Goodbye Innsbruck, hello Milan!

Sunday 1^st May 2011 8pm

We have only been in this beautiful city of Innsbruck for 2 days, yet, we have done so much and seen so many amazing things. Yesterday we saw two beautiful brides celebrate their wedding day with family and friends and anyone else who happened to be there at the time, as we were. Late today we gathered in St Jacob’s church to participate in a thanksgiving ceremony for the families of the children who received their First Eucharist this morning. It was amazing and humbling to be included in this celebration.  After a long day of church and family celebrations these children  and their families gathered again later in the day to offer their thanks to God. The children brought along something that represented their day, perhaps a gift they received, or a holy medal. These special mementos were blessed by Father, the children sang songs, and prayers were said. We felt privileged to be allowed to celebrate with the children and their families. These are the unplanned, unexpected occurrences that help to show the heart of any place you are visiting. No tour or travel guide could prepare you for these experiences.

By the way, Sal, the priest kindly blessed the two medals (St Christopher, Guardian Angel) you gave me! Blessed in Innsbruck…. How cool!

This morning we bounced out of bed at 5.30am to walk and photograph  the streets while they were still quiet and sleepy. Only those who haven’t made it home yet after a big night out were still  roaming the streets, their voices echoing along the cobbled stoned alleys and walkways. The calm and stillness contrasted sharply to the chatter and liveliness of the day to come.

Morning tea at the top of a mountain in Innsbruck.

Later in the morning we decided to take a funicular train and cable car up the mountain  to obtain an amazing view of the city of Innsbruck.   The view was incredible, the air was crisp, the sky over the city was clear with clouds covering the tops of the mountains above us. Snow was still visible on the mountain tops, and at  the stop we were at. The view  was majestic.  What amazed us was the number of people who were walking , riding or running up the slopes. We met one young man who said he did this every weekend.  He was literally dripping wet from the exertion and steepness of the slope. Those of you who have done the Mt Lofty/Waterfall Gully walks may wonder what we are on about… but, when we say SLOPES, we mean VERY STEEP slopes up to 2000 metres high. We’re talking ‘mountains’ not hills!!!!!

2 days in Innsbruck, so many wonderful memories….

 

Monday 2^nd May 2011

Today we leave the beautiful city of Innsbruck – we’ve developed a real love-hate relationship with our bags! We love opening them up to find clean clothes to wear but we soooo dislike the way they constantly follow us wherever we go! They’re far too heavy, but we just can’t work out why! (mine are half filled with gifts for the rellies, so once we arrive in Lucca, I’ll have so much more room to pack anything I buy! As for Paul’s bag, well, we’re still not sure!

At this moment of writing we are travelling on a train to Milan (very much like a tourist…. laptop, coffee…..) , via Verona (total of 5 hours) ….. we’ve just stopped at Bolzano, in the northern part if Italy…. the language is so familiar now! The views are spectacular, green rolling hills, small villages with their always present tall church spire, castles perched on the edge of cliffs, grapevines, striking mountains soaring high….. a great relaxing trip!

Thank-you too those we haven’t mentioned who have written to us, or are reading our blog. We love knowing you’re there with us!

Oh yeah, to all the teachers and kids, hope your first day of school was a great one. I did think of you!  James D, tomorrow is the day for ‘The Last Supper’. I’ll leave it to you to remind the other Yr 2/3’s what we’ll see!

Saw someone who looked just like Tina!!!