Hiking Tour: “Nord-Süd-Weitwanderweg 05 Stage 5: From Spitz to Melk”

The North-South-Long-Distance trail (Nord-Süd-Weitwanderweg, also known as the “05”) starts in the north of Austria at Nebelstein and ends in the south of Austria at Eibiswald. The trail is ~500km long, ~18 000m in ascent and the same amount in descent. The trail was initiated by Carl Hermann and officially established on the 25th September 1970. The trail is separated into 3 parts: the northern part from Nebelstein to Plankenstein via the Mühl- & Waldviertel and the Wachau, the middle part from Plankenstein to Trofaiach via the Ötscher, Hochschwab and Eisenerzer Reichenstein, and the southern part from Trofaiach to Eibiswald via the Pack and Koralpe. It normally takes 3 weeks to complete the entire trail.

Nord-Süd-Weitwanderweg 05 – Checkpoints

Spitz an der Donau: A stamp can be acquired either at the Gasthof Goldenes Schiff (official stamp) or at the municipal office (Hauptstraße 15a). Ruine Aggstein: A stamp can be acquired either at the entrance (service office) of the ruin of Aggstein (official stamp). Aggsbach-Dorf (alternate checkpoint to Aggstein): A stamp can be acquired at Gasthof Domingo (Badgasse 1) Schönbühel : A stamp can be acquired at Lodge Szilágyi (Melkerstrasse 1) I personally was unable to acquire any stamp in Schönbühel. Jausenstation Patrizia was open, served awesome food but does not have a stamp. Patrizia was so kind to draw a stamp in my booklet which classifies as handwritten note. The Gasthof Stumpfer closed and was replaced by Lodge Szilági in 2024, a few weeks before my hike and they had at this time no stamp yet. Melk: A stamp can be acquired at the municipal office (Rathausplatz 11).

Personal impressions:
Transportation:
I’ve planned to accomplish this stage as a single day-trip because of excellent public transport connections. Although the trail starts at the ferry station in Spitz an der Donau, I saved the time by taking the bus directly to the other side of the Danube (Oberarnsdorf Fähre) thus saving the time to wait for the ferry and cross the Danube river. To reach there, i used the following means of transport:

1. REX 4 from Bahnhof Spittelau (07:03) Krems Bahnhof (08:08)
2. Bus 720 from Krems Bahnhof (8:20) Oberarnsdorf Fähre (08:57)

Due to the excellent train service from Melk back to Vienna, the tour can be done fairly slow and allows for several breaks.
I did the tour on a Sunday to ensure that the ruin as well as the restaurants for collecting the stamps are open. However, I run into issues acquiring the stamp in Schönbühel. According to the guide, the single possibility is at Gasthof Stumpfer which closed early 2024. Although it was reopened under the name Lodge Szilági, the owner did not yet have a stamp and provided me a postcard instead. Thanks to my break at Jausenstation Patrizia (which does not have a stamp), I got a hand-drawn note in my booklet from her.

The hike:
I’ve started the hike on a Sunday morning (09:00) as public transportation service allowed me a convenient arrival from Vienna. Since I’ve collected the stamp from Spitz an der Donau in the previous stage, I took the bus to the other side of the Danube river and saved additional time (and money) not needing to take the ferry.
From the bus stop, I went to the south side of the ferry station and started my hike there, following again the official 05 trail. The trail first goes back to the street, crosses the street and then through a vineyard towards the forest. Other than the two previous stages, the hike immediately turned out to use nice trails or forest roads in shadow.
When I hiked through the forest, I’ve spotted the Hoher Stein rock (see the title picture). After noticing the summit cross, I’ve consulted my map and “Google” to see if this summit is doable. It turned out that it can be accessed using an easy via ferrata (Cat. A) and because I had time, I decided to give it a try.
I therefore detoured and hiked up to the rocks and found the via ferrata. It starts with a combination of iron ladders and then an easy climb well protected with a rope. The ferrata is easy, experienced hikers do not need a ferrata set, but it needs to be done in both directions. I got rewarded however with a really amazing view and an exciting experience so I definitely recommend this detour.
After heading back, I’ve continued my hike through wide and easy forest roads till I arrived at the Aggstein ruin (Checkpoint). I acquired my stamp at the service office at the ruin. Initially I wanted to break for a drink but that is only possible by purchasing an entry ticket. This was not on my plans since I visited the ruin already, thus I decided to purchase a cold beer from the service office and rest in front of it on one of the benches.
I then continued my tour and descent again through nice and shadowy forest trails down to Aggsbach-Dorf (alternate Checkpoint). Again, I failed to have a break as Gasthaus Domingo was closed due to renovation. As I collected my official stamp before at the ruin, I only had to deal with the consequences of not getting a deserved cold beer . So I continued thirsty my hike following the trail towards Schönbühel (Checkpoint).
The last meters towards Schönbühel (starting at Hohenwarter Höhe) are again on paved roads and exposed to sun on a very hot day. Thus, I was happy to see that the Jausenstation Patrizia was opened and offered nice seats in shadow. I could not resist and stopped there for a break (an excellent ham & cheese toast and one or two cold beer) – especially because I learned that the Gasthof Stumpfer closed recently. Unfortunately, the Jausenstation does not have any stamp but the owner was so kind to draw me a stamp into my booklet. After a super nice conversation and some refreshments, I continued my tour through the village of Schönbühel. Passing by the former Gasthof Stumpfer, I’ve noticed people sitting in the garden. Turned out that it was recently taken over by a new owner but still in the ramp-up phase, meaning only simple kitchen and drinks. Again, I was unable to get a stamp but a cold beer on a very hot day.
After my second failed attempt to get a stamp in Schönbühel, I accepted my miss and continued my hike towards Melk. The remaining trail is a mixture of forest, gravel and paved roads, and not too exciting. Finally I arrived in Melk and took a last break at the Wachauerhof Melk, getting my last stamp before I went to the train station and taking the next train back to Vienna.