The Sawyer Stories

Vacations are for new experiences and for rest. We’ve definitely filled up on newness, so today is made for strolling, sleeping, and soaking up our last minutes in Innsbruck. Good timing, because it was also our first day for rain.

While we initially planned to start the day sleeping in, we had to close out our biking trip by returning the now fully charged bikes before the shop opened at 8:30. Normal us doesn’t cycle regularly, so our butts were ill prepared to sit on a bike seat for 5 hours straight. Without getting into too many details, let’s just say our behinds were a bit tender. Waking up and instantly getting back on the bike to pedal across town was laughable. Michael, with his childhood skills, was able to ride without really sitting. Clumsy me strongly considered walking it, but the rain proved as motivation to suck it up and grimace/ groan my way through the streets.

We then strolled (oh, glorious feet) to a place that served a vegan version of authentic Austrian breakfast. It was deliver to us like so:

Did we have to take a moment to quietly and ever so creepily observe the locals around us to determine how to eat said breakfast? Yes. Turns out, it’s an Austrian lunchable with bread in lieu of Ritz crackers. And, it was quite delicious!

We then wandered back to our Airbnb for nap number one. That’s right, they are numbered. We ebbed in and out of sleep and would awake to our amazing views outside our wall of windows. I will note, however, the rain clouds made is so the Alps completely disappeared. This made us even more grateful for the 2 sunny days we had enjoyed prior.

Tummies rumbling led to us venturing out once more, umbrellas in hand, to shop and lunch. We went passed the overtly flashy souvenir shops on a hunt for items made authentically in Tyrol.

We then found a great Thai lunch spot. Remember those sore behinds of ours? Well we didn’t because we hadn’t sat in quite some time. Upon cheeks hitting the hard wooden seat, Michael impulsively and quite loudly proclaimed, “BUTT!” We are a real tourist delight. Made me feel better about that whole Alter Peter situation, and I didn’t flee from him in embarrassment. Amber 1 Michael 1.

On our way back to the apartment for nap number 2, we snaked down a new road in Old Town and found a game shop! We had been bummed because we forgot to bring games with us for our train ride to Paris. We were able to grab a game we knew and without words (since they were all in German) in anticipation of tomorrow.

Michael had decided the final meal of our time would be a return to where we started. He had been dreaming of the pizza from the Meow Pizzeria, and I was excited to make our way across the bridge one last time.

When we walked up to restaurant, we noticed this sign proclaiming Burger Night reservations only. Our hearts sank when we saw no open slots, but we popped inside just in case.

Turns out it was a set menu at a set time. A table for 2 had not shown up, so we snuck right into their spot just a few minutes late. We followed the waitress to the back of a packed and chaotic restaurant with an appetizer already waiting. We sat, exhaled, and got ready to eat when the waitress mentioned…”Oh yeah, and it’s cash only tonight.” <<insert record scratch>>. We counted our euros to find we would come up 10 short. Maybe skip a course? Maybe awkwardly put down our forks and slink out? Luckily we got grace and were given the nod to pay with card.

Now we could sit back and enjoy and people watch (best part of travel, right?). Hmm…interesting…the room is full of friend groups, no couples, and…no one over the age of 22 (except for these awesome 40 year olds in the corner). Why yes, this is a night supported by a group at the local university for students and Sawyers! We ate our burgers, laughing at the choices that brought us here, when one more surprised approached us. A student was walking around passing out papers and pencils. Not only was this a student event, it was also trivia night (in German of course)<<insert palm to face>>. The waitress, having pity on us, offered to bring us our dessert early so we could escape.

While we did not get the pizza Michael was hoping for, we did get one final story before heading back to pack, sleep and prepare to leave Innsbruck and make our way to Paris tomorrow!