The Road from Italy to Austria: An Afternoon in Innsbruck, Austria
A colorful row of buildings along the River Inn in Innsbruck, under the Nordkette Mountain Range (obscured by mist)
After one full day and two nights in Venice — complete with a whirlwind of sightseeing, pasta, pizza, and piazzas — a day spent mostly on the road to my next European destination sounded like the perfect remedy.
Feeling rejuvenated from the previous evening’s hearty homemade meal at an Italian vineyard, I joined my travel group bright and early for a relaxing bus ride into northern Italy. We’d be passing through the Italian Alps and over the border into Austria, a country our group leader had told us was his favorite in Europe.
As the flat, green farms and vineyards around Venice began to give way to rolling hills that reached higher and higher, I felt my breath catch at the panoramic views filling the coach’s wide windows. Forest and fields swelled at increasingly dramatic angles to rocky mountain peaks, and stone castles perched on craggy cliff edges against a backdrop of rolling mist.
Castles dotting the mountains from Italy to Austria
As the landscape changed, so did the people and culture we encountered at rest stops.
In Italy, the service stations off the highway were bustling and animated, teeming with circles of travelers drinking their espresso around standing tables before getting back on the road. I had to shout to be heard at the coffee counter, which was lined with leaning customers like a bar. When I asked for a lid for my smaller-than-expected Caffè macchiato, the barista shook her head with a puzzled expression.
There’s a ban on single-use plastics in the EU, our group leader, Andreas, explained in the parking lot. You drink your coffee right after ordering; you don’t take it away. I noticed that’s why many of the other travelers were sipping from tiny mugs while they chatted and then returning then, froth-rimmed, to the coffee counter.
As we approached Austria, the service stations grew more hushed. Fellow travelers lined up silently to use the toilets, and stainless steel, self-serve espresso machines glinted by the door. As a woman exiting the restroom thanked me for holding the door, I started to say prego — she was welcome — but realized she’d spoken in German instead of Italian. It would be danke schön and bitte schön rather than grazie for the rest of the trip, since German is the predominant language in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland — all the countries we were headed to next.
Misty mountain views of the Alps from Italy to Austria
After several hours on the road, we pulled into the picturesque town of Innsbruck, Austria, for our afternoon stop. We’d only be here for a few hours — enough time to grab some lunch and wander, with far less chance of getting lost than in Venice.
Innsbruck is a small, easily walkable city nestled in the Alps, the capital of Austria’s western state of Tyrol. Characterized by colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, and stunning views of the Nordkette Mountain Range, it feels like a setting from a fairy tale. As I stepped off the bus, stretching my stiff legs and arms, the alpine blue of the River Inn unspooled before me, brilliant against the multicolored row of historic buildings that rose from the opposite bank. Over their pointed rooftops and spires, the mountains surged so high, they disappeared into a thick cloud of mist.
I was enchanted.
The town itself was no less magical. Winding down cobblestone streets through Altstadt von Innsbruck, the historic old town district, it was easy to tell this part of the city was more than 500 years old. Medieval architecture, domed cathedrals, and imperial palaces enclosed me on all sides, and down each street, I could see the surreal backdrop of the cloud-tipped Alps. I felt a little thrill run through me.
I had dreamed about Paris, about London and Venice — famous tourist cities — for years before I’d seen them, and I’d built up expectations that sometimes differed from the realities of the destinations when I’d arrived. But — much to my surprise — Innsbruck and Austria hadn’t really been on my radar until I’d booked this trip. There were no expectations to fulfill or shatter; there was only this breathtaking city to experience.
And it was love at first sight.
After a delicious late lunch of wiener schnitzel and apfelstrudel at an Austrian bierhaus, we continued to wander the colorful streets, posing in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace, stumbling into the town square at Maria-Theresien-Strasse, and weaving in and out of small shops on narrow lanes, stopping for souvenirs and street pastries.
I take close-up flower photos wherever I go.
Each street brimmed with character and history. Each building, connected side-by-side in long, interlocked rows, was unique — tall and thin; wide and shuttered; curved, pointed, or domed; adorned with ornate molding, gilded balconies, or brightly blooming window boxes.
The people around us were polite and reserved, the streets and squares safe and subdued — so different from the boisterous buzz of singing and shouted conversation that filled Venice. I felt both at ease and under a spell, lulled by the magic of Innsbruck.
Under St. Anne’s Column in the center of town, I circled slowly, taking in the perfect one-point-perspective of city, mountain, and sky. I ached with the beauty of it all.
St. Anne’s Column, Maria-Theresien-Strasse, in the city center of Innsbruck
Saying goodbye to enchanting Innsbruck
As we made our way back to the bus, passing under old arches, by sloping houses in surprising pastel shades, and around perfectly manicured patches of green space, I wished we could spend more time getting to know this enchanting Austrian town in the Alps.
But for these last few minutes, I tilted my head to the rooftops and the mountains, savoring the freshness of the air on my face, the sweetness of the pastry on my lips, the colors and character of the Aldstadt around me.
I savored the moment.
