My mom and sister visited Europe bound for Italy. But first, we detoured through Austria and took three trains and a ferry to visit the idyllic storybook town, Hallstatt. Before 1890, this town was even more remote, accessible only by foot and boat. Rick Steves first brought our attention to Hallstatt and it became a bucket list item (for a few of us). We had plenty of time to leisurely explore this outrageously picturesque town because the rain was relentless. Unfortunately, this meant no mountain hikes or trips up lifts to enjoy scenic views of the region from up above. Sometimes you're just at the mercy of the weather. Hallstatt was jam-packed with day trippers, but by the evening, it was deserted. Just as Cinque Terre would be full of tourists from the US, Hallstatt seemed to be popular with Chinese tourists. In fact, we learned that China even has its own replica of the entire village. Besides the pretty views, the highlight of this region was visiting the world's oldest known salt mine, today known as the Salzwelten. Archaeologists have uncovered local graves and the artifacts (which extend back to 1200 BC) have given them insight into Hallstatt's ancient history. Inside the mountains they even discovered a well preserved body (thanks to the salt!) and what is considered the oldest wooden staircase in Europe. Organized mining in the area took shape around 800 BC and the mine is still operating today. The "white gold" in the idyllic mountains, which would eventually make the community wealthy, was accidentally discovered by hunters who were following animals attracted to the salt. In addition to the interesting history, the cave included thrill rides! As we were putting on our mining clothes, we wondered why they included padded butts. The answer to this question came when we arrived at the wooden slides within the cave. Hallstatt proved to be so much more than a picturesque postcard and that made this destination much more interesting.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |