Prelude to a Journey:
I went to Innsbruck in 1998 and 2001 with Vince Seiwert, a doctor I worked with at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, and with whom I kept in touch after leaving. We had good times, but I never improved and lost interest, especially after I started doing more missionary work as a doctor. I didn’t enjoy skiing much, mostly because I wasn’t very good, but also because there was always a risk of hurting yourself. When Vince contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in a reunion of sorts at Innsbruck in 2020, I was interested. I didn’t play golf anymore and was always looking for physical challenges to do on vacations. So I agreed, and we got an agency to plan everything. It turned out to be a reasonable cost.
As the time approached, I got a bit nervous. I had right knee surgery in December of 2018 and had gotten back in excellent shape by the fall of 2019 despite a few nagging injuries. I was looking forward to running some really fast times in a few spring races in the DC area. The last thing I needed was to hurt myself skiing. I made a promise to myself I would ski very conservatively and not do any of the hard slopes. I would also take a lesson if possible to decrease my risk of trouble. I was definitely in great shape for skiing as well.
Getting There: I had a direct flight from Dulles to Vienna overnight after working a half day. There was a short connecting flight from Vienna to Innsbruck, and nothing very interesting happened on the way, other than a spectacular sunrise seen through the clouds that made them look like they were on fire, followed by stunning views of the Alps as we flew across Austria.
Saturday, 2/22: I found Vince without trouble. His checked bag was missing, but otherwise he was fine. We took the bus into the city for 3.1 euros each. From where we got off it was about a 10 minute walk with our bags to the hotel, the Grauer Bar (with umlaut over the a). It was a nice, modern hotel, and we dropped off our bags and went for a stroll and to get lunch as it was a little after noon.
It was a beautiful winter day, warmer than average and only a few clouds in the sky. We strolled to the nearby Old City, where we had stayed the other two times, and found it quite full of tourists. We stopped for lunch at a place called the “Goldener Daschl,”, the Golden Roof, and I got the fish soup (good), a salad (meh) and a huge piece of chocolate cake. We wandered around until 3 pm and then checked in.
Scenes from our stroll: The Old Palace/Hofburg; Street scenes and views of the Inn River, the list of “famous” people who have dined at or stayed at the Goldener Adler (the oldest continually operating hospitality site in the city, active since c. 1358), then the Golden Roof from the street. The last site is the Arch of Triumph, built to celebrate a good marriage in the royal family. It is a lovely setting in a valley surrounded by mighty, snow-covered peaks.
We met our local adviser, Angelika, who talked about our options and how there were a lot of Germans in the area skiing because of the holidays before Ash Wednesday. While there, friends of Vince’s from Germany arrived. They were a pleasant young couple from near Nuremberg who’d been delayed by traffic and had driven for hours to tour Innsbruck with Vince, keeping us off the slopes until Monday. They ate with us at the hotel (Vince insisted on getting the meal plan at the hotel, which was a buffet through Tuesday and then a standard 3 course meal with fish or meat option the other three nights. He likes stability.). Vince took them out for a walk around without me and then we went to bed.
Sunday, 2/23: I didn’t sleep well. Our beds were twins but right next to each other. Still, I thought I would do a long run since no skiing was planned, and I set out on paths along the river with intentions of doing around 10 miles. It was raining, but not hard, certainly not a nice day, but I made it out 5 and then decided to run back on the other side of the river, knowing the paths there had a more complicated sequence. Still, I made a few wrong turns and ended in the area of the sports stadiums and had to ask for directions twice before getting into the right section. I was just getting near the hotel when I passed Vince going the other way, completely oblivious, with Martin and Kati, his friends. We chatted a bit and discussed the plans for meeting them around noon. It ended up being 13 miles (!), though it was easy and not a hard pace. I ate a big breakfast at the buffet (good, but not healthy), I wandered a bit and then waited for them 45 minutes. I was on my way back when I heard Martin shout. Kati looked like she was not enjoying herself, so we decided to get lunch at the same place (VINCE!) and it was fine. They were recharged and I took Vince’s pass and went up with Martin and Kati to the top of the City Tower for views of the Old City. They were a lot of fun when we didn’t have to listen to Vince’s bloviation.
