Hallstatt -- A Hidden Gem

As part of the World Heritage Tour set up by IES Abroad Vienna, we spent half a day in Hallstatt. Although the trip was very brief, it was one of my favorite segments of the whole five-day tour. First of all, even the drive to Hallstatt is incredible. We passed through miles and miles of Austrian countryside, which was incredibly comforting to me after spending so long without leaving the city. It was also really foggy that morning, which made the hills and homes look quite eerie and even more beautiful. We were afraid that the fog would take away from the fun of our boat cruise on the Hallstätter See, but luckily the fog started lifting as we arrived and was gone just in time for us to catch some breathtaking sights. The surrounding mountains and the lake were some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in person; it was almost unbearably cold, but completely worth it for such an experience. I want to go back to Hallstatt in the Spring to see what it all looks like when everything is green, but the winter scene itself was so special. 

After the boat cruise, we had lunch in Hallstatt. Our lunch was a full fish, head and all... Not my favorite, but definitely an interesting experience that I would not personally have tried otherwise. Post-lunch, we had some time to roam around Hallstatt which I extremely enjoyed. Hallstatt looks like something out of a fairy tale, and although it's an extremely small town, I wish I had had more time there because it felt like every street corner and little shop had its own character. We heard that there was a hiking trail with an amazing overlook at the top, but when we got to it, it was too snowy to go too far up. So instead, we just climbed as far up as the stairs went, and that in itself was incredible. The path of the stairs was wound into the walkways of residential homes, each of which was unique and beautiful. It seemed as if this small piece of civilization was just separate from the rest of the world (well, except for the fact that there were tourists around every corner).