Sunday, August 11, 2013

More of Innsbruck, Austria and Sterzing/Vipiteno, Italy

Innsbruck (on the river Inns)



Innsbruck

Innsbruck

lovely wrought iron signs everywhere. this was one of many.

i loved looking past all the buildings and always seeing the mountains
pretty frescoes on some buildings

St Christopher is very popular in northern Europe

one of main streets in Sterzing. Sterzing has been inhabited since
prehistoric times and the Romans were there in the 4th century. In the 1500's it was a very wealthy town due to the production of silver.

great wooden chandelier in the town hall of sterzing

colorful, clean and neat Sterzing

Sterzing with mountains in the background



detail of  a  "Last Judgement in church of Santo Spirito, Sterzing

the damned in hell, including popes and bishops in this great fresco. painted by Giovanni da Brunico 1400-1415.

main altar was also frescoed. really fun church to stumble upon

pretty balcony in sterzing

a look through the gate to main street

tower gate "Tower of  the Twelve" to one of two main streets, built between 1468-72. marks the old and new towns. Upper part is from 1800's as the original was destroyed in a fire.

Sterzing is known for its production of yogurt which is sold all over Italy

 The very large church of  Maddonna delle Palude,  (madonna of the Swamp) with the gothic main altar,. rest of church was baroque. Largest church between verona and munich they say.

a very small  part of the outside of the church
 on our way back from the day trip to Innsbruck we stopped in Sterzing/Vipiteno which is in Italy. Lovely town with two great churches, a great wooden town hall dating to 15th century, some very pretty architecture and two fun shopping streets all surrounded by the mountains. Well worth the stop.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Summer Fun- July 2013 rome, dolomites and innsbruck, austria

A rare dinner with the 4 of us


an even rarer terrace photo of us all


gorgeous scenery everywhere you turn

the streams were all full of water after a very rainy June and July

matthew and christopher trying out a new pizza place for them

beautiful days

he did the tough hike and we did the easy part


snow on the mountain tops in the sella range

relaxing

just gorgeous rocks everywhere
hard to put the camera down

view from the passo gardena


one of my favorite trails 

had fabulous local greens every nite

a fish appetizer

dinners were exquisite, baccala tempura


hotel after dark

where our room was, stepping out on terrace and taking in that view every morning was heaven

zona relax next to great heated outdoor pool

view looking toward ortisei

one of our apple strudel breaks, this one in ortisei


we took a hiking break and drove to Innsbruck one day


one of Innsbruck's main streets

very tyrolean


I loved this tomb of Maximilian I in the hofkirche. Construction took 80 years.

tomb had everything, incredibly detailed marble reliefs

this was our preferred dining area at he hotel, where we ate every night, in the "stuben"
wonderful bronze statues surrounded the tomb. there were 28 of them.

they included ancestors and heroes

these were all lined up along the side of the tomb

choir stalls in the church

maximilian's tomb; great wrought iron, marble reliefs,  bronze statues and more. Completed in 1572. The kneeling statue of him  on top, as well as  lovely iron grill  dates to 1584. he was never buried here. sad story really.

loved this turk on one of the screens. such wonderful detail

another wonderful wrought iron door in church

part of the royal palace



 Having Matthew and Christopher visiting at the same time in July was the highlight of the summer. Then a week long trip to Dolomites to breathe fresh air, take in gorgeous views and relax wasn't bad either. Matthew went off to attend an economic conference in Canazei. Scott and I took a  day trip to Innsbruck was a lot of fun.

 Maximilian I was the King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky. As in the Renaissance his family and the Hasburg empire spend by marriage to various princesses in Spain and France. He was a patron of the arts, science and a reformer of laws. All in all seemed like a good figure from my brief introduction to him.

More photos to follow.