Two days under the motto ‘Plans always turn out differently’. I had actually planned to set off early on Saturday morning for Armschlag in the Waldviertel region, Lower Austria's ‘poppy village’, to photograph the poppy fields in the morning light. I suggested this to my father, a photographer, but he wasn't too keen on getting up early. So we decided to book a room in Spitz an der Donau, spend a pleasant evening there enjoying wine and Heurigen, and drive to Armschlag from there early on Saturday morning. I also wanted to buy Wachau apricots in Spitz on the way back to make the best apricot jam in the world. So much for that.
Change 1: My father transferred me, so my husband Michael came with me. (Note 2025: ex-husband)
Change 2: I fell ill on Saturday (and no, it wasn't a hangover 😉), so we only touched on arm strikes. And there weren't any poppy fields there either.
Change 3: No apricots, I was far too exhausted.
Spitz an der Donau – a wine lover's delight
Although I have often travelled to the Wachau region (mostly to buy apricots), I had never been to Spitz before. Therefore, I had no idea what to expect.
We stayed in a nice little place called ‘Gästehaus zur schönen Aussicht’ (Guest House with a Beautiful View). The name says it all, by the way.
One minor criticism: there is a large, attractive table on the terrace in front of the entrance. Despite our reservation, it was covered with dirty gardening tools. Not a very pleasant sight. However, the room was really nice, newly renovated and spacious.
Deluxe walking
If you enjoy walking and like gentle ups and downs without it being too strenuous, welcome to Spitz. Not only does the pretty town centre invite you to take a stroll, there are also great roads and hiking trails through the vineyards. This allowed us to stroll leisurely from the first wine tavern to the second via the 1000-Eimer-Berg, enjoying the fantastic views along the way. It's also worth taking a look at the driveways and gardens of the houses. Most of them are beautifully landscaped, with lovely overgrown arches and pergolas, and look really romantic.
Wachau wine and wine taverns
What would a trip to Spitz be without wine? As it was already evening when we arrived, we were really looking forward to our first glass. Wine taverns are not always open. They usually belong to winegrowers, who serve their wine and simple dishes there. The best way to find out which wine taverns are open and when is to consult the Heurigenkalender (wine tavern calendar).
There were only two of us on our weekend trip, so we first stopped at Lechner , which is located in the centre of Spitzer, and then hiked across the vineyard to Schöberl. What a pleasant reason to get some exercise!
The Lechner wine tavern has a beautiful courtyard, like something out of a picture book. Free seats? Unfortunately, they are in short supply. But since we wanted to continue on our way anyway, we simply made ourselves comfortable in the parlour, tasted the white wines and had a small snack (bread with crackling lard and stuffed Wachauer bread roll, mmmmm).
Well fortified, we continued our hike over the 1000-bucket mountain. Along the way, we saw a great wine tavern that also offered fresh apricot dumplings. But in anticipation of the next wine tavern, we kept going. So unfortunately, I missed out on my apricot dumplings...
The Schöberl Winery has a wonderful garden where you can sit right next to the grapevines. It's just how you imagine a wine tavern to be. Wonderfully romantic, by the way! And the wild sausages were so good to snack on with the wine.
My conclusion about Spitz
A great two-day trip. I could easily imagine it being perfect for family outings. Staying overnight really pays off, if only so you can taste enough wine! 🙂 And the walks and easy hikes are also very manageable for children and elderly people.
A detour to the poppy village
As I mentioned above, our detour to the poppy village of Armschlag the following day was very brief. Unfortunately, there were no poppy fields in bloom right next to the poppy village. However, everything there is really geared towards poppies. The inns, guided tours, gardens... simply everything. A great excursion idea with children!
Since I wasn't feeling well, we quickly headed back home. However, we were really lucky: on the way home, about 15 minutes outside the poppy village of Armschlag, we actually passed a magnificent poppy field. That's pretty much how I imagined it!
Well, who needs lavender fields, I wonder... 🙂
