Waldviertel Cycling Tour Potpourri

Carpaccio of Waldviertel natural beef. Carp fillet baked in poppy seeds. Hearty potato goulash. Poppy seed casserole with chocolate sauce. That's a good start. Good, down-to-earth, and real.
Hardly checked in, we are served the Waldviertel as typically as one can: potatoes, carp, poppy seeds, along with a Zwettler Zwickl, or even a naturally cloudy apple juice from the fruit farmer around the corner – that's how regional is done!

The fact that Waldviertel cuisine is emphasized here is just one reason why we've made the Faulenzerhotel in Friedersbach our base for the upcoming journey through the north of Lower Austria. What initially appears to be in the middle of nowhere is, on second glance, right on the Kamp Valley Cycle Path. And it's also not too far from the other planned stops of our Waldviertel potpourri. Additionally, the four-star hotel boasts a wellness area that offers all kinds of relaxation for possibly tired pedaled muscles, from steam baths and saunas to swimming pools, relaxation zones, massages, and infrared cabins.
And just as we were invited there as part of the LEADER-funded project "Waldviertel in Motion," we now invite you: Follow us on our exploration of the most beautiful cycling routes in this region between the Danube and South Bohemia, Mühlviertel, and Manhartsberg!

It doesn't get steeper. The estimated 1.5 meters of elevation difference between one side of the country road and the other just before Kleineberharts now represent the most notable slope on our way from Waidhofen an der Thaya to Slavonice in the Czech Republic. Or viewed in the opposite direction: the most prominent incline. Since leaving Austria's northernmost district capital, justifiably proud of its castle and historic center with the magnificent town hall at its heart, we have been in constant proximity to the German Thaya, which will merge with the Moravian Thaya in Raabs to form the actual Thaya River. We have also been traveling along the route of the former Thaya Railway. And where there are trains, there are preferably no major elevation differences.
In the upcoming 30 kilometers to the picturesque Renaissance town just beyond the Austrian border, we will hardly encounter any curves either. After all, what was once a railway track avoids abrupt changes of direction. And we will see almost no cars. While one half of the Thaya loop is routed on little-traveled side roads and country roads, the other half, as a newly asphalted, flat bike path on the former railway tracks of the Thaya Valley Railway and the Göpfritz-Raabs Railway, belongs entirely to the pedal knights.

These almost paradisiacal conditions were made possible by 19 open-minded municipalities, a visionary association, and one or two funding projects from the federal government, the state, and the European Union. The Zukunftsraum Thayaland, founded in 2006 and comprising all the municipalities of the district, purchased the total of 50 kilometers of disused railway tracks, including stops and stations, adapted them, and transformed them into a cycle path with museum station, train hotel, e-bike rental, rest areas, and experience points from 2014 to 2018 in three sections.
Today, the entire loop, located in the central north of the Waldviertel, spans 101 kilometers and is considered one of Lower Austria's so-called TOP cycling routes, thanks to its exemplary signage and security, good infrastructure, and cyclist-friendly partner businesses along the route - including Cycling for Kids certification.

For us, this means: There is always something to discover or do: Snacking on blackberries by the roadside, studying the information boards about former railway traffic, watching from the bridges over the gently flowing Thaya, petting donkeys, tracing relics of the old platforms and kilometer markers, considering a detour to the Dobersberg Nature Park...
Even a raft ride or a short tour by Zille are possible. The former is for anyone tall enough to reach the cable stretched across the German Thaya. The latter is for those registered in the LINKA-Go app. This is the smartphone application that, between April and October, also opens the smart locks of the e-bikes at the corresponding THEO stations (the name stands for Thayaland E-Bikes On Tour) using QR codes, thus enabling their rental and return around the clock.

