Day 9 – April 24 Easter Sunday

Another 6am wakeup with breakfast at 6.30 & on the road at 7.20am today.  Another long day of driving with a morning tea stop around 10am then a long lunch stop at Fassel, with a long look at both castles of King Ludwig, the one he was born in & the one he had built that nearly sent the Bavarian state bankrupt.  They are set amongst some truly stunning scenery with the backdrop of the snow covered peaks of the Bavarian Alps behind them.  After lunch of a couple of very tasty white sausage, a Bavarian speciality, washed down by a King Ludwig beer (a local specialty) we went for a walk around town & got some great views of both castles across green fields coloured by yellow dandelions & blue flowers, it was truly pretty.  The buildings around the town are also very picturesque.

Next stop was Innsbruck & we really got into the alps with snow covered mountains every way we looked, it is so stunning.  We stopped for a quick leg stretch to have a look at a beautiful blue lake before continuing to the Hilton Hotel in Innsbruck.  After a quick check in we went for a look around town.  Some of the buildings were built in the 1400s & still in amazingly good condition.  The church of St Jakob is simply stunning inside, magnificent painted ceilings, ornate pink marble columns, magnificent multicoloured marble altars & a magnificent brass organ above the entrance door.  The decorations inside this church are truly elaborate, were the outside is very plain.  The other church we looked at is also very nice, but nowhere near as good.  We took lots of photos of the streetscape & the old buildings, they do look good.

After a nice smorgasbord dinner at the Hilton we headed out for a traditional Tyrolean night of song & dance.  The entertainment was simply fabulous, they are such a talented group of musicians playing multiple instruments & dancing traditional Tyrolean dances.  My favourite would have to be the Alphorn, they make such an amazing sound, this is the first time I heard them & I was enchanted. The girls yodelling & the blokes & girls dancing were great.  As a finale they sang songs from every nationality in the audience & the audience participation was astonishing, obviously everyone enjoyed themselves as much as us.  Back to the Hilton by 10.30pm.