“Come into the apple garden“, is written in big, colourful letters across the apple company car of Albert & Vera Leeb. Those two are a really sweet couple, even though “my wife says I should not do the guided tours because .. well, I am just too outspoken, you know, I will always talk controversy no matter what.” Albert answers with a grin and yet manages to stand his man. He just loves to be in his apple orchard in the Northern Burgenland lake district. On this day, we stand and become enchanted here with him, taking in the scent of fresh apples, filling our boxes and simply relax during the harvest season. Oh, heavenly pleasures! Those spending too much time in front of the computer or in the office do forget the happiness that lies in the simple things of life and nature. We are therefore all the more alert, Monika & Petar of TravelWorldOnline, Máximo of TravellingForYou, Ursula aka “Toursula” and me, on this beautiful autumn day. Video cam, Instagram for iPhone or landscape photography & locally inspired poetry: Here is what we can share from our recent visit to the apple orchard in Burgenland.
#Gans Burgenland is the motto of our trip! Check it out. 😉
Divine pleasures reside in the simple things of life: Visiting an apple orchard at the time of the harvest in Burgenland.
Together with Albert, Ursula and Monika (from left to right) and I help together during the apple harvest. Fresh apples are just so good – we still continue eating from our little treasure boxes.
The apple paradies of the Leeb family can be found near St. Andrä in Northern Burgenland, close to both Lake Neusiedl and the border with Hungary .. Fans of apples and those of organic farming gather here for a look, chat and taste!
Have you ever been … invited to a private vinegar & juice tasting?!
They come, see and conquer: Family Hirmann are a true example of typical, Burgenland hospitality. In just no time, they have conquered our hearts with their welcoming attitude, allowing us into every little area of their production of juices and fruit vinegar. Do you know what I really love about travelling with the locals – one of my top travel categories on this blog? You are always right inside their kitchens, houses, homes and workshops, entering their hearts, way of thinking, literally everything else. On this special occasion, we have come to appreciate what is totally normal for the family Hirmann in their South Burgenland home town Rudersdorf: Turning quince, apples or pears into beautiful juice & vinegar. Do you know just how good wild garlic or beer vinegar tastes, let alone the smell & taste of freshly squeezed apple & pear juices?! Oh man. To die for!
A look into the apple orchard storehouse of the Hirmann family: Pure treasures are awaiting us here in the golden light of the afternoon autumn sun.
The family welcomes us with their typical sense of hospitality here at their farm in Southern Burgenland, close to the border with Hungary.
Various fruit & vegetable varieties are used to create unique vinegar blends.
What about trying a “beer vinegar” … ? Mmmh!
… welcome to our vinegar tasting! Here is where I get heaps of inspiration for my salad varieties back home.
Moving from vinegar to wine: Purbach near Lake Neusiedl is home to one of the most modern wine shops of Europe. We visit “Haus Am Kellerplatz”!
“A cooling device like this, including an automated vending machine using nitrogen and exact measurements, is totally state-of-the-art high technology and comes up to a worth of 12.000 Euros.” Wow! We do need our time, though, to “warm” to the new, ultra-modern cooling boxes here at “Haus Am Kellerplatz” where the team hands us a chip card each.
64 wine growers, 350 wines, 64 tasting opportunities: Well, we do not manage so much on our first visit, but what we do clearly impresses us our palates. Worth seeing is this new wine shop here in Burgenland!
Purbach has become inspired by other wine tourism destinations, such as Italy, and imported the expensive machines especially for the wine-savvy clientele of the local area wine shop here. “The big advantage is that we do not have leftovers any more, everybody enters the exact amount of what they want to taste and this is being deducted from the pre-loaded chip card”, the system is revealed to us. Makes sense: Off we go trying our card which still holds more than 10 Euros of wine tasting-worth! We “order” from bottles all over Burgenland, Ursula demonstrating how it works:
Give me some more: Ursula enters the exact amount she wants to try from any given bottle of wine here at the modern wine shop in Purbach, Burgenland
Visiting the Leeb family, bottle tastings are still a bit more traditional. However, we love both ways: All the products we taste here are simply divine. Harvest season is definitely one of the best times to come and travel here!
And those sunny vineyards are just too tempting, with their sweet grapes beckoning for a quick dab and sunny landscape photography.
Fancy knowing more about Burgenland & what more treasures you can find there? Visit my article page featuring the youngest province of Austria & let yourselves be inspired:
Disclaimer: A big word of Thankyou to the busy, happy organizer Ursula Waba & the entire team of Burgenland Tourismus for inviting us on this trip to “Gans Burgenland“. Read more about Ursula’s own Burgenland stories on her private travel blog “Toursula”! All opinions are my own.