Moravia-Lower Austria Border Region I have certainly been enjoying our outings from our base in Poysdorf in the Weinviertel. Like the Waldviertel, the landscape here is wonderful. But whereas the Oldies were waiting for the poppies to flower in the Waldviertel, the crop they were waiting to burst into colour here was the sunflower. Once again they were in luck and the flowers complied. Beautiful! I had expected Lower Austria to be positively flat – in comparison at least to…
Poysdorf Cellar Lanes Travelling from the Waldviertel (‘forest quarter’) to the Weinviertel (‘wine quarter’) in Lower Austria seemed a natural progression. Our next stop was Poysdorf in the heart of the Weinviertel. I certainly expected to see plenty of vineyards, of course. What caught me by surprise was the Kellergassen – lanes lined with wine cellars. I had never seen anything like this before. It was like Toytown with its rows of what looked like dinky, miniature houses. These wine…
Zwettl Abbey, Lower Austria Like Weitra, Zwettl is an ancient walled town known for its beer. What I hadn’t known was that Zwettl boasts a fountain designed by the renowned artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Now that’s what I call adding a splash of colour to the town centre! Zwettl also boasts yet another magnificent abbey, the Cistercian Stift Zwettl. At this stage, I’ve lost count of all the abbeys we’ve visited on this trip! I was glad that the Oldies were…
Visits to Rottal, Hemp Village Reingers, Litschau It’s not often that I get put on a pedestal! This, in fact, was the post marking the most northerly point of Austria, in the middle of a forest close to Rottal. Naturally enough, the Wingless Wonders didn’t pass up the opportunity to pop across the border into the Czech Republic. Even in this remote forested area, there’s no forgetting that ‘popping across the border’ was certainly not an option here for a…
Beer town Weitra ‘Lovely’, I thought, ‘an ancient walled town. No wonder the Oldies are anxious to visit.’ But I soon discovered that they had an ulterior motive for visiting Weitra. It’s not only as pretty as a picture, it is also Austria’s oldest brewing town. In fact, this year Weitra is celebrating the 700th anniversary of being accorded brewing rights. I know of several small towns in Ireland which used to boast dozens of pubs, but Weitra beats them…