Even though we awoke to a bright, sunny morning we were both grumpy. Neither one of us had slept well at all...tossing and turning and just plain unable to sleep. It was not until we were half way to our destination that I figured out why. We stopped at a Billa (grocery store chain) to stock up for the next couple of days. As we were cruising the aisles I spotted the same very large chocolate bar we consumed last evening. Only it wasn't a chocolate bar...it was in the baking section....it was a large block of dark baking chocolate! Michelle says that I have to pick out the chocolate from now on.
We arrived in Hallstatt at around 1:30 and set off to explore this picturesque little village of only around 1000 people. Hallstatt is one of Europe's oldest towns dating back to before the time of Christ. Years ago, renovations underneath a sports store uncovered an ancient Roman settlement. We walked on Roman flagstones and saw ancient tools and remains of a Roman bath house. Hallstatt was important because of the salt mine and in fact there was a Hallstatt before there was a Rome.
The town is picture perfect, it is on the edge of a beautiful lake (Hallstatt See) surrounded by mountains, some of which are snow covered. One of the highlights was our visit to the 12th century Charnel House (bone chapel). It contains more than 600 painted skulls. Each skull bears the name and dates of the individual and are also decorated with garland, roses
, ivy or oak leaves. The chapel came to be because space was very limited in the small cemetery. As a result, after twelve years in the ground, the bones were dug up to make room for the freshly dead. The last skull to be placed in the chapel was in 1995.After that morbid stop we took a hike...literally. We walked part of the Welterbe Rundweg (trail) and then headed back to the campsite. An evening stroll through the town topped off a relaxing day in Hallstatt. Tomorrow we head for Italy!
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