9 September
Hallstatt
A delayed train, a long wait, then mountains and lakes arriving all at once through the window.
Hallstatt is the kind of place that makes you understand why people use the word “storybook”. Even in the rain, maybe especially in the rain. There is something about a UNESCO gem in drizzle that feels more honest than the postcard version.
Only one night here, which in retrospect was not enough. Already filing it under places to return to with more time and better weather.
Dinner was a lamb shank that earned its reputation, and a samosa starter that had absolutely no business being in a small Austrian lakeside town, and was all the better for it. I started reading Haemin Sunim’s The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down that evening, a recommendation from home that arrived at exactly the right moment for this kind of trip. It may be only the second book I finish in my adult life. Both of those things say something.
10 September
Hallstatt · Salzburg
Hallstatt’s funicular was closed, so the view from the top stayed a mystery. That is as good a reason as any to come back. The train to Salzburg was scenic enough to soften the frustration of printing tickets while switching platforms in a hurry.
Arrived to rain and narrow alleys. Dragged luggage in the general direction of the hotel and found it eventually.
Mozart’s Residence first, then Mirabell Gardens, which were full of colour even under grey skies.
The kind of gardens that look like they were designed to make people feel calm, and largely succeed. Called it an early night. Tomorrow has potential.