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Discovering the beautiful corners of Germany was also on the agenda of many travelers in 2021. We also set off to explore Germany's oldest vacation route - the Romantic Road. However, as it is quite long, we start a little later and finish a little earlier. We "cycle" the stretch from Landsberg am Lech to Weikersheim.
It's raining cats and dogs when we arrive, so we don't see much of Landsberg. But our hotel is very centrally located and gives us a warm welcome. It's still raining the next morning, but the weather service says it will stop by late morning. So we take our time and enjoy an excellent breakfast. Our bikes come out of the dry bike garage and it stops raining just in time for our start to the day.
Show more Show lessWe set off across the beautiful old town of Landsberg to the banks of the Lech, where we follow the well-signposted cycle path. We often cycle along the riverbank, sometimes slightly offset from the river through cornfields, meadows and the occasional forest. We don't pass through villages or towns, and if we do, we only pass them on the outskirts. Instead, we experience a lot of Bavarian agriculture with cows, chickens and horses and see hares and squirrels along the way. The weather is always uncertain as to whether the rain will return, but it holds until we reach the large Augsburg city forest. Here we leave the banks of the Lech a little, but it is very pleasant to ride through the city forest into the big city. As soon as we leave the forest, it's just a few more road junctions until we're in the middle of Augsburg on the town hall square.
Thanks to good signposting and an additional GPS track, we skilfully navigate our way over the cobblestones to the hotel, which couldn't be more centrally located. We settle into our accommodation for the night directly behind the Perlach Tower in a quiet side street.
Of course, there is plenty to explore in Augsburg. In addition to a visit to the famous Fuggerei and the old town, we also have to take a coffee break.
We make our way out of town over the cobblestones through the traffic, not quite as pleasant today as when we entered the city forest yesterday. But eventually, we rejoin our cycle path along the Lech and cycle further north on the flat and mostly fairly straight paths. The cycle path runs along the embankment of the Lech for the first 15 kilometers, with the water mostly in view.
In Langweid, we leave the Lech and cycle through villages, meadows and fields - and of course, we keep an eye out for animals today too!
After the very flat river cycle path, it now becomes a little hillier. A climb to Holzen Monastery then motivates us to take a break in the beautiful monastery complex with its restaurant.
The route continues slightly hilly towards Donauwörth, always keeping an eye on the cycle path signs for the Romantic Road.
In Donauwörth, we can't miss our hotel, which is located directly on the cycle path at the entrance to the town. We explore the not-too-large town on the Danube with its small but beautiful island in the middle of the river. The Wörnitz and Danube flow together here and there are already more cyclists to be seen, as the Danube cycle path is also internationally renowned. Of course, you also need to eat well after a day of cycling, which is not difficult in Donauwörth with its beautiful old town.
This morning, the animals surprise us right after breakfast on the main road in front of the hotel: suddenly, a huge herd of sheep passes through and brings traffic to a standstill without further ado. After this surprise, we realize that it is very cold and we can't get out without gloves. We leave Donauwörth behind us and cycle along the Wörnitz with a view of the vast landscape. The cycle path often runs along small side roads, but there are hardly any cars on them. We pass many small villages before reaching Harburg. Harburg Castle towers high above the town. Both the small town on the Wörnitz and the castle are perfect for a break. The ascent to the castle is steep and can only be done on foot, but it takes just 10 minutes.
After that, we soon reach the edge of the asteroid crater, also known as the Nördlinger Ries, in the middle of which Nördlingen lies. We imagine we can see the edge of the crater, even though we are not geologists. Over 14 million years ago, an asteroid struck here and left behind a crater with a diameter of around 25 km. This is particularly easy to see from the air, but it is rather difficult to see by bike.
We are excited about Nördlingen, as we have read that there is still a city wall that can be walked around, which almost encircles the old town center. So we quickly fortify ourselves with a coffee at the hotel, situated on the edge of the town wall, and off we go to the town wall. We are thrilled by the view of the beautiful alleyways and houses. A small stream here, a beautiful courtyard there - the town exudes a wonderful flair from the Middle Ages and yet is still down-to-earth and not overrun by tourists.
