Europe Trip: Straßburg

Straßburg, Austria located in the Gurk valley of northern Carinthia situated in the Nock Mountains along a bend in the Gurk River. We found ourselves there by chance after following a road sign that read simply “Schloss” (castle). Intrigued, we followed a road that led along the river until we found an adorable, albeit tiny, alpine village with a grand castle sitting atop one of the highest hills. Straßburg has only about 2300 residents. It is made up of rolling hills with an active logging industry along the river and pastures of grazing horses nestled in the hillsides alongside alpine style houses and large groves of trees. While staring out at the countryside Mat remarked, “You could definitely get your Robin Hood on out there!”

Schloss Straßburg sits atop a high, winding hill. It was first constructed as a fortress in the 1100s and was later expanded into a castle where it served as the seat of the Prince-Bishops of Gurk until the 18^th century. Today it houses a museum with rotating exhibits. The museum was closed on the day we visited but we were able to tour the exterior of the castle and enjoy the remarkable views of the countryside. While both little boys napped with Dédi in the car, the big boys climbed castle walls and explored trenches, clearly living out the Robin Hood fantasies of their childhood. It was a lovely experience.

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay for long but we will have very fond memories of Schloss Straßburg. I’m sure that the guys could have explored for hours on end, but we had much more to see and do in Austria.