Side Events

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.

The Austria Guides have developed guided and themed tours of the city that present a wide variety of places, people and cultures and prove that it is the mix that makes Dornbirn the exciting city that it is.

There are plenty of toboggan runs, with many of them being scary, and you need to be an experienced sledge driver before you race down from the Pfänderdohle to Bregenz, for instance. The perfectly prepared toboggan runs in the entire state can also be covered on foot, or even by train if you prefer a bit of comfort.

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.

How can gin be so subtle? How can kummel liqueur be so sophisticated? And what inspires these combinations of flavours? Participants on a guided tour at MAAN – makers of fine spirits in Alberschwende – will discover the love, patience and quality that goes into every bottle. 

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 only Women’s Museum in Austria plays host to varying exhibitions on women past and present, from a regional or supra-regional perspective. Frauenmuseum Hittisau aims to make clear the cultural contributions of women and shows one or two exhibitions a year on topics relevant. 

For those who simply can’t get enough of it, head to the Alpenkäse Bregenzerwald Sennerei on a journey of discovery. There you can learn how cheese is still produced in the time-honoured way.

For a few weeks, a small festival with a large fan community attracts international stars and an international audience to Schwarzenberg and Hohenems. Established in 1976, the famous Schubert Festival grew to such an extent that it now hosts over 90 events a year.

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.

The crunch of the snow, the crisp air, the panoramic views… a snowshoe hike brings you into the heart of wintery nature, to enjoy alpine landscapes with a sense of true calmness.

The Barock­baumeister Museum is dedicated to the impressive history of the Au guild, which established itself in Au and Schoppernau as early as the 17th century. 

Start your day on the top of a mountain, watch the sun rise and remind yourself of the scale of things – this brings you back down to earth for the tasks to be faced. However, night owls can take a sigh of relief: observing the sunset from the stop of a mountain has the same, salutary effect.

Once upon a time, you had to travel to the far north to take a dog-pulled sleigh ride, to experience up close the life of a musher in the wilderness. These days, however, a lovely team of dogs awaits guests in the Kleinwalsertal and in the Brandnertal.

Making clocks, pepper mills and lamps from wood – all of that and much more is possible at the workshops that the Bizau-based Bär company organises in the Bregenzerwald. The idea is right on trend because the more digital the world becomes, the greater the desire is to make something from scratch with your own hands.