Sadly Carinthia is an area of Austria which is largely unknown in the non German speaking world, and certainly not as well marketed as their neighbour the Tyrol. Yet there is as much, if not more, here to see and do: the scenery is fantastic, the roads wonderful (and largely empty!), the weather great (and mostly reliable), the people friendly, the wine a wonderful surprise and the lifestyle generally chilled and community focussed. What’s not to like?

We have cold snowy winters, warm clear springs, hot, sunny summers and bright, colourful autumns. There is a rhythm to life that reflects the seasons: asparagus in spring, strawberries sin summer, pumpkin in autumn, glühwein in winter in culinary terms, much more in cultural and agricultural terms. The old and the new merge seamlessly together – high-tech farm machinery in the next field to someone mowing with a scythe for instance, DVD versions of town bands steeped in tradition, modern energy production set amongst the age old geological wonders that abound here.

In the following pages we aim to convince you that any, no every, time of year is a good time to visit here – we look forward to seeing you!