Thayatalweg – Thayatal National Park

From Merkersdorf you can also take the bus at 4:30 p.m. to the NP center. Or you can walk on the asphalted cycle and footpath.

On the third day of our journey to Moravia, we crossed into Austria, more precisely, into the state of Lower Austria. Near the Hardegg district of Merkersdorf, there's a hiking parking lot, which served as our starting point for today. On the way to the Thaya River, we passed the Kaja Castle ruins, which were closed. Nevertheless, they left a monumental impression! https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Kaja Today's route took us through parts of the Austrian Thayatal National Park, one of six national parks in Austria. The Thayatal National Park is essentially the sister national park to the Czech Podyji National Park on the other side of the Thaya. We essentially walked along the riverbank, which was quite comfortable. Things got steeper during the climb to the "Umlaufblick observation tower," as a signpost indicated. We almost completely circled the "Umlaufberg" before hiking. A "Umlaufberg" is not uncommon. Whenever a river meanders around one or another mountain, it is referred to as a "circling mountain," meaning the river "circles" this and/or other mountains in sometimes numerous bends. The "circling view" is therefore the view of this natural phenomenon. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umlaufberg The observation tower is relatively new and was only recently opened. https://www.np-thayatal.at/de/pages/news-wanderung-zur-neuen-aussichtswarte-umlaufblick-509.aspx On the way back to the cars, we passed numerous pumpkin fields, whose fruits are used to produce pumpkin seed oil. The evening program then consisted of a visit to the underground of Znojmo and an evening stop at the brewery inn.

The smell of hay is wonderful! Such a morning round is something wonderful!

The Thayatal National Park, together with the neighboring Czech National Park Podyjí, preserves one of the last remaining natural valley landscapes in Central Europe. In a very small space, the Thaya River has created a surprising diversity of habitats and forest types. The Thaya Valley never ceases to amaze us. Today we parked at the National Park parking lot and hiked back to Merksersdorf. From there, we went to the new "Umlaufblick" observation tower. The view is truly stunning. We continued along the Thaya to the Kajabach stream and the Kaja Castle ruins. From there, it wasn't far to the parking lot. The paths were mostly very easy to walk. In a few places, the paths were muddy. Most of the path is shady and therefore suitable even in hot weather. A beautiful area that is always worth a visit.