Hallstatt, Austria

On our last full day in Austria, we took the bus back out to the airport to pick up our reserved rental car. We then drove through the countryside to the beautiful lakeside village of Hallstatt. I've seen it on several lists of the most beautiful places in Europe, so when I realized it was close to Salzburg, I figured it would make a fun day trip. It flourished as a salt-mining town, dating back to Neolithic times (think 5th to 8th centuries BC) and we were able to tour a salt mine while we were in town. 

After making a quick pit stop for a box of Kleenex (ugh, that cold was the worst!), we arrived in Salzburg. We parked a little ways away from the city center (after struggling to find the correct parking lot as signage was confusing). We walked into the village and toured the cute streets, of which there are basically two -- one lower street, and one upper "street" that was more like a path to the houses further up the mountainside.

We then took the funicular ride from the base of the mountain up toward the salt mine. At the top of the funicular, there was a restaurant where we grabbed lunch, and enjoyed the views from the platform extending out over the valley over Hallstatt. There were a LOT of selfies and selfie sticks happening up there!

Entrance to the salt mine

The miners' train!

The salt mine tour was a little bit pricey for what it was -- a bit too cheesy and a bit soft on actual information provided. However -- it was fun to get dressed up in special overclothes (to protect your clothes from the salt if you brush up against the walls), go down super speedy mine slides, and take the miners' train back out of the mine -- through a very narrow tunnel! keep your hands and legs in! -- at the end.

After the tour, we headed back down the funicular to the car park and headed back to Salzburg. The GPS took us through some real back roads -- ones we may or may not have supposed to be on?? We initially forgot to refill the car with gas when we got back to the airport, but were pleasantly surprised to see we could just drive back out of the parking garage to get the gas (not possible in the States!). We then bussed back into the city, and ate dinner at a truly delicious restaurant (Gastof Alter Fuchs -- "the Old Fox Inn", I believe). I wasn't sure about going out to dinner as I was feeling low energy and was coughing and sneezing everywhere, but it ended up being probably one my top 10 dinners ever! The atmosphere was so cozy, with wood fires and soft lighting, and the food was amazing. I had a butternut squash pasta dish, and we finished with an apple strudel (famous in Salzburg). It was the perfect ending to our last night in Salzburg!

And pretzels for appetizer!

We flew out relatively early the next morning, and were back to relieve Mom of Charlotte-duty by early afternoon. They seemed to have had a great time, despite being somewhat stuck in our small town with not a lot of good weather to play in. Thanks again Mom for taking such good care of her!