Travel report: "Social media break" on the Altmuehl cycle path
From our guests Karin and Bettina
Having arrived in the digital age, we also wanted to make effective use of the benefits of a social media break (digital detox) to spend more time in nature. Thought and then acted upon... As work colleagues, we first ventured on a short vacation (...without bag and baggage) two years ago. Since we both have the same understanding of what a vacation is: exercise in nature paired with digital detox!!!... it quickly became clear that cycling was the perfect solution. After a quick search on the internet, we found the right offer at Radweg-Reisen. The booking was uncomplicated and the contact was friendly. The personalized documents reached us in paper form 😊 - not digitally. We booked the train journey promptly. We arrived at our first accommodation within walking distance of the train station in Rothenburg o.d. Tauber.
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Day 1
Monday: Arrival at the Hotel Rappen - a modern hotel with a rich city flair. We were accommodated in an adjoining building. After checking in, we were able to get our bikes from the bike garage (special feature: air pump available) - we were thrilled. Perfect bikes, super comfortable, great equipment.
We started our first tour through Rothenburg straight away and really enjoyed ourselves. Back at the hotel, we took a seat in the beer garden and fortified ourselves before continuing on to the night-watchman tour; this voucher was included in our travel companion. What a great idea. The tour was really good, very humorous. An all-round successful end to the first day of our vacation.
Day 2
Tuesday began with a hearty breakfast. We had previously packed our panniers and handed in our luggage at reception. Everything was well organized. The destination of our first tour was Gasthof Birkel in Herrieden-Lammelbach. We took the route via Windelsbach/Hornau. We drove cross-country in search of the source of the Altmühl... unfortunately we didn't find it. In Binzwangen we took our first break at a beautiful pond. Via Herrieden (with a short stop for an iced coffee) we headed onto the home stretch: to Lammelbach. The Gasthof Birkel is equipped with a great bike garage ... with plenty of space and charging facilities. The rooms are ordinary, but ok. The outdoor terrace invites you to linger. The food was great, the service good. The little "hummingbirds" on the lavender bushes on the outdoor terrace were striking. Their name: hummingbird hawk-moth. Due to global warming, the butterflies are able to successfully overwinter in increasingly northern areas.
After the sumptuous meal, we explored the area.
Day 3
Wednesday: We continued after breakfast with a slight feeling of "bum discomfort". We quickly struck up a conversation with the other cyclists... and joked about who would arrive first at the next destination, Treuchtlingen-Wettelsheim. We took our time and had a long break right by the Altmühlsee. Then we stopped again in Gunzenhausen. After a short stroll through the town, we treated ourselves to a cup of coffee and cake at Café LebensKunst. We continued (through drizzle) to Treuchtlingen-Wettelsheim. We were able to park our bikes in a somewhat cramped barn at the guesthouse Zur Sonne after picking up our room key at the Goldenes Lamm. The accommodation was ok. We then ate at the Gasthof Zum Goldenen Lamm in the evening. The location was very cozy and the food was good. We then had breakfast at the guesthouse Zur Sonne. We were able to leave the key there at reception.
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Thursday: Our destination was the Hotel-Gasthof Hirschenwirt in Eichstätt-Wasserzell. We had a snack in Solnhofen - right in front of the Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum. The museum is a paleontological and geological museum in Solnhofen, a municipality in the central Franconian district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen. The museum gained a certain international reputation through its possession of two originals of the prehistoric bird Archaeopteryx, which was found in the region. We also visited this exhibition. Highly recommended for fans of the Jurassic period and dinosaurs. Our route continued past the 12 Apostles to Dollnstein. Dollnstein Castle is located directly on the cycle route. A great place to take a short break with good coffee and cake.
Dollnstein Castle was lovingly and professionally renovated in 2007 and has now been restored to its former glory. The exhibition on the first floor has several main themes. Definitely worth a visit :-) In front of the castle, it was very easy to charge your bike batteries and it was free of charge. So, last stage for the day: to Wasserzell to the Hirschenwirt. The destination was quickly found. The bike garage was MEGA... We parked our bikes there and wanted to check in. No luck: our accommodation was in the guest house - about 100 meters away. The rooms were good - unfortunately the bike garage here was far too small and too dark. The breakfast was plentiful - as at all stations. We rode into Eichstätt in the evening and treated ourselves to a pizza....
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Day 5
Friday: The next morning - after breakfast - we saddled up and drove to Eichstätt and took part in a guided tour of the town. We highly recommend this experience. The small courtyard garden of the summer residence and administrative seat of the university also invited us to linger - which we did :-). Near Beilngries, in the middle of the Altmühltal Nature Park, lies the Kratzmühlsee, where you can swim, row and sunbathe along more than two kilometers of shoreline. We then continued our relaxed journey to Beilngries. A very nice, small, idyllic town. You can even walk "across" the water here. The accommodation was ok. We had a room under the roof with only one relatively small window - without a fly screen. The temperature was too high to sleep - unfortunately. The ambience in the small but lovely beer garden in Millipp was just great. The food was delicious. The breakfast was "premium"!!!, the bicycle garage was ok so far.
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Day 6
Saturday: Off to Kelheim. Stopover at the beautiful St. Agatha bathing lake. The bathing lake is located in the Riedenburg district of Haidhof, around three kilometers from Riedenburg. On the way to Kelheim, we drove over the wooden bridge near Essing. The unusual suspension bridge construction is one of the longest wooden bridges in Europe and spans the Main-Danube Canal. We cycled at an average speed of around 20 km/h - so we were in the saddle for around three hours a day, with interruptions of course. Our legs and buttocks were getting tired. That's why the seven-day tour was really easy for us as e-bike beginners. I will definitely continue to ride my e-bike at home, even to work. The distance of 10 kilometers is no problem at all. The last section of the route led through the forest past the Weltenburg monastery and brewery. We reached Kelheim in the early afternoon. A place steeped in history. We checked into the Gasthof Weißes Lamm. The room was nicely renovated and the beds were super comfy. In the evening, we had a good home-style meal in the beer garden and then went for a walk around the town. It was quite busy - but it was a Saturday.
King Ludwig I of Bavaria had the lofty Liberation Hall built high above the town and turned the Weltenburger Enge into Bavaria's first nature reserve.
Day 7
On Sunday, we were able to redeem our second and final voucher for a boat trip on the Danube. The weather was perfect and we sailed to Weltenburg Abbey and back. Then we got back into our cycling shorts and on towards Regensburg. Unfortunately, we were on the side of the river away from the beach - but it was nice to cycle this way. The last few minutes directly on the Danube .... It was a wonderful, very relaxed cycle tour.
We then drove into Regensburg and wanted to book an evening city tour. Unfortunately, this was not possible. So we drove on to the Hotel Münchner Hof. An atmospheric little place. On Sunday evening we sat comfortably in the small beer garden of the Münchner Hof until 10 pm and shared our experiences with the two other people who had also booked the same tour.
The Hotel Münchner Hof consists of several medieval patrician houses, and in 1902 the open beer garden was fitted with a glass roof. At this special place, we were able to enjoy a very rich breakfast in a great atmosphere on the Monday of our departure. All in all, it was very nice and very well organized :-). Thank you Radweg-Reisen!!! A small request on the side: I would suggest to add two more vouchers to the offer :-)
