# day 9 Innsbruck

Hogmanay in Innsbruck

Dr Anne and JD went for Traditional Tyrolian meal in a Gasthaus on the outskirts of Innsbruck.  Yes, it was dumplings but delicious dumplings - potato dumplings.  They went back to Penz Hotel to watch the fireworks from the roof terrace and down a few cocktails.

# day 9 Innsbruck

Dr Anne and JD headed off for the ski jump at Bergisel.  The saw tram 1 and ran to catch it.  The panorama was amazing.

All The Light We Cannot See

Doer, A. (2014).  All The Light We Cannot See. London: Fourth Estate, Harper Collins.

A blind girl is in Paris living with her father.  An boy is living in the west of Germany with his sister in an orphanage  It is between the wars.  Their lives are in parallel.  The blind girl is a free spirit in the world  of books  - '20 thousand leagues under the sea' spending most of her time in a museum among its artefacts.  The boy is talented and makes a radio out of copper wire from the tip then becomes a crack hand mend everyones' radios.  On the invasion of Paris the blind girl flees to St Malo.  Meanwhile the  boy is taken to East Germany to be educated and indoctrinated in the technology of radios. The girl helps the resistance by collecting codes to be transmitted by her great uncle.  The boy travels around Europe seeking out the radios of the resistance. 

Their lives cross because of a link that goes back to radio transmissions in the boy's youth. 

It was a beautiful read which linked with the wonder of the Swarkowsi Museum near Innsbruck.  

Dr Anne awards a 9.5/10.

# day 8 Innsbruck

Dr Anne and JD set off for Ambras Schloss outside Innsbruck.  They walked down to the Hauptbahnhof to catch a service bus.  

The entrance to Ambras Schloss.

Th Schloss to the right.

The castle is famous for its armoury.

Every kind of craft was displayed - stone, glass, leather, coral, wood etc...

The great hall with frescos of kings, archbishops, emperors.

The courtyard.

An early sauna.

# day 7 Innsbruck

Dr Anne and JD set off to the Swarovski factory thinking that they were to have a tour of the factory.  No such thing.  They took the shuttle bus to Wattens.  They bought their entrance fee and headed for the entrance by the giant.  They headed underground.

What awaited them was life changing.

Whiting's mechanical creations.

Being inside a crystal dome.

Alexander MacQueen's crystal tree in an enchanted forest.  It was created in 2003 for the entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Lee Bul's Into Lattice Sun.

The Chamber of Wonder.

A Crystal Empire State Building.

A Crystal Taj Mahal.

A Crystal Pyramid.

Reflections on the world.

The Crystal Forest.

Cinderella's slipper

# day 6 Salzburg to Innsbruck

Dr Anne and JD set off for Innsbruck on the third leg of their journey.  The Christmas Lights give the city a happiness factor.  

# day 5 Salzburg

Dr Anne and JD spent their last night in Salzburg at a Concert in the Mirabell Schloss.  Music by Mozart, Haydn and Schubert was played on the violin, cello and piano.  

Arrival at the Schloss Mirabell.  

The Setting.

Liz Leskowitz on violin, Mari Kato on piano, Heidi Litschauer on cello.

# day 5 Salzburg

Down in the Old Town.

The 900 year old Fortress.

The Nonnberg Church and Convent

At St Peter's Church

Cemetery at St Peter's Church.

St Peter's Abbey Church

St Peter's Square

The Residenz, home to Arch Bishops.

Mozart Square.

The spires and domes of the Cathedral.  

Towards the mountains.