Hauptkatalog 2024
Travel report: Info tour of the Five Rivers Cycle Path in October 2021
From our employee Benjamin
Above the rooftops of Nuremberg
Arrival in Nuremberg
I was looking forward to this cycle tour like a little kid. Now it's "goodbye" to Constance and "hello" to Nuremberg, because this is where we start our five-river cycle tour, which will take us along the five Bavarian rivers Danube, Pegnitz, Altmühl, Naab and the Vils. Before we start, let's take a quick look at the weather forecast, which gives us a promising outlook for the next few days. Lots and lots of sunshine and a rainy day in between - toi toi toi!
On arriving in Nuremberg on Saturday afternoon, we first check into the Hotel Victoria, which is located right next to the famous Handwerkerhof, where you can also enjoy very good, typical Bavarian cuisine! After checking in, we walked through the small alleyways and had a look at the little stores selling home-made products. These included a pewter foundry and a lovely little pottery. At the Anemoi paper workshop, I couldn't wait to get my hands on all the cards!
Where to next? To the famous Imperial Castle, of course! It's always impressive to be able to marvel at such mighty buildings from a bygone era. I always ask myself "How did they manage that back then?". In any case, the whole complex is the perfect place for a long walk. The sun slowly sets as we stroll through the old town back to the hotel to have dinner next door at the Frauentor and end the day.
Show more Show less
Nuremberg
Nuremberg
The next day, the time has finally come and the bike bags are packed! At 9.00 a.m. it's off to reception to deposit the suitcases and then it's time to enjoy a hearty breakfast before cycling the first stage. It's off to beautiful Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz!
After briefly studying the city map of Nuremberg on the Five Rivers Cycle Map, it leads us straight out of Nuremberg and directs us from here, along well-signposted cycle paths, onto the Five Rivers Cycle Path, which is signposted with a sign with white-blue waves and black lettering.
Now far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the cycle path leads us along the historic Ludwig-Danube-Main Canal. With its 100 locks, it is an important industrial monument that was only of logistical importance for a short time. After its completion in July 1846, it was quickly replaced by the railroad revolution. Today, however, it attracts many (cycle) hikers, as you can enjoy the fresh air on its renaturalized banks.
On the way, we make a small detour to Feucht, but we wouldn't necessarily repeat it. So we quickly return to the canal and cycle on until we leave the cycle path again briefly to visit Thann Castle in Burgthann. There are lots of events here in the summer and you have a wonderful sweeping view of the Franconian Alb from the castle walls. Afterwards, we recommend a visit to the castle tavern for a quick bite to eat.
Show more Show less
Burgthann
Burgthann
On we go! We roll back onto the Five Rivers Cycle Path and ride through to Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. As we push our bikes through the Lower Gate, one of the town's gates, on Sunday, we notice that the town center is pretty busy. Yay - the shops are open! This comes in handy, as I still need to get some gloves. Despite the sunshine, autumn makes its presence felt with some cool air during the ride. In Neumarkt, we spend the night in the beautiful Hotel Lehmeier, which is right in the city center.
Show more Show less
From Neumarkt to Riedenburg
The next morning, we get back on our bikes. Today's stage destination is Riedenburg in the beautiful Altmühltal valley. After our last few kilometers along the canal, which take us through the small but very interesting towns of Berching and Beilngries and past the Plankstetten monastery, we now meet the Altmühl for the first time in Dietfurt, which flows into the canal here and accompanies us all the way to Riedenburg. The lovely Altmühl valley enchants us a little with the bright yellow to deep red colored deciduous trees on the slopes of the Jura rocks that tower above the valley.
Shortly before Riedenburg, the Altmühl-Bob is already signposted. We don't want to miss out on the fun, so we follow the signs. Once there, we got on the speed bob run, which took us back down at 60 km/h on a wavy track with a shot ride.
After the little adrenaline rush, we roll into the town center and drive to our next hotel, the Hotel and Gasthof "Zur Post" in the center of Riedenburg. Riedenburg is also known as the town of three castles, as two old castle ruins, "Tachenstein" and "Rabenstein", as well as the intact Rosenburg, tower over the rooftops of the town. They are all connected by a beautiful, albeit strenuous, hiking trail. However, the climb is rewarded with a fantastic view over the Altmühltal! Now it's off to the hotel restaurant for refreshments in the evening, where we end the evening in comfort.
