Munich to Vienna December 2019
We arrived to Hallstatt on Thursday mid afternoon. We began our visit to this UNESCO Heritage Site with a boat tour. The captain of the boat is also one of the town's emergency first responders, so we learned more about the recent famous fire and what a miracle it was that more buildings didn't burn in this tightly packed little town. The street to our hotel was blocked off due to the fire investigation. Another reason to pack light! We had to take our bags on this boat to get to the hotel.
Here is our hotel, The Hotel Gruner Baum, as seen from the boat.
Upon receiving our room keys, we also received an information flyer on an event called the Krampus Run. I was not familiar, but the hotel staff said it was not to miss. From the flyer "According to an old Hallstatt legend, on 5th December the Krampus descends from the Hirlatz Cave, high above Hallstatt, to punish the naughty children and bestow the good ones with the help of St. Nicholas."
We had no idea what was in store this evening!