Hallstatt, Austria

We took a very early train at 6:12am to Hallstatt via Attnang-Puchheim. We had breakfast of coffee rolls in the Attnang-Puchheim train station. The train was very user-friendly and easy to navigate. Upon arriving in Hallstatt, the ferry dock was a stone's throw from the train station and departs shortly after each scheduled train arrival. We had purchased the Kombiticket from OBB which included the train journeys x2, ferry rides x2 and visit to the salt mines. It took 5 minutes to get to the dock in Hallstatt and we arrived around 9am. There were barely any tourists there yet and it was lovely to explore the quiet narrow streets in peace. We walked around the upper streets towards the salt mines. The whole city is built into the mountain sides which was so interesting to see.

The salt mine tour with cable car was great. It was a tad foggy/drizzly but it cleared up and stayed cool and dry. At the salt mine, we had to put on protective clothing. We took two slides down and it was super fun! At the second slide, a photo was taken of us on the slide down and we purchased it for 5 euro! Some of the light shows on the tour were kind of cheesy but overall it was a lot of fun. We bought some flavored salts as souvenirs for many people at home.

Back on solid ground, we took more photos through the lower part of Hallstatt's streets and had lunch at Bacht's Polreich where we both had beer-battered pike perch which was caught in Lake Hallstatt. We were lucky enough to get outdoor seating looking out over Lake Hallstatt! We then rented a boat for 16 euro and got two beers to enjoy out on the water. It was very fun even though it was cool and cloudy.

We took the ferry back and caught a 4:32pm train back to Salzburg. Dinner was at Barewirt again. Myron was jealous of my pumpkin cordon bleu so he got that and I got fried chicken and potato salad. We were both very tired and I wasn't feeling well after eating so much fried food!Read more