Destination: Austria

But I didn’t encounter any descendants of the Von Trapps on my visit to Germany’s little sister.

Instead I was shipped to Burgenland – the most easterly state which is miles from the mountains and as flat as schnitzel.

With no slopes to ski down, it is perhaps overlooked by overseas visitors.

Yet the ‘Border Land’ has plenty of resources to keep even the most restless tourists content.

In a nutshell, it is a spread of quaint Germanic towns and fields with a huge 300sq km lake smack-bang in the middle.

The combination of which is apparently great for wine and wildlife.

In fact this sparse and pleasant region is probably best known for its sweet wines, storks, cycling and wind turbines (now there’s an eclectic mix).

My trip was blessed with warm weather and superb food.

I stayed at St Martins Therme and Lodge – a swanky spa hotel with complimentary sunflower seeds (no I don’t get it either) and apples for every guest.

Now clearly Austria’s standing has been somewhat sullied over the years by the likes of native adulterous pseudo actor/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger. But thankfully, whatever wrongs he may have committed (and Kindergarten Cop is definitely one of them), The Sound of Music remains a perennial reminder that Austria can produce some fantastic nuns too.

However, even Burgenland has had its fair share of scandal.

For instance, In the 1980s local vintners were caught red-handed after it turned out some of them were adding an anti-freeze ingredient to their wine (apparently it made it taste better...) But 30 years on and everything is all right. In fact, the local winemakers say they have made their wine even tastier to compensate for the international humiliation. I can vouch for that.

The warm climate and large lake also means the soil and air provides the ideal conditions for making sweet dessert wines that not only connoisseurs can pretend to enjoy, and as a result, vineyards cover five per cent of the state.

I toured two family-run vineyards and enjoyed hearing and seeing the story of the wine from grape to bottle.

Visits to the dank wine cellars filled with tens of 9,000-euro gigantic oak barrels were followed by thorough (and I do mean...thorough) tasting sessions.

And as wine is usually enjoyed alongside something else, another of the major selling points of this region is the food.

From tender pig’s cheeks to turkey pancakes, the Austrians offer it all.

But be warned, the food is rich and meaty.

For instance, the first meal I ate after landing at the airport was, essentially, “three things to do with goose liver”.

Mmm (and I don’t necessarily mean that in a positive way).

While the famed local dish – Schnitzel – as a hearty piece of meat beaten flat and fried in a breadcrumb batter is well worth a second, or even, third helping.

But if you are a vegetarian, you ought to stock up on the pumpkin seeds at the hotel as there is little sympathy for your kind here...

On the other hand, the locally concocted schnapps goes down well with everyone.

Now when in Eisenstadt, the nation’s capital, one must ‘do’ some Liszt.

That’s Franz Liszt in case you were wondering, who was born in the local town of Raiding 200 years ago this year.

The show, entitled ‘Lisztmania’, depicted Mr Liszt as the first musical ‘heartthrob’ and equated the hysteria surrounding his concerts to that which The Beatles sparked more than 100 years later. Indeed, the museum tour treated us to stories of fawning fans fainting as Mr Liszt tinkled the keys of his grand piano, though chances are he didn’t trash his hotel room or entertain a ‘Groupie Love-In’ (if only he’d waited a century) Next stop, though, was at the house of fellow Austrian composer and musical genius Joseph Haydn, who will be remembered for one particular ‘act’ of outrageousness – his head was handed to a 19th century scientist who was keen to find out how Haydn’s musical mind worked (bumbling police officers then replaced it but much to everyone’s amusement it was the wrong head).

Anyway, every September classical music fans flock to the area to enjoy the huge Hayden Festival which features the Master’s music in the great concert hall of the magnificent Esterhazy Palace.

Still, from the sublime to the ridiculous – or should that be the other way round? – in the small nearby town of Rust, residents build nests for storks on their chimneys which are said to bring luck and fertility.

In reality of course, it just results in more bird droppings but the town does look charming. In fact, the streets of all the towns and villages are eerily clean and graffiti-free as if the local teenagers have been brought up in an Enid Blyton novel But it doesn’t surprise me; Austria is, for want of a better expression, a ‘nice’ country. And just to back that up, some 60 per cent of the province's energy is ‘green’ energy from wind or wood resources.

And in truth, the graceful wind turbines do give the land a remarkably r-e-l-a-x-i-n-g feel.

In fact, a bike ride I enjoyed beside part of the colossal Lake Neusiedl was a highlight of my trip. The nature reserve boasts more than 300 types of birds and cycling is the perfect, and most popular, way of getting around.

Yet the more adventurous types can try a range of water sports on the lake.

As the most eastern edge of Burgenland marks the old 'Iron Curtain' there is more than enough history to ensure you can return home more knowledgeable and pious.

The border with Hungary was visible as watchtowers still remain at every 500 metres or so. And there is a small exhibition and memorial marking the Pan-European Picnic – a demonstration which triggered the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Now If you don’t want to stay in hotels while visiting, worry not for there are plenty of camp sites, hostels and boutique hotels.

All in all, Austria’s Burgenland makes for a terrific getaway and, with Easy Jet flying to Vienna and Ryan Air to nearby Bratislava, it seems hard to see some well-earned pound sterling not being spent over there...