There is an old saying " Never waste a weekend during an onsite trip". So, I was in Sindelfingen, Germany on my two week business trip from Bangalore. Staying true to my above saying me and my friend decided to head to Austria for the weekend. Nothing was planned basically, all I knew after a google search was Hallstat was the most photographed place in Austria.
The skeleton of the plan was we take a local S-Bahn from Sindelfingen to Stuttgart airport from where we had booked a Flixbus to Salzburg ( both ways). So we boarded the flix bus around 3am on a cold saturday early morning from Stuttgart and settled in to get a nice sleep.
We arrived in Salzburg main train station around 8 am and headed to the information desk to figure out how to get to Hallstat. We had booked a beautiful wooden house through Airbnb in Weißenbach, so we had to figure out how to get there too.
The info which we received is as below:
Around 2hr bus ride from Salzburg train station to Bad Ischl. A 15 min train ride from Bad Ischl to Hallstat.
We took all the tickets and went for the bus station which was right next to the train station.
Now, this is a bus ride where in you cannot afford to fall asleep. As seen above you will be treated with gorgeous views of the mountain valley, small country side settlements and so on.
After 2 hrs we got down at Bad ischl. This is a small little town with very little people. While you wait for the train to arrive (frequency is 30-45 min) a little stroll by the train station is a soothing sight.
Once you board the train again you will be treated with even more gorgeous views. So, keep an eye for that out of the train window.
After 2 bus rides and a train ride we finally arrived at Hallstat. A quick ferry across the lake gets you to the other side. The main attractions in Hallstat is to take long walks in the beautiful narrow streets, soak in the breathtaking views and relax. We took the train (similar to cable car but with rails) to the top of the hill to enjoy the view. The local burger shop makes some delicious burgers(yes, veg available). Below and some of the pictures.
After spending around 4 hrs walking down the streets it was time to take the last ferry and the last train back to Bad Ischl (enquire about the last train timings before hand).
Once again we had a quick stroll at Bad Ischl before we boarded the bus to Weißenbach, our place for the night.
We reached Weißenbach and to our luck the host, Anita was right at the bus stop. We quickly came to know that she the right person and she escorted us to her place. I must mention that she is a very warm lady who has a beautiful old wooden house. Here is the link if anyone is interested to stay at the place. Its an affordable and clean place.
https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/6837498?location=Hallstatt%2C%20Austria&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&s=EiOfHfaY
The next morning we woke up early and had plans to head to wolfgangsee to ride the cable car at "Zwölferhorn Mountain Cable Car". A short bus ride was the means of transport.
Personally this cable car ride and time spent at the top of the hill is the highlight of the trip. The pictures speak for themselves. The cost is around 25 euros per head but its well worth the price.
After getting down and having a quick lunch we headed back to Salzburg.
Now, our bus back to Stuttgart was at 7 pm, so we had around 4 hrs to spend in Salzburg. We decided not to spend anymore money and took long walks at the below locations.
So that was my trip to Hallstat and Austria. Hope you enjoyed it. Looking forward to honest feedback in the comments section.
