Nordwaldkammweg Tour 2 Schöneben - Haslach

The Nordwaldkammweg continues eastward from Schöneben along the paved road to the Alpen- and Moldaublick viewpoints, then bends slightly uphill to the left after about 500 m and turns southeast towards the Sulzberg (1,040 m), on whose extended north side you can visit the viewpoint "Moldaublick" (N48°42.150, E13°58.277, entry fee). It is possible to incorporate the Moldaublick into the Nordwaldkamm hike; the walking time there and back is 1 hour. Near the Moldaublick is one of the isolated dwarf pine peat bogs found here. If you stay on the road and do not turn left, you reach the "Alpenblick" (N48°41.679, E13°56.701), the second observation tower built in 2008 on the Sulzberg massif, 33 m high (entry fee).

Without visiting the Moldaublick and Alpenblick, the NWKW leads downhill from Sulzberg, joins the Holzwiese after crossing the above-mentioned roadway, and passes the Obernhof hunting lodge without significant altitude changes through the forest (often tall grass and soft ground) to the dispersed settlement of Grünwald. The walking time from Schöneben to Grünwald is about 2½ hours. In winter this section serves roughly as the Christian Hoffmann cross-country ski trail, named after the first Austrian Olympic cross-country skiing champion. Shortly before reaching this intermediate destination, or also directly from the Panyhaus in Grünwald northwards, trail marker 41 branches off left from the ridge path to the Bärenstein (1,077 m), which is comfortably reachable in 25 minutes (beautiful panoramic view of the Moldau reservoir lake, towards Horni Plana/Oberplan, the birthplace of Bohemian Forest poet Adalbert Stifter, and the Vitkuv / Wittinghausen ruin). The Austrian long-distance trail No. 10, the "Rupertiweg" (Bohemian Forest — Hausruck – Berchtesgadnerland - Rupertiwinkel — Gailtal in Carinthia) begins at Bärenstein, with the Falkensteinerweg No. 110 (Bärenstein — Niederranna at the Danube) as its first section. The Falkensteinerweg crosses the Nordwaldkammweg east of the Panyhaus. The Jakobsweg coincides with the NWKW between Zollhaus above St. Oswald and the Furtmühle. The E10 also follows the Nordwaldkammweg route from the Panyhaus in Grünwald to Bad Leonfelden.

Currently, there is a refreshment stop and only a small accommodation option at the Panyhaus in Grünwald, with the next options only in Oberhaag or at the Adalbert Stifter Youth Hostel (a small detour). From the Panyhaus, the paved forest road leads downhill southwards about 4 km to Aigen/Schlägl. Before reaching the Adalbert Stifter Youth Hostel, the NWKW branches left at the sports field or stone to the continental watershed to the Schwedenschanze, an old fortification from the 17th century with an informational circular trail (45 minutes from the Panyhaus). Before the Schwedenschanze starts the connecting path V3 (trail 42) over the Schwemmkanal to Kyselov and the "Bayrische Au" peat bog.

From the Haagerhof hotel (N48°39.252‘, E14° 0.390, checkpoint) nearby in Oberhaag, one enjoys a beautiful deep view over Aigen/Schlägl and a vista into the sprawling valley basin towards the distant Alpine chain. The road in Oberhaag used to run from Linz to Krumau and was called B50, then B127 Rohrbacher Bundesstraße. With the construction of the Moldau reservoir, no connection was possible anymore and the B127 now ends as a state road in Aigen. However, via the border crossing Kyselov/Sarau there is again a car connection to the Moldau reservoir in the Czech Republic on this old route.

From Oberhaag, the ridge path first leads eastward almost to the Czech border, then goes south through a hollow path downhill through the forest until shortly after the forest the village of Wurmbrand is reached (walking time 1 hour from Oberhaag). The trail leads through the village of Wurmbrand, where in the middle it turns left downhill to the former Wurmbrand mill, today Biogartenhof Mühlland (http://www.biogartenhof-muehlland.at ), crosses uphill after the house group the cycle path R5 (borderland trail) sharply to the right, then shortly after comes out onto open terrain and turns left, steeply ascending through forest until a cart path coming from the left is reached on the height. From Wurmbrand to this point it takes about 45 minutes on foot. The path continues right into the Sattlingerholz and reaches about 150 m lower east of Sattling at a wayside shrine the cycle path R5 again, which is followed about 200 m to the east (no sidewalk!). Uphill the path then leads to Galgenberg, a historic site with a nice view, from where the Zollhaus St. Oswald near Haslach is immediately reachable uphill via the road (start of connecting path V4). The connecting path V4 here links to the NWKW II to Koranda/Rosenhügel, where the Schwarzenberg floating canal crosses the transcontinental watershed (sculpture "Connect it" at the state border). Following the road downhill leads to St. Oswald bei Haslach, the walking time from Oberhaag to St. Oswald is 2½ hours. In 2019, a rest area for long-distance hikers was created here through a Leader project from the dilapidated gatehouse by the church, since there is no longer an inn in the village (opening June 7, 2019).

After St. Oswald bei Haslach, but still before the village of Almesberg, trail 105 branches off to the village Schwackerreith, where there is now a well-stocked self-service box for supplies. In Schwackerreith, the Nordwaldkammweg crosses the Schlägl district road and - unfortunately on asphalt - leads to the Furtmühle (N48°36.313‘, E14°1.163‘, http://www.furtmuehle.at ) on the Große Mühl, which is still 15 minutes away. The Furtmühle, closed since 2019 as a snack station, offers accommodation (private room rentals, 5 twin rooms, a dormitory, and camping). After crossing the Große Mühl, the trail leads on the right side of the riverbed, brushing the villages of Gattergaßling and Spielleiten, following a deep downhill road, then uphill beyond more houses, on to the old Webermarkt Haslach an der Mühl (501 m, checkpoint), which we reach after crossing the river (walking time from St. Oswald to Haslach 2 hours, from Oberhaag to Haslach 4½ hours).