Low-key, we’re now in the spot I’m most excited about on our journey. Home of FC Wacker Innsbruck; Innsbruck, Austria is undoubtedly much better known for its outdoor sports than its football team. Thus football almost feels secondary on this trip, as I look to take in as many outdoor activities as possible in a city that is unique for being one of only a few places to host two Olympics (1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics).
Getting to Innsbruck is a journey in of itself. After six hours on a train from Frankfurt with three transfers, you’d guess that a city with 300,000 inhabitants would be much more accessible to Germany. Let’s not nitpick, we’ve made it to an outdoor haven.
Let’s begin with the football. Wacker Innsbruck’s stadium, Tivoli Stadion Tirol, is a relatively new stadium opened in 2000, and is a spectacle in it’s own right. Not the biggest stadium, only seating 17,000, it’s imposing view of the mountains in the background provides a fantastic view – very similar to Coors Field in Denver, Colorado for anyone who has taken in a Rockies game in Colorado. Tivoli Stadion did host three Euros matches in 2008, and recently hosted a friendly between Denmark and Germany, which upon me seeing the stadium loosely inspired the series.
Like it’s stadium Wacker Innsbruck is also quite new on the football scene in Austria. As a phoenix club of the bankrupt FC Tirol Innsbruck, Wacker prides itself on being the spiritual continuation of the aforementioned FC Tirol and the original Wacker Innsbruck that was founded in 1913. Wacker wasted no time scaling the ranks of the Austrian Bundesliga, gaining promotion after only two years of existence in 2004, but has sadly been a yo-yo club between the top two leagues in Austria. Wacker hasn’t been in the top division since 2014, and with a 6th place finish last year has lacked the firepower to push for promotion, although simultaneously has nestled in nicely into the 2nd division. No opponents stick out that I want to see Wacker take on, as the stadium and views are enough for me to pay for admission (as long as my seat has a view of the mountains).
What To Do In Innsbruck?
The name of the game is outdoor sports here. Olympiaworld Innsbruck (which also contains Tivoli Stadium), you can see all the Olympic relics when the city hosted the Winter Games. Beyond visiting the old ice rinks, visiting the bobsled and luge track has to be at the top of the list. Being able to fly down 1 kilometer of ice sounds like an exhilarating yet terrifying experience that I would regret passing on.
To continue with the Olympic theme, the Bergisel Ski Jump is also on my bucket list. If we want to up the ante from the bobsled nothing sends shivers down my spine than flying down a 50 meter ski jump without poles. I don’t know if they let the average joe test his luck on the Bergisel Ski Jump, but just seeing the jump and the view that accompanies it is definitely worth the price of admission.
And of course, the trip would not be complete without a bit of downhill skiing. Innsbruck boasts nine ski resorts, including the famous Stubai Glacier soaring greater than 3,000 meters above sea level. Skiing at Stubai, given its elevation, normally begins in September – right within our time frame to hit Innsbruck around November.
Where To Eat?
Innsbruck isn’t a gastro-snobs top city to visit for cuisine; however, there does seem to be some good options still available (it is a rich person’s tourist destination after all). To keep with the local ingredients theme I sniffed out a delicious looking restaurant called Oniriq. While Innsbruck may not have any restaurants to be granted a coveted Michelin start, head chef Christoph Bickel has worked at Michelin star restaurants all over the world, including 3-star Grace in Chicago, Illinois prior to it’s odd and abrupt closing four years ago.
Focusing more on vegetarian cuisine, meat options are available for carnivores – and it’s current menu include both veal’s head (ehh, sure I’ll try it) and mountain lambs backs (sounds delicious!). For 126 euros you can get a full 7 course dish with the aforementioned meat options, and if wine is your thing Oniriq’s restaurant manager and sommelier will guide you through your courses with perfect wine pairings for an additional 79 euros. Bickel hails from the Tyrol region of Austria, and with his chops in the kitchen and desire to blend in local food of his homeland, we may be looking at the first Michelin rated restaurant in the city – get in and say “I’ve been there,” before it blows up.
Where To Stay?
My predisposition would be to stay at a ski lodge, but I do not envision that feasible given the cumbersome travel pains that come with staying far from the city center. So instead I opted for Stage 12, a chic hotel that gives off the modern feel I love from an independent hotel. The rooms are simple with no-frills, but the overall ambiance of the hotel, top notch bar, and walking distance to many other sites in the city places Stage 12 at the top of my list. And to top it off, any hotel that has a sauna is levels above other hotels. Nothing beats a good hot sweat after shivering for hours thousands of meters above sea level swooshing down mountains.
The German speaking part of our tour has finally finished. With an arduously long train ride to get us to Central Italy, I will think back fondly at this part of the trip the most. Mountainous areas truly call to me, and Innsbruck has everything for the outdoor buff. As we inch closer to Bergamo, the dream of stepping into Gewiss becomes more and more of a reality, but still Terni waits. See you in Umbria soon!
