Villages may not be your thing until you have strolled along the lanes of Alpine villages. Yes, tiny settlements with mountains in the backdrop; that get covered with snow in the winter months. Wooden houses with sloping roofs (rain and snow duh!) with window baskets that are bursting with the brightest coloured blooms. I mean, the  villages are straight out of the English story books that we have read throughout our childhood!

These areas in Upper Austria or Salzkammergut are known for their salt mines. The mines in Hallstat are the oldest in Europe, about 7000 years old. Yes! Unbelievable right? You need tickets to visit the mines (everything in Europe is chargeable). The Hallstatarsee or the lake has swans in it. And the iconic church (that is present in every picture of Hallstat) can be seen from almost everywhere.

We decided to walk along the bylanes into the town. The population is less than 1000, and I am positive that the number of visitors anyday outnumber the permanent residents. Yes it remains that crowded!

We saw pear trees full of pears, roses bursting with their blooms and every species of flowers were brighter than usual. Thankfully the sun shone bright and the chilly breeze from the lake were a respite.

There are many ways to reach Hallstat. We drove from Gmunden and it was a short one. Most people come directly from Vienna. You can boat on the lake and savour on the munchies on the innumerable cute cafes there. We settled for a gelato as we were already full from the breakfast.

If you have the whole day, don't forget to take the Skywalk. You can view the Alps and lake from 1000 feet above! The market square is a car free zone and you have to park your car before entering the village.

Even if you don't do anything listed above, just walking by the pretty houses on the winding streets will make your fairy tale dreams come true!

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023