Raabs an der Thaya - Hainburg an der Donau

Long Distance Cycling Tour around Vienna, part 2:
Raabs an der Thaya - Hainburg an der Donau

Day 5. Raabs an der Thaya - Hardegg: 38 km.
A friendly route. In particular the small, old town of Drosendorf, situated on a steep hill top is noteworthy. Hardegg is the center of Austrian/Czech Thaya National Park. A border region that is most certainly worth a visit. Walking is the only way to explore the beauty of the Park; by cycling you will miss most of it. The National Park Information Center is just outside Hardegg (direction Retz). Wild cats live in the park, but an enclosed area at the info center is probably the only chance to spot these gorgeous animals (see photo below).

Day 6. Hardegg - Herrnbaumgarten: 92 km.
Quite soon it is obvious that you have entered the Weinviertel. Vineyards are all over, sometimes alternating with large sunflower fields. It is an attractive, hilly region with a couple of steep hills. All along the route you will find Kellergassen, roads with small buildings that give access to underground wine cellars.

Day 7. Herrnbaumgarten - Hohenau an der March: 64 km.
For the first 50 km of this stage we didn't follow the KTM route, but instead a part of the Liechtenstein route in the Czech Republic (Valtice, Hlohovec, Lednice and back to Austria). Along this detour you will find quite a number castles and other monumental buildings that once belonged to the Liechtenstein dynasty. They are situated in a man made landscape complex, created in the 18th century by the manor lordships. It is known as the Garden of Europe. For more details see:
List of monumental buildings in Valtice-Lednice region (in German).
Stage 7 ended in Hohenau an der March where we, thanks to the helpful lady of the tourist office, finally found a room.

Day 8. Hohenau an der March - Hainburg an der Donau: 90 km.
The river March / Morava defines the border between Austria and Slovakia. During communist times it was not possible to cross the river. Now there are two crossings: a bridge close to Hohenau and a ferry between Angern and Záhorská Ves. We have chosen to use both. In Slovakia we followed the Moravská Cyklistická Cesta.
Until 1989 the Slovak border region was a no-go area; a quarter of a century later it still a quiet and sparsely populated area. Ideal for cycling; about 1 car in 5 km. The Slovak ferry at Záhorská Ves is very simple, but functional as long as the water level is not too low or too high. When the ferry is out of service, the next crossing is at Bratislava. The KTM cycle route ends, shortly after crossing the river Donau, in Hainburg, a popular stop on the Vienna-Budapest part of the Donau Radweg.
Stage 8 was a remarkable flat ride, 143 m uphill and 134 m downhill.

introduction

Hohenberg - Raabs

Raabs - Hainburg

Hainburg - Hohenberg

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