Hallstatt

Someone along our travels told us Hallstatt was the prettiest place they visited and we would have to agree. A tiny village in Austria perched on the edge of a lake with mountains all around. The village itself is small, with many wooden buildings and all beautifully decorated and covered in colourful window boxes. Real postcard stuff.

On our first day here we went up the mountain by furnicular railway to the oldest salt mine in the world. The tour lastest about an hour, was very interesting and broke every safety rule ever written in Australia! We had to wear special suits that they provide, and we started by walking 350 meters down a tunnel into the mountain. Inside, we got to slide down the miners' slides between levels, and at the end they brought us out on the miners' train. Most enjoyable.
There is also a trip to an ice cave but since that requires at least 2 trips in a cable car we are giving it a miss. Stephen is keen to do most things but cable cars are definitely not his favourite. After the salt mine we walked down the mountain while everyone else travelled down in style! Took us 40 minutes with knees like jelly at the end.