Halstatt, Austria

Playing catch-up!

We stopped in Halstatt, Austria, on our way from Germany to Hungary. Halstatt (on Lake Halstatt!) is an ancient town clustered up on the hillside. Here's a picture:
Halstatt has been a salt mining place for three thousand years. There was a huge archaeological discovery here at the end of the 20th century when the graves of hundreds of ancient salt miners and their families were found. The discovery is known as the Halsattt Culture and is a significant part of the understanding of European development.

Larry is into everything about mining these days with his Holden position as Mine Curator, and we were impressed with the museum which was updated about a year and a half ago. (If you read the current Rick Steves' piece on this, ignore the comments about the museum - the book needs updating!)

We had a fun room in a 400 year-old hotel. We kept thinking the hot water wasn't working, and when we inquired they said, "It's a 400 year-old building. The water has to go up to the roof and then come down again. Just let it run." So we set aside our water-conservation instincts and we did finally get lovely hot water.

Our second night we ate at a restaurant famous for its lake fish. We were about the only people there (traveling in what they call the "shoulder season is good!) and the server recommended we share a whole fish. It was grilled and excellent, expertly filleted for us table-side.

Here's a picture of Halstatt from the balcony of our room, looking across the square. The ivy-covered building in the far corner is where we had dinner. You can see a waterfall and stream coming right down the hill. Up above is the valley where the graves were found and where the mines are.
Salt mining is still happening here. If you come in the regular season (starts Easter weekend this year) you can take a tour down into the mine.