Day 10 – Bad Ischl, Lakes and a salt mine

600 years old and still a family home

One of the views from our window

It was a glorious day for our last day in Bad Ischl. Our host, Gabriele, was a delightful woman who was a perfect host. The breakfast she provided was sufficient to last for the day and we joined two other couples who were also staying there. The house we stayed in was around 600 years old and her family had been occupying it for the last 200 years. Apparently yet another generation was interested in doing so. It was a charming place, that was clearly built for the weather. Small windows and thick walls, also with double glazing. The temperature inside didn’t seem to change from day to night. No wonder Europeans freeze during winter in New Zealand.

Gabriele also provided some ideas for our day out. First stop was to a lake called Altausee which she said was quintessentially Austrian. It was reached by climbing over a pass from which you could almost imagine the organisers of the Tour de France slobbering over. During the winter, the hills/mountains behind are a skiing and mountain sport destination. It was very quiet when we visited. One of the differences to the NZ lakes is the colour of the water. Whereas the best of the NZ lakes tend to be crystal clear and blue these are of a greener hue.

Our next destination was Hallstattersee on which the charming and village of Hallstatt occupies a thin sliver of land between the steep sides of the mountain and the lake. It was clearly a tourist destination with lots of tour groups of either Japanese or Chinese tourists. I would hate to be there in the peak season as it must be wall to wall with people.

Bev’s sister insisted we go to Hallstatt having thoroughly enjoyed a previous trip there and to include a visit the salt mine. The salt mine was reached by going up a funicular about 1000 feet above the village. Then it was another 300 vertical feet to reach the salt mine entrance. Prior to our entry we all had to change into overalls to help keep warm in the 8 degree temperatures we were about to experience inside the mine. We were a comical looking lot in our "work clothes". We had a great guide who interpreted all the instructions and information, first into English and then into German.

Salt has been mined from this area since prehistoric times using antlers to hack away at the rock which contained high quantities of salt. There is a lot of information about the mining from the Iron age onwards.

It was an interesting walk through the mine and we went down about three levels. One of the neat experiences was sitting on a slide and going at reasonable speed down polished wood with strict instructions to keep legs straight and hands off the sides to avoid getting a skin burn. Bev was not so sure she liked that particular part of the experience but some of the others obviously did, given the enthusiasm and screams of delight we heard.

It was quite late by the time we got back to Bad Ischl where we rested a bit before walking into town to have a meal at another restaurant that had been recommended. It was not the fine food of the previous night - more like pub food, but very different to what we have in NZ pubs. Vegetables are a rare sight at times so I combined a salad and sausages. The sausages were huge and I could not eat it all.

It was a very full day and I was ready for sleep when we got back to our accommodation.