Scenes from the City Tower: our hotel room was right across the street from the two towers of the Jesuit Church in #1; The Golden Roof from above - this was where the rulers would talk to the people and where events like public executions took place; The street below was cobblestoned;
The next stop was the Hofkirche, an old church that now housed the Memorial to Emperor Maximillian I, whose era was the early 1500s. He was seen as the Chosen One after his birth and raised with those expectations, even with the thought he might be the second coming of the Messiah. He made plans to live forever, but ended up dying of bowel problems and beset with paranoia and notions he was being persecuted in late middle age. He died a humble death and was put on display to show how much he had suffered, but the memorial was quite ambitious and started well before his death, with statues of many of the important figures of the time meant to surround his crypt. His remains were kept somewhere else, but the memorial still meant a lot to the area, and he loved Innsbruck, though he spent most of his reign on horseback.
The church and then the memorial, which is behind the gilt frame.
There followed a multimedia show on Maximillian’s life that was creepy at times and a bit too nationalistic.
I waited in a small museum store while Vince toured the Folk Museum with them. They were pretty worn out by 3pm and we did the short walk to the hotel and said our good byes.
I went to the hotel gym and did an easy workout while there was a man, woman and 5 year old girl in her underwear in there. I did pull-ups, which I’d not done before when in Austria, raising my lifetime total of pull-up countries to 22.
At dinner, it was crowded, with a bunch of beefy guys with skin heads taking up most of the space. We now had a reserved table. Both of us ate a lot, especially the nice desserts. Vince went to be at 7:50, completely beat. I made it to 9.
Monday, 2/24: I didn’t sleep well again. I went out for a run despite a steady, cold rain and winds. There were quite a few people out walking as well, mostly to get somewhere or with their dogs. We headed to the ski rental place early and got fitted quickly, me by Olivia, who also kindly dropped us near the bus stop for the J Bus which goes to the local ski slopes. We picked Patscherkofel, which was Vince’s favorite, and while we got there around 11, we waited to sign me up for a private lesson, then until noon to go out. I had 90 minutes to ski before the lesson and I was quite cautious, but by the bottom of the first run, an easy slope, I was just as good as I’d ever been. We went down the green one again and then the red/intermediate all the way to the lodge. The snow was man-made and slushy. I was sweating a lot - it was probably only in the 40s even at the top of the mountain. After the morning rain, it had been foggy, but the fog burned off by 1:30 and it was a lovely, sunny day with blue skies.
I met Stefan at the ski school and we went to the top in the gondola. I was a buffoon, dropping my poles in the car and unable to keep my skis together when we got on. We did a run down the green trail and worked on my carving turns, hand positions, and weight shift and I could tell a difference right away. We rode back up and went down the Olympic Run, which was the route Franz Klammer went down in his epic downhill race in 1976. This time we worked on quick turns and trying to ski parallel. I was getting it and full of confidence.
I found Vince at the gondola station at the top for our planned rendezvous. I went in and got a drink - they called it “ski juice',” and it tasted like concentrated Kool-aid. It was my first drink in 6 hours (!). Vince was pleased with how well I was doing and so was I.
We did two short runs and then headed down the Olympic Run for our last run of the day, as Vince was getting tired (he is 67). I was skiing better than ever, and I was finally enjoying it. The lodge came into view, but there were a bunch of men out walking around in the snow ahead of me. What were they doing? Was I on the wrong slope? All of this happened in less than 10 seconds. I looked around and there was another trail to the left, but there was a snow fence between me and it. As I got close to the men, the snow fence ran out and I thought I better cross over to the other run to avoid them. As I did, I hit something: a ditch, it looked like, but my left ski was jerked violently off and I immediately went down while moving fairly fast. I hit on my back and left buttock, but I was spinning to my left, and I couldn’t stop my right ski from hitting the ground. I couldn’t tell at this point if I was up or down, but i was spinning around my right ski, which was stuck. My knee was torqued in a terrible way; I thought my knee would dislocate and started a loud groan of pain and effort as I resisted. Just then my binding opened and my boot came out. The pain had been intense but brief. I was now on my back. I looked over and one of the maintenance men was staring at me with a very concerned look on his face. I did a quick mental surveillance and felt ok. I was able to get up quickly and he moved on. My knee was definitely injured, but how bad? I was able to move around without discomfort and then had to work for about a minute to get my right ski out of the snow. The tip was buried vertically nearly to the front of the bindings in the slushy snow. I had to rock it back and forth and then pull hard several times to get it out. I’d never seen anything life that!
