We awoke, walked down to the town, and took the streetcar to the other side of town, stopping to mail some postcards on the way and to put our bags in locks at the train station.  We walked up to see the Olympic ski jump that dominates the view on that side of town, and were surprised to see people jumping. Apparently the jump (or the skis) is equipped with rollers so you can jump without snow.

After, we watched a parade march by, and then took a streetcar that wound through the trees up the side of the mountain and through some villages above Innsbruck. It was a very cloudy day, with the clouds actually sitting between and under the mountains in the valley. If you didn’t know better, you would never suspect the mountains were even there.

At the end of the line, we walked a bit to the Patsch cable car, and rode it through the clouds to the top of the mountain, passing over a golf course and a bobsled run along the way. It was quite cold and raining slightly when we arrived, and we were all dressed in shorts with a light jacket (and me without even the jacket, which I lost several days before). We decided to eat lunch at the restaurant at the top and see if the weather changed. We had hot chocolate and french fries, which were delicious.

The weather did clear up after a while, and the sun even peaked through for a moment. But the clouds never disappeared. The effect was amazing, with Innsbruck at the bottom, the mountain peaks at the top, and clouds in the middle, moving through the valleys below.

With some pushing from me, we decided to walk down the mountain, about a 2.5 hour walk according to the map. No sooner had we started then we watched as a cloud rose up from the valley below and right into us – an amazing sight, like literally watching fog roll in. After it arrived, you could barely see 100 feet through the mist.

We continued down the mountain, with the weather slowly getting wetter and wetter, from mist to drizzle to a light but steady rain. We slowly became soaked, and the air stayed cold, and conditions started to get a bit miserable. But by and large, everyone’s spirits stayed up, and the alpine scenary was beautiful. We found a small guesthouse – the Heiligwasser – to stop at for hot chocolate, and then from there we walked over to catch the cable car for the rest of the way back down the mountain. We then caught a bus into town, and then to the train station. We slowly dried out and warmed up at the station, eating at the McDonalds there. Eventually, we caught the late night train to Rome, another triple bunk bed car.  A very fun day.