>UPDATE: On December 6 2007 I posted photos of my first ride on the new Hungerburgbahn, so you can see the whole experience. It runs every day until around 7pm, a round-trip ticket costs 4,50€ for “locals” (but they did not ask me for any ID.) I’m guessing it costs under 6,00€ for the tourists. And speaking of tourists, this is an excellent thing to do if you want an Alpine view but don’t care to take the ski lift all the way up. (And it’s wheelchair accessible!) Get out at the Gasthaus Lowenhaus on your way back for a nice warm drink.


Innsbruck has replaced its old Hungerburgbahn incline railway with a shiny new cutting-edge rail line. There’s been plenty of controversy about the need for a new one at all, when the old one worked perfectly well, etc.
I like it. The stations are supposed to resemble ice forms; they also look a bit like Japanese anime sea monsters to me. In the daytime you can see that the translucent outer tiles are a pale green, similar to the chalky green of the river Inn. The architect, the renowned Zaha Hadid, also designed Innsbruck’s space-ship ski jump.
I went to the grand opening party yesterday evening, but it was pretty crowded and getting more so every minute, so I just took a few snapshots and left. Can’t wait to take a ride on the thing, though!