I got myself together and skied the rest of the way down trying not to stress the knee, though it did not hurt. I found Vince and got my shoes changed. The knee felt weird but not painful. I thought I probably tore my meniscus again, which would be terrible, but it could have been way worse. We took the bus back and I took some ibuprofen and stretched. We met with Angelika again. If my knee was okay, we were going to go to my favorite place, the Stubaier Glacier, the next day, and the bus left at 8:45. Vince was excited to help me get my turns down even better on its wide slopes. It turned out Angelika was an architect, and she knew Zaha Hadid and the famous Austrian/Italian alpinist Reinhold Meissner, for whom she’d designed a climbing museum at one of his castles.
After dinner I did more stretching and foam rolled my legs. It didn’t hurt much, but neither did my other meniscal tears before. Vince went to bed at 7:50pm again.
Tuesday, 2/25: I had my best night’s sleep and my knee never hurt. I got up and moved around well. I decided to go for a run to see how it would feel - it would tell me a lot, especially whether I could get away with skiing. I started my warm up, which begins with 100 Ups (knee lifts in place), and with the first one on the right leg, I almost screamed, it hurt so sharply. Not good. I tried modifications, but every time it hurt so bad I couldn’t do it correctly. The pain was when I straightened my leg all the way at the knee. Should I go back to bed? Not now - I was wide awake. I decided to see if I could run, so I did the rest of the warm up and went out. It was not good weather again. After walking for a little bit I was cold, so I started to jog. It hurt. Crap. I kept going to see if it would hurt less, and it did, some. I ended up jogging three miles, and by the end it didn’t hurt as much, but within about 20 minutes of getting done it was getting tighter and sore. There was no way I should ski.
I talked with Vince before and during breakfast. He was sure the bindings on my right ski were set wrong and determined to take the skis back and get our money refunded. I wasn’t so sure, and didn’t care too much about the money. I was really disappointed because I was in such great shape and now was injured and would have to miss my races, maybe get another surgery and go through another rehab. Plus I was ruining Vince’s trip in addition to mine.
We walked to the ski shop with my stuff. Vince got into an argument right away with the ski technician who showed him he was wrong about the binding (it was hard to see, but it was true). They ended up refunding my money but not Vince’s, but it was all contentious. After that, he decided to ski to try to get his money’s worth, so we chose the tram to Fulpmes to try to ski Schlick 2000, which he’d never been to. We just missed the tram and ended up waiting for another 40 minutes on the street for the next one (we might have been able to catch the other train around the corner if we’d known the route better). It was a scenic 1 hour ride to the town. I helped Vince carry his stuff up the half mile walk to the base of the mountain and then went in search of lunch. It was 2:15, and I found out there were no restaurants still serving food after 2pm in the village. I did get a banana sundae, then walked around a bit before heading back. I relaxed in the room until Vince got back about an hour after I did. He had loved it there, which was great. We had a quiet evening otherwise except for Vince expounding on forestry the whole evening.
Wednesday, 2/26: This was my best night’s sleep. I only woke up twice. My knee was a little sore and stiff, so I did some stretching and foam rolling. After that it did well the rest of the day, which was good. After breakfast, Vince came up to sit on his bed for a while before we left for the town of Seefeld together. He started in on freedom of religion and the Constitution, about activist judges and the Supreme Court rulings establishing the separation of Church and State, using as their primary evidence Jefferson’s letters to the Danbury Baptist Church, going on and on, and I finally had enough. I said I disagreed with him; he was basing his discussion on the motives of the Founding Fathers, but they were, with the exceptions of George Mason and James Wilson, douchebag slave owners who caved to the other slave owners and discriminated against women systematically. What they thought doesn’t matter; the Supreme Court ruled properly; religion may serve some positive community function and help with overall moral norms, but it is also misused by too many people to control the lives of others, many of whom do not share their beliefs. It was a big blow up, and, because he is so hard of hearing, I had to shout. We definitely didn’t get along the same way the rest of the week, but I couldn’t take it anymore.
