A Day in Hallstatt

Saturday, September 11th my study abroad program led a one-day excursion to the lakeside town of Hallstatt. The trip was planned to introduce us to the EuroRail. Geographically the small lakeside town is in southwest Austria, nestled within the Austrian Alps. The lake district is full of picturesque views that sadly don’t quite translate to photos as well as I wish. It amazes me how unique every mountain range is – the alps oddly remind me of Mount Crumpit from How the Grinch Stole Christmas – steep, sharp inclines. With staggering mountains, lakeside views, and architecture that stood against the test of time, Hallstatt is the perfect place for a day trip, if not a weekend getaway.

With an early start, we set out at 8 am to walk to the Salzburg Hauptbahnhof. After a brisk 30-minute walk that left me sweaty due to the muggy air – I should’ve layered my clothes more – we entered the station and arrived at our platform. This was my first time on a train and sadly it was nothing like the Hogwarts Express, no trolley witch in sight. We transferred trains in Attnang-Puchneim and arrived at our destination in a little under 3 hours – much more enjoyable than a 3-hour car ride.

Once off the train we immediately boarded a ferry (€2.50 each way) that took us across the Hallstätter See and dropped us off right next to the Lutheran Protestant Church of Christ in Hallstatt. To reach Hallstatt you can either take a ferry because the train station is on the opposite side of the lake, or you can take a bus that goes between Obertraun and Bad Goisern.

The only event planned for our day in Hallstatt was a tour of the notorious salt mines – Salzwelten – from which Hallstatt got its economic prosperity and namesake – it’s also the oldest salt mine in the world supposedly. To reach the mine you can either take a cable car up to the top of the mountain or walk – clearly, we chose to pay for the cable car because I was not mentally or physically prepared to hike the Alps in jeans and Converse. The ride up was very smooth but if you’re scared of heights the trip might be a bit unnerving considering how steep the track is. Once reaching the top of the cable car we realized that we still had a bit of a hike ahead of us to reach the actual mine. Thankfully the gorgeous views made up for the ache in my lungs and the blisters on my feet, but yet again I was left sweating in post-hike exhaustion. The path is paved but it has a general incline.

The mine tour made it all worth it in the end. Upon arrival and entry, a tour group of roughly 40 people were given white and gray coveralls and asked us to leave our belongings in the various lockers provided– they supplied keys that we could wear like a bracelet during the tour. The coveralls emitted strong cult vibes, it felt… strange to say the least. Once briefed in both German and English on the basic protocol we were led back outside to walk up additional stairs – at this point, we were basically at the top of the mountain.

To enter the mine we walked down a straight tunnel, walking between the rails inlaid in the ground. For roughly 6 minutes the walls and ceiling seemed to oscillate between narrow and short to wide and tall. Again this walkway led us straight into the mountain rather than down into the mountain. At the end of the tunnel, we came upon a small room with wooden slides used by former miners to get from one story of the mine to another. The slide ended in a soccer field-sized room excavated using water – soak the salt with water, pump it out, boil the brine, and collect the salt.

The mine was clearly renovated, appearing more modern than previous mines than I have visited despite its long history. Along the tour route, there were various rooms dedicated to showcasing the history of the mine through visual arts such as holographic videos, light shows projected on walls, and plenty of projected English captions to accommodate tourists. We went down a second wooden slide 3 times longer than the first – 64 meters to be precise – where they took our photo like an amusement park. At the bottom, we came upon an underground salt lake with a higher salt concentration than the Dead Sea.

Historically the mine has roots and artifacts dating back to the Neolithic Age - roughly 2800 years of history. Once the tour inside the mine concluded we were extricated by a mine train that did not allow for 6 feet distance between passengers – everyone straddled a long bench and held onto the person in front of them. The 3-minute train ride took us through some very tight quarters that had some of our tallest classmates ducking away from the ceiling. Altogether the tour was an hour and a half.

Once out of the mine we had a little under two hours before we had to catch a ferry back to the train station. I wish I had more time to explore this beautiful town but I think I made the best of my time capturing pictures, eating – and spilling – gelato all over myself (Eis from Heißgetränke I believe), and smelling various soaps at Benediktiner Seifenmanufaktur & Salzkontor. The street vendors sold handmade, local products that were made with incredible care and detail. I wanted to buy a watercolor painting from one of the many shops, but I’d easily get it bent and messed up before the journey home. The lake was filled with plenty of small rowboats, pedal boats shaped like swans, as well as bigger tour boats. Eventually, we returned to the ferry sweaty, covered in melted gelato, and generally exhausted. Once aboard the train, the journey home was easy but sad because the day’s adventure was winding down.

One day I’ll return. Small towns in Europe are often overlooked in favor of places that have received more propaganda through history and culture today but never forget about the small towns when traveling. Those are where you’ll find the richest culture and the purist locals.

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