We leave Nördlingen and let the cycle path signs on the Romantic Road guide us through villages, fields, meadows and forests.
The sun is shining beautifully today - for the first time on our tour so far. We have to make the most of it shortly after passing Maihingen Monastery and lie down on the grass. A cycle tour can be so peaceful and relaxing. Only the grasshoppers hop around us and seem to have more energy than we do.
Today's stage has few sights, but we really like the landscape and the sun, so we take a break every now and then. The slightly hilly route mostly runs along small side roads, dirt tracks and cycle paths, some of which are roughly gravelled. It's not so easy to cycle on a path like this when it suddenly goes steeply downhill.
We reach Dinkelsbühl without any accidents. On a well-signposted cycle path and without much traffic, we are already in the middle of the town center and in front of our hotel. To be honest, we hadn't done much research on Dinkelsbühl and are now all the more surprised! What a beautiful old town! Every alley and every house seems to have been freshly renovated, not a single "new" building in the whole town, not one that stands out in any way. No, you immediately notice that great care has been taken here to ensure that all the houses and alleyways retain their original character. We are honestly thrilled and don't go back to the hotel until we have seen almost every alley and every house.
We are surprised that there aren't more tourists here, as we have never seen a better preserved old town with the typical clichéd images that a medieval town offers. But we are also pleased that mass tourism has not yet flooded the streets here.
We leave Dinkelsbühl a little wistfully and think to ourselves: What can the famous Rothenburg do that Dinkelsbühl can't?
On today's stage, we get lost for the first time: we don't know whether to follow the signs or the GPS track. There are also a few climbs on what has been a fairly flat route so far. So it seems quite a long time today until we suddenly cross a small stream, which the sign says is the Tauber. Well, then we can't be far from Rothenburg ob der Tauber!
In fact, just 10 kilometers later we are standing in front of the imposing town gate and immediately afterwards we are in the middle of the hustle and bustle. We are no longer used to so many tourists! We fight our way through the cobbled streets on our bikes until we reach the Röderturm tower right in front of our hotel in the middle of the old town - the location couldn't be better.
We are very excited about the hotel, we have been working together for a long time and have only seen photos of it so far. It impressed us down to the last detail - family-run and with a charm that couldn't be more fitting for this city and the historic building. All of the rooms are individually furnished and there are flashes of history from the city and the family history everywhere. There are not many houses like this left - we take our hats off to the Berger family!
Back to Rothenburg: While our first impression was that it was bustling and difficult to conquer by bike, we realized on a tour on foot that the town really is beautiful. Much more urban and yes, more touristy than our beloved Dinkelsbühl. But the location above the Tauber, the view from the castle garden over the valley and the town as well as the picturesque houses have earned the town its reputation.
As today's stage is not too long at 45 kilometers, we first decide to take another tour through and around Rothenburg. We hike down into the Tauber Valley and enjoy the view of the town from below.
The weather is at its best for the last stage, the sun is shining and it's warm! The gloves have long since been stowed away and we can even cycle in a T-shirt at times.
We love the Tauber Valley, for us it's the most beautiful stage in terms of scenery. We cycle past vineyards on cycle paths far away from major roads, sometimes a little further away from the Tauber, sometimes right on its banks. Along the way, we enjoy coffee and cake and at least once we have to dip our feet in the water.
So we reach Weikersheim, which now seems very small, tranquil and peaceful after the hustle and bustle of Rothenburg. The large castle is impressive from the outside, but we are too late to visit the interior.
We use the last evening meal before our journey home to talk again about the sights and animals we have discovered along the way.
Conclusion:
A journey on which the overnight stops are the highlights. The cycle paths are mostly paved, but often enough just gravel and lead through our typical German cultural landscape with arable farming, meadows and forests - we only rarely pass smaller towns. However, this also means little traffic and peace and quiet in the countryside. While the first stages are almost flat, it is a little hillier from Donauwörth onwards. Nevertheless, the cycle tour on the Romantic Road is also suitable for less experienced cyclists. For us, it was a very nice, varied trip that we would gladly recommend to our guests with a clear conscience.