Gourmet Travel Delights in the Wachau Valley: Best Of Wine & Apricots

Apricots, Apricots, Apricots! Tasting the longest apricot cake in the world (yes, it is well over 30 metres long!). Eating apricot dumplings, joining an apricot festival, being “apricot bloggers”, almost: Our gourmet trip along the Danube in Lower Austria shapes up to let us appreciate & enjoy every aspect of this sweet little orange fruit whose harvest is taking place right now in the middle of July. Tasting a b’soffene Marille (“boozy apricot” according to Sarah Lee of LiveShareTravel) at 10 in the morning? No problem, if like Sarah Lee or Nienke Krook you have just come from England or Holland in order to soak up the local atmosphere. “We love Austria!” is what Sarah & her husband Terry keep saying: Together with our colleagues Janett Schindler (Teilzeitreisender) from Germany, Anita Brechbühl (Travelita) from Switzerland and Nienke Krook (The Travel Tester) from Holland, we have come to enjoy a unique gourmet weekend in one of the most spectacular river landscapes of Austria: The World Heritage Wachau at the Danube in Lower Austria.

“Flower Power” & “Wine Lovers”: The Wachau represents pure essence of good living.

“We will get you fresh flowers from our garden!” Mrs Saahs, welcoming us at the oldest Austrian Wine Estate Nikolaihof in Mautern, retreats from our dinner table with a smile. However, only a little later, she is back with a whole basket of flowers and encouraging us to … eat them !!! Quite incredulous, we later really enjoy munching one or two of them: Flowers are delightful, either at the table, in your salad or as a snack in between. Lovely. Lots of flowers also brighten up our gourmet lunch at the famous restaurant Holzapfel Prandtauerhof, who thanks to their magnificent inner courtyard wrap us up in a real southern summer atmosphere. The food & wines are just excellent here. Be sure not to miss the following gourmet travel tips on your next foodie trip in Wachau …

Lunch at Holzapfel Prandtauerhof in Joching: This is only the starters. We love the beauty of this colourful (and tasty!) creation.

The “Marillenknödel” (apricot dumplings) are especially famous here … to die for! Seriously. 😀

Travel Tip: Burn off all calories during a walk with a local “Wachau.Hiata”, a local hiking guide taking you on intricate paths through the local vineyards where we learned all there is to know about growing wine in the Wachau valley.

Walking, feeling, living: Here, we learn a lot about the complex construction and maintenance of the wine growing district’s famous stone terraces that have characterized the area since the times of the Romans 2.000 years ago.

After all this excitement, a good place to unwind is to … pose in front of one of the lovely local vineyards! From right to left: Nienke Krook, Sarah & Terry Lee, Anita Brechbühl, Birgit Fischer, Janett Schindler and myself.

Mrs Saahs, who besides being our host for the evening is one of the best chefs of Austria, looking after us all evening and serving us a great selection of vinegar and oils for our salads here.

Gourmet Travel at the Danube in Lower Austria: “Geniesserzimmer” local accommodation, apricot festival & more!

Well, I have to tell you this: Even living here, you always discover new things. The city of Krems is local to me, however I have never tried the longest apricot cake in the world that is being served here each year. Delightful! Thanks to the appreciation of my friends, things taken for granted always manage to turn into something special: Janett and I have therefore chosen to stay in the same Genießerzimmer Ried Kollmitzberg, a special type of local gourmet accommodation welcomed by the family Prankl in Spitz at the Danube. Their rooms perfectly express the history of the traditional inn. “From here, it is literally just two steps till you reach our Danube beach for a swim”, Martin Prankl, our host at Gasthaus Prankl lets us in into his secret. I wonder if we have the time, though? Segway, Wachaubahn historic train ride, apricot festival & more: We are getting busy here with so many things to see and do! Definitely, there is always time for a toast with a good glass of Riesling or Grüner Veltliner here at the Danube in Lower Austria …

Breakfast at our accommodation Gasthaus Prankl in the Wachau valley … What can I say. Just beautiful out on this quiet sunny terrace with a view over the Danube river.

A little later, we are in for a “treat”: The first “boozy apricot” of the day is our “second meal” at the apricot festival in Krems. Enjoy, Nienke & Sarah!

The longest apricot cake in the world stretches well into the old city of Krems: 30 metres long, it draws hundreds of hungry spectators each and every year.

Krems is a wonderful city, and I am proud to live here now! It is delightful to travel in your own city though, constantly discovering new things and angles, such as this beautiful view taken in the inner city.

This is what happy travel writers look like: A little skeptical about our Segway skills at first, we enjoy taking this ride through the vineyards around the Spitz!

After a short introduction by wonderful local host Thorsten Busch, we are allowed to “segway away” on our new mighty wheels … loving the experience !!

There goes Janett, having managed to “climb” steep rocky surfaces and vineyards hillsides: Well done for a Segway beginner! It really is that easy to learn, and we had so much fun during our trip in the vineyards around Spitz.

A toast to the Wachau and its unique cultural landscape that has been shaped by wine & agriculture for the past two millennia.

These lovely ladies welcome us to our historic train ride through the Wachau valley with a glass of … sparkling WINE. What else!

Stopping during our train trip, we arrive in the famous little town of Dürnstein where true “Wachau Saffron” is grown: Beautiful on its own or wrapped up inside this tasty chocolate bar.

This train ride with carriages whose furniture dates back to the 1930s is a unique experience of our trip. We love it !

In the evening, we of course had to come and see the local apricot festival in the city of Krems … treating ourselves to a final round of wine & apricot dumplings. You only live once … hehe.

Cycling at the Danube? A river cruise between the vineyards? Or continuing to eat famous apricot dumplings … ?

Life is hard. Really. If an area, despite being “small” (it is only 35 kilometres from Krems to Melk along the famous Wachau Danube river valley) offers us all these possibilities, how can you possibly choose from them? Rent a bike? Dare cruising on the river? Continue eating (apricot dumplings and else)? Or go see … a real apricot farmer?

The answer is: Try everything. 😉 We did anyway! A river cruise from Krems to Spitz on the Danube is truly relaxing – wonderful views and a state-of-the-art Wachau ship offer good comfort and rest. When cycling alongside the famous Danube cycling trail during our 20 kilometer stretch from Spitz to Krems, we really enjoyed the countless photo opportunities, hotels & “Heurigen” local wine bars as well as the beautiful landscape on the way. And what about the apricots … ? We simply love them. Turned into brandy, liqueur or hidden inside a lovely little Austrian dumpling: Wachau, Wine & Apricots are the most beautiful travel experience around here.

Always worth the trip: Dürnstein, one of the most famous places in the whole of Austria, becomes a popular place for visitors during the summer months.

The local company Brandner Schifffahrt offers a lot of cruises such as a our two-hour trip from Krems to Spitz, commentary is given in several languages catering to international guests from all over the world.

Just a little later, we are in for our Sunday lunch right by the river and back where we rented our Segways one day earlier: A familiar welcome at the Strandcafé Spitz.

In order to burn off all calories and to enjoy the landscape, we recommend renting a bike along the Danube bicycle trail.

Cycling delights: Countless photo opportunities beckon us to linger and stop on the way, taking in the beautiful surrounding local landscapes.

What a trip: Thank you, dear team & friends at the Danube in Lower Austria for joining us for some great gourmet delights during this weekend.

Disclaimer: We have been invited by the Danube Lower Austria & the Geniesserzimmer Niederösterreich in order to travel in the Wachau valley featuring wine & apricots. All opinions are my own.