Day 3: Hallstatt in the Rain

The next morning, the weather had completely changed, and it was pouring rain.

So over breakfast we considered how we could still make the day enjoyable and finally decided to visit the Hallstatt salt mine again, where we hadn’t been in well over 20 years.

But this time we wanted to avoid the problematic and incredibly expensive parking in Hallstatt, so we drove to Bad Ischl instead. There we parked at the train station and continued by train.

From the station, as is well known, you take the boat into town. It was still pouring, and by now we were almost completely soaked.

We walked directly to the valley station of the cable car, which would take us up the mountain.

Once at the top, we had to walk another roughly 20 minutes to the mine entrance.

The rain didn’t let up the entire time. It was also already uncomfortably cold up there.
At the mine, we received protective clothing, which I welcomed very much. I took off my wet clothes and wore only the protective suit. That turned out to be a blessing, as it was very cool inside the mountain as well.

The tour through the mine was very interesting. Millennia-old tunnels and stories about the earliest miners in Europe

We learned many fascinating things. The “white gold” has shaped this region like hardly anything else.

Twice we slid down long wooden slides deeper into the tunnels, our speed being measured each time. We were not particularly fast, as I tend to be more of the anxious type.

Finally, we also rode a narrow-gauge railway through and out of the mine. That was quite a special experience.

The tour lasted about two hours. Then we were back in daylight.

By then the weather had improved. I had to change back into my wet clothes, but it was much warmer now, so everything dried quickly.

We made our way back down into the valley, enjoying one or two lovely views into the depths along the way.

Back in Hallstatt, we returned to the restaurant where we had eaten so well and inexpensively during my spa stay in June.

Again, there was nothing to complain about. The food was good, the service good, the prices fair.

Then it was time to head back to the boat landing, where we unfortunately learned that we would have to wait more than an hour for the next boat.

Eventually, it did set off, and we crossed Lake Hallstatt one last time, this time in much better weather.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long for the train, and soon we reached Bad Ischl and our car.

Thus another very wet, yet truly wonderful day came to an end.