GaryH

Friends, My wife and I are flying into Frankfurt on Sept 2 with our bicycles. We are considerring staying in Frankfurt until the next day when we can get a weekend discount train ticket.We plan to train to Lake Konstance and bike around the lake with side trips to Lichtenstein and the Falls. We then will have about 5 days to do whatever. We probably will train back toward Frankfurt to Worms or that area. Looking for suggestions for cycling and things to do in that or some other suggested area. Should we stay in Frankfurt or head direct to Konstance? All help appreciated. We will be camping about half the time.
GaryH

mr_milione_miglia

I would "get outta Frankfurt". Checking the DB website it's a 5 hour train ride from FRA to Lindau, a much nicer place to spend the night. There's a bike shop next to the station (Bahnhof) in the event you need repairs as a result of the transport. After the Bodensee tour I would head to Titisee and then to Freiburg and the Rhein. If you have the time, down the Rhein and up the Mosel to Trier is a great ride, very easy. We've done all the above, you have a great trip ahead of you. I recommend 2 books, by Nadine Slavinski. "Cycling Europe" and "Germany by Bike". By the way, on most German trains you must make (and Pay for) reservations for your bikes.

AisleSeat

While you are dong the Bodensee be sure to spend some time in Meersburg and on Mainau Island. Both are outstanding places.

mr_milione_miglia

2 very good suggestions Aisle Seat, we spent a half day in each.

GaryH

Thanks Milione & Aisleseat-I have read both of Nadines books you mentioned.After Bodensee would u take the train to Titisee & train to Freiburg and than bike the Rhein north to The Mosel and than bike on to Trier? My guess is that is about 200 miles and we could do that easily in 4 days. Last year as we biked in the Luberon in Provence we met some bikers who highly recommended the Mosel Valley and especially Trier. The only reason we thought about staying in Frankfurt area is to save money on the weekend ticket. I think I hear you saying it is not worth it. We plan to be in Meersberg and get to Mainau island.
Will we be able to get our train tickets (and bike tickets) right at the station without any advance purchase?
Last year we got PREM tickets from Paris to Avignon. What a great deal.
GaryH

chtiet

Definitely do not miss Mainau, although in Sept you won't see it at its best. As mentioned, Meersburg is also very nice, and I found Ueberlingen (town) and Salem (castle/monastery) also pleasant & worthwile. Lots to enjoy around the lake!

treplow

I disagree that the Mainau is not at its best in September. That's when I visited their dahlia show. Also, check the Meersburg website to see when they have their wine festival. It's great fun.

mr_milione_miglia

Would definitely not take the train from Titesee to Freiburg, there is a great (all downhill) ride on some of the back trails. The one we took seemed to be a former logging road, we ride hybrids so we had no problems but a road bike would not be appropriate. You can get train tickets for you and the bikes at the station but buy them ASAP, the bike spaces fill up quickly, especially on holidays. You probably know this but in German bikes are "fahrads", in some of the smaller towns English is not completely understood. You might consider buying a German flexi-pass, it's what we do. In the event of really bad weather taking the train can keep you on schedule.
Can't give you advice on transport from the Bodensee to Titisee. We did these trips on 2 different tours, the Bodensee and on to Switzerland and from Titisee to Echternacht. We have biked many parts of Germany, it is probably our favorite for touring. This Saturday we leave for a 3 week tour of England, self-guided of course. We live in Plano, TX if you ever come thru DFW let us know, we'd love to share our bike "war stories" with you. We would like to hear your experiences in the Luberon, we've been there but in a car. This October we're doing a bike/barge tour with VBT in Burgundy, our 1st guided tour ever, it will be different!

bigtyke

I never plan on doing anything the first day except getting to the hotel and adjusting to the time difference. One time I flew into Frankfurt, the airline misplaced my bike and I didn't get it until the next day.

When I was in Germany in 1987, I picked up a good regional map that was bicycling specific. I imagine they are still published. I would look for those in any area you go.

The Odenwald south of Frankfurt is good cycling, as is along the Neckar.

The Romantic Road has a parallel bike path. If you have never been to Rothenburg ob Tauber, I would recommend going there for a couple of days and cycle tha region.

mr_compass

Gary, don't know if you have seen this website, it seems to have some good info and links on biking.
http://www.germany-tourism.de/biking/index.html Enjoy!

kleeblatt

Has anyone done any biking on the Swiss side of Bodensee? Can you recommend any books or websites for this? Thanks in advance!