How do we know this? "Allow me to introduce myself, Schrammel, climate change adaptation model region manager." We meet the man with the somewhat cumbersome job title just before the small train station in the town of Thaya – where the raft landing is also located.
He accompanies us on the lovingly assembled logs with the reassuring name "Titanic" to the other bank of the Thaya, where the bathing platforms and ladders of the local river pool make it easier to take a plunge into the cool waters. But beware! The Thaya is one of those bodies of water that remain truly cold even during the hottest summer heat and are therefore more than just refreshing.
At Dobersberg station, we encounter the office manager of the association Zukunftsraum Thayaland again. Although he is involved in numerous agendas from de-sealing to renewable energy to circular economy, the native of the Waldviertel region finds time here between the Thayabahn Museum and the regional info point for a chat with friends or a spontaneous cup of coffee from stylish Lilien porcelain.
And in Waldkirchen, after returning to his homeland after 20 years in Vienna, the space researcher finally transforms into a train service manager for us; he greets us with a red cap and a color-coordinated bicycle to demonstrate in which attire he serves breakfast to the guests of the train hotel set up here.

Stay overnight in authentic ÖBB crew wagons; meanwhile, have the bicycle serviced in the former sleeping room of the depot, where the steam locomotives were once preheated for hours to the necessary operating temperature; then take some provisions from the farmers' shop, which is set up in the former dairy next door, whose products used to be sold via refrigerated wagons all the way to Italy...
While we stroll through the magnificent squares of Slavonice, enjoying ice cream and admiring the splendid sgraffito houses and richly decorated facades of the northernmost point of the Thaya round in the so-called Česká Kanada, we agree: It couldn't get more harmonious than on this route for cycling railway fans!

Two to three days are recommended by the tourism experts for one of the most well-known cycling routes in the Waldviertel, the Kamptal Cycle Route from Zwettl to Altenwörth (or, since it is signposted in both directions, the reverse). Its key data: 118 kilometers in length, 1,209 meters of elevation gain uphill, 887 downhill.
Athletic types could certainly accomplish the distance in a single day. But it would be a shame to miss the many highlights along the route, which would only be fleetingly acknowledged or briefly touched upon at best: the old arm of the Danube, wine cellar lanes, Grafenegg Castle, Plank River Bath, Gars Ruins, Rosenburg Castle, Altenburg Abbey – and this is just a cursory mention of what unfolds between the flat alluvial land of the Danube meadows, the vine-covered slopes of the Wagram, the southern-feeling wine town of Langenlois, and the partly canyon-like lower Kamptal up to the Horner Basin.
Before the right-hand bend of the longest river in the Waldviertel, where it turns from an almost eastern to a clearly southern direction, the Kamp flows through a fjord-like dissected high plateau. And we would like to report on this in more detail here, as stage one of two, if you will.

The storks have flown south, their nest on the head of a saint statue on the south side of Zwettl Abbey is deserted. If everything goes well, they will return next spring, circle once over the deep green forests at the river bend of the Kamp, where the mighty Cistercian abbey has been located for almost 900 years, and then settle again in their stick nest.
By this time at the latest, the majestic migratory birds are to be envied. Day in, day out, from April to August, the middle course of the Kamp lies at their feet, along with the wildly branched, mysteriously dark Kamp reservoirs.

We, on the other hand, have to pedal a full 20 kilometers before we catch the first glimpse of the famous leisure paradises after starting in the lively, colorful, and very cozy brewing town of Zwettl, thanks to several nice squares.
And even when we finally reach the Dobra reservoir, the middle of three consecutive dam levels, the bird's-eye view would undoubtedly be more enlightening. Because the crux of the Nordic-looking landscape in the heart of the Waldviertel is as follows: When you stand in the middle of the forest, you can't see the lakes for all the trees.

In some places, the typically brown water of the Kamp flashes through, along with the friendly umbrellas of the campsites, the colorful boats of the excursionists, and the cheerful laughter of the children who plunge into the water from trees, jetties, or SUPs.
The shores of the Kamp reservoirs may be largely inaccessible. However, where they are developed through private marinas, ruins impressively perched on small peninsulas or narrow spits of land, public campsites, or restaurants, pure joy reigns. No wonder, with the enchanting light-shadow changes, the deeply grounded atmosphere, and the mostly excellent water quality!

