Mariazell Weg, Day 5/6

After leaving Tautendorf in the early morning, I soon entered a forest where I had to cross a creek many times. I had took off my shoes and walked barefoot through the cool water. Then I left my shoes off and enjoyed stepping into the thick mud, the wet grass and on the soft forest ground. It connected me with my childhood.

Stiefernbach creek

The path was very badly marked and I could only guess the correct direction. One time, when I reached a street, I discovered that I was two walking hours away from the place I should have been. It was hot and the noon sun was burning down. I had no desire to walk back to look for the right path and decided to hitchhike to the next destination. A very nice local man stopped his car and drove more than 30 minutes out of his way to the village of Schiltern, where I wanted to be.

Entrance to the garden of the palace of Schiltern. This garden is used by the seed bank “Arche Noah” as a show garden. Arche Noah is an organisation founded in 1997. Their main goal is to protect and maintain local seed crops which otherwise would have disappeared.

One of many vineyards

In coming to Schiltern, I had left the Waldviertel and was in the wine area

In the distance, you see the monastery, Göttweig. On the hill to the left of Göttweig is the village where I grew up.

Knowing the big picture of where I was did not help me find the marked path. Eventually, I had to walk to Senftenberg on the street. At 9 pm, I checked into the Hotel Zierlinger and was overjoyed by the nice place. I was the only guest – the Corona Virus left its mark.

Approaching Senftenberg in late evening

Charming garden with swimming pool of Hotel Zierlinger

Originally, I planned to take a bus from Senftenberg to Krems and go back to Vienna by train. However, the weather was gorgeous and Krems was only 7 miles away so I followed the suggestion of the host to walk along the Krems River to the train station. This was only partly a good idea. After visiting the ruin of Senftenberg and the 13th century Gothic church of Imbach (the earliest Gothic church in Austria), I walked most of the time through urban areas on the street. A huge “Wachauer Marillenbecher” (ice cream with apricots, whipped cream and apricot liquor) was my reward for this last exhausting part of walk.

Church of St. Andrea (1304 CE) in Senftenberg

The ruin of Senftenberg is still owned by Duke Starhemberg, the owner of many castles, ruins and palaces. As he has no need for it, he rented the ruin to the city of Senftenberg for 99 years. The titles of nobility are not allowed anymore in Austria, but the nobility still own a lot of land and buildings.

Inside of the early Gothic church in Imbach

Village of Rehberg with its 14th century church

Exactly 20 years ago, the pilgrimage to Mariazell was my first pilgrimage. I walked with my sister Christi. Ever since then, I have walked thousands of miles and often walked it alone. However, it was the Mariazeller Weg, which opened the gate for me to experience nature in its immediacy, its beauty and abundance.