This post is the concluding post of a long drawn out series documenting our travels to a small part of the beautiful Dolomites in Northern Italy. We had started out in Munich, Germany ( A short stay in Munich – The Delightful Dolomites, Part 1 ) then proceeded on to Bolzano the main city in the Dolomites and enjoyed 3 days enjoying the surrounding mountains and the pretty city itself (Walking around Bolzano & Churches of Bolzano – The Delightful Dolomites, Part 5 ). We had then gone to the highlight of our trip, 3 days in the Val Gardena part of the Dolomites where we had done some of the most memorable hikes in all our trips to Europe at Seceda and across the highest meadows in Europe the Alpe di Siusi ( Seceda to Col Raiser, – A memorable morning trek – The Delightful Dolomites, Part 7 ) ( Alpe di Siusi, walking across the highest Alpine meadow – The Delightful Dolomites, Part 9 ).
After 6 beautiful days in the Dolomites it was time to say goodbye to the region and proceed to our penultimate destination for this trip – Kufstein. While planning this trip I had checked the train route from Bolzano to Munich (From where we had our return flight back home) and just checked out an intermediate station called Kufstein just because the name sounded good to me! As luck would have it a cursory Google search showed me a pretty little town with a huge Citadel/ Fortress looming on a hill and it instantly appealed to me. So we decided to stay in Kufstein for the end of our trip before returning to Munich and flying back home.
We reached Bolzano after taking the convenient bus and train connection from our last base Laion. We knew before hand that due to some railway maintenance activities a direct train to Kufstein had become a complicated train – bus – train route which we managed relatively comfortably because we travel light. We reached Kufstein right at check in time for our Hotel Andreas Hofer which was a short walk from the railway station and checked in.
At our room at Hotel Andreas Hofer, Kufstein
It was drizzling when we reached so we decided to rest our legs that had been hiking double digit kilometres daily for the past week and took a rejuvenating nap. We were in no hurry to rush around Kufstein because we had decided to explore the town till the next day evening. The convenient Kufstein card included with our hotel stay made the decision easier as it included the entrance to the Fortress as well as a round trip up the Kaiserlift chairlift that was in the town for 2 days!
We woke up in the evening to find the sun peeking from between the clouds and it had become a beautiful evening. Perfect for a walk around town!
The Fortress from our Hotel’s common balcony
We did a short walk around the main town itself just to acquaint ourselves with the place so that we would not waste time the next morning when we wanted to visit the citadel and the other interiors that were closed now. It was great to be in a low key pretty little town with hardly any crowds.
The main square of Kufstein
The Citadel on a lazy Sunday evening
The town hall of Kufstein
St Vitus Church tower and the fortress/citadel behind
Pretty Kufstein with no crowds
The old drinking water fountain in the town hall square
Enjoying an evening walk around Kufstein
We walked around town and built up our appetite before returning to our Hotel where we had reserved a table for dinner at the in house restaurant. It turned out to be a great choice as it had great vegetarian options for the better half as well as a gourmet burger for me and a Dunkel beer to wash it down!
Enjoying a local beer in Kufstein, Austria
The better half happy with getting great vegetarian food – soup and Ravioli
A great meal at the Andreas Hofer
We enjoyed a great meal before going to the viewing balcony of the Hotel and watch the sky become colourful as the sun went down. The long days of summer meant that we returned again after it finally became dark to see the citadel all lit up against the night sky. The decision to stay in Kufstein had already become worth it and it would only get better from here on.
Watching the sun sit on a summer evening in Kufstein
The lit up Kufstein Fortress
We retired for the night hoping to get a clear morning the next day and we got our wish. We woke up the next morning to find only a few wispy clouds over the fortress. So we set off to walk around the old town lanes that we had missed the previous evening.
Happy at getting a clear morning in Kufstein
The main square early morning wears a deserted look
The Madonna and Child fountain on the main square
We walked through the one lane old town part of Kufstein with its arched bridges connecting the buildings on both sides called Romerhofgasse. It was empty early in the morning except for a fellow photographer and we courteously allowed each other to take photos of this pretty part of town, moving out of frame as the other tried to capture the beauty in their camera. We walked through this part till we came to the river Inn.
The pretty cobbled lane Romerhofgasse of Old town Kufstein
The river front with the Citadel looming over it has a statue of Karl Ganzer who is the composer of a famous folk song about the town – Kufsteiner Lied. We walked down the riverfront walking path till we reached the main bridge across the river that we had crossed while going to our hotel from the train station. It was a great time to see the town and build up our appetite for what turned out to be a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel.
The Karl Ganzer memorial statue on the river
The pleasant riverfront at Kufstein
On the main bridge across the river with the train station in the background
Retracing our steps from the previous evening in much better weather
After devouring a lot of food at the breakfast Buffet we returned to our room and collected our luggage and checked out of our rooms. We left our luggage in the hotel’s luggage storage since we would be returning in the early evening at best.
With all that settled we took our Kufsteiner card and went to the Fortress and were the first people through the turnstiles. We then took the little funicular up which was also included in the card. They provide you with a pamphlet with a map & route to be taken that describes the history and the use of the Fortress/Citadel over the ages.
