We kick off our honeymoon road trip with a visit to Hallstatt.
Austria is not the most obvious choice for a honeymoon. The country is probably best known for gifting the universe with wiener schnitzel and Arnold Schwarzenegger — not exactly a combo primed to stoke the passion of a newly married couple. Still, with our wedding taking place in Berlin a mere 8 days before I was scheduled to be back at work in Hong Kong, time was of the essence. There simply was no time to fly off to somewhere far-flung and exotic like Madagascar or Mauritius, no time for long haul flights with two changes and long layovers. So when Liebling, who is a fanatic for road trips, suggested we drive from Germany to Austria to celebrate our marriage, I agreed, happy to do a simple, uncomplicated trip to decompress after a hectic and harried summer.
To be honest, though, the idea of going back to Austria did not excite me. On my two previous visits, I found the country very pretty, but fairly un-exciting. In my mind, Austria was nice, tidy, and safe, but lacked “wow factor”. Add to this my propensity for motion sickness on long drives, and my lack of enthusiasm grew.
By the time we jumped into our chariot and started driving southward, disappointment had set in. Heavy rain and thunderstorms were forecasted for four of the five days we would be in the Salzkammergut region of Austria; I envisioned long days of Liebling and I sitting in cafes eating kuchen and playing Uno as the heavens let loose. I tried to check my privilege (I mean, it’s a blessing to have the opportunity to travel at all) but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being cheated somehow.
And then we got to Hallstatt.
All feelings of injustice melted away. The sun was bright, the air was crisp, and the sky was clear… and I was forced to eat my words about Austria lacking “wow factor”.
Hallstatt, beautiful Hallstatt, is a terribly touristy town that is so tiny that it can be traversed by foot in about fifteen minutes. Situated on a lake of the same name, there is not much to it other than restaurants, a sprinkling of souvenir shops, and the rows of painstakingly maintained gingerbread-looking buildings that house them. A church and what is said to be the world’s first known salt mine hold court in the jagged hillside above the town centre, but that’s about it.
But nobody really comes here to eat, shop, or poke around an abandoned salt mine. The real gem is the views, which can be gleaned by taking a tour with a paddleboat or going up to the viewing platform near the mine.
Was that a sigh of pleasure I heard escape from your lips? You are not alone. Hallstatt is so perfect, the Chinese built a full-scale replica of it in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. While this sort of fanaticism is creepy (I mean, who clones a city?!), it is almost understandable, given the delectable nature of the real thing!
47 Comments
The combination of schnitzel and Schwarzenegger would stroke MY passion.
Haha! I’m glad 😉
Oooo, Hallstatt looks gorgeous!!
Isn’t it though?!
Looking good, girl!
The view’s so stunning, it could melt anyone’s heart in a heartbeat. It’s a real treasure. 🙂
Agree!
Just watched the final episode of Band of Brothers and could not help but notice that I am sure that they shot some scenes there. Very pretty, looks like it is worth a visit.
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