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.
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| 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.
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| Some ceiling detail. |
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| 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.
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| People were swimming on the other side of the river. |
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| 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.
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| 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:
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| The 15th century City Door ...the lower section of the door is hidden by construction work. |
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| A selfie in a chocolate shop window. |
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| Colourful houses line part of the Inn. |
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| A covered foot bridge. |
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| 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:
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.
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| 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.
