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To commemorate the Smithsonian Presents Travels with Rick Steves magazine — now on sale online, and at newsstands nationwide — Rick is blogging about the 20 top destinations featured in that issue. One of those destinations is Austria’s Lake Hallstatt.
When I think of my favorite places in Europe (other than the great capitals), they are where both nature and culture mix. While big-time resorts with big-time promotional budgets look good on the Web, in reality they’re more concrete than charm, with jammed parking lots and cookie-cutter hotel rooms. I’ll take the offbeat places, where creaky locals walk gingerly on creaky floorboards, where each balcony has a lovingly watered and one-of-a-kind flowerbox, and where swans know just the right time to paddle by for scraps from diners at lakeside dinner tables.
I like to say that the town of Hallstatt, on the lake of Hallstatt (two hours south of Salzburg, in Austria), is “where locals commune with nature.” It’s rare that a town’s charm will get me out of bed early. But there’s something about the glassy waters of Lake Hallstatt viewed from the high end of town: The church spire is mirrored in the tranquil water, and then the shuttle boat from the train station across the lake cuts through — like a knife putting a swirl in the icing on a big cake.
Back in my rented room (Zimmer in German), my hostess is Frau Zimmermann. For years I stayed in her place mainly because I couldn’t get over the idea that her name meant “Mrs. Room-for-rent-man.” Her breakfast room is where I came up with the descriptor “well-antlered.” That means more than just lots of trophies on the wall. A well-antlered place creaks with tradition, from the homemade marmalade to the down-filled comforters, and from the apron that the hostess wears to the fact that you don’t email your credit card number to make a reservation…you just phone her, agree on a date and price for your room, give her your name, and then show up.
As I dine lakeside in Hallstatt, the swans crane their necks for bits of bread. With a generous basket to parcel out, I feel like I’m running an orphanage. As they stretch greedily, reaching for each bit of crust I loft, I think they do it well enough that if they were cranes, they’d be swaning. Free bread makes the once-graceful swans a flailing gaggle of hungry grubbers.
Traditional green felt hats distinguished by jaunty decorative feathers are big in Austria. On my first trip to Europe, when I was just a teenybopper, my Dad and I each bought one of these characteristic hats and had a friendly competition filling it with souvenir pins and fancy feathers. Now, 40 years later, I happen to be in town during the annual feather-in-the-hat party, and local men are all out with their finest Tirolean-type hats — each with a very proud feather sprouting from the rim. Many men have handlebar moustaches to match. Watching them strut around in their lederhosen worn shiny by a lifetime of such rituals, I consider life before tourism here in what would have been a remote community at the deepest point of a long, dead-end lake.
Facing the lake is the home of a man who fills his house with debris he’s collected from bottom of Lake Hallstatt. Of course, the history here goes back literally millennia. But the most fascinating treasure from the lakebed dates from just 65 years ago. It’s the trove of Nazi paraphernalia he’s gathered, including piles of war medallions. As I try to sort this out, his explanation makes perfect sense: When it became clear that Germany would lose World War II, throughout the Third Reich, anyone who had won any honors would chuck them any way they could. Lakes offered a perfect solution. In a post-Nazi world, who wants trophies honoring their heroic contribution to that regime on their wall or bookshelf?
As the swans grab their bread, as Frau Zimmermann hangs her comforters over view balconies to fluff up and air, and as the men display their hat-capping finery, I gaze out at the lake. I imagine a scene two generations earlier, when once-fierce Nazi heroes, now filled with fright, came to the lakeside under cover of darkness, and hurled their treasured medals — evidence of their complicity with Hitler — into Lake Hallstatt…my vote for the most beautiful lake in Austria.
Two years ago, we took your advice Rick – we visited Hallstatt. We found it to be a magnificent place, with such a tranquility that cannot be described . . . and we enjoyed our time there so much, that we are once again returning this Fall! It was nice to meet you in Cincinnati a few weeks ago – thanks again for all of the great work that you do . . .
It’s a personal viewpoint but kitschy towns like Vernazza and Hallstatt – with all due respect for their pretty geographic settings – can be disappointing. The people who work in these towns are often jaded and service pales compared to less touristed places. I also know from personal experiences that visitors who are known to be part of the media or tourist industry do get extra special treatment which may or may not reflect what the average tourist may receive. Seeking out places not so well publicized or hyped often pays dividends in terms of an enjoyable experience.
I visited Hallstatt June 2006, and while I thought it was just as beautiful as I expected, in no way was it a “Back Door”. Lots of tourists around, including some examples of the dreaded “Loud American”. I’m glad to have seen it, but I doubt I’ll be back, while I could see revisiting Zell-am-See, also with plenty of tourists, but big enough that it doesn’t feel as overwhelmed by them, and with a great waterfall (Krimml) in one direction, and the stunning Grossglockner High Alpine Road the other (pix at http://tinyurl.com/3ah4w42 ).
Hi Rick, love the blog and the show. Just one thing though. While the literal translation of Zimmermann is room person, it really means carpenter. On the travel side, I can’t wait to visit Hallstatt one day. We’re going to Paris, Koblenz, and the Hague this summer, and your show and books have been an enormous help. Keep on traveling.
Hallstatt is a nice place to spend a night or two. Good Blog. Keep on Travelin!
The one problem I see with trying to find a place in Europe that is strickly local with no tourism, is that there is also no services for people traveling. Unless you have friends there some towns don’t have hotels and very little else.
