Hallstatt, Austria

As my excitement builds for our upcoming trip to a cabin on Lake Superior another stay on a beautiful lake in Hallstatt, Austria comes to mind.

Hallstatt is a small town but big on character! It is one of those beautiful, picturesque, mountain villages on an inland lake, and we stayed at a B&B overlooking the water.

Bräu Gasthof is the name of the B&B  where we stayed in Hallstatt. It is a quaint, 15^th century building (that’s 700 years old!) that used to be a brewery back in the day.

The arched door, low ceilings, spiral staircase (no elevator) and squeaky floors all added to the uniqueness of this B&B. Our rooms were next door to our friends and we had adjoining balconies overlooking the lake (complete with swans). The views were fantastic.

Our first day we took a boat ride and toured the beautiful mountain lake.

The next day we took a funicular up the mountain, continued up a glass elevator to the skywalk that led to an old building perched about 1,200 feet above the town. Many years ago this building was a defensive tower built in the 13th century to protect the salt mine which is behind it, in the mountain.

Today the old defense tower serves as a restaurant and is adjacent to a cantilevered viewing platform, which juts out 40 feet to provide spectacular views of Hallstatt, the lake, and the surrounding mountains.  This area is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage site.

Hallstatt claims it has the oldest known salt mine in the world. Objects found in the mine have been dated to 5,000 BC  and a wooden staircase was discovered in 2003 which has been dated to 1,400 BC.  To this day it is still an active mine producing over one million tons of salt per year, mostly used for road and industrial applications.

Our wonderful B&B, Bräu Gasthof, also operated a restaurant right on the water outside its doors and we enjoyed a long, leisurely dinner there one evening.

Our table was along the water’s edge and next to an old boathouse used for storage. As we were visiting, an older woman walked out of the boathouse and started talking to us, asking us about our trip and where we were from, where we were going next.

Her name was Verena and she was the previous manager of the B&B…it was her grandfather who started the B&B. She managed it for years and now her daughter (also named Verena) manages it. She talked about the town of Hallstatt and the days when she was in charge of the B&B. It sounded like she enjoyed her work and did some musical entertaining too. We noticed old pictures in the menu of what looked like to be her younger self.  She told us she lives on the 3^rd floor in the B&B. She walks up the spiral staircase several times a day. She said she chose 3rd floor for her apartment because there are a few more minutes of sunlight each day at the higher level.

As she talked I wondered what it would be like to live in this small, remote, tourist town for a whole lifetime. Verena seemed content. I also kept thinking, as we conversed with this local woman, talking to locals when traveling always adds richness to the experience. It was a delightful visit.

Another fun tidbit about the Bräu Gasthof was their check-in system.

A young woman was there to help us check-in the day we arrived, but if no one is available there is a sign telling guests to find their key, find their room and breakfast is at 8! The guest names, room numbers and keys were hanging on a chalkboard near the desk.

Some people visit the town for a couple hours or one day…we felt luxurious staying two days and two nights enjoying the spectacular scenery and ideal weather in this wonderful place called Hallstatt.