The Danube is one of the world’s most inspirational rivers- It has inspired music, Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz; and movies, to include a different color – The Red Danube; and many books, poems, and odes. It has also inspired a trail that covers two wine regions of Austria – The World Heritage Trail Wachau (Welterbesteig Wachau).

The beauty of this region inspired me to try the trail. To hike the entire 180 kilometers/110 miles, unfortunately required more time than I had, so I settled for covering the trail’s passage through the Kremstal wine region, in and around the town of Krems. This region is one of Austria’s smaller wine regions. It centers narrowly around the town of Krems on the Danube, and the small Krems river valley extending off the Danube. By hiking the first six kilometers of this trail, I would cover part of the Kremstal wine district.

I actually began at the Krems River. With a token nod to the vineyards upriver that I wouldn’t be hiking, I headed into Krems’ pedestrian district via Untere Landstrasse, and from there to the official start point at Hoher Markt, by the stark Gozzoburg Castle in the heart of the historical district. From a visual point of view, this is a very attractive, albeit a surprisingly difficult, area to photograph. Little squares, fronted by decorated, pastel-colored facades, small shops, and winding narrow alleyways, follow around every curve in the street, and invite exploration. I confess I loved detouring a bit before resuming the hike, which cost, to my subsequent chagrin, daylight time. (Hence a paucity of many photos for this hike.)

 

Not far from the site of the upper town walls, a lookout provides a view over the red rooves of town. I looked southeast, roughly in the direction of Vienna, over flat lands, and a broad Danube.  But after I completed the long climb up an old stairway, my orientation and the scenery changed. To the west, I could see the Danube narrowed dramatically as it flowed out of the neighboring Wachau wine region.

 

From this vantage point, I was in the midst of vines. The trail meandered along them, following a paved surface used by agricultural vehicles, but at that time of day, used by some local people out for a late afternoon walk. As the trail headed into the Alaunstal (a narrow draw), the town of Krems disappeared from view, and a deep stillness reigned over this part of the vineyards.

 

Soon though, it was downhill into a residential area, and from there to the famous Steiner Kellergasse: a narrow street in Stein (formerly its own village, now incorporated into Krems).  Keller means cellar in German, and this was where wine-makers established themselves: close to the vineyards, near the cliffs, where work could be centralized. A fair number of wineries, some dating back centuries still line this narrow road. Stein, like Krems, is also worth a detour for its historic religious establishments and narrow streets paralleling the river.

Continuing along Steiner Kellergasse, then briefly into Reisperbachtal, I continued to the start of Fuerthof, at the start of the Pfaffenberg, location of one of the last (if not the last) vineyard at the western end of Kremstal wine district, before entering the Wachau wine district. Reaching the end of the Kremstal wine district, and the end of daylight, it was time to catch a (very convenient) bus back to Krems to enjoy some great Kremstal wine!