I have to be honest, life in Vienna is pretty great. Ok that's me being a bit British about it, life here is incredibly fun. Although I am originally a country girl (I come from a small English village), I am loving the city experience. There is so much to see and do and a never ending list of cool restaurants to try and places to explore. But last weekend I decided it was time to venture out of the city and into the Austrian countryside for once, which I had heard was beautiful.
So, in search of rolling green fields and snow-capped mountains we hopped on a train to Innsbruck, a small city in the Tyrol area known for skiing. Even before we arrived, we were treated to some spectacular views on the train journey. Bright green fields stretched out before us, with towering mountains set against a clear blue sky. It almost looked too perfect to be real.
When we arrived in the city, the mountains were even closer, almost on top of us as Innsbruck is nestled in a valley. So everywhere you looked, there one was staring back at you. The view at the end of the street? A mountain. The view from our room? A mountain. It was certainly very different from Vienna!
Even the center of the city is very different, with its narrow cobbled streets and decorated buildings that could have come straight out of a fairytale book. I found myself wondering what life would be like if I had chosen somewhere like Innsbruck for my year abroad, especially when we went to visit a friend in a nearby town, in the very heart of the mountains.
From up there, the views down into the valley were breathtaking. Imagine waking up to that everyday! Everyone seemed really friendly as well, always saying hello as we passed each other in the street (this would never happen in Vienna!). And after a short walk along a mountain path, surrounded by fir trees and the quietness of nature, the country girl in me was re-ignited. I almost found myself wishing that I lived out here.
But then I realized how small the place was and how difficult it might be to get around and that there probably wasn’t much to do apart from hiking and skiing! So as much as I had enjoyed the Austrian countryside and experiencing a more “typical” Austria, I was glad I could return back to Vienna and busy city life.
Do you live in a city or the countryside? If you could choose, which one would you prefer?
