Travel report: Cycle tour along the Romantic Road

Stage 1: Landsberg am Lech - Augsburg

We 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.

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.

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 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.