What to see in Germany
 

Hi , I am planning a trip to Germany maybe into Austria next year.
Could anyone suggest me some places to visit , good roads to ride and places to stay? I've got 9 days , travelling from cornwall.
Thanks .

Really depends what you're into and where in Germany you'll be going. I know the former East Germany pretty well, so narrow it down a little. :)

Mup.

HU Germany Meeting...
 

Hi,

just visit the HU Germany Meetings, end of may and end of October!

Close to Heidelberg - really pretty!:welcome:

See you there - Jens

Hi muppix, I'm thinking of heading to the black forest, lake constance and the Munich area. Anywhere on my way or nearby. I'm not sure where east Germany would have started.
Thanks

Hi Sketch,

If you're down as far as Munich then in your shoes I'd take a trip to Garmish and maybe a little circuit of the alps via Innsbruck. If you have the luxury of several days then there are lots of alpine passes that can be explored, check out the old St. Bernhard for starters.

East Germany starts roughly north of Nürnberg and takes in the little corner that borders the Czech Republic until Berlin. (wikipedia is your friend here as my historical geography is rubbish) If you want to experience something unique then I'd strongly encourage you to visit a village called Mödlareuth, which was split in half by the iron curtain and survives today as a living museum, but in a tasteful way.

Mup.

If you've never been to Munich, it is a great city, especially the English Gardens, which includes a wonderful beer garden by the Chinese Pagoda. The Hofbrauhaus is as touristy as it gets but always kind of a fun visit! As mentioned by others, Garmisch is also beautiful. A ride or boat trip down the Rhine near St Goar or Lorelei is also a great experience. Rothenburg am der Tauber (near Wurzburg I believe) is basically a complete medieval city, also pretty cool (but also very touristy).

If you've never been to Germany, its pretty hard to go wrong, you'll enjoy almost anywhere you go, at least in the southern part (I don't know northern Germany as well, but my general, if uninformed impression is that it is more industrial/flatter/duller). The key IMHO is to avoid most of the big cities, where the autobahns and traffic converge and it just isn't that fun to ride. If I had to pick one big city to visit, it would be Munich (or Berlin, but that's quite a way).

Try going into Germany along the side of the Mosel, up towards Koblenz it a stunning area lots of cheap places to stay fine wine and excellent hosts, from Koblenz head south along the rhine you can peel off either side nto get blasts of medieval towns and nice roads, head off towards Heidelburg, and then inland and south towards bodenzee (lake constance on the swiss border from here it is along to Austria along stunning valleys and roads. Augsburg is nice, Munich is a treat and Bamburg great for beer and very pretty Heidelburg a good student town and very pretty Fusen on the austria border near the famous castles which disney tried to copy. But really pretty much anywhere in this part of Germany is very good. Learn a little German as English(especially Cornish English) is not so widely spoken in the south more so in small towns and the like. Have fun. Jake.

hi sketch,

i've been living in berlin for the past year and really recommend the city.. it's a great place and worth a night or two.. would it fit in to your schedule as a night drinking and a day off for a break? anyway, drop me a line if you want some tips. there are lots of little rides you could do just outside the city to various historical sites of interest, or just to see the countryside, swim in a lake etc.

happy travels
nick

Hi guys , thanks for all your ideas . I can see a good route coming together.
Does anyone think theres much to see in belgium on my way. I'm probably going to get straight to Germany then take it as it comes from there, take my time heading south from Koblenz down to innsbruck.:scooter:

At the risk of offending any Belgian HUBBers, I've never found anything there on my way through. Usually I stay with friends in Paris on the first night and then head east towards Metz and Mannheim, crossing somewhere near Saarbrücken. Mannheim may be worth a look if only for the fact that good looking girls outnumber the male population by a factor of roughly 2 to 1. It's spooky.

When planning your route you'd be well advised to look on Google Maps and ride through the large green areas wherever possible. Also watch out when filtering - it's illegal and many people will move over to block your way if they think you're making better progress than their car.

Mup.

Hi muppix , do you think it would be a better route to head to reims from calais. Then to metz and into Germany that way? Rather than going through Belgium?

In my personal opinion, sure, but then I try to avoid motorways wherever possible. The flat, straight roads of the champagne ardenne aren't much more challenging, but the region is quite beautiful and you can stop where you like.

Belgium is all well and good if you mean to get somewhere quick (that's how I found out I can get from London to Brussels on one tank), but the motorways are straight and fairly dull.

Mup.

Thanks muppix and everyone else who has given me help. if anyone has more ideas please let me know.
Sketch.:biggrin3:

Just northwest of Saarbruken is the old steel works of Volklingen now a world heritage site. A truly massive and awe inspiring site slowly rusting away and returning to weeds. You can get a feel for what massive an enterprise it takes to rip the pure iron from the ore which is its natural state, and what a hard and dangerous working like it takes to be a steelworker.

Don't miss to ride the famous Romantische Strasse, that connects Wuerzburg to Fuessen (extremely close to Fuessen are the famous Ludwig castles they already suggested in this thread).

It provides nice sceneries and wonderful small towns (such as, for example, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbuhl...).