Seehotel Gruner Baum

Here is a photo of the...

by pipsqueak

Here is a photo of the triangular-shaped town center in Hallstatt, Austria. It also happens to be the view from the doorway of See Hotel Gruner Baum where we stayed.

Hallstatt, Austria

by pipsqueak

"Seehotel Gruner Baum"

In Hallstatt, we stayed at the Seehotel Gruner Baum. The rooms were huge, had a separate bathroom that was as big as our whole room in Prague, and had a balcony which overlooked the lake. I woke up on a rainy morning and saw Kyle (who was sick with a headcold) sitting on his balcony looking a little worse-for-wear.

"See Hotel Gruner Baum"

The Hotel Gruner Baum has a dog and two resident cats that are on-hand to greet the guests!

"On the Train"

Pat seems to be offering some sort of international salute as we take the train from Attnang-Pucheim to Hallsatt.

"Gruner Baum"

This is a view of the outside of SeeHotel Gruner Baum. Our room was the one with the balcony on the right.

"The Charnel House"

This is a close-up of the skulls in the Bonehaus of the Catholic Church in Hallstatt. Due to limited space in the cemetary, it was necessary for the bones to be exhumed after a number of years. The skulls were painted with ivy for men and roses for women and the name of the person and their dates of birth and death. It is kind of surreal to be in here, the skulls almost don't seem real even though you could reach out and touch them if you wanted too. The photo is courtesy of Nature_Girl.

"The Salt Mine"

Hallstatt is named for the Celtic word for "salt". Salz also means salt, so it makes sense that there must be salt around here someplace. The salt mine is above the village of Hallstatt and operates a fun, albeit touristy, tour. You get to put on a pair of coveralls with a reinforced butt which comes in handy later as you slide down the wooden railings in the mine. The tour is in German and English and lasts about an hour. I thought it was very worthwhile.
This photo, courtesy of Nature_Girl shows the Austrian guide finishing his slide down the railing.

"Salt mine"

Here is Kate, Me, Ann, Liz and Pat in our fabulous coveralls you get to wear on your tour of the salt mine.
These are so comfortable, you can see why old guys in Florida are always wearing these.

"The Salt Mine Coveralls"

If you take the Salt Mine tour in Hallstatt, you get to wear these nifty coveralls with the specially reinforced butts. They are color-coded so that you know what size to pick.