Wachau Valley – Wine and Wheels

Is it the Napa Valley of Austria….the home of quaint medieval villages aligned along the Danube river, or is it …..heaven?  For us it was both. 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed in beautiful Weissenkirchen, in the center of the Wachau Valley between Melk and Krems, in the heart of Austria’s grape growing region.  Wine has been produced in this area since Charlemagne (800AD)!We slept in a home that was built over 500 years ago, but was recently renovated with all new modern amenities.

The Wachau Valley is a bicyclist dream.  The paths are paved and well marked and tons of people use them.  Long distance riders to local commuters pedal through the vines and villages.  We joined in the fun and rented two and cruised through this very lush valley.

 

At every turn in the road was a picturesque town, funky architecture, a castle on the hill, or steep terraces filled with our favorite fruit!

To top off our experience, a local family hosted us for a personal wine tasting and education on many of the Austrian varietals.  This family has been making wines from the grapes they grow on the hills surrounding their home for almost 200 years.   We toured their wine making cellar in their basement.  It has been used for producing and storing wines for 1100 years!  Hard to even imagine.  “We have a car now, let’s buy a case or two”.  It’s unfortunate that the wines made here aren’t available in the USA.  But our host family sells every bottle they make and are currently upgrading their equipment in order to increase volume of their higher quality varietals.   (aka…less jug wine). We’ll drink to that!    

If you go to the Wachau Valley, and we highly recommend that you do, remember to pack your padded shorts and cycle, eat and drink your way between the heurigens (wine tasting venues), home made preserve stands and gourmet restaurants.

Habsburg, Habsburg, everywhere a Habsburg

What do you get when you cross 7 centuries of a ruling noble family and a very large army made up of most of Europe with fervent Catholics that think there shouldn‘t be any other religions.……yes, you guessed it - The Habsburgs (referred to in history as the Austrian-Hungarian Empire).  Given that much of their empire was on our Central European itinerary, we thought it was important to know more about them. 

Both of us had been introduced to the Hapsburgs earlier in our lives (in world history class?), but were astonished to learn the exact extent of their empire.  We had no idea that they ruled many different regions of Europe for a very long time - 1200’s to 1918.  It came to an end for them when they lost WWI, which by the way, they helped start.  It was astounding to us when we realized that at various times they ruled over Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal and France.  We found it interesting that they stayed in power, for 700 years, with a marriage strategy when most other monarchies failed with a warring strategy.  Each new Hapsburg ruler had huge families, and they would marry off the kiddies to their powerful friends and feared enemies, thereby bringing in new lands, peoples, and of course….more taxes.  What to do with all these new found riches?  Commission ornate Catholic cathedrals and grand palaces and castles of course.  And, erect monuments commemorating yourself, build statues of yourself, and acquire bejeweled treasures.  Vienna, for example, is so architecturally beautiful because of this family.  They ruled from Vienna and wanted their surroundings to be stunning.  It was and remains a sight to behold. 
(The Hapsburgs weren't considered the most handsome family.  Note the distinct under bite on this Hapsburg.)
It was fascinating to us to discover that the Habsburgs were not only the Kings and Queens of a large part of Europe, but they also carried the title of Holy Roman Emperor.  They actually revitalized the label Holy Roman Empire to keep the spirit of Catholicism alive and well.  They considered themselves the living representatives of Christ on earth.  In other words…..the Pope reported to them.  Nice work if you can get it.  Some of the more famous names that were part of the Habsburgs included Napoleon, Maria Teresa, Franz Joseph II (started World War I), and Marie Antoinette (beheaded in France - “Let them eat cake”).


When they lost World War I, everything was taken away from them, and all their lands were divided up into free and autonomous countries for the first time in history. We weren’t surprised to learn that there are lots of Hapsburgs around today - 700 of them are living normal lives, in exile.  After being exposed to more Hapsburg info then expected during the course of travels, it was a perfect full circle to have a Hapsburg discussion with a couple of small town Austrians.  We were fortunate to be introduced to the owners of a small, family owned and run winery.  We sat with the mother and son for several hours, tasting wine and talking about anything and everything Austrian.   We were surprised that they felt that some of the Hapsburg’s properties should be returned to them and it was unfair that everything was taken away.  How interesting, we thought, given that these properties were created off the backs of the people they ruled (conquered).

The Austrian people are proud of the Hapsburg legacy and for tourists, like us, it's a great way to experience history - through beautiful architecture, art and wine!  

We all end up the same....some of us just happen to have prettier boxes.  This huge over-the-top fancy box is the double casket for Hapsburg Empress Maria Teresa and her husband Francois de Lorraine.