ahoyne9Today promised to be a long but exciting day as I embarked on a roundtrip journey from St. Gallen, Switzerland to Innsbruck, Austria to visit my friend Daniel. We met during our undergraduate years when he was a foreign exchange student at the University of Wisconsin.
The train journey from St. Gallen to Innsbruck offered a scenic route through the Swiss and Austrian Alps, showcasing breathtaking mountain landscapes. With comfortable amenities, the trip took around 3.5 to 4 hours each way, making it a popular route for travelers eager to experience the alpine beauty of both countries.
I spent more time on the train, 8 hours round trip, than I did in Austria, where I only had 6 hours. But this trip was more about reconnecting with an old friend than sightseeing in Innsbruck.
Daniel picked me up at the train station and drove us up to Hungerburg, where we enjoyed a picturesque view of Innsbruck.
Afterward, he showed me around the city center, including the sister university, and took me to the City Tower (Stadtturm). For 5 Euros, we climbed 150 spiral stairs to reach the viewing platform, 31 meters above the old town, offering stunning 360-degree views of Innsbruck.
I’d say this kind of adventure is probably more common for Americans, where an 8-hour travel time for 6 hours of fun seems like a fair trade-off, while most Europeans might think I’m crazy. Plus, it was sunny in Innsbruck and rainy all day in St. Gallen, making it a personally great trade-off for me.
Cheers!