Salt Mines

Woke up at eight, didn't leave until ten. When we left went to the super market and got some fruit. Then bought a ticket up to the salt mines of hallstatt. Didn't read the ticket properly and discovered we'd payed for a trip on the cable car up and down. We were hoping to walk down. Anyway more in that later. On the way up the  cable car we got a great veiw over hallstatt. At the top of the cable car. Had ate a strudel and some fruit then walked the last bit to the salt mine. On the way we saw a recreated burial of the ancient people who lived in hallstatt. Once we made it to the salt mine entrance got in line for the tower. Luckily we missed the noisy class of children that had over taken us on the way up. Got on next tour after the noisy kids, and got our overalls on. I had purple bini has green. Our tour still had a class of kids in it however these ones were much older and much much quieter. In the salt mines we saw how the hallstatt salt deposit had been created. I'd never twigged (although it makes sense) that salt deposit have to be surrounded by a material like clay so that no water can get in and dissolve the salt. Anyway next we went down a slide!! :D good fun we went down together and went super fast. Then we did something that I don't remember and after that we went down a bigger slide!!!

Next we there was a presentation that was done on a lake in the salt mines. It was meant to show how the people of hallstatt came to settle here. In short they came here because there was heaps of deer and goats that liked the salty spring. Then they stayed because they found the salt and then got rich by trading salt and cured ham, the end. We continued the tour and we saw all the different ways the salt had been abstracted from the mine. Starting with bronze picks and leather bags and ending with water behind injected into the mines and the the brine taken out. The salt one your finished with a train trip. Not really a train more like the ones you went on as a kid. You sat on a bench and had a tiny locomotive push you along. The tunnel got pretty small at some point and I had to duck. Naturally bini was fine. 

Finished the tour at about two o'clock feeling happy with the tour but very hungry. Took the cable car back down and went home to have last nights left overs as lunch. 

Just after we had lunch the heavens opened and it pissed down rain. Hallstatt still looks amazing in the rain. We sat on our baloney and I sat on the balcony and watched the other tourists get wet. 

Went out for dinner to a kebab place the bini had been eyeing for the last two days and ate the kebabs on the lake front. Was very nice with surprisingly good quality meat. Bought a dessert from the  bakery and went home as it was starting to raining again. Are dessert on the balcony and enjoyed the veiw one later time then went to bed.