Via Nova Pilgrimage to Eggmühl
The next stop on my way to Regensburg was Eggmühl, the place of the famous 1809 Napoleon Battle. I was a bit sore after playing tennis and table tennis the day before, so I was planning to do an easier hike. Besides, the forecast was promising rain throughout the whole day.
The solution was chosen on the fly. I got into the RE 2 train to Hof and sat there until I heard an announcement for Neufahrn (Niederbayern). I remembered that I still haven't visited the castle there (which was turned into a hotel), so it made sense to exit and start hiking from there. As for my destination, I realized that it takes 30 km to walk from Eggmühl to Saal (Donau), where my Kelheim hike ended, so the choice made sense.
The hike started nicely, with me buying a can of coffee on the train station. When I was here last time, Neufahrn (Niederbayern) seemed like a small village with nothing going on. That's because the train station is on the edge of it, hiding everything interesting out of sight.
In reality, they have several churches, Schlosshotel Neufahrn (the castle hotel), a bunch of sports facilities, their own fire station covering neighboring villages and more! I didn't linger for too long, since I had a long way ahead of me, but still took a bit of time to enjoy the scene. There were also a bunch of ice cream and kebab shops open even on a holiday, but I wasn't hungry, so I can't give you any reviews.
After I exited the town, my next stop was Oberlindhart, with their old water mill turned into a shop. Although the big mill seemed to be made into a monument there, the smaller mills of Huber Mühle seemed to still be working, and they offered products for people to buy in their store.
From there, I followed the bike road to Pfaffenberg across a few small streams and fields. The whole way was paved with asphalt, so the walk was quick and solid. I have to say, the whole route in general and this section in particular were very nice to go through. The fields of wheat and corn, the occasional bikers tagging along, everything was great. And the lighting from rainy clouds gave the whole landscape a painterly feel.
When I entered the town, there was a horse riding competition or exhibition taking place on my way. It was interesting to check out, although I couldn't follow what was happening and who was better.
At this point, my hiking route connected with the Via Nova pilgrimage route. They had signs at every important turn, benches along the way, some shrines and small churches to go through. Since this route leads all the way to Eggmühl, I decided to follow it, making shortcuts when it made sense. This section was also favored by the local hikers, with many elderly couples taking sections of the route.
Just following the Via Nova route, I ended up in Holztraubach. It's a very small village with a single main road, but I saw the locals celebrating the holiday with some barbeque near an old tractor they left running. We greeted each other and I kept going.
The next section was leading me to Pinkofen. Instead of staying on the trail, which at this point was a nice road paved with stone bricks, I decided to make a shortcut through the forest. There was a faint track in the dirt covered in tall grass and shrubs, unmarked on the map (until I fixed it after getting home). I decided to follow it, finding some dead ends throughout but eventually getting out of the forest.
I even saw a deer a few meters away from me. We were both surprised to see each other, and the deer darted into the woods to get away from me. I also saw some woodpeckers, but still no foxes, despite being on the lookout for them.
I decided to walk past Pinkofen, as it looked like a simple collection of farms and villas, and headed straight to my final destination. Now that I was back on the pilgrimage route, I started seeing benches and other hikers again, and even some locals walking their dogs. Although I saw actual rainfall on the horizon, there wasn't much wind, so the clouds never moved onto my route. I managed to stay completely dry through the whole way.
When I reached Eggmühl and headed to the train station, I saw Löwendenkmal, a lion monument built in 1909 to commemorate the 1809 Napoleon Eggmühl battle. There were information boards and some benches near it for others to find out more.
All in all, this is a great route and a huge improvement over the Neufahrn (Niederbayern) to Landshut route. The views are great, the fields are lush, the forests are great for shade and respite in-between the exposed areas. I was also really lucky with the weather. I'd highly recommend hikers of all ages to check out the Via Nova pilgrimage route. You can even get overnight stay along the route if you want a multi-day trip!