A week or so ago, Lou and I needed a break from Vienna so headed over to Salzburg for a few days. Saturday was spent in the centre, doing all the sites and, well, a bit of shopping too. On Sunday though, we left the city and went to Hallein, a little town about 40 mins away, on a special ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) trip.
We paid 289 Ös (maybe 14 GBP) and for that got return train travel to the town, 2 x ~ 20 min trips on a Cable Car and entry to a celtic village along with a tour of a salt mine.
The village itself is very “malerisch” to use the German word – picturesque or, as we were hooked on saying, picture sque..... From the cable car we got some great views of the town, the mountains and the river for miles off. Once at the top we had to trek for about 10 or 15 mins down the hill to the Celtic Village (in true ‘technically teenagers but really kids at heart’ style we messed around in the playground and then left). Just across the path was the Salt Mine, and this was where the fun began.....
We had to dress in special protective clothing (baggy white trousers and tops over our normal clothes, making us look like Pillsbury Dough people...) and then we started our tour. For nearly an hour we journeyed into the past with the help of films, trains, boats and, ahem, giant slides. The tour was conducted in both English and German although the German included lots more facts – for example, in German she joked than they got 98% of their visitors back out alive (so maybe it’s the only English speaking 2% who don’t make it...) Also, if you could understand German you learnt that the second slide was twice as long, 4 times a steep, 8 times as fast and would provide 16 times more “bum burn” – the English lot only got the shortened “the next slide is longer” version. The tour was packed with scientific info (this rock is 50% salt, this one 89% etc) and we even crossed the border into Germany underground at one point – much more simple without passport control and customs I have to admit.
After we arrived back at ground level (through the ever-so-authentic escalators.....) we got the chance to buy souvenir photos (60 Ös – just less than 3 GBP) which I did – I mean how often do you get the chance to show people a picture of yourself dressed up like that and sliding down a gigantic wooden slide??? There was also a gift shop which sold salt (the same version is cheaper in Billa – our local version of Kwiksave) and standard souvenirs. There’s also a little cafe whose whole menu revolved around sausages, chocolate and beer.....
After that we trekked back up the hill - much more hard work – and caught the cable car back down before walking back to the train station. All in all it took us 4.5 hours including travel from and back to Salzburg Main Station.
I would 100% recommend this excursion. It’s much more economical than doing the parts separately and is lots of fun. I can imagine that if you were in a wheelchair you might have problems, and children under 4 are not allowed in the mine, but apart from that it’s suitable for everyone.
How To Get There
From the station, follow the Bahnhofstrasse to the first main junction and then turn right. Cross over the river and then turn left just after the Billa. From there follow the path through the town and you will soon see little brown tourist signs indicating the Salzburger Bahn which is the cable car station. At the top there are signs to the Salt Mine and Celtic Village.
The all inclusive ticket is available from Salzburg Hbf and trains leave every 30 mins or so for Hallein (except Sundays – every hour). The mine is open 9am to 5pm during summer months, and 11 until 3 the rest of the year, but I imagine the cable cars will be weather dependant. For more information on this and the other mines in Austria check out the official website :
www.salzbergwerke.com
which has prices, directions, pictures and more.
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