04Experiences

Two waters that do not match

A lake under a mountain, a lake on a plain

Two lakes in Austria are enough to change the idea of the country. Hallstatt is water under the Dachstein, the town pinned between shore and slope. Neusiedl in the east is a steppe lake on the western edge of the Hungarian Plain, opposite Alpine Lake Constance at the far west. The Fertő / Neusiedler See cultural landscape has been World Heritage since 2001. The double name on the list recalls that the water sits on a border, not only as an inland lake. Summer, according to the tourism site, is the season for swimming in lakes and rivers. Do not mix the two places in one day: between them lies the country’s whole nature, from limestone wall to reeds. If time is short, choose one. Pair Hallstatt with Salzburg, and Neusiedl with Vienna or with Graz in the southeast. Hallstatt draws many visitors, while the eastern plain is quieter. The difference is the country’s idea: a wall on one side, reeds on the other.

2001

Neusiedl heritage since