Driving around the Austrian Alps was a wonderful experience. The air was very refreshing and the ever changing dramatic landscapes did not let our attention divert. The loud streams of water that we crossed as often as every 2-3 minutes flowed into vast lakes amid tall mountains. On the banks of such lakes layed tiny villages with natural beauty that can never be experienced in words. One such village was Hallstatt on lake Hallstattersee. This place was recommended by Anna & Franz, Austrians we met in Athens last week.
Our hotel was in a village called Obertraun, on the same lake but on the other side overlooking Hallstat. The picture below was the view from our hotel room. If you zoom in, Hallstat is in the centre of the picture.
Hallstat is an old town with some history. The first salt mine in Europe was located here. Supposedly salt was more expensive than gold in those days.
A pretty town with lots of narrow path ways, views from every corner and fresh water streams flowing like drainage. If we could, we would love to rename this village as "Heavenstatt". Anyways, we still called it so!!
A visit to the village church revealed a very intersting story. Since the village cemetery was very small, until the 1890's, the graves were dug out 15 years after burial. The bones were then treated stored in the church to save space for burial. Often, the skulls were painted for display of affection by family.
Another such village was Saint Wolfgang on lake Wolfgangsee. This village had more history. There was a church that dated back a few hundred years. Sorry, but we did not have time for history and so we just enjoyed the natual beauty of the town and moved on.
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