Beautiful, Little Waidhofen!

Now that we’ve finished our five-day stay in Waidhofen an der Ybbs, we’ll offer you a glimpse into our marvellous visit! Sorry, there aren’t any juicy, thrilling details from such a quiet little town. But after a long week on the road, that isn’t such a bad thing. It’s hard not to feel relaxed in this beautiful town nestled in such a picturesque river valley. And the kindness and hospitality of the people here, especially Paul’s family, made us feel right at home. We fell right into a routine: breakfast with a smile from the kind lady at our hotel, then a warm delicious lunch cooked by Aunt Christa, then a day of sight seeing accompanied by a free guide (someone related to Paul). Our time here only made us want to visit again. So, here’s the scoop:

Thursday:
After the usual Austrian breakfast at our hotel we took a stroll through the little downtown of Waidhofen. It’s a small town and it only took a few minutes to walk through the whole of the center, but it’s very nice. Die Stadt der Türme (city of towers) is really that. They poke up all across the town which makes for an incredible small-town skyline.

Our walk ended back at Aunt Christa’s house where we joined her and Opa for lunch. We made plans with Opa to hike around the Buchenberg, a hill just behind Christa’s house, which has many great views of the surroundings. It took a couple hours and all the while Opa talked to us about how the area has changed since he was young. After a short break at the Gasthaus we made friends with some chatty cows.

Friday:

Today Opa swept us off into the foggy farmland hills to a birthday lunch with some of his old friends. The eight of us gathered around table in a gasthaus with Paul’s great uncle, Pips, and great aunt, Hermi, and some others whose names we can’t recall. Despite the fact that we didn’t really fit in with the crowd, it was a fun time. It’s not very often that you get to do shots of Schnaps with 6 people over 70.

For dinner we discovered that the Austrian countryside is not the best place for Chinese food.

Afterwards we met up with Paul’s cousin Anni to experience real Waidhofen nightlife! Our first bar of the evening used to be a horse stable. The walls were solid, thick stone and made for a great atmosphere. Anni said the acoustics were great for live shows. After a drink or two we hopped on to the next place. A rather fancy yet empty bar in the “new castle” of Waidhofen. We bumped into a couple of Anni’s friends there, the only occupants in the bar save the bartender. Then we headed off, thereby vacating the establishment, to a place they used to go to as teenie boppers. Surprise…the place was packed wall-to-wall with teenie boppers, a sight you never see in The States.

Saturday:
Sara and I were tired today, so we got up for breakfast then returned to the room and watched CNN for a while. Thrilling…The weather wasn’t so good today so we went to Ferrum, a blacksmithing museum in Ybbsitz. The perfect mixture of art and science. Waidhofen (as well as the town of Ybbsitz) lie along the old Eisenstrasse (iron road), so there is a long history of blacksmithing and iron trade.

Back at Christa’s we had some coffee and cake in preparation for a short 30 minute concert at a nearby Church. Paul’s uncle Walter played the organ and a local choir sang. It was very nice, and this church has amazing, even acclaimed, acoustics. Tea followed the concert along with some more goodies. And then Walter opened the wine… or should I say wines. After each bottle he insisted we try this other one. All local Austrian wines. It was a great evening with Christa and Walter and at almost one o’clock in the morning we decided it was time for bed.

Sunday:
It was sunny today so we decided to drive out to Hochkar, the tallest mountain within an hours drive. We drove up to the base of the ski area, then hiked up to the top to look around. The landscape was incredible. Rolling hills and mountains covered in forests and grass. The farmers let their cows graze here in the summer so many grasslands thrive amongst the trees.

After descending to the car we realized we had lost Opa. We checked the restaurant while Christa and Walter drove up the road and asked passers-by if they’d seen him. No luck, and it was growing cold and dark in these mountains. After a good half hour we were very relieved to see him walking down towards us. Turns out he thought he lost his camera somewhere on the trail and went back up to find it.

We topped off Walter’s car with water (it was overheating on the drive up) and cautiously drove home. Back at Christa’s we found Opa’s camera in his bag. Christa and Walter both had to prepare for school (they’re both teachers) so we let them be. We went to bed early so we could wake up refreshed for our ride out of the Ybbs river valley and back down the Danube.

Our time in Waidhofen was fantastic, though a little short. There are more things we would have like to have done, so we’ll just have to come back soon. Thank you Christa, Walter, and Opa for everything. We very much enjoyed visiting you in beautiful Waidhofen!

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