Touring a Centuries-Old Austrian Salt Mine

HALLEIN, AUSTRIA — I am thankful never to have had to work in a salt mine, especially after touring Salzwelten Salzburg. That name refers to the Hallein Salt Mine on Dürrnberg Mountain, which stopped active operations in 1989 and is now advertised as the world’s oldest salt mine open to visitors. Daughter Mere, son-in-law Matt, and I took a train from Garching, a small town in Bavaria near their home in Unterneukirchen, to Salzburg, on the German-Austrian border. We then boarded a bus to reach the mining site, and afterward walked a few hundred yards uphill to the mine, which is now purely...

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