We walked to the train station, the Hauptbahnhoff, which was about a half mile away. It was only 9 euros each for a round trip ticket and I treated since I’d gotten my money back with Vince’s advocacy. We were to leave on track 22, but where the sign said 22, no train was showing up. With about 5 minutes to go, I looked around and found that track 22 was actually over by the station behind another train and not where we were standing. Phew. We got nice seats and enjoyed the ride; it went through a bunch of tunnels on the way and had nice views of the valley.
I liked Seefeld a lot. It is the site of a cross country skiing center and the trails that were skied during the Olympics. There were at least two small downhill ski fields there as well. There were a few inches of fresh snow. It was pretty. We walked all over and then had lunch. I was going to treat Vince but he said he wasn’t hungry. He had only a tall beer, while I had an absolutely delicious potato-mushroom soup, one of the best bowls of soup ever, followed by a whole lake trout with excellent seasoning, more potatoes and veggies.
Views from the train to Seefeld; then the town, with the cross country ski area.
We were able to catch the 12:46 train back. The weather quickly took a turn for the worse and we could see a storm blowing in behind us. When we got back it was extremely windy and snowing on our walk back. I was coated with snow. Vince decided to go sit in the lobby to read, which I had been planning to do, as they had really nice chairs, so I stayed in the room and had a snack. It wasn’t long before Vince burst back in moaning about feeling bad and spent some time in the toilet. He came out feeling terrible, and laid in the bed for a while, going to the toilet one more time before dozing off. He woke up moaning and dashed into the toilet and vomited for a while. I left and went to the gym after making sure he didn’t want any supplies or sports drinks. I brought the cleaning supplies from the gym back when I was done and he cleaned everything thoroughly, which I really appreciated. The Russians had all left that morning and we had a good laugh imagining all of them with food poisoning on the bus and planes back.
I went to dinner alone and Vince never got anything to eat. It was the first night without the buffet, but very peaceful. Vince stayed up a bit later, but we were still in bed early.
Thursday, 2/26:
I went to the gym early and took all the cleaning supplies I’d borrowed back. I tried to ride their bike but it was really uncomfortable and my Kindle kept turning off when I switched the pages while it was in the bike holder, so I gave up after 21 minutes and my knee felt worse. Sad!
Vince went to breakfast early and was feeling better. When I went it was super crowded so I ate my bowl of cereal and yogurt in a lounge and left within 5 minutes. I was sitting around looking at stuff on the internet and realized I could go up the Funicular to Hungerburg any time. For some reason I thought nothing opened until 10am.
It is just a short walk from the hotel to the station. There are not many signs explaining how it worked, but there were gates blocking the entrance. I walked around and found a ticket machine. I was able to figure it out despite the glare and angle of the screen; I had to rock my body back and forth to block the light quickly and peer in. I think it was around 9 euros for a return trip. I went back to the gates and couldn’t for the life of me get them to work - if I stepped in they would turn, but the opposite way. So I stepped back and noticed another gate to the side - THAT was the entrance and I had been trying to get in the EXIT! Just then an old man pushing a baby carriage came up and tried to help me get in, but I figured it out just as he arrived. I must have been quite a sight as he was walking up. I got on and it went back into town instead of up the hill, and some people were looking at me like I was strange when I didn’t get off at the lower station. So, not the best start to my tourist adventure.
It was a short ride with a stop or two along the way. In Hungerburg there is a gondola to the Seegrube ski slopes, but I didn’t pay to go up that. The views were fine in Hungerburg, and I strolled around the town about as long as I could.
I walked into the botanical gardens, which were fairly barren, but someone stopped me for directions and I knew where to tell them to go (to the Funicular!!).
When I got back, Vince was getting ready to go skiing. I was pleased. I waited for him to leave then walked around the block to an Indian restaurant I’d seen and was finally able to eat a vegetarian meal! From there I walked to the nearby Hofburg, which was the old palace and now a museum. It was very big, with lots of portraits and old furniture. The one thing I liked was the second floor great room; it had painted ceilings with mirrors on the floor in various spots so you could look at the ceiling without craning your neck! Unfortunately there was no photography allowed.
I walked through the old city again and looked for the Lindt Chocolate superstore. My friend Roumeen loves Lindt chocolate, but she insisted I not buy any for her, but I wanted to get some for myself. I couldn’t find it, but stopped at a bakery and got a chocolate cookie (GOOD!) and a chocolate heart filled with mousse (GOOD!) and a local chocolate bar. As I walked back it was very windy. At one corner, waiting to cross, a baseball hat without a head in it went flying by and then blew along the street faster than a human could run to get it. I ate the two sweets when I got back. Vince returned soon after; he had trouble seeing in the sun with no trees along the trails.
