Recently, good friends Astrid and Marcus took a dream vacation in Austria, and this week she wrote up a portion of their trip for Brix Picks, Thanks again to Astrid for sharing her adventures! (And for loaning me her Cure album).
Our first stop was Eisenstadt, a very small but picturesque town, home to the composer Joseph Haydn and a large Esterhazy wine cellar. We later discovered the Esterhazy vineyard was right near our hotel in Rust so we stopped by to taste more wine and buy some bottles. There was also a field trip of high school students tasting wine there, (though the teachers seemed more tipsy than the students!!!)
We stayed in Rust, a small town bordering the Neusiedler Sea and close to the border of Hungary. Its the Burgenland region, which has some of the nicest weather in Austria and is known for its wine!
We stayed at the Rusterhof, Its a renovated farmhouse, with small suites
and two restaurants. The town is quiet and beautiful, old farmhouses and lots of storks that live in nests on the rooftops. The lake is huge, and although you can walk there from the town center I'd recommend renting a bike!
Almost every other house is a Heuriger– a local wine maker that produces and sells his own wine, if the doors are open you just walk in and can taste or buy wines, (bottles start at around 2-3 euros). Because we got to Rust on a Monday most places were closed, (Austria considers Mon/Tues rest days, so its tricky to find places that are open) but we still managed to find my favorite treat- Austrian iced coffee. It's more a coffee Sunday than an iced coffee, so I have to limit my consumption but its a vacation treat!
br/>Tuesday we ate at the Hofgassl, which was tucked?away in a courtyard. Asparagus or “spargel” was in season so we started with a Spargel Variation plate– asparagus 4 ways- asparagus sushi, asparagus soup, foam and steamed asparagus… we shared a salad, perch entree and drank more amazing wine!
Our next day trip was Baden– A resort spa town, famous for its sulfur springs and royal gardens. We spent the day walking through their massive pedestrian zone and their parks, and of course we drank more wine and giant beers!
We ate at a semi touristy but awesome courtyard?restaurant, where I made the mistake of ordering?Marcus the Sour Wurst, which turned out to be?bologna with vinegar!
Then offff to Viennnaaaaa……
But what do you think?