For our second walking day we have decided to walk around most of the Hallstattsee, about 20 kms. It is another bright sunny day and after a leisurely breakfast we set off to catch the funicular up towards the top of the hills behind Hallstatt where we will start the walk. It is Sunday so we are unable to buy a sandwich for lunch and we will rely on seeing something along the way or, if needed the fruit we are carrying.
We head off from Rudolphsturm following a slightly downhill track which winds its' way high above Hallstatt and across several waterways. The forest around us is quite brilliantly lit by the filtered sun and enjoy several hours simply ambling along the pathway. The track follows the pipeline (Soleleitungsweg) which has been in operation since 1607 carrying brine to Ebensee where the salt is extracted. The original 13,000 pipes were made from wood and some can be seen from time to time as we go along.
After about two hours we start heading down towards Steegn where the lake ends and the Traun river recommences its run north. As we go through farmland and walk in the fairly hot sun, we start to slow down and are obviously losing time against our schedule. We have to make a decision soon on continuing or going on as the destination for us is Hallstatt railway station (and the boat which will take us almost to our hotel ) which must be reached around 6.30 pm. Otherwise we are in for an even longer walk right around the lake.
Yvonne takes no real encouragement to stop at a nice looking cafe for lunch as by now we had been walking for over 5 hours and are past the point of no return. Randall had made a slight map error in a small village but we managed to correct this fairly quickly, losing about 1 km and 15-20 minutes.
We enjoy a great salad lunch complimented by beer and appfelsharle but before long we are back into the heat of the day and winding our way south in between the railway line and the lake. On this side of the lake locals have their small summer houses with boat sheds constructed over the water. Bike riding is also popular today with heaps of riders passing in both directions.
There is also a small cafe along the way filled with people enjoying their Sunday afternoon in the sun.
By now it is clear that we will easily make the railway station and boat ride so the pressure to maintain pace comes off and we relax a bit - Randall less so than Yvonne. By now Yvonne wishes she was a swan and could just glide across the lake to home, as the water looks so cool. The last few kilometres along the lakeside include botanical information (which we cannot read) and a then an over water walkway complete our journey to the station.
We wait about half an hour for the next boat and after 7 hours and 20 kilometers we are back in Hallstatt and happy to be there too.
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