Six tranquil river meadow kilometers after the Dobra dam, in the pretty village of Krumau with 700 inhabitants, the bike path leaves the Kamp again for an extended loop northward. Here, the road steeply winds up to (what irony!) Tiefenbach, and the path would also steeply lead skyward in the other direction, towards Preinreichs and the Gföhler Straße.
It is passages like these that clearly show how deeply the river has dug into the granite and gneiss highlands here. And it is vistas like those that follow, which make it clear why the storks like to return every year...

What, the 'Iron Curtain Trail' again? We already had that on the Thayarunde, on the last kilometers to Slavonice, and then again when re-entering the Republic of Austria shortly after Rancirov, didn't we?
A bit confused, we mentally sort out the cardinal directions, the image of the Waldviertel, and our current location Gmünd "all the way to the left" on this imaginary map, where the southern and northern branches of the Waldviertelbahn meet at the same station. But of course: As a section of the longest cycle path in Europe with a total distance of 10,400 kilometers, the EuroVelo 13 not only runs along the northern border of the Waldviertel with the Czech Republic. It also grazes half of the state border in the west. Specifically, it enters Gmünd, the divided city, coming from South Bohemia into the Waldviertel and only leaves it again at Retz, to continue through the Weinviertel to Bratislava and then, whoosh, to the Black Sea.
In between lie 192 kilometers full of historic sites and impressive relics from the time of the Iron Curtain (the permanent exhibition in Weitra Castle recalls the fateful year 1989 and the time before), but also genuine natural jewels and pure cycling pleasures.

On this late summer afternoon, we are by no means tackling the officially six stages of the Waldviertel Iron Curtain Trail, quite the opposite. We content ourselves with the first six kilometers, as they lead through a landscape that could well be explored for an entire day: the famous Blockheide, and before that the so-called Malerwinkel.
The one a protected nature park, the other a natural monument worth protecting, both areas are united by being close-to-city retreats of a very special kind.

A long staircase near Schremser Straße serves as an entry point to the picturesque estuary area of the Braunaubach, which - nomen est omen - has certainly inspired many artists and photographers to create works of art. We shoulder our bikes and descend into the former quarry.
In the further course of the riverside path towards Lainsitz, cycling is prohibited, yet visiting this idyllic spot on earth is highly recommended. As a riparian forest strip, the graceful mixture of water, granite, and deciduous forest anticipates what reaches its peak in the subsequent Blockheide: the typical Waldviertel "striped land."

This characteristic cultural landscape, with its mosaic of longitudinal corridors, terraces, stepped embankments, hills, tree lines, heath areas, wet meadows, and hedges, is unique in Central Europe. And in the 106-hectare nature park - where cycling has long been allowed again - it combines with the peculiar rocking stones to create an almost mystical experience.
Dreamy, fabulous, Scandinavian, mysterious... the heathland near Gmünd, with its granite blocks scattered as if by a giant's hand and the brightly gravelled connecting paths that gently wind through the meadows and fields, carries many such attributes. One thing is certain: It provides a wonderful habitat for rare animals and plants. And for curious cycling travelers, it offers an extraordinary entry into the adventure of the Iron Curtain Trail.

You could certainly have it worse. The thick, historical masonry of Pöggstall Castle pleasantly shields us from the heat of this late summer's glorious day. Cooling, flavorful fruit juices run down our thirsty throats. Together with the lushly growing potted plants, the white-covered tables in the gravelled roundel of the former moated castle exude a southern flair. Huge, bright sun umbrellas, from which white, small lanterns and flower baskets dangle, add to the ambiance.

