Does anyone have any recommendations for places to do good 50 to 70 mile rides in Germany? We are thinking about traveling with bikes and staying for two or three weeks. We like to ride 250 miles a week in the summer! And hills are good. Thanks!
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Does anyone have any recommendations for places to do good 50 to 70 mile rides in Germany? We are thinking about traveling with bikes and staying for two or three weeks. We like to ride 250 miles a week in the summer! And hills are good. Thanks!
I haven't cycled in Germany yet but my partner has done some routes several times...he has relatives who live in various parts of southern Germany. He cycled primarily in the Black Forest/Rhine River region.
This site has some good maps of bike routes.
http://www.eurovelo6.org/the-stages/...folder_listing
If you are near Stuttgart visit The Rose, which is a huge 3 level department store devoted to cycling stuff. My partner was flabbergasted. His cousin took him there. http://www.roseversand.de/output/con...r.aspx?cid=277 You might want to do this stop near end of trip. :)
If you go bike touring, some of the CHILDREN would put North Americans to shame, last spring, he saw children (10-13 yrs. old) cycling with their fully loaded bike panniers on trip touring with their parents on a bike route by the Rhine.
oh fantastic about the bike store! I had no idea! Thanks for the maps, very helpful!
This is a more useful bike route map for Germany.
http://www.germany-tourism.de/cyclin...network_07.pdf
The numbered routes on map...you see same numbers on the bike route signage enroute.
If you want hills then you could always come to Bavaria. Heading south from Munich gets you into the edge of the alps and there are some nice routes with everything from rolling hills to full alpine passes.
The ADFC has information for cyclists although I'm afraid it's all in German and they publish some good cycling maps.
Another thing to know is that most regional trains have bike racks or even bike carriages, so it's quite easy to get around with your bike.
As long as you don't forget to buy your bike a ticket!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bron
Bavarian alps it is. We are looking at staying in Garmisch, and then going over to Salzberg for a few days...Happy to say that I have a coupler on my bike (thank you Tom Kellogg) so it fits in the size of a regular piece of luggage!
Oh to go to Garmisch again, absolutely beautiful!
I could fit in a large suitcase...:rolleyes: hmmm?
did you bike when you went?
any tips on good places to eat?!
Malkin and I are thinking about a Germany bike trip in the Spring. I did some looking around and found this source for maps:
http://www.esterbauer.com/rtb_uebersicht.html
They are all in German, but I speak German and Malkin is learning...
We bought the "In and Around Munich" book from amazon.com and are finding it both informative and delightful!
There is also a German version of the bike forums:
http://radreise-forum.de
Again, it's mostly in German, but many/most of the folks there also speak English. It took me about a week to get registered (mostly waiting for their response), but it appears to be a pretty helpful place.
Prost!
Such an optimist, that Brewer!Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer
I'm doing Rosetta Stone.
When they say:" Der mann isst ein ei" I giggle because it sounds like: The man is an egg.
We have air reservations. We are on for mid-April in and around Munich.
Which areas/towns do you hope to visit in the Munich region?
I haven't attempted to learn any German. Guess my partner's German didn't get passed over to me ..even though we've been together for over 17 yrs.
So I was lazy and relied on dearie. :rolleyes: He can read very basic German and speak /understand German (better than I can speak/understand my Chinese). Though the German bike maps that he got were very helpful (gives more options and details), it was occasionally still necessary to ask any local when we would cycle into the smaller German towns to know which street, turn, etc. Some of the Germans he encountered did speak English, not all.
Surprisingly he used German in Strasbourg, France (when French wasn't getting either of us far), Prague and Copenhagen occasionally for latter 2 cities. He always gave a choice of language for the speakers in terms of the their comfort level.
In terms of the food (and knowing difference between kuchen and torte), I didn't realize how much I had absorbed from dearie and his family (food, as well as knowledge) about southern German cuisine until I went there. I was as particular as he was, in terms of quality.
I also underestimated what I absorbed from working for a German company for a few years and having German employees (straight from Germany) working in my dept. how much I had learned: many German lakes are overfished, very little large wildlife left (no wonder why they love Canadian/US wilderness), many young Germans now learn English (it is mandatory up to a certain grade level, like French is for Canadian children), there is an annual tax to own a car (at least in several southern German municipalities), etc.
So no, I don't know German language (except I can distinguish German sounding tongue from Czech, Russian, Polish, etc.), but had some 'cultural' feel for Germany already by the time I got there.
There's a tax to own a dog!
We generally under-plan and play quite by ear.
Now that we have a flight and lodging reserved, we're practically ready to go.
Brewer is quite proficient in German, I obviously am not, but I'm game, and the other day, when we saw a guy reaching over his head with pruning shears, I could proudly declare: Er braucht eine leiter! which made Brewer laugh.