The Quaint Hall in Tirol

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So, to escape the hustle and bustle of mega metropolis Innsbruck (ha!), we took a half day trip to Hall in Tirol. When researching the Tirol country side, I kept stumbling upon nice reviews of this little suburb 10 minutes away from Innsbruck. It's not a particularly historic town, nor a unique one by any means, but it looked like a good place to spread out for a few hours. Especially since I wanted to combine a mix of well-visited cities and lesser-known villages while touring Austria.

One thing that I noticed while researching Tirol a few months ago was the incredible quaintness of each and every town in Austria. It made it difficult to choose where to go, and why. Each and every settlement - whether it's Innsbruck, a thriving town on the river, or a loose association of buildings in the countryside - has at least one very cute little church right in the middle of the town. And a little square, perhaps with a fountain of sorts. And the mountains in the background. Actually being there in person made the loveliness all the more apparent. Even on our short S-Bahn ride out to Hall I spotted several of these towns. They cry out: photograph me! I'm picturesque and lovely. It's intoxicating.

But I do think Hall is special. It had the kind of quiet that made me feel like I was transported back to the Middle Ages, which could have just been attributed to the fact that hardly any of the shops were open. But between the cobblestone, the narrow alleys, and the dreariness of the December morning I could have been fooled into thinking we had stumbled back in time. The medieval feeling was unspoiled, and so it was nice to wander down all the small streets and enjoy the break from all the ski-season bustle in Innsbruck.

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