DW has asked if anyone on the board is familiar with any of the following places:

Corinthia / Robesch
Miklauzhof, Sittersdorf or Schwarzenbach

We are going to visit in the summer where her ancestors are from. It is a long shot, but any info would be helpful.

I spent a summer in Graz about a decade ago. That's probably where you'll fly in to. It's a really neat city with an excellent cultural heritage (world-class museums, theaters, music, architecture and food).

One out-of-the way place in Carinthia you must visit is St. Paul im Lavanttal. There is a beautiful Benedictine Abbey there that dates to the late 11th century. They also have great food and craft spirits (schnapps), if I recall correctly.

No matter where you go, you'll have a great time. Have some schnitzel and drink some hefeweizen for me!

Graz is beautiful. As is the Danube valley upstream of Vienna.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Carinthia,+Austria/@46.7463313,12.7397184,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x47707498a689f517:0xd95ab93dad9ec93f!8m2!3d46.722203!4d14.1805882

My understanding is that it is mostly farming country. My daughter lived in Graz and I visited there often. Her S.O. had a farm in Carinthia.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2019 09:44PM by Devoted Exmo.

I once had the opportunity to drive a 1987 Schwarzenbach! Totally awesome experience. It changed me! I think Rush Limbaugh owns a couple of them.

I should mention that Graz is a university town. It's a nice size with a nice central park, railway station and castle at the top of the hill. A shopping district winds up the hill and it's of modest means.

Sounds like a trip of a lifetime.

Some links you might find helpful:

https://www.tasteofaustria.org/carinthia

https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/klagenfurt-a-k-klag.htm

https://www.tripmondo.com/austria/kaernten/politischer-bezirk-voelkermarkt/robesch/

https://www.expedia.com/Miklauzhof.dx3000045118

http://trip-suggest.com/austria/carinthia/sittersdorf/

https://www.tiscover.com/at/destinations/schwarzenbach

Thanks for the replies. I used to travel frequently when working. I accumulated nearly 1 million Marriott points. Used quite a few points in the past 2 years. Yes, I used to see BofMs in the rooms in at least half. I debated not using Marriotts, but these are franchised owned and in one project I stayed a year in the same location of which Marriott was the most convenient. Anyways, this will be a lifetime trip paid for with points for hotels and some air miles. DW wanted to see her ancestral home and so this works out. Vienna, Salzburg and Graz over a few weeks. This will be a great trip. All the points are now gone.

If you travel a great deal it makes sense to belong to some loyalty program. Most folks I know like IHG. That may be better than Marriott.

I've never been in the Graz area but I have spent some time in Salzburg. If you get a moment there are a half dozen wonderful villages in the area. St Gillan and Mondsee are wonderful and if you're in for a slight drive Hallstatt is awesome.

I'll never forget waking up in our quaint hotel room in Graz and looking out to the sight of a beautiful valley and the smell of chestnut blossoms. Looked and smelled like paradise.

I'd suggest venturing a bit further as well. Prague and Budapest are just down the road (or the river) and were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire when your wife's family was presumably in Austria. It's an enlightening trip since you see how the countries fit together in an economic and cultural whole.

It is a wonderful part of the world.

Yes, Hallstatt is gorgeous, as is the whole Lake District.We loved Innsbruck, the mountains surrounding it are breathtaking.
Anywhere in the Tyrol region, if you go across the border in Germany, you have to see Garmisch Parten.The Zugspitze is nice too. We went in early Summer and the top still had areas of snow.
When my husband was stationed in England, we went to Germany and Austria a lot, since it was just across the channel .We went with British coach trips, so they took you to all the good spots, plus it was cheap.

I know of a couple of good Austrian beer spas. ;)

Please bring back some fine Corinthian leather.