You may be surprised to find out that Hallstatt is one of my most hated places in Austria.
This probably goes some way to explaining why.
Everything there feels like it’s designed to cynically extract as much money from tourists as possible. Food and hospitality in Austria is usually good, but Hallstatt is an exception. The main character of Robert Seethaler’s book The Tobacconist (about a teenage boy working in Freud’s local newsagents in Vienna just before the Anschluss) is from the nearby Attersee and says “where I come from, people might understand a bit about the lumber industry, and how to get summer visitors to part with their money. They don’t understand the first thing about love.”
It may look nice in photos, but there’s a constant feeling of people hassling you to spend money or get out of the way. I’m not sure how many people actually live there, and there’s very few amenities for actual residents. I struggled to find a bakery, which is unheard of in Austria.
Sums it up I think.
If you walked up the shoreline a bit it got less touristy and pushy.
Ideal house for a witch.
I got the bus back to Steeg where I was staying, and along the way was this cafe right on the shore of the lake. I had a coffee and very nice slice of cake for a bargain price, served by friendly people. Hallstatt could never.
And this was my view while eating it.
I am not stupid enough to bring this curse upon me at the garage sale in Steeg
Steeg is a normal place where people live.
Still has spectacular views however.
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