After our road trip , we made our way down to the south of Austria, where we have settled in here at Bernstein Castle! The plan is to spend the summer here, and so far, it’s looking to be a great start to the season!
The estate is beautifully intact and rich with history. Each of the rooms has its own character and soul. The dining hall is a grand 16th-century work of art. The gardens are exploding with variety and life, and are meticulously well cared for. Everything comes together to create this wonderful historical experience, all surrounded by the beautiful South Austrian hills. The stuff of fairy tales, really.
Since 1892, the Almásy family has called this place home. They’re an old Hungarian noble family, with roots stretching back to the 13th century. László Almásy is probably the most famous and notable member of the family—he was a desert explorer and aviator, with his story captured in the famous novel The English Patient. Today, the family still lives in and operates the castle as a hotel during the summer season, which is where we’ve come in to help.
Johanna and I are here to help with everything from housekeeping and service to gardening and any other maintenance that needs to be done around the castle. Johanna has been busy making beautiful arrangements of fruits and vegetables in the kitchen for breakfast, and I’ve been busy dealing with a never-ending invasion of spiders throughout the castle—haha.
Overall, it looks like it’ll be a pretty quiet summer here. The work is quite relaxed, and the town of Bernstein is tiny—offering only a small local market, a butchery, a bakery, and, strangely, even a strip club. Combined with very limited public transportation options, it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting around very much either. We’ll likely plan for larger, infrequent trips when time allows. Our eyes are firmly locked on Budapest next—perhaps even as soon as next week? We’ll see.
In the coming weeks, the plan is to begin researching where we’ll head for the winter months. Based on my experience last year, I imagine our options will be quite limited. Maybe a ski resort in the Alps? Maybe another Arctic tour company? Maybe an Irish pub? We’ll just have to see.
Until then, Johanna and I will be living a quiet life here. I picture a lot of cooking and baking at home, some hikes in the woods, a larger adventure every month, and lots of time to relax in between.
We’ve also begun watching Downton Abbey over the last few nights. In a lot of ways, it fits the vibe of life here.
Life’s good 🏰