Hallstatt, Salty but Good!!!

There are only two types of people in this world. One is the who who used to visit Hallstatt and another is never. I used to be the latter group and never thought of visiting too due to limited budget and days off. I usually only visit Japan, South Korea, and Asian countries.

But this year (actually it was since last year), I think big and determine to save more money and visit new destinations.

Czech Republic was one of the countries that pops up in my head because many movies were shot here. The landscape is also beautiful and the weather is nice. Then, I try to think of how many cities I know in Czech....I realize that I only know Prague which won't be enough for this trip. So then I search more to find a city in the embrace of mountain which has lake and stories....that city is called Hallstatt.

From whom never went or knew about Hallstatt, now I started to want to visit this city and get to know about it. From there on, my eyes were kept at photos, stories and tour packages of Hallstatt more and more. Oh well, nothing compares to the reality. Even though the photos are already very beautiful, the actual scene is much more.

Hallstatt welcomes us with cool weather after raining. The clouds are over the mountain and the weather is great for wandering and sightseeing the city. I know the best season to visit Hallstatt. I think the most beautiful time won't exist because every season has its own beauty depending on personal preference. For me, Hallstatt at this moment is the most beautiful one.

After the rain, leaves and grass turn into several shade of green. The background of Hallstatt Square is like the stage for the greenness competition to see who has the greenest color.

Houses in this city is so sweet. We have to stop, stop, and stop because every house has such a cute color. I think if this house stands alone, it'd be cute too but not to this degree where lots of cute color houses are gathered. I don't know if it's because of atmosphere, houses color, or the landscape of this city, but we can't stop taking photos.

In addition to this attractive colored houses, there are also lots of souvenir shops, restaurants, and cute postcard shops. The one that could draw the most attention from us is this shop which we can't pronounce its name. We stand there to watch they work for sometimes. They are making toy doll and things from wood.

It is so artistic!!! Ok, now, let's go to the Salt Mine. We walk back to the parking lot where we could take the small alley near the super market up. But before going up, please find something to eat as you would spend lots of energy up there, trust me!

Like I mentioned earlier that Hallstatt comes with stories. Apart from the so attractive city view, there's this Salt Mine on top of the mountain. That's right, it's on that mountain, the far away yellow building which is on top of the mountain.

The story that I heard from traveling to this Salt Mine is that "Hallstatt is a small town located on the north of Austria. In the past, it was the sea but over time when the crust was moved, this sea was buried underneath the earth. 3,000 years ago, local people built hand made stairs in order to dig this salt underground which was such a value thing for this mountain and a place that was so far from the sea."

This was a brief story about the Salt Mine at Hallstatt. But I really want you guys to visit this place because the amazing narrative from the tour guide which is difficult to find in Thailand. We enjoy so much that we didn't feel like we have been here for 3 hours already for above story. And what must not miss is how miner travel here which is so unique and you guys can experience when visiting the museum. It will also explain why we have to change into this outfit before visiting the Salt Mine!

You can do as you please when you are abroad since no one will know you!!!! haha.

Here is our tour guide who takes us back to 3,000 years ago where this place was a Salt Mine.... He said he's good looking but his narrative style is much better, haha.

What we found from visiting this museum gives us some reflection on what we have in Thailand. Do you know that the above story was up due to it used to be a Salt Mine. The story line was ok as the Salt Mine on this mountain was found in the middle of a country where it has no sea boundary. It is interesting but not like wow...And the discovery of the hand made stairs by human over 3,000 years ago was only a few meters long and in incomplete condition (you can imagine that it was just wooden stairs digging into the soil where we can still find in our walking trail in the Thai forest). I think Thailand would have just ended this story there....

Do you know that from the initial discovery above, they started to dig deeper and study harder to see the purpose of these stairs, how it was built, by who, and what for. From there, the big story was created and led to this interesting and money making destination which gives this small city a handsome income.

I want Thailand to make an interesting story line and present it with local values and make it a worth visit trip instead of presenting it with extraordinary big board, light, and sound (which is just a one time presentation),or presenting it as a market (where people come for food and shopping) at different tourist attractions where people just come for taking photos, sharing, and tasting....I will try to take you to a good story tourist attraction in my next review.

For more information on the entrance fee and opening time, please refer to: https://www.salzwelten.at/en/hallstatt/saltmine/

On the way back from this Salt Mine, we stop for a panoramic view of Hallstatt too.