Travel Log Page 7

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	Innsbruck
	The 7 hour train ride from Rome to Innsbruck was just beautiful! Especially Northern Italy and Austria. The mountains were covered with green meadows and terraced gardens. Lots of vineyards. Because the windows on the train were so dirty we really did not get any great pictures. But, you can get the idea by this picture.
	Until we pulled into Austria, I had forgotten that I would be hearing a third language, German. I was prepared for Spanish in Spain and Italian in Italy, but I had forgotten about Austria. Thank goodness, most everyone spoke English, and again, menus were in German and English.
	Our hotel was in the City Center and one block from the old section. Walking around Innsbruck was great as it was the safest city I had been to on this trip. No worry of having your purse snatched. Plus, it is very clean.
	Our main reason for the side trip to Austria was to see Swarovski Crystal Worlds. Swarovski was founded in 1895 and is known for their man-made crystal figurines and chandeliers. They also have a jewelry line. But, the Crystal Worlds was our main attraction.
	Crystal Worlds was created by the Swarovski Group in 1995 as a present to their employees and friends for the 100th anniversary of the company. It is a crystalline universe of adventures created by multimedia artist Andre Heller.
	Inside there are 3 different walls filled with crystals of all colors.
	The largest man-made cut crystal in the world is the first item you see when you walk into the cave. It is 3,600 karats and took over 1 year and many tries to create.
	There are laser light shows, neon light shows, a meditation room, a dome room that is all crystal and lights. Plus, an interactive walkway with music and lights, and the floor changes as you walk over it.
	Outside there is a play area for the children, a maze in the shape of the artist’s hand and a garden of all the local flora.
	All in all, it was a blast to experience everything! I am glad we made the effort to go to Innsbruck!
	Please note that all of these pictures were taken by my sister, Sharon, as I had a disaster with carbonated water flooding my camera bag, and it shorted out my camera. So, Thank You Sharon, for the great shots. All the next pages of Venice, Florence and Rome will also have shots from both Sharon and I.
	The next page will be Venice, then Florence, then I will start doing the Rome pages. Updating the website is going a little slower than I had hoped, because everytime I get ready to do an update, we end up sightseeing instead. We are now in Rome until August 25, so I will have more time to do the updates. The Vatican was spectacular, it took us three days to see. We were three stories under it, and 30 feet from the top of the dome on the outside! Great pictures, I promise. Thanks for checking in on me. Y
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