or so, small wooden buildings began popping up around the altstadt, and various "platz" areas around town. We immediately knew what was coming - with the end of November, come the Christkindlmarkts (Christmas markets)! This past weekend (on the 17th - 18th of November) the Christkindlmarkts finally opened! Streets which had been fairly open and slow-paced only a week ago are buzzing with activity...booths line the streets selling everything from roasted chestnuts to Gluehwein (mulled wine) to hand-made slippers to manger-scene figurines. The first night, there was even live music to entertain the shoppers.

I didn't even think it was possible, but Innsbruck has become even more enchanting than it was when I first arrived. The altstadt is COVERED with lights and dolls (um...HUGE ones) of fairytale characters, such as Snow White, etc. As if we weren't anxious enough for Christmas already!

The fact that it snowed not that long ago makes it that much prettier...the snow is still pretty much covering a good part of the mountains, and some areas around town still have a bit of snow that hasn't melted away just yet.

Entrance to the Christkindlmarkt in Marktplatz...the mountains make the perfect backdrop!

The first "real" snow of the year!

The mountains!


The Inn River...the altstadt is to the right

View from the Hofburg

The altstadt!!! Notice the chandelier lights!

The Christmas tree in front of the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof)

Goldenes Dachl, Christmas tree, the alps...what else can anyone want???

Maria Theresien Strasse with ornament lights!

One of the creepy fairytale dolls...don't know who this guy was supposed to be. But his eyes moved...

My first taste of Gluehwein! LOVED IT!

Christkindlmarkt in front of the Goldenes Dachl

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves...tyrol style!

Other than the Christkindlmarkts, we've been keeping ourselves busy getting ready for Thanksgiving on Thursday, semi-preparing ourselves for midterms, sharing Christmas music, and planning travel for February...on the docket (hopefully): Paris, Edinburgh, Florence, Rome, and Venice.

However, as for right now, I'm just excited to make it back to the States for Christmas! :)

Italia: Milano and Verona

Hello, everyone! Well, I most definitely have something to write about in this post...thanks to All Saints Day, our group had a four-day weekend to do as we pleased. Of course, being centrally located in Europe, many of us took the opportunity to do some travelling to a nearby location. Two friends of mine (Al & Mad) and I decided to do a relaxing tour of Milan and Verona, which was, well...definitely an experience! Even though Innsbruck is SO very close to the Italian border, the cultures were most definitely different - sometimes drastically. However, we were able to cope with the new language, and had a blast along the way! :)

On the first day of our four-day weekend (Thursday), we boarded the train and made the 6 hour train ride to Milan. The train ride itself would have been reason enough to make the trip. Northern Italy was spectacular! Terraces of vineyards, now a wonderful rusty-fall colour, covered the landscape, and the snow-topped mountains created the most beautiful scenery one could hope for. I could hardly believe it when I glanced at Al & Mad who were dozing in the seats across from me.

Upon our arrival in Milan, we immediately set out to find our hostel. Although we had to take a bus to get there (about a 15 minute ride from the city center), it was a very cheap bus ride (1 Euro as compared to about 2 in Innsbruck) and most definitely worth it. The hostel (Bed & Bed Milan) was very clean, and better than one would expect for 20 euros a night...although we DID have to share two bathrooms with the entire hostel. Imagine, if you will, waiting outside the bathroom and hearing french on one side of the hall, and japanese on the other...yep - definitely not in Galesburg anymore.

After finishing that, we hopped on the bus and went for our first experience of downtown Milan!!! We got to Piazza Duomo (where the cathedral is located), and our breath was taken away. The buildings were so impressive, and the Piazza itself was huge.

The Galleria - an upscale shopping mall located at the Piazza Duomo

Al in front of the Duomo

Once we had finished there, we decided to explore and look for someplace to eat. We went along the main drag, which went between the Duomo and the Castle, now a museum. National geographic was displaying photos along the street, and people were trying to sell cheezy touristy items along the sidewalk. The street was lined with restaurants and cafes, however, we wanted to hold out for something a bit more cost-effective.

The National Geographic display leading down the street

However, that did NOT happen. We had been searching for about an hour for the church which holds Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the last supper, only to realize that tickets were sold out for the next two weeks - BIG bust. Lesson number one: don't plan trips only two days in advance!!! We ended up going to a cafe along the main drag (pictured below), which was good, however, we were left hungry after the meal. Well, at least we can say we did it, right???

Cafe located along main drag in Milan...where we ended up eating.


We ended up turning in early that night (after some gelato of course...), and resorted to watching the MTV European Music Awards - the ONLY thing in English on TV - and dreaming of a big pizza.

The next morning, we got an early start (after braving the hostel bathrooms), and made Castle Sforzesco our first stop. The museum was extremely impressive, including a room frescoed by da Vinci during the same time he painted the Last Supper, and a late sculpture of Michaelangelo's.

