Drivers break and a nice walk about Mondsee and view of Saint Michael's Basilica...
Our Hallstätt sea tour cruise boat arrived at the medieval town center dock...We cruised the fjord like setting on a windless, glass flat sea passing a reformation kirk and a Catholic Church that survived in the same area...
Carlos led our gang of five on the salt mine tour...What a nice surprise, the archeologic history of 7000 years ago when salty springs attracted animals to the area and hunters followed...1956 the first grave was discovered at the stone memorial site...A huge graveyard with over 1500 individuals mostly from the 8th to 4th century BC...Many personal possessions indicating status. The skeletons show results of the very hard physical work of salt miners...Interned from the medieval period are 600 painted skulls in the Catholic Church marking the persons names...Very difficult conditions and a tough way to make a living, digging and loading salt onto rail carts...Today mines convert the salt into a liquid brine to ship via pipes...Colored light show in the mine and a great slide ride in our mine overalls down a wooden slide constructed in the old shaft...Our descending side speed was recorded...Our hotel overlook the medieval town center...