The morning of the 24th of May we packed up the car and drove to the iconic village of Hallstatt, which is nestled in the Austrian Alps. Turah was very excited to see the Alps for the first time. However we did have a little hiccup at first. We got stuck in a traffic jam about an hour out from Graz and had to turn around and reroute ourselves. It added about an hour to the trip, but in the end it was a much prettier drive through the winding country roads.
The village of Hallstatt lies along the Hallstättersee, a crisp Alpine lake. The town with its traditional colorful homes is built into the mountainside. We found a place to park and walked along the main street that hugs the lake. It was lunchtime when we arrived and we found a lovely little local restaurant with views of the lake from our table.
The refreshing lunch gave us the energy to walk around town and up and down the various charming back alleys that meander their way through the mountainside. There was a beautiful waterfall, which turned into a gracefully cascading stream winding it’s way through the mountainside homes. From an overlook on the side of the mountain we were just meters above the rooftops of Hallstatt and could see the Church spire, homes, and the stunning mountain and lake vistas!
Before ascending up through the village, Turah, Liam, and Seamus took a 30-minute paddleboat ride out on the lake. The classic swan shaped boat was easy to pedal and the three of them enjoyed spending time together in the center of the lake. Faywen is a bit afraid of boats so she, Dad, and I went exploring the local shops and the Marktplatz in the center of the village.
The swans were about 4 meters from the lakeshore. I took this photo with my zoom in order not to disturb the nest.
It was a beautiful spring day to explore Hallstatt. After spending the entire afternoon there we drove once again through the Austrian countryside into Germany. We decided to satay in a small hotel/guesthouse in Anger, Germany just over the border from Salzburg. The kids had a good-sized apartment and patio. Robert and I had our own little apartment with a balcony. The views from both rooms were spectacular!
The kids had the entire patio to themselves!
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