I went to Hallstatt, Austria two days before Christmas. It is a charming little village, with a spectacular lake and snow mountain view during winter. 

We traveled from Salzburg by train, then we need to cross the lake by ferry from Hallstatt train station to the Hallstatt city centre. Nearly Christmas, some shops were closed, but we still manage to find some food in a small cafe in the village. On Christmas eve, almost all of them are closed. 

Half day was enough for me to explore Hallstatt, we can see 2 old churches there. The first church was next to the ferry station, and the other one was on top of the hill and there is also a Charnel house (a cave fill with human skulls and bones) & beautiful cemetary above the hill that we can see. From here we can also see a beautiful scenery of Hallstatt, with many stacks of house roofs, with mountain and lake background.

 Hallstatt is also famous with its ice cave and it has the oldest salt mine in the worlds. However, both of the cave and the salt mine is closed during winter. 

I recommend you to find a sunny day to go to Hallstatt in order to see the clear view, because a big fog and clouds can sometimes block the view in winter time. 

My most favourite part was the place we stay for a night, we choose to stay further from Hallstatt. We stayed in Lodge am Krippenstein, a warm, homy wodden lodge on top of the Dachstein Krippenstein snow mountain, 2063 m above sea level. 

We need to take bus from Hallstatt bus station, and change to a cable car to go up, the last cable car was 16.30 in winter time, and costed 30€ per person for return journey. From up there, we can see the view of snow mountain and people skiing down the hill just from our wide room’s window. And in the night, we literally see a snow storn outside our window! It was quite scary, but an unforgetable experience indeed. The lodge also has a bar and restaurant with some authentic Austrian food for you to try. 

Dachstein Krippenstein is famous by its winter sport, skiing and snowboarding. You can rent the equipments near the cable car station, and visiting some ski spots, restaurant, and view deck around Krippenstein area. 

Dont forget to use your snowboots, even if you dont skiing / snowboarding, the snow can be really thick up in the mountain, and the only way you get to the lodge from the cable car is by walking on the snow hill. 🙂
Lastly, Hallstatt and Krippenstein is like a dream fairytale movie scene, every corner is worthed a beautiful picture and experience. If you enjoy snow, nature, and old city, i’m sure you can enjoy this place.