June 5, 2022

We started our day early as usual and went out looking for a place to have breakfast. We walked around the quiet streets nearby. The only place that opened in the early morning was this bakery called Der Bäcker Ruetz behind our hotel. It was a nice cozy place with many choices of pastries, breakfast bread, and sandwiches, but it only had a couple of small tables. We grabbed some coffee and breakfast bread, sat at the town square just a few steps away from the bakery, and enjoyed our first breakfast in Austria.

Innsbruck offers Welcome Card to the tourists, a complimentary card for free public transportation, and discounts for other activities. We got the cards from our hotel since our stay exceeded the minimum requirement. With the card, the first thing we did was to head out to Nordkette, the Top of Innsbruck. We could hike up to the summit, but we took an easy route. We walked to the Congress station not far from the old town and took the Hungerburg funicular to reach Hungerburg in just 8 minutes. The station was beautiful and contemporary. Then we switched to a cable car to Seegrube. After getting to the Seegrube station, a short walk distance from the station was an outdoor seating area outside the Seegrube restaurant. We did not stop at the deck immediately; instead, we started our hike along the Path of Perspectives, which winded in breathtaking alpine surroundings. It was not a typical hiking path; the subtle architectural structures embedded seamlessly into the landscape along the trail. A view platform extended out over the edge of the landscape to provide uninterrupted views of the city. An array of stepped wooden benches form an amphitheater with the backdrop of sky and valley. Several benches could be found along the trail for view, relax and reflection. The quotes from the Austrian's most influential philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein were inscribed on the steel surface of some structures, like "Don't let yourself led by example of other people, but by Nature!" or "Things are right before our eyes…". It was not only a physical hiking trail but also invited us to take a moment to observe the landscape and reflect over the life. It was a true Path of Perspectives.

After about a mile of hiking, we returned to Seegrube Restaurant for a light lunch and cappuccinos. After our lunch break, we went on the cable car to Hafelekar to enjoy the breathtaking views of the Top of Innsbruck above the tree line. Once off the cable car, there was a short hike to reach the summit. Because of the high elevation, this last part of climbing up the hill made us very tired, but we made it. We were at the top of Innsbruck.

We returned to the hotel for a short nap to recover from our hiking. In the late afternoon, the weather changed to cloudy with little rain. We started a self-guided walking tour of "In the Habsburgs' footsteps" based on the information we got from the tourist's office. We started at the Golden Roof, then passed by the Cathedral of St James, Tyrolean State Theatre, Leopold's Fountain, and House of Music. The route continued to the Imperial Palace and Court Church, the Jesuit Church (University Church), and Rudolf's Fountain on Bozner Platz. Next to the plaza, we saw a Chinese restaurant with a duck dish, which one of us could not ignore. We were also hungry, so we had duck over noodles for dinner, and the food was okay. At least it was reasonably priced for duck dishes. We had found that duck dishes were on the menu of almost all the Chinese Restaurants in Austria, even fast-food places, and had thought about trying it. Today we finally did it.

After dinner, we walked to the Triumphal Arch, built in 1765, for the wedding of the second son of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis Stephen. The emperor died 13 days after the wedding. Later, a memorial motif was added to the Arch to describe the wedding and commemorate the emperor's death. Innsbruck was a special place for Maria Theresa.

第十六天：今天去Innsbruck的最高点，从山脚到山顶之间有无数的徒步小道，每一条看着都难，我们还是花钱坐缆车上山。在山腰间先走一圈，然后在餐厅享受美食，喝上一杯咖啡，欣赏脚下的城市美景。缆车到山顶后，还要沿着陡峭小路走到最高点，上年纪了，走着有点气喘😀。下午回到旅馆睡个午觉，傍晚在老城里走了一圈，在一家中国小餐馆吃了简单晚餐。