Hallstatt

Today was a special day. Since my younger sister had to work the weekend shift, my other sister and I looked after my little niece. Since the little one loves riding trains and both of us have a climate ticket, we decided to take her to Hallstatt.

The train ride took a little over three hours. Upon arrival in Hallstatt, we had to take a ferry from the train station across to the village — another highlight not just for the little girl.

The village lies picturesquely on the beautiful Hallstätter See in the Salzkammergut region.

We first wandered through the charming, narrow streets of the village. Every house is beautifully preserved and painted in the brightest colors.

Hallstatt is surrounded by green hills and rugged cliffs. Colorful flowers bloom all over the village. Although the weather was very gloomy and rainy that day, it didn’t dampen our spirits.

From a hill, we had a wonderful view over the village and the lake.

We treated ourselves to coffee at a restaurant directly on the lake. The prices there are steep, but the location somehow justifies them.

Quiet spots are hard to find in Hallstatt. The village is crowded with tourists, and locals are mostly found as shopkeepers in the many souvenir stores or as staff in the restaurants and cafés. Prices are high, significantly higher than in the rest of the Salzkammergut.

After coffee, we sat down by the shore and ate the food we had brought with us. There were ham sandwiches, cucumbers, peppers, cherry tomatoes, and the sausages so dearly loved by my niece.

After eating, the little one fell asleep in her stroller. We took a few more strolls through the village. We also visited some souvenir shops. In a soap shop, we bought wonderfully fragrant soaps.

Afterwards, we walked along the shore of Hallstätter See, enjoying the beautiful views along the way.

We also took a look at the cog railway but decided to postpone a ride to another day, since it was already late and the weather was worsening. This turned out to be a good decision because heavy rain started soon after. So, we took the next ferry back to the train station, where we still had to wait for the train for another hour .

Four hours later, we were back home — exhausted but full of wonderful new impressions.