Hallstatt, Austria

I’ve been neglecting the updates the last few days as we’ve been traveling, but am attempting to catch up. To be honest, we thought we had our jet lag under control in Iceland until we chose to chase the Aurora all night. It’s been a lot of really “off” sleeping patterns and exhaustion, ever since. Note to self… do NOT disrupt your regimented sleeping patterns when just coming off a jet lag. Your body will be so confused. I think we are getting it back under control now!

Austria… how can I write about a place that is too beautiful for words. Just when I thought Iceland was as stunning as it gets, here comes Austria with her snow capped Alpine mountains, charming 200 yr old villages and glittering lakes. You’ve never seen mountains until you’ve seen the Alps. They’re everything you can imagine, multiplied by 100. Truly breathtaking. As we left Germany via the autobahn yesterday, and arrived into Austria, it was almost like instantly stepping back in time and into a postcard. I’ve never heard my husband so excited over anything as he was the Austrian vistas. It was one perfect little town after another, until we arrived at the ULTIMATE perfect little town – Hallstatt.

Completely surrounded by Alps and set on a lake, you have to park several levels above the village and any angst you have over the thought of ALL THOSE STEPS down there (with your luggage) are instantly lifted when you step out of the car and there’s a waterfall crashing down behind you and rushing into Hallstatt. Oh, and of course, the view. Lake. Alps. Stars for days. Forget the luggage. We abandoned most of our bags in the car and just grabbed a couple essentials. Trust me, you would’ve done the same. There are a lot of steps, people!

Every step into Hallstatt is unbelievably perfect. Just when you think you’ve seen the most adorable cobbled street, or fern covered walls, you stumble into a courtyard with enough Christmas elegance to charm the red pants off ole Saint Nicholas. Our hotel is three stories and contains no elevators – which means we have very little guilt over eating so much Apfelstrudel. Our view could not be more stunning. But, you be the judge…

This is such a sleepy little village. The good people of Hallstatt don’t open their shops until around 10am, and most close between 4-6pm. So if you’re eating or shopping in Hallstatt, better do it midday. There are some touristy shops where the goods look like they come from the Far East, and then there’s shops that sell wares that actually look like they originate in Austria. For example, the salt and herbs, handmade wooden items and some wool. Never fear, good family back home, gifts are coming your way.

Our hotel seems to have one of the only restaurants open past 6pm, so it tends to be a hot spot. And rightly so, the food is traditional Austrian fare and has been delicious! You definitely need a somewhat adventurous palette though. We’ve had a deeply comforting beet soup, onion soup, wienerschnitzel, char, spaetzle and venison. When in Austria, eh?