Travelling with Stabilo #2: Destination - Hallstatt, Day 2
Check out the previous part of my travel story here
Morning came quickly as I had a sound sleep. When I woke, the sky was still overcasted but at least it wasn’t raining. I made myself a nice breakfast of sausage and egg with instant noodle (instant noodle is damn expensive in Austria). I also almost choked on a mouthful of grounded coffee as I mistaken it for instant coffee. When I got out of the apartment the sun was still hiding behind the clouds, and the town was shrouded in low clouds. A cat followed me wanting a pat. How could I refuse.
The funicular was not going to start until 9 am. So I strolled to the lakeside to take in the beautiful scenery. It was quiet, misty, and extremely tranquil. I sat on a bench and basked under the morning sun, and watched ducks and swans swam by. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bus load of tourist was dumped in front of me, followed by frenzied snapping and clicking with each person wanting a shot with the beautiful backdrop. Oh well, it was almost 9 am anyway, so I headed my way towards the funicular station.
With funiculars, you would want to be either the first in or the last in, so you can actually get a good view from the window rather than stuck squashed standing in the middle. I was lucky to be the second person in-line for the very first funicular ride of the day. The funicular took us up 825m to the start of the Salzburg Trail. This is also where Rudolfsturm, a medieval defence tower turned salt mine manager quarters, is located. Rudolfsturm is now a restaurant, serving delicious food amid the amazing scenery offered by Lake Hallstatt. Just outside Rodolfsturn was the Hallstatt skywalk, which offer a vintage point for the whole of Hallstattsee region. In the early morning, the visibility was quite low, but it was still breathtaking.
I continued on the Salzburg trail, breathing in the fresh mountain air. The Salzburg track trail past the Salzwelten, the Hallstatt historical salt mine, which is the oldest salt mine in Europe, dating back 6 BC. It is also a major tourist attraction in Hallstatt. However, I skipped straight past the entrance and head instead to the abandoned building next door which was covered with moss and other plants growing wildly. I was more interested in the scenery and nature than the tourist park that the salt mine has now become.
I soon found that the trail was harder than I thought, as most of the time it was steeply uphill. Within 15 minutes I was huffing and puffing and realised to my horror that I forgot to bring water. But I marched on. There were still houses sparsely spaced along the trail. I wasn’t sure whether people still live in them. A little bit higher up, I came across a hut. There was fresh flowing alpine water at the hut which I gladly drank. I looked back at the beautiful scenery as the sky started to clear up. I wasn’t that high up really, even though I felt like I have already walked for hours. Mt Plassen towered in front of me. There was no way that I could go all the way up that mountain, even though the signs said 2 hours is enough to cover the grounds. I decided to just go for a little bit more, and then head back down. Up the mountain tracks, there were a lot of small wooden house which I initially thought were huts. It turns out that they were pump houses.
I walked a bit further until I was at a cross road. It was clearly a sign that I shouldn’t go on. I decided to stop and headed back down to Rudolfsturm for my well-deserved lunch. The sky was all clear now, and the view at the restaurant was amazing. I ordered a ravioli and a coke, and soak in the nice summer sun and the priceless view.
After lunch I followed the Müllerstiege trail starting at the back of Rudolfsturm which lead straight back down to the centre of the town. The mid-day sun changed the vibe of the town. Everything now seems so vibrant and alive. I explored parts of the town that I have not seen before.
There was a cemetery located on the north end of the town up a small hill. The cemetery was lovely with colourful flowers, but there was also a bone house which housed almost 2000 human skulls. Apparently the tradition started in the 1700s when the residents in Hallstatt ran out of room for their deceased families and started storing their bones and skull in the bone house instead. They wrote and painted the bones of these skulls to signify the love to their dead loved ones.
For the rest of the day, I just laid on a sunbathing bench next to the lake and basked in the glorious afternoon sun, taking in the scenery and pondered about life. When one sees scenery like this, one can’t help but think how amazing this world is and how life really is not that bad. With this happy thought, I ended my day with a schnitzel and a cold beer, and headed back to my comfy apartment.
