From mild Italian rain to Alpen snow in a few hours - Innsbruck!

We said goodbye to my parents as they started the long journey back to the U.S. The next day, we headed out of Venice to return to the Alps, where this journey had started. This time, it was the Austrian Alps: Innsbruck. It was good to hear a language we had grown familiar with, even though it wasn't English.

It didn't take long as we headed north for the rain to change over to snow. We went from light coats and umbrellas to gloves and winter hats.





It was after Thanksgiving now, so we were firmly in the Christmas spirit, ready to take on the cold, snow, and Innsbruck's Christmas market.



Glühwein, that hot spiced wine that was a staple during the last half of our trip, was only 2 Euro, with another 2 Euro as a deposit on the mug (which make for great, cheap, useful souvenirs or gifts). The glühwein varied slightly from Berlin to Hamburg to Prague to Innsbruck, but the basics came standard: warm, spicy, cheery, delicious. Get it "mit schuss" for another euro or two for an extra kick. (Check out this recipe we used a couple times in Berlin if you want to try making it yourself. It's an easy way to make your whole house smell like Christmas.)

Our limbs were getting cold, so we decided to head to dinner. After the tomato and carb diet that was our staple in Italy, it was good to once again be in "comfort food" territory: pork, dumplings, sauerkraut, spätzle, gravy, beer. (For whatever reason, the hostess thought we were Italian and gave us all Italian menus.)



The next day, we checked out of our rooms and stored our luggage. (Most hotels, hostels, and pensions have free storage for your luggage as you do a bit more exploring. Bring a lock though.) We took the cable car - the recently-finished and modern-looking Nordkettenbahnen - 300 meters up for a tremendous birds-eye view of the city.





Later that afternoon, we picked up our luggage and were off to our next destination: Salzburg.