Wachau World Heritage Trail: Stage 3

Terraced vineyards, wooded areas, and observation towers overlooking the Danube characterized the third day on the Wachau World Heritage Trail in warm 🌞 weather. Starting at the beautiful market square in Weißenkirchen, the trail led directly up the steps to the fortified castle and through historic alleys into the vineyards. The view extends over the vineyards to the Danube, the Dunkelstein Forest opposite, and to Wösendorf. 😊 Gradually climbing, we were soon accompanied by shady forest, old sunken lanes, and forest paths all the way to Michaelerberg. Here we rested with a magnificent view over the Danube Valley and our first glimpse of the market town of Spitz an der Donau. We approached Spitz on the St. Michael's High Trail, which runs along the steep rocky slope and offers repeated, magnificent views 🤩. This is a particularly beautiful section. 👌 A few hairpin bends down and then a short climb again, and we found ourselves in front of Spitz's Red Gate. 🤗 From this historic town with its beautiful panorama, a quaint path led into Spitz an der Donau, with its picturesque historic center. There was a lot going on around the market square and the Gothic parish church today: Apricot Festival in Spitz – or: Everything's apricot! 🤣 Today's shorter Sunday stage was once again superb. 👍🙋🏻‍♂️🇦🇹

The stage between Weißenkirchen and Spitz is just twelve kilometers long. And do you know why I really like these short hiking days in between? Because I feel like I can look and be amazed for just as long as I will run on a day like this. When there are as many panoramic views to enjoy as here on the north bank of the Danube between Weißenkirchen and Spitz, I'm happy to be out and about all day. Because I spend more time sitting than in my hiking boots. Felix and I haven't walked two full kilometers this morning when we make ourselves comfortable on a particularly beautiful picnic bench: The first rest area outside Weißenkirchen is in the middle of the vines, with a view over the mountains and down towards the Danube. The vines will accompany us on almost the entire stage today - apart from a few kilometers that we hike between huge beech trees. Today, whenever the trees and vines reveal a view of the opposite bank of the Danube, we look particularly closely at the other side. Because tomorrow we will be hiking on the south side of the Danube. Less between the vines, but on narrow paths through dense forests. We will always admire the vineyards that we are currently exploring from a distance.

The start is at the market square in Weißenkirchen, up the Burgstiege to the Burgviertel, one of the oldest settlements in the Wachau. We particularly liked the typical stone terraces, the Michaelerberg with its bizarre rock and stone formations and the St. Michael Höhenweg, where we got a green lizard in front of the lens 🤓🙃 The destination of stage #3 of the Wachau World Heritage Trail is the church square in Spitz, which can be reached via the Red Gate, the remainder of the town's former defense wall.

The "daily stages" 3+4 I combined into one day. The Weißenkirchen - Spitz stage is certainly one of the highlights of the Welterbesteig. Wonderful views of the Danube! Mediterranean-like forest sections, and here the emerald lizard visibly feels at home! An absolute pleasure tour! The Spitzer church is also worth seeing. A short stop here, before continuing straight on to Mühldorf with the next stage.

The tour is very much on asphalt, but mostly with beautiful views there. We were surprised twice by a heavy downpour - the second time, however, we were already sitting comfortably while eating in Spitz. We took the 715 bus back to Weissenkirchen. Tip: The cuisine in both places is definitely recommended.

The 3rd stage of our hike is not quite as spectacular as the day before, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful. We leave Weissenkirchen through the vineyards and walk on pleasant forest paths through wine and meadow landscapes until we reach an oak and hornbeam forest, which we also hike through. We cross the Mieslingsbach and reach Spitz through the red gate. After the exhausting 2nd day, this is a wonderful way to relax and rejuvenate.

On the third stage of the Wachau World Heritage Trail, the focus is on wine. High above the Danube you hike through the largest closed wine-growing area in the Wachau - including a fantastic view. So it's a good thing that the stage is just under eleven kilometers long. This leaves more time to first enjoy the fantastic landscape and then the delicacies of the region. Initially, the stage runs on asphalt through the gentle wine landscape, later you hike further through the forest to the natural monument Michaelerberg, easily recognizable by the rugged stone and rock formations. You descend into the valley on serpentines. From the Red Gate, a remnant of Spitz's former defense wall, you always have a view of the cozy wine-growing town, including its Gothic church with its 500-year-old roof. Conclusion: The third stage is beautiful again. With light sneakers, the comparatively high proportion of asphalt in the first half of the hike can be easily endured. ---------------------- All of our hikes on the World Heritage Trail are summarized in the Collection: https://www.komoot.de/collection/2109626/-welterbesteig There you will find further links.

Yes, great autumn weather for hiking today. Great area in the Wachau. L.G