Cycling in Germany

durhamwasp

Another possible holiday question - Anyone done much cycling in Germany? Considering a week or so in Germany, somewhere where i can do a couple of hill climbs, so guess it might need to be near a ski resort?

mmuk

depends on what you want in terms of hills - the alps are down there, you know!

It's very nice in the east - south of Dresden/Leipzig across to the Czech republic. Lovely 'lumpy' cycling, few cars (and excellent driving) and cracking beer!

MM

Hoopdriver

Black Forest is good for hills. Very pretty countryside too.

durhamwasp

cheers guys.

Thinking of heading down to Switzerland for a week around Neuchatel and then up into Germany, black forest sounds like it could be good. Any particular towns/villages you can recommend?

Hoopdriver

durhamwasp wrote:

cheers guys.

Thinking of heading down to Switzerland for a week around Neuchatel and then up into Germany, black forest sounds like it could be good. Any particular towns/villages you can recommend?

I went through the Black Forest on my way to Istanbul, so I didn't tour the region so much as cross it so I couldn't recommend particular areas for basing oneself and touring. My route took from from Strasbourg across the Rhine and up into the Black Forest (big hills coming up the escarpment) to Freudenstadt. I joined the Neckar River (which has a bicycle path beside it) at Horb and rode to Tubingen which is a very pretty mediaeval university town. From there I made my way over to Ulm (out of the Black Forest by then) and joined the Danube Bicycle Path - which is a brilliant bike route by the way.

You can join the DAnube Bicycle Path at the rivers headwaters in Donauschingen, in the heart of the Black Forest.

durhamwasp

now thinking about 5 days in Brianz, Switzerland and then up to Freiburg for 5. Couple of nights stop in Troyes on the way there, and couple of nights in Metz on way back

Gotte

The first tour I ever did was through fhe Black Forest. Freiburg is a wonddrful town. Check out the cycle path down the river. At rush hour it's something else. So full of bikes. You join it and are shot along. No barriers, trees in the centre of the track. Bikes and bikes and bikes. Its one of the highlights for us.
Out of town, there are plenty of hills. And if you want something long and gentle, head out to the Rhein and follow it round through Weil, and on to Bad Sackingen. Couple of days, but so worth it. Bad Sackingen is a jewel. You can walk across a covered wooden bridge into Switzerland. Though I wouldn't bother cycling in Switzerland. We tried, and it was jjst, well, boring.
We ended up in Stutgart. Again, a great city. Mad at night.
Have a beer for me.

thecrofter

Steinach is just a village in the Black Forest but had a Gasthaus with the best pork escalope I've ever had, so good we went there on the way back from Italy too.That area has lots of very good campsites. We have friends who are from Stuttgart, great city very bike friendly, very good beer, and wine. There are lots of cycle paths next to roads in the area, some locals get a bit miffed if you ride on the road, but for touring they'd be perfect very smooth and well maintained.

durhamwasp

Stuttgart? nice to know...once visited their bus station on a Eurolines bus! Would be nice to actually see the place - good food, beer n wine sounds just the ticket.

Got a few passes in Switzerland in mind - Sustenpass, Furkapass and Grimselpass

thecrofter

durhamwasp wrote:

Stuttgart? nice to know...once visited their bus station on a Eurolines bus! Would be nice to actually see the place - good food, beer n wine sounds just the ticket.

Got a few passes in Switzerland in mind - Sustenpass, Furkapass and Grimselpass

I've driven over the Sustenpass.....awesome