Storybook Land

I returned last week from a fairy tale book my family vacation in Salzburg, and am still blown away (not just because of the warm gusts blowing through the trees out my window).  I was lucky enough to visit this part of Austria in January, when the ground was covered with the snowflakes that were constantly floating downwards.  But to see it now, fresh green grass everywhere and bright blue skies...wow.

View from our flat at the beginning of January and the end of May

We stayed at the grandparents' holiday flat again in St. Gilgen.  We arrived just before noon, and wasted no time.  A stroll through the village to eat Wiener Schnitzel on the waterfront was our first order of business.  We drove around to the other side of the lake to eat some Salzburger Nockerl for dessert and take in some incredible views.

We spent out second day exploring Salzburg by foot.  Instead of using words, I'll give you some more visuals:

Mozart's Birthplace

The German Alps in the distance

It was a very active holiday.  We climbed and climbed and climbed.  It was stairs in Salzburg, and the next day, it was the Zwölferhorn.  The views were absolutely phenomenal.  Here are a few glimpses:

We saw a bunch of paragliders all around.  I WILL do this someday.

The Wolfgangsee

We even got to see this one taking off!

We weren't expecting to go through snow...

Where we sat and ate our lunch

The top!

With Elena 

Italian Alps behind me

A couple years ago, my cousins went to a little Austrian village called Hallstatt.  They showed us their pictures and I was astounded at the beauty.  I thought it would be exciting to visit, but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to go.  You know, if I were going to go to Austria, I'd go stay in Salzburg or Vienna or Graz or Linz...one of the cities where there is lots to see.  But then I moved here.  Lucky, huh?  

Hallstatt is an old salt mining village.  When I say old, I mean like 7,000 years old.  There is an abundance of salt in this region, meaning a lot of wealth.   Walking down the main street, you can buy salt in almost any form.  You can also tour the world's first known salt mine.  

It's tiny, tiny, tiny.  The last census says that less than 1,000 people live there, and you can walk from one end of the village to the other in 10 minutes.  It's been pretty secluded--until about 120 years ago, the only way to get there was by foot or by boat.  Now there is a road and train tracks, though if you come by train, you have to take a ferry across the lake from the station to the village...a village that is virtually unchanged, as it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Now I'll share some pictures, but they don't do it justice.  This place is unreal.  It was so perfect that I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't at Epcot Center in Disneyworld.  It wasn't built for tourists--it was built for function, but the beauty of the architecture and nature brought the tourists anyway.

Oh, this little thing?  This is the MAIN street.

It was a long, windy ride home, but we made it, and the experience was so worth it.  

Grace and peace,

Hilary