Show more Show less
Altmühl
From Riedenburg to Regensburg
The morning after, I want to get back on my bike quickly, because there's a very special highlight on the agenda today: the Danube Gorge with the Weltenburg Monastery! I cycle along the banks of the Altmühl towards Kelheim. Shortly before Kelheim, the Befreiungshalle (Liberation Hall), perched high up on the Michelsberg, catches the eye. This was built by the Bavarian King Ludwig I from 1842-1863 in memory of the battles won against Napoleon. We leave the Altmühl here and continue through the old town of Kelheim to the Danube port. Here we start our boat trip to Weltenburg Monastery and the Danube breakthrough. Very leisurely (a little too slowly for me), we take the boat through the imposing rocks through which the Danube has carved its way over thousands of years.
Despite the drizzle and cold, we took a leisurely look at this scenery from the panoramic deck. The ship then docks at Weltenburg Monastery, where you have the opportunity to take a closer look at the Benedictine monastery and the oldest monastery brewery in the world. Due to time constraints and the weather, we decide against it and sail back shortly afterwards. Back on our bikes, we follow the Danube downstream, either to the left or to the right, all the way to Regensburg. Our destination in Regensburg today is the "Münchner Hof", a really nice 4-star hotel in the heart of the old town. Once there, we treat ourselves to a glass of wine as a reward for today's stage and then stop off at the "Weltenburger am Dom" restaurant, where I finally get to try an original Bavarian knuckle of pork - very tasty!
Show more Show less
From Regensburg to Amberg
The next morning, we decide to take a short tour of the city, including a stroll through the small and fine stores in the old town. After picking up a few things to make our wallets smaller, we stow our haul in the saddlebags and get back on our bikes.
First we follow the Danube for a little while and then cross it at Mariaort to cycle along the banks of the Naab until we reach the small, tranquil town of Kallmünz. An old but impressive castle ruin dating back to 1255 towers high above the small town and you immediately get the feeling of being in a bygone era as you pass through. For us, it was actually a secret highlight of this tour, as I had never heard of this place before and its townscape is reminiscent of a fairy tale.
At this point, we leave the Naab again and follow the Vils upstream. We cycle through beautiful countryside along the riverbed, alternating between meadows and forests. After this stage, which is also the longest of the whole trip, we slowly roll our bikes through the 46-metre-long Amberg Stadtbrille - a water gate structure that spans the Vils.
And we are already in the middle of Amberg's old town, making our way through the beautiful alleyways to our hotel for the night. I've been looking forward to this overnight stay for days, because today we're staying at the "Knasthotel Fronfeste". The hotel really is an experience, as you sleep in this former 17th century prison in modern, but still originally large cells.
Luckily, we are now living in the 21st century and so we are allowed to leave our cell again the next day.
From Amberg to Hersbruck
And on we go! - Unfortunately, the weather was bad that day. The weather forecast doesn't give us much hope, so we throw on our rain gear, put on our gloves and set off. Luckily it's only just under 45 kilometers today, we think to ourselves. We have already read in our travel documents that there is a thermal spa in today's stage destination, the small town of Hersbruck - the Fackelmann-Therme! So we have something to look forward to once we have fought our way through the bad weather. To be honest, on this stage we also cycle straight through to the finish without stopping much. When we arrive at the Schwarzer Adler Hotel, we are greeted warmly by the elderly lady, who serves us a piece of cake and prepares a fresh cup of coffee - just the thing after such a rainy day! Having eaten our fill, we drive to the thermal spa, which is located in the middle of the Pegnitz floodplains, and relax here for the rest of the day.
Show more Show less
From Hersbruck to Nuremberg
Better weather the next morning - yeah! Unfortunately, this is also the last day of cycling on our beautiful trip. We now cycle along the Pegnitz, still in a great mood early in the morning, as the morning dew still lies over the meadows and the sun is slowly coming through. After 14 kilometers, we make our first stop and take a look at the town of Lauf while we treat ourselves to a coffee. The last few kilometers are now on the plan and we are approaching Nuremberg. Passing the Wöhrder See lake in the city of Nuremberg, we follow the signs towards the old town, as our last hotel, the Prinzregent, is not far from here, directly on the banks of the Pegnitz. We quickly park our bikes and saddlebags here and sprint to the main train station. As today's stage was very short, it's still early in the day and we decide to take a day trip to wonderful Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
After the train ride there, we stumbled leisurely through the many cobbled alleyways and took a close look at the beautifully preserved medieval buildings. After sampling an original "Rothenburg Snowball" in one of the many beautiful cafés, we ended the day with a glass of wine in the castle garden with its breathtaking views and headed back to Nuremberg.
Show more Show less
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Departure from Nuremberg
The next day, we get to see a bit more of Nuremberg until we unfortunately have to leave around midday. Had we really only been traveling for a week? It seemed much longer to me, because we got so many great impressions on our bike trip and were able to get to know lots of little corners of Germany that we would probably never have seen otherwise.
One thing is certain for both of us: there will be another bike trip next year, that's for sure!
Show more Show less
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Amberg
Nuremberg
