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| Seecamping Langau-view from our campsite |
Leaving Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic, we drove south to enter Austria, then made our way to Seecamping Langau in the Thayatal National Forest.
We had trouble finding this campsite, but thanks to a local cyclist who,
realising that she could not explain the directions, instructed us to follow
her on her bicycle - so we did and all was good.
We had a great spot with a lovey view of a lake.
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| Marg overlooking the Danube |
Leaving there the next morning, we drove south toward the Danube (or
the Donau).
Our first stop was Langenlois. This is an attractive old town, that is
famous for its wine production.
We still had quite a distance to travel so abstained from the wine, but
enjoyed our stroll through the cobblestoned village.
Leaving there, we headed to Krems an der Donau (Krems on the Danube),
an historic market town.
Krem marks the beginning of the Wachau area of Austria.
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| Marg in Stein |
The Wachau is a 36 km stretch of the Danube that runs between the towns of Krems and
Melk. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, full of baroque architecture and
orchards. It is also one of the Austrian wine regions.
From there, we followed the Danube, driving through some pretty towns,
and past lots of vineyards. It was a lovely route to drive.
Then we crossed the Danube on an interesting old steel bridge, and
ended up in Stein.
We found a biggish parking spot for our campervan Vanni, and had a
lovely walk around Stein township.
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| Leigh in Dürnstein |
It is a very pretty town full of pastel coloured houses and
cobblestones.
It had an ornate white and gold centrepiece/statue in the main town
square that we thought was very interesting.
Next, we drove to Dürnstein, another extremely picturesque village of
cobblestoned streets. We had a good look around here and found it very attractive.
There was even a medieval castle ruin overlooking the Danube.
Called the Kuenringerburg, it is where King Richard the Lion-Heart of
England was held captive by Duke Leopold V in 1193.
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| Burg Aggstein castle |
Next up was Spitz, another pretty village. It is surrounded by
vineyards, cobbled streets and Baroque houses.
Our next attractive town was Weissenkirchen. This is a old town known
for the ruins of castle Burg Aggstein which we visited briefly.
The castle dates back to the 12th century. It sits high above the
Danube on the hills of the Dunkelsteinerwald Forest.
By now it was late afternoon. We decided we had time for one more stop,
before we headed to our campsite.
So, we drove to Schönbühel, a very lovely market town, located along
the Danube.
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| Dinner at Gasthof Camping Stumpfer, Schönbühel |
After a walk through the town, we made our way to the interesting Schönbühel Castle.
The Castle dates back to the early 12th century. Its built on a huge rock, around 40 metres above the Danube. The site
itself is believed to have been home to a Roman fortress before the Castle was
built.
We had great fun going through the castle and seeing the medieval
artifacts and furniture.
Absolutely worn-out by now, we headed for our campsite, Gasthof Camping
Stumpfer. It was near Schönbühel in a great little spot beside the Danube. The camp had a restaurant where we enjoyed a traditional Austrian meal
and a glass (or 2!) of the local wine – quite delicious.
We really loved this part of the trip and are looking forward to more.
Our next stop is Vienna.
Before we left here, we decided that we need to give our campervan a name, so we came up with the name “Vanni” which has a nice Italian ring to it, and appropriate, given that its an Italian made van.
The above describes part of our 7 month campervan trip around central and southern Europe, which began in Germany.
Before we left here, we decided that we need to give our campervan a name, so we came up with the name “Vanni” which has a nice Italian ring to it, and appropriate, given that its an Italian made van.
The above describes part of our 7 month campervan trip around central and southern Europe, which began in Germany.