Today we had planned to go up the cable car but when we woke up there was a fog that meant that we couldn’t see the church at the end of the road, nevertheless we decided to believe the forecast and set off for the Imperial Palace which is actually just down the road it was built in 1500 by Maximilian but was mostly used 250 years later by Maria Theresa who while visiting Innsbruck decided that it was behind the time and needed an update. There hadn’t been a Tyrolese prince since 1665 and the governor lived in the governors quarters on the first floor so the rooms on the second floor which had been reserved for the imperial family had been uninhabited. Maria Theresa arranged for the palace to be rebuilt but the renovations were interrupted by the Seven Years War and were only completed in the 1770s. She decided to hold the wedding of her son Leopoldo II to Maria Ludovica Von Bourbon in Innsbruck which saw spectacular celebrations with 2000 guests (although most were spectators which meant they weren’t catered for), the celebrations lasted 14 days but they were brought to an abrupt end following the sudden passing of Emperor Francis I on 18 August 1765. Maria Teresa had the room where the emperor died converted into a chapel and the Triumphal Arch which was originally planned to celebrate the wedding was changed so that one side was dedicated to mourning and one side dedicated to the wedding. The Austrian monarchy ended in 1918 and the Imperial possessions became state property. We had spent a couple of hours in the palace where unfortunately we weren’t able to take any photos but it was well worth the effort. When we came out the fog had lifted but there was still a layer of cloud that circled the mountains so we decided that we would walk round the town and decide if we wanted to go up the cable car later. We went to the clock tower and decided that we would climb the stairs to the top but unfortunately the spiral staircase was a little ‘see-through’ for Chris so I left him with the luggage and climbed the 132 stairs to the top for spectacular views of the town. It was probably a good thing that Chris didn’t come up as you had to walk over a glass floor that showed the stairs down to the bottom to get back down again which I think would have been difficult for him. I walked round the top and took a few photos then saw Chris at the bottom and took a few photos of him, the mountains were just poking out from the clouds so we decided that we would go up the funicular and take a view about the cable car once we were there. We walked round to the funicular station and took the 10 minute ride to the bottom of the cable car. I hadn’t realised that it went through a tunnel rather than up the outside of the mountain. We got off at the top of the funicular then before we got on the cable car we decided to have a hot chocolate and in my case a bit of apple strudel. There is something about having hot chocolate half way up a mountain its somehow has more chocolate in it and tastes so much better the view from here was good but the cloud was still hanging in the valley but still a good view. We then got on the cable car which took us half way up the mountain, the sun was shining up there and the view was quite spectacular, although we knew Innsbruck is in a valley it is not until you get to the top you can fully understand this. We had a drink and sat in the sun for a while then got on the next cable car to go to the very top. The very top is very much about skiing back down although there did seem to be a pathway to the very top of the mountain , we decided not to walk up this as it was quite slippery and we didn’t want to fall before we head off skiing next year! We walked round at the top then decided to head back down to the middle station. We walked round a bit more then took the next car down to the top of the funicular where we had a drink sitting in the setting sun. Once we got back down to the town we decided to go for a walk to the old town, on the way we stopped at St Jakob’s cathedral which is also known as Innsbruck Cathedral. It was built between 1717 and 1724. It is notable for two important treasures, the painting of Maria Hilf (Mary of Succor) from 1530 above the main alter and the canopied tomb of Archduke Maximilian III dating from 1620. The cathedral was heavily damaged during WWII but was restored just after the end of the war. From here we decided to head back to the hotel to have drink before going back to the room, but the bar was closed so we decided to walk back to the old town where we had a drink then decided to go for something to eat and finally headed back to the room about 7.30 after another good day exploring Innsbruck.
