Austria and Liechtenstein

The Liberation Day holiday this year fell on a Wednesday. Why not take advantage of this and make a good weekend out of the two days of holiday?

Stubaital Valley

The baby has grown up, but still not enough to be able to make any long distance trips without any problems. For this reason, we have been dependent on countries in the neighborhood. We originally considered Switzerland, but there were a few "buts". The little one doesn't sleep well in the evening, so a night crossing by bus, which was the cheapest, was not an option. The problem with Option B, the night train, is that we would have to have the whole compartment to ourselves, which means a bed in the De Luxe option at a cost of about 4,000 CZK one way. That would already give us a nice accommodation for two days in some other country. After the success of last year, when we visited Hallstatt, Tyrol caught my eye, where there is also a lot to see. As in Upper Austria, there are discounted fares for the whole of Tyrol. For €50.6 you can travel for seven days unlimited on all means of transport that fall under the VVT transport association. This includes regional trains, buses and public transport in Innsbruck, including the STB tram. As there is Liechtenstein not far from Tyrol, we will take advantage of this fact and reserve one day for this small country.

The most expensive item of the whole holiday is the accommodation. We are also limited by the needs of a small child and the necessity to have our own kitchen. We found the cheapest accommodation in Hall in Tirol, which is next to Innsbruck. To get here we use the offer of the ČD, where early tickets are valid to these places as well. We buy it in advance for 1006 CZK per person. The return trip cost us more and we paid 1300 CZK for it. The price includes the Southern Express and Railjet from Linz to Innsbruck plus a passenger train to Hall in Tirol. For the trip to Liechtenstein I buy tickets on the ÖBB website, where an early bound ticket called a Fahrschein works out at 20 euros one way, plus we'll take the German ICE as a bonus on the way back.

Everything's arranged, we're ready to go. We start it on Tuesday after lunch, when straight from work I get on the bus to Prague together with Janet, where we change to the Southern Express to Linz. Once again I have to highlight the beauty of the modernisation of this line, when we have not had time to look around and we are already braking in České Budějovice.

Unfortunately, all the joy ends here and an endless journey on a twisted monorail follows, which is further complicated by a closure after Pregarten, where we have to change to a bus. Fortunately, this doesn't delay us too much and doesn't take too much out of our hour's reserve.

We can use the remaining time to buy snacks at the station's Interspar. Twenty minutes before departure, we walk to the platform where one train after another departs towards Salzburg. In those twenty minutes I count three, plus ours, which arrived on time. The downside of early tickets is the lack of seat reservations on the Austrian side. This can be added for 3 euros per person. We took our chances without it and it paid off. The train was quite empty and finding a seat was not a problem. So we have a three-hour ride to Innsbruck ahead of us, during which we feed the little one and Janet tries in vain to put him to sleep, which she only succeeds in doing somewhere after Kufstein. This is also where the track gets more interesting, when in the middle of the Alps the train enters a network of tunnels and speeds at 230 km/h. This keeps the regional lines clear and trains run on a quarter-hourly schedule during the day.

Travelling with a child on the Austrian Railjet

We arrive in Innsbruck with a five-minute delay, which dramatizes the transfer we originally had ten minutes to make. So we have to get off quickly, and when we reach the correct platform, all out of breath, we find that the train is ten minutes late. Tyrol greets us with heavy rain, which is just the golden point for the last kilometre we have to walk at ten in the evening to the city centre, where our apartment is waiting for us. We find it easily. But a surprise awaits us just beyond the main entrance, where in this old building there is a narrow wooden staircase with a steep climb like a ladder. This means that Janet has her hands down and I have the pram wheels at head level. To make things less complicated, our room is on the second floor. We've been improving our fitness every day. We don't take any time and after a shower we go to bed quickly.

The morning was not at all pleasant for me. First of all, it was still raining, but most of all my throat started to hurt, which meant nasopharyngitis, and that's something you definitely don't want at the beginning of a holiday around a child. We had breakfast and left for the train station at ten, taking pictures of the city centre on the way.

Our accommodation Old Town Studio in Hall in Tirol

Hall in Tirol

At the train station, buy the aforementioned weekly VVT ticket (Wochenticket Tirol) from the vending machine. After successful purchase, we take the first train that arrives and set off for Innsbruck. Here, we first look for the platform of the STB mountain tram, which we take to the village of Fulmpes, which lies in the picturesque Stubaital valley. The tram runs once an hour. For us, this means we have time to explore part of the historic centre at speed. There we take a photo by the Arc de Triomphe and then make our way slowly to the station, stopping for a kebab at the restaurant opposite before leaving.

Hall in Tirol - Buying a VVT ticket

Innsbruck - Arc de Triomphe (Triumphpforte)

The tram to Fulmpes takes about an hour and passes the Bergisel ski jump. During this time it starts to rain again and it will continue to rain for the whole time we are here. There are many things to do in Fulmpes. There are plenty of trails that are passable by buggy. The original plan was to hike below the top of Klettersteig to Lake Panoramasee, but due to the weather and my health, we decided it wasn't worth it and opted to walk along the valley.

Tram STB Fulmpes station

Fulmpes

Stubaital Valley

After two hours we get on the tram and go back to Innsbruck. We walk through the historic centre, walk along the Inn River to the Hungerburgbahn cable car station. Unfortunately, the VVT tariff does not apply there. But if you want to get on the cable car to Seegrube, you have to take either the Hungerburgbahn or the bus. Then we slowly move to the station and take the train back to Hall in Tirol, where we do some more shopping. In the evening we prepare dinner, feed and bathe the little one and then go to bed. Tomorrow Kitzbühel and Lake Aachen await us.