How it all began ...
Even as a teenager, I had ants in my pants – travel ants, to be precise.
While others collected stickers or Bravo posters, I collected frequent flyer miles (well… at least in my imagination).
So it was obvious: after graduation I would head into tourism. People, cultures, hospitality – that was my world!
My first job at a travel agency felt like hitting the jackpot for a wanderlust-filled soul: Asia, the USA – I was physically in the office, but mentally somewhere between Bangkok and New York. 🌏
And suddenly: the USA!
In 2005, my husband received a job offer in the United States.
A clear case of: “We’re in!”
The plan sounded simple – three years in America, then back to Southern Styria.
(Spoiler: It didn’t quite turn out that way. 😅)
While we were on our adventure abroad, we built our home – and right next to it was a small, slightly run-down house for sale. Reason said “No,” the heart said “Oh, come on!” – and of course the heart won.
Back then we thought: “We’ll turn this into a garden someday.”
(Spoiler #2: That didn’t happen either.)
Life had other plans …
After the USA, we didn’t return to Southern Styria – instead, we moved to Leipzig, then to Shanghai (yes, really!), and finally spent ten years in the Taunus region near Frankfurt.
Packing suitcases became a sport, and Google Maps our best friend.
But everywhere we lived, we met wonderfully warm-hearted people who helped us feel at home.
These encounters shaped me – and slowly a wish began to grow inside me: to give something back, to pass on this sense of hospitality.
The idea of “the garden next door” slowly transformed into a dream of a holiday home – one that would embody exactly this warmth.
And then the dream became reality …
One evening I said to my husband:
“So… I have an idea.”
(He knows that this sentence usually leads to something exciting.)
A few glasses of wine, lots of planning, and a generous dose of courage later, we knew: We’re doing this!
Within a year, “Das Wagnach” was ready to welcome its first guests.
But one thing was still missing: the name!
The search for the name …
I thought about it for days – I wanted something that expressed home, but also wanderlust and hospitality.
Nothing felt right. No name had that unmistakable Southern-Styria charm.
And then the family got involved – as they always do when things get serious.
One cozy evening with my sister and brother-in-law (of course with a glass of South Styrian wine 🍷), I told them about my name struggle.
Suddenly everyone was on fire, phones out, Wikipedia open – and there it was:
“Wagnach” – that’s what Wagna was called in the 13th century!
Meaning: “Settlement at the river crossing.”
And that was the moment everything clicked.
“Settlement” means home to me – because this is where our heart is.
“River crossing” symbolizes travel, arriving, and moving on.
Perfect!
And that’s how “Das Wagnach” was born – our little slice of vacation bliss in the heart of Southern Styria.
Some dreams need time, patience, and the courage to say, “Why not?”
And sometimes, a small patch of land becomes a place where guests can arrive, breathe deeply, and feel right at home.
