Wachau Valley, Austria

One of my favorite excursions was the Wachau Valley wine tour. We met up with 6 other people and road in a private van for about an hour. Maybe I didn’t read the full description or reviews, but our first stop involved hiking up a mountain to old castle ruins. We also sampled some apricot liqeur – which was pretty tasty. But back to the hike. I was in a romper and flats. Definitely not ready to climb steep stairs and hike through dirt. Also didn’t expect for something like this to be the first activity. “Hi, nice to meet you, this is how I smell when I am soaked in sweat.” Luckily we were all in good spirits, pre-alcohol! The beautiful scenery seemed to make everything A-Okay.

After the hike, 8 sweaty tourists jumped into a van! We visited our first winery for lunch. Everything was amazing. I was especially excited because there was a cat that lived on the grounds that was oh-so-sweet. We all talked and drank and shared stories of our travels. The group joked that Daniel and I were the youngest by about 20 years or more. One man asked why we didn’t opt for the bicycle wine tour. I didn’t hesitate in my reply because I saw this particular tour online. “That just sounds dangerous!”They all laughed. I guess this statement made me out to sound a bit older and less adventurous. HA. [[I was thinking of that one episode of the Office where Jim tries to ride his bike home after one too many shots.]]

We visited one more winery before our tour guide dropped us off for the boat ride. The views were spectacular. Daniel and I hung out with the other American couple on the top deck while the others enjoyed/dozed off in the shade below. We drank our beers slowly, taking in the sights…wishing we didn’t have to go back home eventually…