Side Events

At Waldschule Bodensee, event participants can come to face-to-face with proper adventure. Deep within the forest near Bregenz lies the Waldhaus, which can play host to the most nature-based and grounded meetings possible. Between conversations or work tasks, take a step into the greenery for deep breaths of fresh air, a “forest workout”, a gentle stroll, or customised activities. There are basically no limits to the possibilities here

Canyoning involves walking from the top to bottom of Vorarlberg’s most beautiful gorges using a wide variety of different types of movement: from simple walking and easy climbing to abseiling, sliding and jumping, everything is included. Admittedly, it sounds a bit intimidating at first, but the tours are accompanied by guides and the level of difficulty and the choice of gorge is always tailored to the group. 

The secret behind cheese-making is much less complicated than you’d think. All you need to make your own cream cheese is half a day’s time, a few litres of milk, the right recipe and ingredients – and an introduction into cheese-making at one of the region’s professional alpine dairies.

There are many ways to drink beer. But when does the opportunity to brew your own beer ever crop up? Brewing assistant and beer sommelier Johannes shares in-house beer brewing know-how with beer enthusiasts at Verner’s Brewing Day.

Award-winning Vorarlberg chef and restaurateur Mike P. Pansi has created an innovative pop-up restaurant concept in Hohenems: Pansi’s Kochmeisterei. His Chef’s Table, which seats four to ten people, is the place where participants may experience a new interpretation of the culinary culture to be found in Austria’s alpine region and Vorarlberg.

Creative minds and technical skills are required here. The task is to build a soapbox that can be raced from pre-made kits. There are no limits to creativity here. The next two hours will see participants fastening, measuring, building, glueing, painting and carrying out several test runs.

The best thing about cooking is that it brings people together. So any opportunity to create a stir in the kitchen should be seized. All of which is possible at Verner’s in a relaxed living-room atmosphere and at four different cooking classes.

It’s anything but a walk in the park – it might look easy, but a rope park with its different degrees of difficulty offers challenge, fun and team spirit. Various stations and courses in all the various degrees of difficulty are available at the five rope parks in Vorarlberg.

The name is intentional – the long-established Mohren brewery in Dornbirn has over time developed into an experience world with museum, guided tours, a creative brewery, tastings and attractive workshop rooms right at its heart. Interested visitors may enjoy making their own beer in a single day that takes in all the processes from malt crushing to mashing, purifying and cooking.

A very special natural monument takes you right down to the depths of the Cave Schneckenloch in Bizau. The biggest cave in Vorarlberg requires a certain degree of stamina and sure-footedness, yet once the visitors get back to terra firma they are usually lost for words, overcome by images of subterranean halls, stalactites and natural tunnels, some of which you have to crawl through.

This bridge is high, fair enough. One hundred and six metres should suffice for a gentle fall on an elastic rope, as well as for a good adrenaline cocktail in your body. This jump is considered seriously cool – the extremely tough safety standards have been proving themselves accident-free since 1997. This is the perfect place for anybody bravely looking for the next adventure.

Fantastic opportunities to escape the hustle and bustle of the city exist in and around Dornbirn. For example, the guided tours through the Rappenloch and Alploch gorges. But it never is actually completely quiet in the cool gorges because the gurgling and rushing of the Dornbirner Ach remain constant companions.

Recreation from exciting workshops is best achieved in the great outdoors – simple and good are the two words that characterise this accompanying programme. Herbert Edlinger’s pleasure walks focus on regional agriculture, nature and its products as well as local cheese and the production of specialities. 

The art of archery is underestimated – this sport is a far cry from our childhood games of cowboy and Indians. It demands a high degree of precision and concentration, discipline and inner tranquillity. All these are things which would be useful in daily life, if only we had gotten round to practising them.

Hop on, brakes off, and downwards you go. Around curves, over bridges, through forests and meadows – the view is marvellous, and adrenaline is guaranteed: is there a better team event than this?