We each recovered and then had a quiet dinner of sea bass and veggies over pearled couscous. It started to snow heavily later, and we sat around and then went to bed.
Friday, 2/27:
I slept well and stayed in bed until 7 since the bike thing didn’t work out the day before. I went to breakfast without showering and then never showered the rest of the day until the evening. Vince decided to take the Fulpmes tram to ski and I went out to catch the sightseer bus. I didn’t know it, but that bus doesn’t start until 10am, and it didn’t come to my stop until 10:10 (it makes its rounds every 40 minutes) I had to kill 30 minutes walking around the botanical garden again (once was enough). The bus was big, but like the Portugal tour bus, it had audio you could listen to on headphones. It was nice; I got some context for the neighborhoods and the local history.
I got off at the Schloss Ambras, a castle on a hill overlooking the city. There were few signs but I figured out where to go and got a ticket inside. Just as I went through the turnstile, a school class of about 20 7 year olds came in. I hurried off to stay ahead of them, but their cacophony was never far away. Initially there is an armory, with lots of weapons and suits of armor. After a set of stairs, I was back outside and then to the Chamber of Arts and Wonders, which was the highlight. It is a small set of rooms with all sorts of neat art and crafts the family had acquired: small carvings, paintings on alabaster, detailed small sculptures, and then around the corner, larger paintings and even two stuffed sharks!
The castle, the armory, some of the sculpture, a special wooden door, and then the great hall, with portraits of various figures on the wall and an elaborate wooden ceiling.
After that cool museum, I walked over the the next buildings to tour the great room, with its many portraits and impressive wood carvings. There was a chapel downstairs that had beautiful silver chalices and also multiple indulgences. Upstairs there was a glass museum and the odd but interesting portraits of the postmasters: all a family called Taxis, and they took a commission from the emperor to set up a delivery service for the whole country and pulled it off to great effect, changing life significantly for everyone in the area (!).
I had just enough time to go to the bathroom and walk to the bus stop to catch the bus. We wound through that part of the city to the Panorama exhibit, a 360 degree view of a battlefield during the war with the French, which the plucky Austrians won the first two times but failed the third. I didn’t go in and walked around instead and took photos. It was a bit gloomy, but the views were good.
Several views of the city, with the ski jump, and then a special cemetery, but I can’t remember who was buried there.
By now it had cleared and was absolutely beautiful out. I ate lunch at a Himalayan/Nepali restaurant near our hotel and it was great: a combo of vegetarian dishes, a small salad, a huge glass of black currant juice, and some spicy ice cream for 15 euros.
I went back and rested my knee a bit and then went out into the rapturous sun to do a last bit of sight seeing and to find the Lindt shop. It was in a big shopping center off the main street that was poorly marked, and I bought a bonanza of chocolates for only 17 euros. On my walk back I got gelato at a place that always had a long line in the evening but hardly anyone in it then (it was good!). Vince got back at a decent time and had a great last day of skiing at a place he’d not been to. We went to our last meal, which was very good, and then we spent the rest of the evening packing, since we had to get up very early to catch our flight.
Saturday, 2/29:
I had a rough night, with Vince coughing and clearing his throat for an hour after we turned off the lights, then snoring loudly from 3am on until I gave up and got out of bed around 4am. We had to leave at 5am, taking a taxi. There were a lot of people checking in for three different flights, and ours, of course, was unmarked. But we figured it out after Vince asked (we were initially in line for the flight to Moscow, which looked pretty full).
I waited with Vince there and then in Frankfurt before he left for Atlanta. I was not so sure we parted on the best of terms, but we’d made the best of it in a way, with his illness and my knee injury definitely taking the shine off.
Innsbruck is a lovely, historic small city and a great spot for winter or summer vacations if you love the outdoors. It is also reasonably priced and tourist friendly. You can enjoy it very much using public transportation as well.
Here is a link to the slideshow, which I narrate, with a soundtrack by my nephew, Andrew O’Rourke.
https://youtu.be/2HV8MIwcyYI
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