Today’s adventure consisted of a drive to Falkenstein Castle, a castle that was built in 1050 A.D. The trip went through two sleepy towns that seemingly had no inhabitants. It was also filled with acres and acres of sunflowers.

We were able to explore the ruins over the course of a couple hours and saw where all the action happened. It’s amazing to think these castles were built hundred of years before the U.S. even came to be (and it’s the 4th of July today).

The castle sat high on a hill and overlooked a valley of farms on all sides. It was one impressive structure. The inside of the castle had an old Viking boat that slaves would be sent out when they were punished with death. The ship even had a set of shackles.

The most recent owner is using the castle to host events on the grounds. It was a pretty neat setup.

Our next stop on the journey took us to an unlisted and hidden gem. It was a vineyard with 168 family-owned wine cellars built into a hillside. All the cellars were tagged and included the name of each family on the plaque. Each family gets a week to sell their wine and also has a food setup in their cellar. The best part was the fact that the families also made grape and apple juice in addition to the wine. After we sampled some of the product, we sparked up a conversation with the owner who had this week to sell his wines. He offered to show us his cellar. It was like stepping back in time. All the wine is produced with old world tools. After the first cellar, he showed us two more of their cellars. It wasn’t a tour. This man simply showed us around his cellars with great pride. All in German.

Two pics above are apricots and cherries.

The next part of our tour was a complete mystery to us. Our friends had us following them but wouldn’t respond to the questions of our next destination. The last text we received simply said ” Can you guess?”

The next thing we know, there was a sign that read Iron Curtain (bike) Trail and the border of the Czech Republic. It was unreal to think this was another communist country just a short time ago. There was a border crossing gate off to the side and markers defining Austria and Czechoslovakia.

As we headed back to our house, the final “not likely in America” moment happened. We went to another home-based winery and food place. They weren’t open until Friday, but said they’d be willing to serve us some drinks. We headed back to a beautiful patio overlooking their vineyard and were served our drinks. When the woman asked if she could get us anything else (they’re not even open), we asked for some bread. Ten minutes later, Stephanie shows up with two cheese and fruit plates along with a basket containing different types of breads. After we paid our bill, Stephanie asked if we wanted to take a quick tour of the wine cellar. There were two more … dating back to the early 1900s. One was an earthen cellar that actually had roots from the grasses and plants growing through the ceiling.

A great ending to our day came when we attended the Vienna Summer Movie/Concert series. Tonight was a crazy interpretive dance by Mikhail Baryshnikov from 2009 and a concert with George Ezra. The two films were projected onto a huge screen in the Rathaus (City Hall) Plaza.

A great trip comes to an end tomorrow morning as we happily travel back to the U.S.

We can’t thank the curators at The White House enough for all they did to make this fantastic trip happen. Where will the next adventure take us?