Once an imperial summer residence, Baden bei Wien is now a charming spa town in Lower Austria, known for its historical significance, cultural attractions and relaxing thermal springs.

Immediately after our arrival and the greeting of the dear club colleagues from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands as well as the takeover of our welcome package, we set off, in persistent drizzle, on a 90-minute guided tour of Baden, which brought us closer to the many sights and secrets of the pretty little spa town. We spent the rest of the evening together with our club colleagues at the hotel bar and were already looking forward to the upcoming trips through Burgenland and Lower Austria.

First day: On the way to our destination for the day in Mörbisch on Lake Neusiedl, several stops with many interesting sights were planned today. Shortly after waking up, at 08:22 a.m. to be precise, we started the engines of our vehicles to drive to the Esterházy Palace with a perfectly and precisely designed roadbook.

First of all, the way led us via Loretto, to the beautiful basilica and pilgrimage church Maria Loretto, which has served as a pilgrimage site for believers for 350 years. Burned down twice by the Turks, the church was rebuilt and expanded again and again before it was solemnly consecrated in 1659. Furthermore, it was awarded the title of "Papal Basilica minor" by Pope John Paul II due to the visit of Diocesan Bishop Dr. Paul Iby.

We now continued to Eisenstadt to the Esterházy Palace - one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Austria - in front of whose main entrance we were allowed to park our vehicles for a group photo. Afterwards, we took part in a guided tour of the magnificent building to learn a little more about the glamorous life at the court of the Esterházy princes. Particularly outstanding was the beautiful Haydn Hall, which not only has a fantastic ceiling painting, but also excellent acoustics. An overwhelming event for us was the musical interlude with sounds of Haydn in the pretty little castle chapel.

An exciting counterpoint is provided by the former stables opposite the castle. Together, they form the Schlossquartier Eisenstadt, where contemporary and historical, music and art, culinary delights and wine meet in a unique form. By the way, I've always wanted to park my car right in front of the main entrance ;-)
The next stage took us to the "Gate to Freedom" in St. Margarethen directly on the Hungarian border. It is the memorial for the "Pan-European Picnic". History was made here in 1989 when, with the consent of the two countries Austria and Hungary, a border gate between St. Margarethen in Burgenland and Sopronköhida in Hungary was symbolically opened for three hours. On 19.08.1989, before the official start of the programme, refugees from the GDR appeared and broke through the border in several waves. The Hungarian border police did not prevent this escape, which thus became the first spectacular action of German reunification.

Our way towards Mörbisch on Lake Neusiedl next led us to the free town of Rust, a small picturesque town in Burgenland in Austria. With 1,984 inhabitants, Rust is the smallest administrative district and the smallest statutory town in Austria. Also known as the "city of storks" - which felt like they were sitting in their nests on every fireplace of the houses around the market square - Rust also has a large wine-growing community. A detailed tour of the city initiated us into the many anecdotes and the historical history of the free city, which has been royally Hungarian since 1681.

Arriving at Lake Neusiedl – which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001 – we were invited by our Austrian hosts on a boat that showed us the beauties of one of the few steppe lakes in Europe by means of a round trip. The lake is mainly located on Austrian territory and to a lesser extent on Hungarian territory and is characterized by its reed belt, its shallow water depth and its mild but windy climate. With a good appetite we enjoyed the regional delicacies from the buffet and then enjoyed the wonderful view on deck, as well as the wind that blew around our noses.

We ended the day with interesting petrol talks at the hotel bar. Exhausted, but happy, we went to our room shortly before midnight to be rested for the next day.

The next day we drove together to the former hunting lodge Mayerling.

Picturesquely embedded in the Vienna Woods, the small town of Mayerling offers more than just an impressive landscape - it is also steeped in history. For exactly where the church of the Carmelite monastery stands today, Crown Prince Rudolf and his lover Mary Vetsera went to their deaths on January 30, 1889, for reasons that are not yet fully understood. Together we took part in a guided tour of the small but fine museum and let ourselves be captivated by the very special myth of the tragedy of a failed crown prince.

In a sorted line-up of our vehicles, our car caravan moved on to the impressive Hernstein Castle, which is one of the most important examples of historicism in Austria and impresses with its architecture and furnishings. The origins of the castle date back to the 12th century, when a fortified castle was built on this site. In the 19th century, Archduke Leopold Ludwig had the existing building rebuilt by architect Theophil von Hansen in the English Gothic style. The castle park was also designed in the English style of a landscape garden and covers about 12 hectares. It has an artificially dammed pond with an island that used to be used for naval battles.

After a small champagne reception in the entrance hall with delicious finger food, we were allowed to take part in a guided tour of the wonderful rooms of the castle before we went to our last stop.
As a last destination, there was a special highlight listed in our roadbook for all friends of the English sheet metal: The BCCC (British Classic Car Collection). This collection - which is not open to the public - is located in the romantically situated Furth in the Triesting Valley and is a private collection of the Austrian club colleague Wolfgang Alber. It consists exclusively of British automobiles that were produced after the Second World War and did not include a plastic coating or an American engine.

Completely impressed by the extraordinary exhibition and the beautiful property, we drove back to the hotel – without taking part in the coffee snack. The older you get, the longer your own restoration process for the evening event takes ;-)

In the "noble thread" we stood in front of the side entrance of the Baden casino and enjoyed the welcome drink in wonderful weather while we got in the mood for the upcoming gala evening. After handing over the individual club gifts to the host and an award ceremony for the knowledge tests or games of skill made in between, we were allowed to feast on a delicious buffet. A fantastic evening with many lovely people and interesting conversations. It was a wonderful conclusion and we were not yet fully aware that we would have to start our journey home tomorrow.

Unfortunately, time always passes much too quickly and so we said goodbye to our beloved club colleagues on Sunday after breakfast to start our journey home.

THANKSGIVING

We would like to thank the organizers Max Geldner, Günter Tuczay, Petra Piller-Berger and Michael Berger, as well as the President Thomas Paradeiser and the Vice-President Andreas Geldner and all members of the Austrian Rover Club for the impressive and exclusive organization of this event.

Although the beautiful program was very demanding due to the many sights and stops, it was still relaxed and at no time lost any of the Austrian serenity - which we appreciated so much. A great respect to the organizers for the great organization and handling of the individual rides.

A big thank you goes to all participants who made this weekend a wonderful experience for us! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

Ute and Christoph

Text:  Ute Stoll