Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Several direct trains run from Krems to Horn daily (€10, 70 minutes), stopping at
Rosenburg (€7.80, one hour). Eggenburg has plenty of daily train connections to Tulln
(€10, 40 minutes).
Drosendorf
02915 / POP 1200
Situated on the extreme northern fringe of the Waldviertel, hard on the Czech border, the
lovely fortressed town of Drosendorf is often overlooked by the Viennese - it's simply
too far-flung. Yet, with a completely intact town wall, it is a unique and beautiful town
and one well worth the trouble it takes to reach it.
An
information service
( 232 10; 8am-4.30pm Mon-Thu, to 12.30pm Fri)
is located inside the
castle, and an information stand with a useful walk-by-numbers brochure (in German) as
well as an accommodation list is situated on Hauptplatz, inside the walls. The fortress
walk also begins here; it passes the
castle
, a mostly baroque structure on top of
Romanesque foundations, and exits through the
Hornertor
, the main gate in the southeast
dating from the 13th to 15th centuries. Cross the moat and follow the wall clockwise.
For overnight stays, the best option is
Schloss Drosendorf
( 232 10;
www.schloss-drosendorf.at
;
Schlossplatz 1; s €38-44 d €68; )
. Poppies - or rather poppy-seed specialities - are a big
local industry in the Waldviertel.
MOKA
( 22 27;
www.moka.at
; Hauptplatz 5; 9am-6pm Thu-Mon
Apr-Oct)
does a delicious poppy-seed cake and coffee, and also has a few comfortable
rooms right on Hauptplatz (singles and doubles €70 to €120).
To reach Drosendorf from Vienna (Praterstern station), take the train leaving every two
hours to Retz (€15.80, 70 minutes), making sure it connects with one of several buses on
weekdays (€6.80, one hour). The only way into the Czech Republic from here is to back-
track to Retz from where there are trains to Znojmo, or hike (or take a taxi) 6km to the
first village (Vratěnín) on the other side of the border, from where there are buses further
into Moravia.
Nationalpark Thayatal
Tight against the border of Austria and the Czech Republic (a stretch of the old Iron Cur-
tain) in the northwestern reaches of the Weinviertel is Austria's smallest national park,
the Thayatal. This unique piece of landscape is actually two parks; its other half, Podyjí
National Park, is located across the border. Of the 3000 plant species found in Austria,
