Stage 29 From Glacier to Wine North Route Bad Waltersdorf - Fürstenfeld

From the center of Bad Waltersdorf, we first head west for a few hundred meters to turn left into Hintergasse. After crossing the Schullerbach stream, this stage of the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine" now leads us south through the fields of Buchgraben, where we soon reach a fork in the road. Here we keep to the right and hike uphill through a beautiful forest to Leitersdorfberg. Continuing along the East Austrian Borderland Trail 07, we hike along the high road to leave the 07 trail after a short ascent. From now on we go past a larger and a smaller pond downhill to the spa town of Bad Blumau. Before that, we have to turn left in the middle of the small settlement of Schwarzmannshofen and then immediately right to reach the front of the Rogner Bad Blumau. Green roofs, round shapes, colorful facades, golden domes and colors reminiscent of the rainbow come together here in harmony with nature, in the spirit of the artist Friedenreich Hundertwasser, to form a living synthesis of the arts. By the way, the Vulkania healing spring of the spa is the strongest spring in the thermal region and springs from a depth of 2,843 meters. The temperature at the water outlet is on average about 110°C and above.

The rest of the way takes us through the 13-hectare thermal park to the center of the tranquil, flower-filled town of Bad Blumau. Worth visiting in the thermal park is especially the Weidenbau, with an inner dome of 22 meters in diameter, a height of 8 meters and framed with numerous small domes unique in the thermal region. Directly in the center of Bad Blumau, we now keep diagonally to the right in order to reach the district of Loimeth via Bergweg, where we meet the 07-er again. First along the edge of the forest and then for a short distance through the middle of a beautiful forest we continue our hike to get directly to the "thousand-year-old oak" on the Bierbaumer Höhe. It is considered the oldest oak in Europe and impresses with a height of 30 meters and a trunk diameter of 2.50 meters. The incredible tree crown with a diameter of about 50 meters is one of the most beautiful resting places in the Thermenland.

For us, after the well-deserved rest, the path leads along the edge of the Commendewald and through it downhill into the Feistritztal, where the town of Fürstenfeld already greets us. The last kilometers bring us via the Fürstenfeld outdoor pool, the largest pool in Austria, right into the center of the historic town, which surprises with numerous cafes, ice cream parlors and shopping with a Mediterranean flair. The next stage takes us via the Loipersdorf thermal spa to the village of Unterlamm.

In the thermal spa and volcano region of Styria, eastern Styria and southern and western Styria, the GenussCard opens the door to more than 200 excursion destinations when you stay overnight in one of the approximately 100 Genusscard partner establishments. Countless of these GenussCard excursion destinations, ranging from culinary manufactories to bathing lakes and museums, are located directly on the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine".

Tip: In spring 2018, a jury and the readers of a major Austrian daily newspaper selected Martina Traisch from the Enns Valley and Manfred Polansky from the Mürz Valley as two "super hikers" who hiked the north and south routes in the summer. On www.steiermark.com/superwanderer you can read about their experiences and adventures: From ideal photo spots to hidden wine cellars in mountain huts. Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Martina and Manfred and also become a "super hiker"? It's very easy: Register at www.steiermark.com/superwanderer and then post your experiences, videos and comments along the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine" - regardless of whether you hike the entire route or just one section. Every 5 stages also beckons a small reward!

Accessible by train and bus.

Detailed information about arriving by ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) can be found at www.oebb.at or on the Verbundlinie Steiermark website www.busbahnbim.at

With Verbundlinie’s BusBahnBim route planner app, planning your journey has never been easier: simply enter towns and/or addresses, stop names or points of interest to check all bus, train and tram connections in Austria. The app is available free of charge for smartphones – on Google Play and in the App Store

Steiermark Tourismus

Tel. +43 316 4003

info@steiermark.com

www.steiermark.com/en

If you would like to hire a  tour operator, simply book with Steiermark Touristik, the official travel agency of Steiermark Tourismus:

Tel. +43 316 4003 450, 

www.steiermark-touristik.com

The Steiermark Touren app, available free of charge on Google Play and the App Store  (Android, iOS), offers detailed first-hand information: brief facts (length, duration, difficulty, ascent and descent/elevation gain, ratings), map, route descriptions, altimeter, compass, peak finder, navigation along the tour. You can also create your own personal lists of favourite tours and sites, store tours and destinations offline, use social media channels, and much more.

Gratis Pocket Card Wanderroute "Vom Gletscher zum Wein" finden Sie auf www.steiermark.com

Kompass WK225 Steirisches Hügel-, Vulkan- und Thermenland, Mureck, Bad Radkersburg, Murska Sobota www.kompass.at

Freytag & Berndt WK423 Steirisches Thermenland · Südliches Burgenland · Steirisches Vulkanland www.freytagberndt.at

Rother Wanderführer "Vom Gletscher zum Wein": auf 160 Seiten mit 80 Farbabbildungen 60 Höhenprofile, 60 Wanderkärtchen im Maßstab 1:75.000, zwei Übersichtskarten, GPS-Tracks zum Download, Format 11,5 x 16,5 cm, kartoniert mit Polytex-Laminierung, ISBN 978-3-7633-4550-2, www.rother.de