Fun story of the museum - a creepy security guard at the museum decided to flirt with us, and follow us throughout two rooms. Oh don't worry...he comes back into the story.

Castle Sforzesco - also a museum

Michaelangelo's sculpture

Mad, Al & I outside the castle


After the museum, we slowly made our way through the National Geographic display. THIS is when Mr. creep came back into the picture. He just happened to be on that street, and of course, decided to come chat with us again. We quickly ditched him, and moved on. While on that note - Italian men are unbelievable. Never have I ever been around men who behave in such a manner! I've never been looked up and down and been called beautiful so many times in my life. Let's just say that we were all glad to be back in Austria for this reason...haha.

Mad at the display


Following this, we decided to check out the Galleria. The building itself was gorgeous, and the shops were impressive as well. If there's one thing I can say about Milan, its that they can create a mean display window....

The Galleria

Display inside the Galleria



After the Galleria, we made our way to the Duomo. We finally went inside, and it was HUGE! The stained glass windows were probably my favorite part.......

Inside the Duomo


Prayer candles inside the Duomo

ME outside the Duomo!

After we had had enough of being accosted by men trying to sell us corn to feed the filthy pidgeons in the Piazza, we headed off to Monte Napoleone - Milan's famous street filled with designer stores. The stores included Dior, Prada, and Armani. The fashion itself was...interesting.

Display window - Dior


Coffee? Would you like any diamonds with that?

I'd wear those shoes...YEAH RIGHT!

The Duomo on our walk back

Luckily, we already had a pizza place staked out for dinner. We ended the day with some pizza and beer, and topped it all off with some gelato. Afterwards we headed off to the train station to move on to phase two - Verona!

A note about our travels to Verona...just because it was so bizarre. To begin with, we stayed with a friend of mine from high school, Lindsey Kerber, who was studying in Verona. Directions in hand, we left the Verona train station and figured out through broken English that we would have to take a bus. The bus ride was ODD. First of all, we ended up sitting across from two gay italian men, who were obviously drunk and insisted on grooming each other like a couple monkeys. Then, of course once we got to the Piazza, and were thoroughly confused as to where to go next, Lindsey's cell phone number didn't work. Lovely. We ended up taking about 2 hours to find her apartment...going about every which way around Verona. Having finally gotten to her apartment, we collapsed on her tile floor and called it a night.

The next day, however, was MUCH better! We started off the day by going to Piazza Erbe, which had an open air market and lots of good food vendors :)

Piazza Erbe

Vendors at Piazza Erbe

Mad & I enjoying our well-earned fruit cups


After taking our time there, we bit the bullet and went to Juliette's house. Seeing as it is a fictional house to begin with, we rejected the idea of going in, but DID take a look at the balcony. It was alright, but there were FAR too many people in a very small courtyard. Probably the coolest part about it was the entryway, which was COVERED with messages to Juliette...written by the many visitors. Technically, one can be fined a good sum of money for doing so, and people are supposed to write messages and slip them in a mailbox of sorts.

Juliette's balcony

Messages to Juliette...

Bridge in Verona


After that, we went back to Piazza Bra, pretty much at the center of the city. We then visited the Arena...AMAZING!

Outside of the Arena

Al & Mad in the Arena

me in the Arena

View from the top!

Bridge lit up at night!



After our long day around Verona, we headed back to Lindsey's apartment to cook dinner with her. It was wonderful to be able to catch up over pasta, veggies, and a couple bottles of wine. After the night before, we definitely could use a relaxing evening. (And of course, we had Gelato again...)

The next day, we headed out early after saying goodbye to Lindsey, and deposited our bags at the train station. After a quick Doener sandwich, we were ready once again to be super-tourists!

View from a bridge, right after visiting the cathedral in Verona

View from the other side...

After the cathedral, we made our way to the Roman theatre (the theatre itself wasnt impressive), but the museum which was attached had some awesome views.

Here are Mad and I being the epitomy of romanesque statues...

View from the top




After that, we went to gardens which had originally been created for a castle located in Verona. I've never seen ANYTHING like it!

The gardens

and again...

Me at the gardens

Piazza Bra

After our tour of Verona came to an end, we decided to do as the locals do - RELAX! We went back to Piazza Erbe, grabbed a table at a streetside cafe, and had a drink. This was perhaps one of my favorite parts of our trip. After people-watching for about a half hour, we grabbed a snack from the market, and slowly made our way back to the station.

As we boarded the train to head back to Innsbruck, our ears perked up as German was once again being used around us. This wonderful sense of familiarity swept over us, and Innsbruck suddenly felt very much like home. Italy was definitely a wonderful experience, and I wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world...however, that being said - it's good to be back "home." :)