Hallstatt and Bad Ischl

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I've written a blog post, mainly because the last few weeks I've been spending my weekends working on my dissertation so nothing all that exciting has been happening. But I thought it was time for an update.

As I said, I've been working on my dissertation recently, so I've been analysing questionnaires, conducting interviews, and I've written 1500 words for a hand-in last week. I've also taken on some more tutoring, so I've been working with a group of final year students on their speaking skills in the lead up to their exams, and also with another pupil to help with writing texts and exam skills.

A couple of weeks ago we had to say goodbye to one of the assistants in Linz, who is splitting her year abroad between Austria and Italy - it was sad to say goodbye, but we had a lovely surprise meal to see her off!

I also went on a cinema trip with my housemate Charlotte and a few of the other assistants here. We went to see two films in an evening ('Colonia' with Emma Watson and 'Hail Caesar') and it was lovely to spend time with her properly outside of the flat!

On Friday a group of us went over to Steyr to have dinner with Emma Cate and a friend of her's from America, and we went for an all-you-can-eat Chinese - it was great! The first Chinese I'd had since coming to Austria!

And finally yesterday, once my dissertation hand-in was complete, I went on another little adventure! I went to visit one of the assistants, Ellie, who lives about a 2 hour train journey from Linz in a town called Bad Ischl. She first showed me around Hallstatt, which is a small town on the side of a lake, which has one road going into it on one side of the lake, however if you are arriving my train, you have to get a boat across the lake to access it! Ellie told me that the town itself is a very old settlement, dating back to at least 800 B.C., which for such a remote location is amazing! Here are a few pictures from our time in Halstatt.

The view from the boat

The view of the Protestant Church from the Catholic Church further up the hill. The whole town is built on the side of a mountain, so it feels like it's all piled on top of itself!

The inside of the Catholic Church 

Our view from the restaurant where we had lunch - I was brave and tried trout for the first time, as it was a local speciality and caught in the lake. It was nice, although I wasn't expecting it still to have its head and tail!

The town square

The view from the boat

Hallstatt is a town known for its salt production, and up the mountain you can visit the salt mines and ice caves, however these were not open yet due to the season, so I will have to go back later in the year to see these!

After Hallstatt we got the train back to Bad Ischl, where Ellie lives, and she gave me a tour of the town, including stopping for hot chocolate and amazing cake in a very fancy cafe! There were chandeliers and everything!

The river Ischl that runs through the town.

Bad Ischl is a thermal spa town, and has a very interesting history. Ellie told me that the Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl was the summer home of Kaiser Franz Josef 1 and his wife, known as Sisi. The mother of the Kaiser gave them the home to help Sisi, as she struggled to have children, however Sisi didn't really like it in Bad Ischl. She is and was, though, very popular in Austria. Unfortunately the residence, like the salt mines, was not open while I was there, so I am looking forward to going back again to look around!

Thanks for reading :)

Laura