View of the town from the funicular up to the citadel
Even if you are not interested in history the Fortress is an impressive piece of architecture that has existed in some form in the same location from 1205. We walked around the massive fortress and we saw all the exhibits in the City Museum of Kufstein, we visited the jail that has held a lot of political prisoners over the centuries and walked the walls that have guarded the town below for 100s of years.
The top part of the fortress which was a jail for political prisoners
The City Museum of Kufstein is in the fortress
The jail appropriately has a sombre look to it
A painting showing the Fortress and the town in the 1500s
Views of the river and the town from the jail part of the Fortress
Walking the walls and ramparts along the Fortress
The views along the river shows why the Fortress was important in medieval days
Beautiful wildflowers around the fortress
The impressive Fortress at Kufstein
The better half strikes a pose with the brass statues on display
The walls around the citadel had beautifully manicured lawns
Another highlight of the Kufstein fortress was seeing the biggest free standing organ in the world with 4948 pipes! We would later listen to the organ resonate across the town at noon.
The keyboard that controls the massive Heroes organ that filled the room
We then took the long hidden tunnel that the controllers of the fortress used to escape when in distress to take a short cut back to the exit and take the funicular down. The crowds had started to come up to see the fortress by the time we were done. Another advantage of starting early!
Taking the long stone tunnel back across under the fortress
The Kufstein fortress from the courtyard below
We then said goodbye to the fortress and visited the small but pretty St Vitus church which was built in the early 1400s. We did our usual church routine of sitting in the pews for a few minutes before leaving.
The St Vitus Church in Kufstein
The next thing we wanted to do if the weather cooperated was take the restored Kaiserlift , one of the oldest chairlifts in the region up into the nearby mountains. We had enjoyed the chairlifts for the first time in the Dolomites and didn’t want to lose the opportunity to use another one of these on this trip. As luck would have it the cloudy morning had turned into a sunny afternoon and we walked behind the town on a back street first and then a dedicated walking path to the base station of the chairlifts.
Beautiful coloured fields around Kufstein
The Fortress from the walking path to the Kaiserlift
A brisk 20-30 minutes walk later we were at the Kaiserlift and we took the individual chairlifts up the mountain. The two part chairlift was much longer than we realised and kept on going up and across valleys to our delight. At the end of the second chairlift we were at the Brentenjoch station with the Kaiser mountains in the background.
The long single seater Kaiserlift in Kufstein – A must do !
We first took in the valley far down below and were amazed at how long that chairlift ride actually was! It’s a great incentive to include it in the free Kufsteiner card for people staying overnight in town and we were now completely happy at our choice to do so.
The views from the Brentenjoch top station of the Kaiserlift
We then climbed up to the view point overlooking the Kaisermountains and enjoyed the view and the cool breeze blowing on that perfect summer afternoon.
Enjoying the viewpoint to the Kaiser mountains
There are numerous trails around the hills there but sadly we didn’t have time to explore those this time. We did however have time to have lunch at yet another Alpenhutte – The Weinbergerhaus Brentenjochhutte. As with most places we had eaten up in the Dolomites, the food and the view both were excellent. I ordered my last Wienerschnitzel with potatoes while the better half got her favourite vegetable dumplings with a huge salad. Of course we had to have a beer and a lemonade to wash it down.
The Brentenjochhutte – Great food with great views !
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch before taking the long chairlift back down taking a lot more photos on the way down of the valley below.
The Kaiserlift ride down – A great experience
We then walked back to the hotel, collected our luggage and said goodbye to this pretty little town. It had been a great 1.5 days in Kufstein and when you leave town wishing you had a bit more time there then it has been a great stay.
With the beautiful town of Kufstein in the background
We took the train back to Munich and took the S bahn train to Marienplatz. We walked down from there to a hotel close to Viktulienmarkt – Hotel Am Markt. It was an okayish hotel booked only for the location as he only item on the agenda in Munich was having a meal at the Viktulienmarkt beer garden where we had eaten our first meal in Munich in 2018.
Coming full circle – A meal at the Viktulienmarkt beer garden
We couldn’t resist walking around Marienplatz at night one last time though it was threatening to rain. We did a quick walk around the square before the heavens opened up.
A post dinner walk around Marienplatz
We slept early as we had to get to the airport early for our flight back. We woke up and expertly navigated the public transport system we had used on 2 trips now to reach the airport for our flight back home to Mumbai.
Early morning public transport back to Munich airport
It had been a great trip to a region I had wanted to visit ever since I started reading about travel to Italy. The Dolomites had exceeded all my expectations and left me wanting more since we had explored just a small corner of these unique mountains. That however will have to wait for another trip hopefully before my knees start giving way!
Till I return next time from a new destination with a new series.
Ciao ! Auf Wiedersehen! Bye!
yogictravel 
Great end to yet another great series. Charming little town with lovely streets. Amazing posts. Thanks for showing us the dolomites through your eyes
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Glad you liked it ma’am… thanks for the appreciation 😀
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