Half-Day in Hallstatt
After spending the morning in Salzburg’s Old Town, I spent the rest of the day in Hallstatt.
I can’t remember when I first learned about Hallstatt, but ever since I saw pictures of it, I knew I had to include it in my bucket list. It’s actually the main reason why I had to stop by Salzburg during my Eurotrip.
There’s no direct way of reaching Hallstatt. You’d have to take a train and/or bus, and ferry. If you have more time or on a tight budget, you can do that. But since I’m too lazy to commute, I just joined Panorama’s Hallstatt Tour for €55.
Our bus departed the Mirabellplatz bus terminal around 1:00pm.
We passed by many picturesque villages in Salzkammergut (Lake Area) like the one pictured above. One of which is St. Gilgen, which is the birthplace of Mozart’s mother.
Our guide also pointed out the Red Bull headquarters in Fuschl am See.
I was so giddy when our bus pulled up at Hallstatt’s parking lot. I can’t take the smile off my face!
I ran to the lakeside upon getting off the bus but was caught off guard by the freezing temperature. It was so cold even though it was a sunny day. My hands were starting to get numb, so I desperately searched for my gloves only to find out that I left it at the hostel. *doh* I could have bought one from the shops, but I was too stingy. I’m not paying €10 for a pair of gloves! Thank goodness I wore a fleece-lined parka that day so I made do with putting my hands in the pockets and went on exploring one of the most beautiful lakeside villages in the world.
In the summer, you can rent an electric boat, a swan-shaped pedal boat, or if you’re more physically fit, row across the lake in a traditional wooden boat called ‘plätte’.
They say that the oldest salt mine in the world can be found here. In fact, its prosperity in the medieval times had been based on salt mining, and the name, Hallstatt, actually means salt settlement.
If you have a day or spending the night, you can even take a salt mine tour and the Skywalk.
Since I only have about a couple hours in this quaint town, I just went for a leisurely walk.
The town square is surrounded by colorful hotels/bed & breakfast and restaurants. I tried getting a table at two of the restaurants, but both were full. I walked back and got a seat at Bräugasthoff Inn’s al fresco area. I couldn’t be happier!
I walked some more to burn off the calories but stopped because of this breathtaking view.
Going to Hallstatt was one of the happiest days of my life. It was a dream come true! I wish I stayed there even for just a night because there’s still some things I wish to see.
Well, I guess I’ll just have to save that for my next Eurotrip. 😀
Comments
Post a Comment