35 members with 18 cars took part in this year’s autumn trip.

On Friday, 12 September, the participants met at the Schwarzalm in Zwettl, where the organising team, the Winkler family, welcomed everyone with a champagne and beer reception at 6 p.m. At around 7.30 p.m., everyone moved on to dinner, and a lively evening ended after midnight for many of the participants.

On Saturday, after a hearty breakfast, we set off at 9 a.m. for the ‘Oldtimer Museum in Sigmundsherberg’, where we were given a guided tour of 250 exhibits, some of which had belonged to famous owners such as Ronald Reagan, Grace Kelly and Dean Martin. Afterwards, we drove to the Liebnitzmühle, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Refreshed, we drove to our member Bernhard W.’s home in Raabs, where we were able to view several automobiles in varying states of disrepair and learned many interesting facts about clockmaking. Thanks to Bernhard’s parents, we were treated to coffee and homemade cake. The next stop took us to the ‘Hanfdorf Reingers’, where we learned a lot about the cultivation and uses of hemp. After tasting some hemp products, we had a look at the products in the shop and made a few purchases. After taking a group photo, we drove back to the ‘Schwarzalm’, where we ended the evening with dinner together.

On Sunday, the group set off at 9:30 a.m. via Nebelstein to the ‘Kristallium’ in Hirschenwies. After a brief introduction by the managing director, Mr Erwin Weber, we were able to learn a lot of interesting facts about the production and processing of glass during the tour. Those who were interested were also given a brief insight into the workshop. We bought a few small items in the shop and then drove on to the ‘Herz-Kreislaufzentrum’ (Cardiovascular Centre) in Groß Gerungs, where our member Dr Sebastian Globits, who works there as medical director, gave us a short lecture on cardiovascular diseases. After lunch in the restaurant, we were given a short tour of the herb garden and the Corona Chapel, and then we set off for the next stage of our journey to the ‘Tannermoor’ in Liebenau, where we walked across the soft ground of the largest continental raised bog in Upper Austria to a raised hide, from which we could see the entire area of the raised bog. The last stage took a slightly smaller group to the Wachau region, where we ended the day with a cosy dinner at the ‘Wirtshaus Gruber’ in Weitenegg.

Many thanks to the Winkler family for organising this fantastic trip. We would also like to thank Lukas Sch., who accompanied us on Saturday with his camera and drone, enabling us to capture many beautiful images.