The Heaven on Earth, Hallstatt

There was a small wooden boat - 

waited for me and took me to the heaven . . . on earth.

Heaven on earth - that is the best words to describe how awesome this place is. A placed called Hallstatt.

I could say that Hallstatt is one of the most beautiful places I have ever found and I am so lucky, that I could visit this place - at least once in life (though, I promise to myself that I WILL visit this place again!)

As the first english post in Traveler's Passport, I decided to translate my previous post about Hallstatt (see, Surga Dunia, Hallstatt) because this post currently holds the most view in this blog. So, I hope by re-write it in English, there will be more people know about this awesome place!

Before I move further, please pardon my English as it is my second language and I am still learning how to write a good English article. :)

Let's sail to Hallstatt, travelers!

• Location.

Hallstatt is a small village located in the West Austria - near the border between Germany and Austria. This place can be reached from Salzburg with 3 hours long journey or 4 until 5 hours long from Vienna - all by train.

Location of Hallstatt as seen on maps.google.com

• Best spot(s). 

As I said before, this place is awesome - starting from the moment when you step on the boat that will take you to Hallstat to the moment when you leave the boat to go back to your warm house. So, it is hard for me to decide which is the best spot in Hallstatt - well, could you decide it for me?

These ARE the best spots you could find in Hallstatt.

The view of Hallstatt from the boat.

The view of Hallstatt from the village center.

The view of Hallstatt from the opposite side of the harbour. 

The view of Hallstatt from the top of the village.  

Could you choose which one is the best spot? 

I could not choose any - I LOVE them all! 

• Activities.

There are a lot of activities you could do while you are in Hallstatt. I has listed all of my activities while I was in Hallstatt, but travelers, what do you think the best activities you could do when you have these kind of scenery right in front of your eyes? For me, I will find a place to sit and just stay there - as long as I want. A cup of ice cream will make the moment even more perfect! <3 Okay, let's count it as the first activity you could do in Hallstatt. 

1. Enjoying the heavenly-view with a cup of ice cream.

2. Rent a boat and explore every corner of the lake. One thing you will need, a muscular arm or feet with lots of energy to peddle the boat! For the price to rent the boat, I'm sorry I forgot about that, but if I'm not mistaken it's starting from 10 Euros ++.

It is your own boat - and you are the one who will drive it!

3. Visit the bone church located on the top of Hallstatt. You have to pay for 2 Euros to enter this Bone church. 

Hundreds (or even thousands) painted skulls -
a tribute for them who have died in Hallstatt.

4. Save your energy by buying boat ticket to explore the lake.

There are two available routes that you can choose, which are : 

- South routes (price : 8.5 Euros) : Hallstatt Markt - Hallstatt Lahn - Obertraum - Hallstatt Markt

- North routes (price : 10 Euros) : Hallstatt Lahn - Hallstatt Markt - Obersee - Untersee - Steeg u.z. 

There are also combi ticket (price : 17 Euros) which can be used for any boats - any times - in a day. 

5. Rent a bicycle and explore the village for only 3 Euros.

6. Write a postcard to let your friends know that you are visiting heaven right now!
You could find postcards that are sold in various souvenir shops and send them through post office nearby tourist information building.

Information tourist office -
the left side of this building is the post office.

7. Climb higher and meet Five Fingers. 
You could find information about Five Fingers in its official website.

• How to reach Hallstatt. 

The easiest way to reach Hallstatt (especially for us, travelers) is by using public transportation. We have to use, at least 2 kind of public transportations to reach Hallstatt. As for me, I used train and boat.

First : buy a train ticket to Hallstatt station. 
The ticket price may varies according to your departure city. It is recommended to plan your holiday at least 1 or 2 months before - because during that time, you will be able to buy promo ticket with almost 50% discount from the normal price.

Hallstatt train station
(under construction, August 2012)

Second : find the boat to Hallstatt. 

Oh well, it's a ship - not a boat. 

You could find the boat by walking through the sidewalk from the train station to the end of the road - which is the small harbor where the boat to Hallstatt depart. From train station to the harbor will take only 5 - 10 minutes.

The price for boat is around 2 -3 Euros for ONE way - and you have to use this boat also to leave Hallstatt if you use train. The journey on the boat will take around 15 minutes.

Prepare your camera on standby while you are on the boat to capture this kind of awesome view!

Hallstatt - taken from the boat

For the schedule of the boat to Hallstatt, you can check this website : Schedule : Boat to Hallstatt

• Tips 

For your own convenient, it is advisable to bring warm clothes when you visit Hallstatt. The weather could become cold - as it is surrounded by Alps Highlands. 

According to the pictures I have seen, Hallstatt on WINTER season has the MOST WONDERFUL view. The houses are covered with the white snows - it is just too beautiful to be true!

Hallstatt on winter

Before I end this post, here is the link to Hallstatt official website, here. 

***

That is all I could share to you, all travelers around the world ! 

Hope you like it and could feel the awesomeness of this place as I do. 

Comments and suggestions are welcomed :) 

See you next time!