Hallstatt
I saw this beautiful town yesterday. It was nestled right on the edge of a lake, surrounded by mountains that drop right into the water.
I arrived and just could not believe how gorgeous it was. It was a rainy day, sprinkling on my friend and I on and off, but the clouds hanging around the peaks of the mountains added an air of mystery. They also made the valley seem secluded from the rest of the world. The beauty just made me so glad I had made the trip even though I knew it was going to be a rainy day.
We walked through the city and a bit around the lake to begin our day. Spending an hour just taking in the views, and seeing what was there.
The next part of our trip took us to the bottom of a gondola of sorts, where I found something I could mimic in my tradition of trying to find a statue in every city. 
It was not exactly a statue as you can see, but still an amusing cut out which directed us towards the gondola.
We then saw the price of the gondola, and decided to hike instead. It was a 1.5 to 2 hour hike up, relatively steep, but the route had signs explaining the salt industry along the way. We encountered this beautiful 
waterfall, some beautiful views on our way up, and the entrance to the old salt mine. All of which made the hike more enjoyable, as we had a good reason to take breaks on our winding way up the mountain.
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- Halfway view
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- Halfway view
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- Halfway view
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- MIne entrance
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- The steeple in Hallstatt
Finally arriving at the top, we walked out on a platform that they had erected, and got to enjoy being at the same height as the clouds.
I truly couldn’t have asked for a better trip to end on, I felt like I was really enjoying Austrian beauty, and was so thankful and blessed for being able to see it.
I ask for continued prayer for me as I tackle this next week. I have completed one exam and one presentation, and have officially decided to drop a course I cannot complete. However, I still have 2 written exams left, 3 oral exams left, and one paper. Monday through Friday I have one exam every day this upcoming week. I should have one final post next weekend, so until then!
Alexis
Abroad in Austria 