Hallstatt

Hallstatt in Austria is a village that features on lists such as “Europe’s most beautiful villages”, and it’s not difficult to see why. Nestled within the Austrian Alps near Salzburg, Hallstatt has all the ingredients of a picture postcard village: it is small, with only around 1000 permanent inhabitants; it it located on the border of a lake; it is surrounded by hills in every direction; it has a small-town atmosphere, where everyone seems to know each other.

While travelling in Austria, we decided to visit Hallstatt on the way from Vienna to Salzburg. It turned out to be a wonderful decision, as the day was spent very well. Setting out from Vienna in the morning, we first stopped at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Melk Abbey. The huge monastery in the tiny village of Melk is one of Austria’s architectural jewels. After that we headed for Hallstatt, but inevitably got lost in the mountainous roads. We stumbled upon some very picturesque spots: beautiful secluded lakes with crystal-clear water with mountains rising in the backdrop. In the afternoon we arrived in Hallstatt. With almost no urban influence, the town retains much of its charm and quiet. Wandering the paths along the lake and exploring the colourfully decorated houses took up the next few hours of our time. In the evening we departed from Hallstatt and headed to Salzburg, but not before taking one last spectacular photograph of the parking lot where our car was parked! See photographs from the day below.

(Entered in the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenges: “Story“, ”
Ambience“, “Today Was a Good Day“)