Pöggstall is often referred to as the Merano of the Waldviertel due to its comparatively mild climate. Here, in the guest garden of the magnificent building, completely renovated for the Lower Austrian State Exhibition 2017, with its Renaissance arcades and portal, its Gothic hall, and left-spiraling stone staircase, the designation also makes atmospheric sense. And just like in the "real" Merano, where we have spent many hours longer than originally planned on magnificently decorated promenades, in bustling old town alleys, or on panoramic high-altitude trails, we also run the risk here of losing sight of our actual daily program a bit. But what the heck—after all, it's (later) lunchtime, and a little break is certainly appropriate!

Halftime on the Southern Waldviertel bike route. Ahead of us lie ten more kilometers, flat but steadily ascending, to the highest point of this loop, Laimbach am Ostrong. Then we will glide at the foot of this wooded ridge in an equally flat but steady descent through the Yspertal towards the Danube, where our journey through the Waldviertel will end after another 20 kilometers in Ysperdorf.
Whether the detour to the wild and romantic Ysperklamm will be possible remains to be seen, considering our spontaneous stop. What is certain, after we already know the finale from the similarly laid-out last kilometers of the Waldviertler Granittrails: Part two of this ride, like the first half, will delight us with beautiful views, magnificent natural landscapes, babbling waters, and man-made splendors from village churches to castles and palaces.

Marked in both directions, the tour covering nearly 60 kilometers and 600 meters in altitude through the lowest tip of the Waldviertel can be understood in two ways: a rewarding approach or the most beautiful farewell from the almost 5,000 square meter energy spot above the Manhartsberg. Since it begins and ends with the towns of Spitz and Yspertal on the Danube, the stage ride is also suitable for combining it with the Danube Cycle Path into a closed loop – but that would somehow be a different story.
We perceived it as a worthy conclusion to our Waldviertel stay because it was undertaken on the last day. And on this occasion, we once again enjoyed a varied best-of of this mostly quiet and rugged, but sometimes surprisingly lively and in any case refreshingly unpretentious region.

One might generally consider Spitz as a starting point more part of the Wachau than the Waldviertel. However, situated directly on the Danube, the town, with its well-known shipping museum, the striking Hinterhaus ruins, and many Gothic buildings, perfectly serves as a gateway to the high north. After all, the six-kilometer-long "Spitzer Graben" up to Mühldorf is considered a scenically impressive direct connection to the Waldviertel.
And indeed: The steep stone terraces, where the world-famous Wachau wine thrives, impressively moved closer to our path along the Spitzer Bach, and the trees, where the equally celebrated Wachau apricots grow, stood so precisely in line that we, in our amazement and delight, didn't even notice how diligently we were gaining altitude.

Pedaling sometimes left, sometimes right of the stream, we made our way on the north side of the Jauerling through quaint wine-growing villages like Vießling and Elsarn, almost reaching the Oberranna Castle. Never conquered, the fortress church, unfortunately no longer accessible as it is privately owned, towers like a mighty guardian over the Danube's side valley.

For our cycling route, the core thousand-year-old complex marked the point where it left the direct route to the Waldviertel and instead turned southwestward over gently rolling hills to the halfway point of Pöggstall. We know the area from the Wachau Cycling Marathon and the Mühldorf MTB Marathon Weinsteinbike; we are aware of its trenches and walls and were therefore glad that the route here endeavored for a clearly more harmless, more accessible characteristic.
Christmas tree cultures, quiet villages, vast cultural landscapes, and repeatedly venerable walls – the churches of Trandorf or Raxendorf, the ruins of Sassingschlösserl and Streitwiesen, but above all the well-known pilgrimage church Heiligenblut – accompanied our way. Mother Nature provided variety with small streams, which sometimes had to be crossed by ford, sometimes by lovingly decorated little bridges, and the route planner added two short steep sections through woods and fields.

The latter also served to avoid the traffic on the Weitental road and instead to descend formally from above, via Gerersdorf, to Pöggstall. So, here we sit now, in the middle of the southern Waldviertel in the rondel of Rogendorf Castle and... remain attached to the dolce farniente for quite a while before finally heading home.