Hallstatt, Lake and Mountains

Hallstatt is a village in Austria's mountainous Salzkammergut region. It is famous for its stunning alpine views, historic salt mines, and well-preserved architecture, and it is often considered one of the most beautiful villages in Europe. A good thing, it is well connected by train and you can come here from the city Linz, for example (the trip would take around 2 hours).

To reach the village of Hallstatt from the train station, you typically need to cross the lake. You can take a short boat ride across the lake to the village. This boat ride is part of the experience, offering scenic views of the surrounding mountains and the village itself.

Hallstatt is a small but vibrant village with a population of around 800 to 1000 people. It is characterized by narrow streets, traditional wooden houses, featuring colorful facades and flower-filled balconies.

So, this peaceful atmosphere and stunning mountain views attracts each year so many travelers! During peak tourist season in the summer, it is estimated that around 10000 to 15000 visitors can come to the village in a single day!

The Hallstatt lake is about 8 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide, making it a relatively small but stunning body of water. The surrounding Dachstein Alps rise to impressive heights, with the highest peak, Dachstein Mountain, reaching 2995 meters above sea level.

I really would love to see, how the lake reflects the mountains at sunrise and sunset, because it must be making the scenery especially lovely.

I have stayed in Hallstatt for 7 hours, but I was a little bit bored. I think, with some organised tour this place would bring more fun, so I would come here again and would try some guided excursions. Not sure, if I would love to stay here for a night though.

The Swiss Alps

Early in the morning I have started my excursion to the Alps. Waking up so early is another opportunity to see the empty Cathedral square and admire the interiors of deserted Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, but I was still sleepy.

So, the part of our journey was a 3-hour trip on a bus to the town St.Moritz in Switzerland, where the red train should be awaiting for us.

The city of St. Moritz, surrounded by Alps peaks towering 3000 meters, is located at 1822 meters above sea level. And with a population of 5000 it is considered to be one of the world’s richest places. Another interesting fact about the city is that it has twice hosted the Winter Olympics, in 1928 and 1948.

After a break for lunch at St.Moritz we finally boarded the train. And our marvelous journey through the mountains has started...

During our trip we were allowed to open the windows to make our pictures more clear. It was freezing cold in the carriage, but nobody complained.

We had a 2.5 hour trip on a train, which delivered us to the Italian city of Tirano, where we continued our journey back to Milano by bus.

In short, it was amazing experience. I have never been in the Alps before, but now I have a strong desire to come back here and enjoy the scenery during the different seasons. Hope, I can do it very soon.

Around Altay, The Golden Lake

Lake Teletskoye is one of the deepest lakes in Russia, with the maximum depth of 325 meters. It is also compared to Lake Baikal in terms of purity. As a matter of fact, the transparency of Lake Teletskoye is up to 12-15 meters.

The lake is surrounded by high mountain ranges up to 2,500 meters in altitude. About 70 rivers and 150 small streams flow into the lake. The Chulyshman River, which is the largest one, delivers over half of the lake’s water. The Biya river is the only one river, which is going out of the lake.