We awoke to 34 degrees Fahrenheit and looked down from our hotel room balcony on a clear glassy blue lake whose shores licked the base of tall mountain peaks. Swans swam the shores. We got back under our warm down duvets and snoozed again. Eating a late breakfast, we determined to spend the day leisurely in Hallstatt and not slide down the shoots into the world’s oldest salt mine, or take the cable car up to see the peaks of the Tyrol and a mountain glacier or visit the skull cemetery, but rather just soak in the beauty of the town on the cliffs by the lake. And soak it up we did. God willing, we can return for the other activities another time.

Wayne and Kathy view the enchanting village of Hallstatt, Austria, from a hilltop overlooking the Lutheran church that ministers to the community in Word and deed.

I discovered Hallstatt by searching the internet about Europe’s prettiest villages or Top 10 things to see in Europe or Austria and such, and the name Hallstatt, Austria, appeared often. So onto the itinerary it went. We soon knew why so many love the city and the surrounding lake and mountains. While the main street is relatively flat as it runs along the lake, the village reaches up the cliffs for businesses and homes. Stone or wooden staircases cling to rock cliffs or tunnel into the rock for upward mobility. Homes and shops are built on solid rock foundations, and boulders protrude through some. The buildings and homes have thick wooden shingles and are painted in pastels. Gardens are planted wherever possible and flower boxes with flowers blooming profusely adorn almost every building. Thick green moss clings to walkways and railings and roof shingles. The “white gold” salt made the region wealthy, and while the mines are no longer major producers, salt in one form or another is found in most shops. Two beautiful churches adorn the city’s skyline, one Lutheran/Protestant and the other Roman Catholic. A waterfall drops into the mid- point of the city, and the lake and mountains are always in view. We walked the narrow lanes and dropped into shops that caught our attention. We watched a wood craftsman at work on his lathe. Later in the day, we dined in a lakeside restaurant under a huge tree whose leaves were now turning yellow as the fall approaches–lake fish soup and cheese dumpling soup, beef goulash with spaetzle and roast breast of duck with red cabbage and cranberries and, of course, the local beer. As usual, mine was weis (blond or light colored) and Kathy’s dunkel (dark). As they say, opposites attract.

As the evening approached we headed back to our hotel, relaxed and refreshed on a day when the sun shone brightly and the temperature was a mild 64F. WEG – Monday, September 21, 2015

A Hallstatt, Austria, scene with the Catholic church on the left and the Lutheran church on the right

The serene outdoor setting in which Wayne and Kathy lunched while spending the day in Hallstatt, Austria

A pear tree laden with fruit is pruned to grow functionally and attractively up the wall of a home in Hallstatt, Austria.