The Romantic Avenue: Biking All by Bavaria
Can you consider it’s been over six years since Jim and I cycled alongside the Rhine from Mainz to Cologne? Why, we have been nearly kids.
Merely considered one amongst fairly a number of castles on the Rhine, summer season season 2016
On that event it was the sheer quantity and number of castles that stick in my concepts.
And on the biking journey before that, it’s the massive, resinous pine forests of the Spreewald that I notably take into account.
However from remaining July – as quickly as we cycled 220 miles from Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Füssen alongside Bavaria’s Romantic Avenue – it’s the wildflowers that stand out.
A wealthy vibrancy of shade and type;
whether or not or not or not cornflowers in silken barley;
wheat fields speckled with summer season season poppies;
or dew drenched alpine meadows with orchids.
The flowers that lined our route have been astonishing of their magnificence and choice.
The selection of cuckoos and the drone of bugs was a close to mounted too
– as was commonly swallowing or inhaling a fly or two as we hurtled alongside.
I yearned to cycle the Feuchtwanger Rundweg merely to, y’know, say that I had
We now have been in Germany for virtually a month remaining summer season season, travelling about by put collectively and visiting a listing of German cities so long as your arm… and mine: Berlin, Leipzig, Ochsenfurt, Munich, Nuremberg, Potsdam. And, along with, we stayed in a further eight cities on the Romantic Avenue cycle route – battling each to appreciate them by push bike after which pronounce them: #deepbreath Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen, Donauwörth, Augsburg, Landsberg am Lech, Schongau and Füssen.
As all the time on these holidays, we adopted a fantastically well-signposted route,
utilizing a supplied-with-our-bikes route knowledge
on regular dependable bikes. In eight days of biking we didn’t get a puncture nor a breakdown and apart from an absolute soaking on arrival contained in the metropolis of Augsburg, we had nearly regular sunshine too.
So, that was good.
We took our time, usually getting misplaced, principally not,
stopping for meals if we have been hungry, stopping for meals if we weren’t,
or simply stopping to, accurately,
gaze about
or just shock at these loopy Germans.
If it’s Monday it needs to be Rothenburg ob der Tauber and the beginning of our cycle journey.
And if it’s Friday it’ll, clearly, be Donauworth;
and my solely assembly – to this point – with the mighty Danube. (Have you ever learnt that the Danube flows by ten worldwide areas – together with Ukraine – and under no circumstances considered one amongst them calls it the Danube. Pretty attention-grabbing? No? Oh accurately, go properly alongside together with your self).
I had under no circumstances visited Bavaria before and was charmed by the development:
the imposing show-off,
the quirky,
the medieval Bavarian,
and the under no circumstances to my style ever so billy bonkers.
We seen a substantial amount of wildlife together with fox cubs, a beaver, fairly a number of deer and, in any case, storks.
A stork on a nest was a typical sight on our travels – and it’s good to know that they could even flip proper right into a typical sight contained in the UK as quickly as additional.
Correct proper right here’s one totally different frequent sight from my journey.
See? On a whim, I grew a beard for my Bavarian journey nonetheless I used to be puzzled that it turned out to be gray and white. So, what’s that about? I’m constructive remaining time I grew one it was darkish brown.
Contained in the closing few days of our week’s biking we drew near the Bavarian Alps.
Approaching the mountains by cycle fairly than by put collectively, airplane or auto cell, felt like an exact outdated fella achievement.
Although I did should cease usually merely to test with Jim that we hadn’t crossed the high-quality line between robust gratifying and bloody knackering arduous work. (We hardly did, in case you questioned).
I can’t advocate Germany for biking.
Oops. I counsel, I can’t advocate Germany for biking enough. They merely make it tons simpler, tons further easy and safer than we do.
This was the hilliest of our German bike holidays and simply the hardest – each in distance and climbs. We did have the collection of hiring e-bikes nonetheless chosen to not, figuring there’s a substantial amount of time for assisted biking contained in the years to come back again once more.
And utilizing pushbikes to reach on the the BIG mountains of southern Germany solely added to our smug – and albeit unattractive – gloating self-satisfaction.
Sound required
And have you ever ever learnt? Although we weren’t in Austria, the hills have been really alive with the sound of music. Straight up.
We booked this tour by a German agency, Radweg-Reisen.
They booked all of our (very good) lodging and provided the bikes, panniers and tour maps.
Furthermore they transferred our baggage from one lodge to the following after we, post-Frühstück, had cycled off for the day.
The very best of the tour – Neuschwanstein Citadel, Füssen
As all the time as quickly as we reached the tip of considered one amongst these holidays, it was a wrench to give up our bikes and cease the open roads, fields, forests, small cities and villages.
Under no circumstances concepts.
In some unspecified time sooner or later I ought to like to return.
My brother and me, Ochsenfurt, Bavaria
Which, supplied that my huge brother now lives in Bavaria, is simply as accurately!
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Can you consider it’s been over six years since Jim and I cycled alongside the Rhine from Mainz to Cologne? Why, we have been nearly kids. Merely considered one amongst fairly a number of castles on the Rhine, summer season season 2016 On that event it was the sheer quantity…