On Sunday after leaving Salzburg we drove to tour a salt mine in Bad Durrnburg, Hallein not far from Salzburg.

This is one of the world's oldest mines preserved for tourists located on the Dürrnberg mountain, overlooking the town of Hallein a short distance south of the city of Salzburg. The earth beneath the surface of the Dürrnberg holds the key to the legendary wealth of Salzburg's past. 'White gold' was being mined here as early as the time of the Celts; in later years, the same subterranean treasure was to help the Salzburg prince archbishops accumulate their limitless riches. Insignificant as salt may seem to us today, it played a crucial role in the history of the area around Salzburg.

At the start of the tour into the salt mine you receive your miner's outfit. Then a miniature train takes you, dressed all in white, into the tunnels of the preserved mine before you descend even deeper on smoothly polished slides. The tour guide explains the history of salt and mining in the Dürrnberg. During the tour through the mine you leave Austria for a short time into Germany and travel by boat across a salt lake.