Day 6: Swarovski Crystal World and Innsbruck, Austria

Poor Jess was feeling a little better (but exhausted), so she decided to opt out of today's adventure. Russ was finally done with work, so we headed out to spend the day in Austria. We traveled through the Bavarian Alps and into Northern Triol, Austria. This was our first view of Innsbruck as we cleared the mountains. Wow! The first stop on today's tour was at Swarovski Crystal World in Wattens, Austria. This is the factory where they manufacture all of those lovely figurines that Grandma collects. Yep. I think she has personally funded the entire right side of the building. I'm just saying... You can't tour the actual plant, but they do have a museum open for tourists. The entrance is hidden behind this giant head made of hedges. His eyes were huge crystals, and they changed colors. The frozen fountain coming out of his mouth made it look like he must have caught the same virus Jess seems to have. This should have given me a hint as to what we would find inside... When you first enter the museum, there is a huge wall of Plexiglas that's filled entirely with Swarovski crystals. The guide told us that each crystal is perfectly formed. No chips or cracks here. Here's a close up of the wall. Very impressive! The crystal saddle set for the horse was pretty interesting, too. A crystal Christmas tree. Absolutely stunning. Closeup of a branch. The amount of crystals that went into making this tree were unbelievable. We really enjoyed the glass dome, too. It was like walking around in a giant crystal. Plus, when you stood in the middle and whispered, it was like talking into a microphone. You voice was reflected back at you so much louder. It was lots of fun to play around with. Other things in the museum were much stranger....Disembodied legs tap danced around to some strange music, while two men holding hands across a round table (with no chairs) spun around quickly in a circle. A naked female mannequin walked around a naked male mannequin who was up on a pedestal. Um...what? I know that this is art, but I just don't get it. This is the Swarovski Crystal Museum, right? OK, I definitely took a wrong turn somewhere. Is that lemon I keep smelling?Wait a minute, it's lime scented now. Ugh! Where are all the darn crystals? And what's with this weird music that changes with each room? I think the Swarovski people have been sniffing the crystal dust. Whew! I finally made it to the gift shop at the end. Then it occurred to me that I haven't seen the Russ and Brandon since somewhere near the third room of the museum. After searching around the gift shop, I found all of the men on the tour hiding in the cafe, sipping on cups of coffee. Apparently they didn't "get it" either. The gift shop was very pretty, though, and I enjoyed walking around a little and checking everything out. This round bench is covered entirely with crystals, and costs thousands of euros. They encourage you to sit on it and try it out. I sat down for a second, and then carefully removed myself. (I don't know if they have the "you break it, you bought it" policy on the bench, but I wasn't taking any chances!) After a rejuvenating cup of cappuccino, we were off to the next stage of the tour. Innsbruck is the Hapsburg capital of Tirol, and the home of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. You get a glimpse of the ski jumps while driving around the city. The newer part of the city is huge, but we were heading to the old part. This is the Kaiserliche Hofburg. It's the castle that marks the entrance to the Old City. On the left end of the castle is the entrance arch. The Old City is surrounded by tall walls that protected the city. The old building were very detailed and beautiful. The building on the left is a Best Western Hotel. It was beautiful. Go figure!This view is back toward the arch through with we entered the Old City. From here, you can see the Old City Watchtower on the top right, the famous Golden Roof in the center, and the Alps in the background. You can also see the American Embassy on the right. (See the golden arches that mark the entrance?) This is one of the oldest Inns in Austria. When you go out another gate from the Old City, this is the view you get of the Alps. I could wake up to that every morning! After a delicious pizza lunch in the Old City, we got back on the bus and went to see the Wilten Basilica. The Wilten Basilica is beautiful church that was originally built in the 13th century, but was rebuilt in the Rococo style in the 1750's. It had fallen into disrepair. There is a small cemetery to the right of the church. You can purchase a coffin sized plot for your family. Quite a few caskets are buried (stacked on top of one another) on each plot. The more you pay for the plot, the longer you get to be buried there. When the money runs out, they dig you up and rebury you in the city cemetery, then resale the plot to another family. The church is stunning inside. It's said to be one of the most beautiful churches in Northern Tirol. Our Lady Under the Four Columns. Murals on the ceiling.

If you find the church a little chilly, there is a little building just outside that will happily sell you a hot cup of Gluhwein (hot mulled wine) to warm up with, as well as literature on the church. Innsbruck was a great place to spend the last day of our vacation.