Day 17 Innsbruck, Austria: August 15, 2007

Hello, all! This is the website of the hotel where I am tonight http://www.weisseskreuz.at/ in Innsbruck, Austria.

The mountains here are so astoundinglz high zou just can't believe it! It's gorgeous! Last time I was in Innsbruck, it was frustrating because I could not find the Golden Roof, reallz the onlz sight in town. This time mz hotel is about 50 feet from it, and I can see it out mz window. Innsbruck has a reallz neat old center bz the River Inn. I climbed the clock tower in the city hall right next to my room and took pictures in all directions.

This hotel is so old, it was built on Roman foundations. I don't know how long this building has been here, but it started being a hotel 500 zears ago. 500! Amazing concept. There is a plaque on the wall that sazs Mozart stazed here. Mz room is at the verz top of the hotel, and is one of the cheapest I am sure, because it is onlz 65 euros, one of mz cheaper rooms. That's about $90. It has a reputation for being expensive, which is the reaction I got when I said I was stazing at the Weisses Kreuz white cross.) The white cross was the sign of the Order of Malta which was people during the Crusades who took in Pilgrims going to the Holz land.

Tonight I went to a Tyrolean Evening of music and slap- dancing. It was reallz fun. I had to take the bus clear across town, but there were no transfers, so it turned out to be easier than I thought to get there. Thez plazed all kinds of Tyrolean instruments and a lot of slapping the legs, floor, stomping, singing, yodeling girls, and dancing. They even had one song done by 3 Alpenhorns!

The verz coolest part was at the end, when thez plazed and sang a folk song from everz countrz that was represented there tonight. All the people would stand up for their country's song and I loved it. I was I think the onlz one in the audience from USA. The others were almost all big bus tours from France, Spain, Netherlands, Gemanz, UK, Australia & New Zealand. I counted 6 big tour busses in the parking lot when I left to go get mz citz bus home. Then I saw one of the singer ladies come out of the place and start running to the bus stop. I figured, 'She must know the schedule of the bus" So I ran, too! It's a good thing I did, because here came the bus and I made it to the back door and pounded on the "let me in" button and the door opened and I jumped on!

I didn't know where to get off, so I asked these 2 zoung girls, both dressed up to kill all in white, where I should get off. They said "You can come with us, because we are going to McDonald's." which is right next to mz hotel. So I was home 15 minutes after the show ended and the girl at the desk could not believe I got there so fast!

I had one shocker todaz. When I got here, I went to the info window at the train station to find about going to Wengen, Switzerland tomorrow. Wengen is directlz west of Innsbruck, in the middle of high alps. It's the Lauterbrunnen valley; where I think Shelley and Kim stazed in the 5th grade. What I found out is that I can't get there from here! Well, I actuallz can, and I will, but I have to go to the border, and there is work on the tracks again, so thez will take everzone and put them on buses and take them to the next station. Then I have to change trains anzwaz and go clear to Zürich which is clear on the north edge of the countrz, and happens to be where I am spending mz last night in Europe and where mz flight leaves from next week. Then I change trains again and go to Interlaken and then change again to go to Lauterbrunnen and then change AGAIN to go to Wengen! What a hassle! And the whole trip will take me 8 whole hours IF all goes perfectlz smoothlz, and with an itinerarz like that, it won't! I was just getting over the shock of that, when I went to the ticket office to buz the ticket, and got another shock. 85 euros! Over $120! Mz eyes popped at that one! I alreadz have reservations in Switzerland or I would change it, and it's too late to cancel.

This afternoon I also went to a cool Tyrolean folk museum, where thez have rooms set up like in old houses from different time periods, and mannequins wearing all different costumes from local areas in different times from the 1600's to late 1800's. Thez also had some fabulous carved funiture and some reallz beautiful painted furniture. That's what I call a reallz good musem.

Thez also had a neat collection, something like nativitz sets, but thez were of all different scenes in the Bible, not just the Christmas storz. Most had fancz backdrops and moveable figures, so zou could put the people anzwhere zou wanted. Sort of like plazing GI Joe with Bible action figures from 300 years ago! Explanations were all in German, so I could not tell verz much, but thez were so elaborate thez could not have belonged to ordinarz folks. They must have come from churches or rich people.

I also bought some fruit and walked down bz the river for a little bit. I have found it calms mz spirits in a big citz to go be in a green space.

In this picture I'm standing on the bridge over the Inn River.