Hi Rick! We’ve attended several of your travel summits in Edmonds and religiously follow your advice – you have never let us down! That includes Hallstatt. What a perfect hamlet. We so enjoyed our time there and remember it and its people fondly. Thank you for opening so many back doors to Europe for us. Through them, you have enriched our lives immensely and enabled us to become better citizens of the world.
Rick- The one point that I would take with your article is that service and medals in the Wehrmacht during WWII translates to ‘complicity with Hitler.’ While there certainly were some/many people who were complicity, the vast majority of Wehrmacht soldiers were young men, not much different from young men everywhere, doing duty for country.
Someone collecting Nazi memorabilia should not be mentioned. It is sick.
One great Austrian city that Rick has historically ignored is Graz, the capital of Styria. This medieval and imperial city, as well as the surrounding green countryside framed by the Southern Alps, has a lot to offer ‘Back Door’ travelers. IMHO, once you have been to Vienna, Salzburg, and Melk (including a Danube cruise through the Wachau), Graz would be number 4 on my list of Austrian ‘must visit’ places. But, if you do go to Hallstatt, and it’s during he late summer, make sure you have time for a plate of ‘eierschwammerl’ (chanterelle mushrooms) in a cream sauce. It will be your best memory of this sleepy village on the lake.
Rick, It’s nice to continue reading your thoughts on your favorite sites and I do enjoy it. But, I keep waiting for your input on the current upheaval in the EU right now with their banking crises and the fragility of the Euro. There is so much happening that affects the future of the EU. What is your take on all of this and what is the pulse right now over there? I’m hoping you blog on this soon. Thanks.
RS gives a lyrical description of the town, and we visited after reading the description in his guidebook. Boring!! If your idea of a good time is walking down a street with no view of the lake and imagining what it must be like to live in the houses that DO have a view, this is the town for you. The salt mine was a nice place to visit, the views from the top of the funicular are spectacular, but that takes only a few hours. And then you’re stuck. Stuck in Hallstatt. I think this town is worth no more than a stopover if you’re in the area already. We drove to some other lake towns, including the one that has the church where they filmed the Sound of Music wedding scene, and these towns are both larger and better suited for the visiting tourist.
Having lived in Salzburg as a student, I never did get to Hallstatt, but friends did and I’ve seen pictures. Seems like a pleasant village as long as it doesn’t get “discovered” by too many travelers. My advice would be to take a rental car or Postbus out to some of the random outlying towns around Salzburg or elsewhere for a more genuine local experience. Might try checking out Grödig outside Salzburg…at the foot of the Untersberg.
I visited Hallstatt in 2006 and stayed a few days. Had a great time and did not mind the tourists. I liked the town people and the scenery is wonderful. I intend to return.
I concur with Jon. A blog on the current sovreign-debt crisis is more than a couple of days overdue. I do see the Euro has strengthened to $1.25 on the exchange, but that’s still down a ways from where it’s been. Being that currents events are talked about locally wherever you go (at least for people who listen), what’s the temperature over there Rick?
Wrooms on the lake, we visited Halstatt a number of years ago based on Rick’s recommendation, and we LOVED it. Tourists around? Yes. But we found that sauntering though the town, chatting with the locals, and talking with those “other” tourists to be much fun. And, we loved the setting, the cruise on the lake, the slide at the end of the salt mines tour, the lovely vieww, and nightfall slowly dropping over the town and the lake. It’s definitely a place to visit again and be spellbound by its charm.
We followed Rick’s suggestions in 2005 when we traveled through Germany, Switzerland and Austria and every single suggestion was a success! We stayed in Hallstatt for 2 nights in August 2005 and we just so happened to be there during their once a year festival. We took a boat ride on the lake and we even went to the salt mine. My husband still talks about the fish we ate at one of the town restaurants. Tranquil and lovely time in Hallstatt, I highly recommend staying her for a few days.
Has anyone had trouble taking the 21″ carry-on (roller type) aboard Air France. It appears their dimensions are slightly smaller than the carry-on…
Rick, aside from being an amazing TV host, you are also an incredible writer! I’ve been watching your show since I was 10 and I’m about to turn 17. As a high school journalist, for me, your blog has really been an amazing example of great descriptive writing. Thank you so much for all that you do! -Laura in Colorado
in April of 2009 my husband and i visited Hallstatt, we stayed at gasthof simony in a room with a balcony holding two chairs and a small “table” The view was gorgeious we could see the boat cross the lake to meet the train and hear the trains coming before we saw them The town is very small and you can walk from one end to the other in about a half hour and if you go the opposite way from the catholic church and bone house you end up right along the lake again with beautiful views. By the way you don’t have to own a house with a view of the lake there are several gasthaus and even the ones on the side of the mountains have views over the roof tops. There is a path you can follow that goes along the top of the town to the parking lot and on up to the waterfalls with gorgeous views of the lake besides snipets of views of the living areas of the people in the houses. Also I loved the waterfall going through town all you had to do was listen for it and follow the roar. despite that we loved the peace an quiet. Especially sitting on our balcony with the little birds landing on the railing and watching the swans ducks and boats on the lake wondering about the structures across the lake and admiring the mountains still w/snow If you are looking for a lot of organized activities or night life it is not the place and two or three nights would be sufficient. We were too early for the funicular and salt mine trip the only problem we had was finding someone to check in with and the ice cream store next store didn’t seem to know anything about the gasthof The breakfast was more than ample and we enjoyed the fresh caught fish at another zimmer also mentioned in ricks book you paid by the wieght of the fish and the waiter volunteered when I wanted to order a different kind of fish that it wasn’t fresh caught and not as good as the lake trout we had had before The dining room had ivy growning inside that had come through the window sills candles on table GO off season