This part of the trip was a bit unplanned.  Trying to get a cheap train north from Ljubljana resulted in a few nights staying in Villach, a town in the Gailtal Alps in southern Austria on the river Drau.  I hadn’t heard of until I checked the direction of the railway line on Google Maps.  And it turned into quite a nice stopover.  We got a good value AirBnB in a residential area overlooking the town and spent a nice 48 hours around the river, churches, statues, squares, beer and food.

A bit like Ireland, there’s no shortage of places to go for a drink.  Villach has its own brewery  – Villacher beer – and a splendid Brauhof.

Villach Brauhof
Villacher Brauhof

 

Villach Brauhof 2
and Biergarten

Also like Ireland, there’s the church for each bar.

Villach St Jakob side
Church of St Jakob
Villach St Jakob
Church of St Jakob
Villach rathaus fish
On the site of the old Rathaus, there is a commemorative fish..
Villach Centre
the main shopping street has a splendid fountain

And there’s a statue of the most famous Villacher – painter and sculptor Hanns Gasser

Villach Gasser
Hanns ‘Two N’s’ Gasser

Down by the river, you can get a splendid 2 hour beer cruise with a nice backdrop of bridges and mountains

Villach River 3
River Drau
Villach river 2
River Drau

Kit – Ricoh KR5 and Fomapan 100