come with me if you want to live.

That's right, suckers. In September we took our last bike trip of the season and visited The Governator's homeland, which I found to be truly enchanting. As in, if there really were a place where fairy tales were real, and dragons hoarded gold in high, pointy mountains, and knights in shining armor went around rescuing damsels in distress from tall, inaccessible towers, Austria would be it. The mountains are just so dramatic, and I've only ever been there in the fall, so the air is crisp and the trees are magical colors, and we passed no fewer than six castles on the ride there. Actual castles. Europe is amazing. 

However. I was slightly disappointed to find that Innsbruck was relatively packed with tourists, even in September, which saddens me for the locals, who have to put up with that year-round (summer: high tourist season, winter: ski season, other seasons: only marginally less busy). I like to think that Mike and I are the delightful kind of tourist: low maintenance, quiet, non-intrusive, and relatively well educated on whatever places we decide to roam. In all likelihood, I am entirely incorrect on this matter, but at least we try to be good tourists. But I digress. Innsbruck. Pretty. Outdoorsy. Charming. Old. Good sausage.

View across the river from our hotel.

Nearing old town.

View across the river from old town. 

Innsbruck's primary tourist attraction: the Goldenes Dachl (golden roof), supposedly dating back to 1500.

One of the main pedestrian areas.

Another pedestrian area. Love the towers.

Some version of the seal of the Austrian empire. 

Some nifty church, in the shadow of which we had dinner at a beer garden the evening before. (The tower was very dramatically lit at night.) We ate at the Stiftskeller, where we would have eaten inside to hear the traditional oompah band (yessss), but sadly, Austria still allows smoking indoors. (Get with the times, kids.) We split our traditional plate-of-local-meats-and-cheeses, and discovered the culinary delight that is schmaltz: some variety of melted animal fat laced with a little salt, which one then spreads on just about anything. Ridiculously delicious. Mike was the big winner: he went for the sausage plate, which came with one red, one white, and one herbed sausage; I had some sort of roast beast. (The meat was just fine, but the roasted potatoes were nothing short of spectacular.) Mike got to try his first true Oktoberfest beer in Oktoberfest country, and we sat around chatting about speaking German and English and living in Austria with some really friendly locals for a while. A truly delightful evening. Ooh, and while we were sitting there, these wacky human advertisements rode by on a Razor scooter and and old-fashioned (one big wheel, one tiny wheel!!) bike. They were wearing full-body black stockings which tapered to a loooong point over their heads, and which were attached to giant illuminated balloons printed with the date and time for Innsbruck's shopping night. They rode by several times, completely silently, and I loved them dearly, but had no way to get a good photo of them. SIGH. (Although you can find a couple here. Shopping night looks like a good time.)

But back to the photos. Another quasi-pedestrian area, with mountains in the background. This place is surrounded by them.

I deeply love these window boxes. Want, want, want.

Old stuff. Really old.

Goldenes Dachl in the daylight. What you don't see are the throngs of people around us.

Sam the eagle...? (You are all weirdos.)

More mountains, from old town.

This was one display of many in the front window of an all-gummy-dessert shop. So very fantastic. (And also, who buys these things...? Don't get me wrong, I have two bags of Haribo bears in my cabinet right now, but seriously.)

Delicious coffee drink with homemade caramel sauce for breakfast. Mine had almonds in it. Yummmm.

One more view west down the river...

...and one more east.

And now, up the mountain! Thank goodness for cable cars. Although this particular mountain was also laced with hiking and mountain-biking trails, ski runs, and all sorts of other outdoorsy things, and was extremely accessible from the heart of downtown. (You just take the metro to the cable car! How easy is that?? I would be on that mountainside all the time. If for nothing else than the strudels found thereon.)

We were planning to stop halfway up to eat at some restaurant that a couple of friendly locals had recommended, but we couldn't find it, so we went all the way to the top. Look how pointy and angry-looking these mountains are. Love it.

View over Innsbruck with my beloved new wide-angle lens.

View to the north.

That little tiny white building in the center was close to the very top. It was quite a ways up, especially for someone (ok, me) who may or may not have issues with height and with being suspended from a cable, thousands of feet over empty air. But at least we got some delicious apple and cheese strudels out of the deal. (Yes, cheese strudels. Kinda the cream-cheesy-stuff you find on a cheese danish, but a WHOLE DESSERT made of it. Told you Austria is enchanted.)

And there you have it, lovely Innsbruck. We liked it, and it was a nice way to end the motorcycle season (although I recall getting a little chilly on the ride home...not my favorite part of riding the bike!). I realize that Mike has far surpassed my total of countries visited, but this means that since we've moved here, I've been to 7 different countries: Switzerland (natch), Italy (4 times just this year!!), France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Liechtenstein. May I just take this moment to reiterate that Europe is amazing. 

What I'm reading: a lot, lately. Just finished Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, by Michael Lewis, and Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time, by Mark Adams. The first is truly depressing, but really interesting, about European and American governments with massive debt crises. For a book on economics and markets, it's actually fairly understandable, and a really fascinating look at the way culture plays into a nation's ability to keep itself solvent. (And if I can string together a sentence that cohesive about a subject that generally far exceeds my understanding, I may actually have to read some more of Lewis' work, gasp.) The second was a much more indulgent read: Adams revisits (physically and via research) some of the Peruvian travels of Hiram Bingham, with emphasis on visits to far less famous ruins and lots of historical narrative mixed in. Generally, my favorite kind of travelogue, and one that makes me want to get in shape to hike the Inca Trail. Next up: David Crockett, Lion of the West, by Michael Wallis. (Yes, I know that my reading list is a little all over the place, but you can thank Jon Stewart for that. His guests are fascinating.)

What I'm watching: Stranger than Fiction, with Will Ferrell. I think this may be one of my new favorite movies: who knew my man could act? I seriously, seriously love this movie...it breaks my heart every time, but in a good way! The scene where he plays the guitar is so, so sweet. Sigh. Coraline, a new-ish Tim Burton flick. Truly trippy and a little bit terrifying...I'm not sure that anyone under the age of oh, say, 20 should watch it by him- or herself. Sheesh. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and please, Hollywood, let it be the last in this series. What a wretched movie. How on earth do these things get green-lighted? And does it seem like we're asking that question more and more often, these days? I genuinely liked the first two...very lighthearted and spoof-y. Seriously, though, guys, quit while you're ahead. (Ahem, Indiana Jones...). Last, but certainly not least, Hot Rod, an Andy Samberg vehicle. Stupid movies, how I love you! This may be one of the stupidest out there, but I can't help watching it with some regularity. Never fails to make me cackle. (Let's celebrate.)

Next up: would be Zürich's little Oktoberfest, but Mike accidentally deleted all of the photos and video from his phone, so I have nothing for you. Moving on: northern Italy, part 1.  =)