It is still early when the salt merchant knocks on the door this morning. Together with his son, he has walked the long way from Hallstatt in Austria, across the Alps, to Lake Constance. In his luggage: precious salt. It has a pinkish sheen. The lake-dwelling family exchanges it for handmade wickerwork. They will use it to preserve food, but also to season their meals. The salt merchant and his son are wearing the clothing and equipment of the miners from their homeland. What is striking is the use of fur and leather – in contrast to the wool and linen fabrics of the basket-makers’ family. Trade relations such as these facilitated not only the exchange of goods, but also the exchange of culture. Typical finds from both regions of the northern Alpine foothills are reproduced here in minute detail. Who knows what inspiration the salt merchant will take back with him to his homeland.