On December 22nd we started our Great Rail Journey from St Pancras station, taking Eurostar to Brussels and then continuing on to Cologne. We were too late and it was too dark to see the town, but we were able to spot the great Cathedral from our room. Next morning (December 23rd) we were up quite early and continued on our journey to Innsbruck.
On Christmas Eve we were taken on a guided walking tour of the old part of Innsbruck. In spite of the rain, it was good to get our bearings and learn something of the history of the town. Below, are some photos taken on the tour or soon after. The rain slowly petered out and we were able to enjoy some of our walk in sunshine.
Our group in the rain 
Looking into the historic part of the town 
The Golden Roof 
Street Scene 
Images from Fairy Tales 
John and the Giant 
Oh Grandma ….. ! 
Colourful merchants houses on the other side of the River Inn.
Christmas Day dawned bright and sunny. Not that we saw the dawn. The night before we were treated to a multi-course Christmas Eve dinner! Once we’d dealt with our hang-overs we took the Stubaitalbahn tram up to Fulpmes where we walked around this lovely Tyrolean village and indulged in large mugs of Glühwein. The next set of photos are from Christmas Day.
a hair of the dog? 
on the way out of town 
view from the tram 
members of our group 
a pretty church 
Fulpmes station 
in the village 
statuary and fountain 
more statuary 
another statue and fountain 
in the churchyard 
on the way back down 
carols in the square at Innsbruck 
light sculpture in Innsbruck 
Swarovsky Crystals in one of the Christmas Markets