Hallstatt - Enchanting!

The second stop on our tour was Hallstatt, a quaint old town on the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See (Lake) at the foot of the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was just a couple of hours south east of Salzburg so we arrived with plenty of time to see the area as we were spending the night here. The area is famous for its salt mines dating back to prehistoric times, but we chose to take the short ferry ride across the lake to the opposite shore and did a short hike on a trail lined with an abundance of alpine spring flowers.  What a treat!

We were fortunate we got back to the town before a thundershower hit, just around dinner time, dashing our hopes for a tranquil dinner by the lake. We had to hustle earlier to get a reservation for a lakefront table as these were at a premium during the tourist season. We reconciled ourselves to an indoor dinner and were glad at least that the rain stopped by the time dinner was over and we could continue our walk through Hallstatt.  

Hallstatt is very pretty with 16th century Alpine houses going up the slopes of the mountain. Our after dinner walk took us up the hill to the waterfall above the town and the terrace above the Catholic Church for a panoramic view of the town.  But obviously we didn't walk far enough as it was only after I returned home that I saw the iconic view of Hallstatt from just a few hundred metres further on from our hotel next to the Lutheran Church that featured so prominently in photos of the town! I had to reconcile myself to the thought that one can't have everything and we did enjoy ourselves with immediate experiences of the area on our nature hike.

Please take a look at the photos and agree with me...;-)

Morning view of Hallstatt

Alpine houses all the way up the hill

Exquisite carved gables

Unique window covering

View of Hallstatt against the mountain backdrop from the ferry we took to the opposite shore.  As it turned out, the train station was on the other side and many people took the ferry to catch the train.

View of Hallstatt Lake from the trail

Part of the trail was on a suspended walkway making it an easy walk

Alpine flowers - there must have been more than two dozen species just along this trail

Bearded bellflower

Houses with boathouses - until the late 19th century, it was only possible to reach Hallstatt via boats and narrow trails so boats were very important for transportation

Walkway up to the waterfall above the town

The Central Market Square

Panoramic view from the Cathedral terrace

Next post: Castelrotto, Italy