The best spots for your (wine) snack
Between castle ruins, bewildering labyrinths and a cellar alley that seems to have no end - we have the best spots for you to take your snack!
Hiking makes you one thing more than anything - hungry! And to make sure that your stomach doesn't start rumbling after hiking, we have put together the most remarkable and cosy places for a picnic with a view around Falkenstein.
What would a hiking day be without a snack? It would not be a complete day. Fortunately, here in the Weinviertel hiking region, hikers will find enough beautiful places to take a break and have a snack – and can even get directly on site everything that is important for a proper picnic. There is, for example, the genusswerkstatt sieben:schläfer and the Kellerrast of the Neustifter family, the Selbstbedienungskeller Galgenberg and several more snack stations along the hiking trails.
Our best picnic spots offer all kinds of things such as dreamy feasting at the foot of a ruin, extensive tippling in seemingly endless cellar alleys and an invigorating snack on a mountain where gallows stood hundreds of years ago. Here they are - the cosiest places for your break before, during and after hiking.
#1 Falkenstein Castle Ruin
The most famous ruin in the Weinviertel region not only boasts a breathtaking panorama and shady, gentle picnic spots, but also an exciting history. The history of Falkenstein Castle Ruin is as old as the settlement of Weinviertel itself. Particularly worth seeing are a limestone cave, historical vaults with artefacts, an exhibition on the Anabaptist movement and a replica of a historical wooden galley. Since it is well known that a lot of history makes you hungry, the Falkenstein castle ruins are a great place for a picnic. A tip! Pick up a picnic basket filled with delicacies at the genusswerkstatt sieben:schläfer before the hike. Then you can set off on the Kleiner Falkenflug and enjoy the picnic on your blanket once you've reached the top!
#2 Lost in the vineyard labyrinth?
Don´t worry, you won´t get lost in the vineyard labyrinth (definitely worth a photo or two), which functions as a landscape element here. Unless, of course, visitors arrive before the grape harvest, when they can still nibble on the grapes. But even they won't let you stray from your path - that's a promise. The picnic is also provided here at this special place by the genusswerkstatt sieben:schläfer or, alternatively, by one of the cellar restaurants. By the way, the "Tut gut!" hiking trail Falkenstein (Route 3) (“Makes you feel good!”) leads directly to the vineyard labyrinth.
#3 On the Kreuzberg
Unmistakably, the Kreuzberg towers imposingly right next to Falkenstein and directly on the "Tut gut!" hiking trail (Route 1). There are man-made things to see - impressive sandstone figures by Ferdinand Pfaundler from the 17th century - and exciting things from nature. 150 million years ago, the limestone formations were still coral islands in a primeval ocean. Today, a variety of special plants grow here. These, as well as the view of Falkenstein and the surrounding area, are best admired over a snack-to-go from the genusswerkstatt sieben:schläfer.
#4 In the Radyweg cellar alley
...you think - does it actually have an end? And rightly so, because this cellar alley is actually the longest in Poysdorf. And it leads directly to the vineyards Stein- and Fuchsenbergen and Hermannschachern, one of the oldest in the region. An informative guided tour of the cellars gives an insight into six exhibition cellars. And because full stomachs don’t like studying, you will need to wait a bit longer for your snack. But then it's time. Off to the Kellerrast of the Neustifter family, to the sun terrace with hammocks and hanging chairs or to another picnic spot along the "Tut gut!" hiking trail Poysdorf (Route 2).
#5 The Falkenstein Window
...is a particularly popular spot for taking photos. While you take a break from hiking here and enjoy the fallow meadows, the ruins of Falkenstein Castle behind the Falkenstein window provide a magnificent picture motif 365 days a year. So don't forget your camera - the Falkenstein window is worth more than just a snapshot!
#6 In the Galgenberg cellar alley
A 256-metre-high mountain with 184 wine cellars and wine press houses is a great place for a snack. And indeed - if you will - quite gruesome, because until around 1828 gallows actually stood on this elevation. But there is no sign of this today, so you can enjoy your meal without a care in the world - such as in the visitors' cellar located there. The cellar invites exhausted hikers to linger, cool off and refresh. It’s not only wine, but also grape juice that can be enjoyed here. Various snacks from the Besucherkeller then be trusted to take care of the proverbial hole in the stomach. Another anecdote of the viewpoint is the sunken church - a remnant of a parish that was demolished in the 1970s. Only the spire withstood the blasting, and this, unlike the gallows, can actually still be seen.
#7 In the Staatz castle cellar
The castle cellar, along with the Schüttkasten, is one of the few relics of Staatz Castle that has survived. Here the motto is - 24 hours, 365 days a year. We don't want to mislead you in any way – the "Staatzer Speis" functions as an information, resting and refreshment stand at the foot of the Staatzer Berg mountain and is open as a self-service kiosk all year round and 24 hours a day. For those who are not too tired of food and drink afterwards, we recommend the Staatzer Kellergassenrunde with its villages without smokehouses and the "Staatzer Berg" as a constant companion. And why not take a detour into a special cellar? The cellar tube of the former castle of Staatz has been transformed into a "culture tube". Artists from the region provide a varied cultural programme throughout the year in what are called the cultacombs.
