Day 62 Innsbruck to Matrei am Brenner - 24 km. Total km 1003:

Today was a tough day. It was long, had constant elevation changes, and was hot. Of the three, it was the heat - midday onwards - that got to us. But our day also had it's wow moments. 

Overall we walked 24 km, but the walk would have been longer if not for two rides - 2 km by car and 3 km by bus.

While our walk into Innsbruck took us along rail lines, around the airport, and along busy roads, today's exit took us through industrial areas and over and under rail lines and busy highways. 

Finally, we were out of the city environs and we started to climb. Today's elevation levels went from 574 m at Innsbruck up to 1100 m. It wasn't just one steady climb though, once past Patsch at 1001 m, the elevation fluctuated from between 800 & 1100 m. .

We had a mix of forest tracks and road walking today and for most of the day we were surrounded by mountains. 

We were in forests once we were fully out of the city.

Early on we were were able to look back at Innsbruck. 

Then we walked around the edge of the village of Vill and on to Igls, not stopping at either.

Looking down on Vill.

Children were arriving at school when we walked into Igls.

The Rathaus & the Apotheke, pharmacy, in Vill.

The walk out of Igls - several people were out walking on this section. 

There was a steady flow of traffic on the Europabrücke on.the right in this photo. 

Walking into Patsch. 

We stopped for a break in Patsch and surprised that there were public toilets. 

Patsch was the last village we walked through but there were several small communities or settlements. 

We stopped at Ellbögen, one of the small settlements for lunch. By then all the morning coolness had gone, in fact it was extremely hot. 

This was at our lunch spot. A beautifully shaded area. 

We then had a long section road walking, some of it quite dangerous as after this the footpath ran out leaving virtually nowhere to step off the road for traffic. 

It was just after this that a car pulled up and the chap got out to speak to us - only he spoke very fast German. We realised after a while he was horrified that we were walking in such dangerous area, also that we were walking in the heat. 

We understood in the end that he wanted to give us a ride to a safer area and point out where to go from there. 

He took us 2 kilometres along the road before stopping. We could understand why he was horrified about where we were walking as it was a steep narrow section of the road, winding up hill. It would have been dangerous ...and it was the official Via Romea Germanica route! 

Once he knew that we understood where to go from there he was happy to leave us. This is the first time we've ever got into a stranger's car.

Our route angel. 

The chap driving away from our drop-off point. 

For a while we walked down a steep tracks with tree shade.

But then we were out in the heat again and saw that from there the official path wound up and around valley for several more kilometres. 

While we were wondering what to do another hiker came along, a Dutch man who was on a hiking holiday. We chatted with him for a while and he told us that he was finished for the day and was going down to Gedeir, a small settlement on the main highway, to catch a bus.

We said goodbye to him and carried on but quickly realised that the heat had exhausted us and we made the decision to walk down to Gedeir too and finish our day by bus. It was just a 3 kilometre ride, down a very steep section of road, to Matrei am Brenner where we're staying tonight. 

A few photos of the main street of Matrei am Brenner:

Matrei am Brenner is a small municipality in the southern part of the District Innsbruck-Land and is located approximately 17 km south of Innsbruck. Matrei has always been an important station for commerce. On 1 January 2022 the municipalities of Pfons and Mühlbachl were merged into Matrei. The village has 3,500 inhabitants, at 992 m. above sea level and the Sill river flows through it.

Source: Wikipedia

Days 60 & 61 Innsbruck - rest days

We've had two rest days in Innsbruck to rest up and to give ourselves a break from the high temperatures - although the temperatures look set to remain high!

Innsbruck is a good place to take rest days as there's very few 'must see' sights and buildings. It's a city in which you can just wander around without rushing from place to place so we were able to rest well. 

Yesterday started with Mass at Dom St Jakob, the Cathedral of St James. 

Dom St Jakob 

With the cathedral being dedicated to St James, and being on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, we looked for St James and spotted him to the right of the altar - with a camino scallop shell on his left shoulder. 

Some ceiling detail. 

The massive marble columns were more pink than the photos show - they are very impressive.

Some information about the cathedral:

The church is dedicated to the Apostle James the Elder and was first mentioned in 1181/82 . The church has been rebuilt and restored several times, so that the current Baroque facade dates from 1724. The interior of the cathedral is magnificently decorated and features numerous works of art. The high altar is a particularly notable work of art, created by Matthias Stöberl in the 18th century. The altar features an image of St. James with the patron saints of Tyrol, George and Notburga. The altar is flanked by a gilded pulpit created by Nikolaus Moll. The columns in Innsbruck Cathedral are another impressive work of art, adorned with a variety of decorative elements such as snails, birds, grasshoppers, and plants.

Source: Wikipedia 

After Mass we went for a walk in the Englischer Garten and the nearby, much larger, Hofgarten - Imperial Garden, as they were the coolest place to be.

We did venture out in the sun to walk along the Inn River, but we soon found a café table in the shade where we sat and people watched while we enjoyed a cold drink. 

People were swimming on the other side of the river.

Even sitting in the shade was hot!

Along with the Dom, the Goldenes Dachl, the Golden Roof, is a treasured building in Innsbruck. 

Completed in 1500, it's the roof decorated with 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles, it was built for Emperor Maximilian I to mark his wedding to Bianca Maria Sforza. From the balcony the Emperor and his wife enjoyed the view of the square outside which, 500 years ago, was the site of markets, tournaments and dances performed by minstrels. 

The Goldenes Dachl.

Now hordes of tourists stand in the square taking photos of the building with it's golden roof.

Last night we decided that if we wanted to explore a bit more we needed to be up and out early when the day is fresh and cool, so today at 6 am we were off to see where the Inn and Sill rivers meet - and it was beautifully cool.

Most of the 7+ kilometre return walk was alongside the Inn River. 

Some photos taken on the way to the confluence:

The 15th century City Door ...the lower section of the door is hidden by construction work.

A selfie in a chocolate shop window. 

Colourful houses line part of the Inn.

A covered foot bridge.

An old uphill rail line. 

The brightly coloured and clear water of the Sill River...

...and the colour difference between the Inn and Sill rivers showing clearly at the confluence:

The Inn River originates in Switzerland and carries glacial flour, very fine rock particles suspended in the melt water, which is why it has the milky grey-green colouring. 

We returned to the city we visited a modern food hall and bought some fresh produce.

Some random photos taken while this afternoon while out on a ramble:

The buildings in the street we're staying in have covered archways with small shops of them.

Away from the Altstadt the streets are busy with trams.

The main city square is in Maria-Theresien Staße. 

In Maria-Theresien Staße. 

Tyrolean clothing. 

If you wish you can have McDonalds - Herzog-Friedrich Straße. 

We spotted a Mons Royale shop and went in to have a look. The shop assistant was interested when we said we were also from NZ. She said that while other shops sold Mons Royale clothing as part of their range, this shop was the only Mons Royale standalone shop in Europe. 

Mons Royale - from Wanaka, New Zealand.

Modern day minstrels singing in the square below the Golden Roof tonight. I think Emperor Maximilian I and his wife would have enjoyed it - we certainly did.