Hallstatt, over 7,000 years old

Hallstatt, Austria

The optional outing for yesterday was a day trip to Hallstatt, Austria (pronounced Hall-Schtatt).  It's a very small town, build on the side of a hill along a lake.  We took a train, then a ferry to get there.  You are not able to get there by car.  I enjoyed the train ride thoroughly.  The trains are so clean and you have a chance to either read or talk to others without distraction.  We left at 8:30am from Schladming and arrived about 10:30am.  When we got off the train, the town was visible just across the lake and surrounded by magnificant mountains and the view of the town was just breath-taking.  We took the 3 minute ferry ride, and arrived in this quaint little town with a traditional church with a steepel, some small shops, cafes and walking trails up the mountain.  We walked around a small square and and browsed some shops, including shops that make soap, salts, pottery, and wooden items.  And most everything was hand-made by people in the town or in nearby towns of Austria.  Dani and I stopped by a cafe and had a cookie and sat at a table outside the shop.  We continued on and sat along the lake looking at the town and just relaxing.  The town just had a very slow pace and even though it was Saturday, it was not as busy as you would think. 

A few of us took a Gondala ride up the mountain and walked down.  Of course, there were sheep at the top of the hill and this made me smile.  We walked around at the top of the mountain and took in the view, trying to take pictures of the mountains and town below, but it just didn't do it justice.  We stopped briefly at the restaurant at the top and then walked down the mountain, stopping to see a waterfall along the way and to just sit and enjoy the forest.  At the bottom of the hill, we parted ways and I took a leisurely walk through the town eating an ice cream cone as I strolled, Dani read by the lake and a few others visited an old church.  It was the perfect little town, because there was not too much to do and you felt more inclined to take in the scenery and enjoy a slower day.  I found several little treasures there and think very fondly of this town. 

On the way back, we had a few train connections, and just seemed to all enjoy each others' company.  I had a chance to practice some of my German on one of the Germans and caught up on some reading on the way back.  I read in the book Traveling Light by Eugene H. Peterson and this just jumped out at me: "You were called to freedom, brethren, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another" (Paul, the apostle).  What a great reminder.