Romantic Road questions
 

starting research on my trip

Planning on traveling the Romantic Road in june or july - I think it would be interesting to do this on Bicycle - so my questions are the following:

1) We would want to possibly start in Fussen and work our way up to Wurzburg, terrain wise is this mostly flat and easily doable on bicycle?

2) Is it possible to cycle the whole road in just a few days, given that we take our time in each town?

3) I read somewhere hostels are only open to under 27's (me and my friend are both 30) is this true?

4)I'm not opposed to camping, do the camp sites along the road rent tents/sleeping bags? or do they have small inexpensive cabins? I don't think I want to cycle with tht heavy stuff on my back

all help is appreciated
-bill

Generally, Bavarian hostels won't let you book in advance - their rule is that the young must be taken in first. But if you show up and there's room, you should be okay.

Fortunately there are MANY private B&B's that will adopt you eagerly and provide you much more comfortable accommodations and lavish breakasts for almost the same price.

Here's a place in Nördlingen, located at the town wall, for 20 Euros each; click on Zimmer/Preise for a look:

www.walkmuehle-noerdlingen.de/start.htm

Check out Ben's pages for Bavarian accommodations as well:

www.bensbauernhof.de

Most of your question should be answered on the bicycle section of the Romantic Road website:
https://www.romantischestrasse.de/sh...51&lang=uk

There is a designated Romantic Road bike trail which covers the same sights as the auto route, but tries to stay either on bike paths or country roads with no traffic.

Most in between stops are (very) small towns, so you can expect no hostels but (often as cheap) inns or private rooms.

If you can cycle 220 miles in x days, you can do so on the Romantic Road. It's mostly flat terrain with some hilly sections. No real mountains, though.

Bavarian hostels have also been the only ones anywhere with an age limit - 27 - not sure still enforced but was not long ago

The Romantik Road when i took the bus was a busy two lane road - there are much better backroads for biking it seems so don't weld yourself to the simply not so romantic Romantik Road - a name conjered up by the German Tourist Office some decades ago i believe.

It's not mountainous terrain but can be rolling hills but nothing major

P.S. A bike trail guide can be bought on the same website in the "Brochures" section.

P.P.S. Some confusion re. age limits in hostels comes from the two types of hostels you find in Germany:

Hostels like A&O or other chains which are usually near train stations. No age limits.

Youth Hostels (German: Jugendherberge) which are much older (as a type of accomodation) than the hostels were meant to cater mostly to school classes on school trips or vacations. But also the latter usually allow "old" people nowadays, though you should inquire in advance if they do. Procedures for Youth Hostels and general info can be found here:
http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/

Cowboy - could you elucidate a bit on A & O hostels?

a hostel chain?

sounds interesting

Several hostel chains already exist.

http://www.meininger-hostels.com/ind...?id=12&L=1
http://www.aohostels.com/

They usually have dorms, 4-6 bunk bed rooms, and regular double rooms under one roof. So you can decide what level of comfort you need and want to pay for.

thanks i will investigate them

Youth hostels take everyone. However, the Bavarian Youth Hostels have a special regulation: Guests under 27 have priority. So, it is better to make a reservation.

It is also good to sign for membership (21 Euros).

For details, see:

http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/

Campgrounds do generally not rent sleeping bags. But many rent cabins/tents, often with linen.

My brother and I cycled the Romantic Road in 1974. We started near it near Darmstadt. Day 1 to Wertheim, Day 2 to Rothenburg, day 3 to Nordlingen, day 4 to Landsberg and day 5 to Fussen.

easy cycling (the most vigorous was the part getting to Wertheim in the Odenwald.)

We rode on the road and had no difficulty with traffic in Mid June. There were quite a few Dutch going south hauling little travel trailers. But that was 34 years ago.

In 1987 I was back in R'burg with my wife and we cycled part of the way on the cycle path. It was great - no worries about traffic.

www.omnimap,com has lots of German cycling maps. I don't see a specific guide that covers the Romantic Road as they do for the Danube bike path (they announced that the Danube guide would be coming out in APril in English)

I stayed in IYH hostels in Wertheim, R'burg, and Nordlingen. Knowing what I do now, I would stay in small gasthaus and maybe Bauernhof. They can be about the same price as hostels with better accomodations.

You might also google 'wandern ohne gepack' to see about programs that transfer luggage for walkers. They also may have cycling programs.

Don't take camping gear - too much weight cuts into the enjoyment of cycling.

Do as Russ suggested and check out Bavaria Ben's website, especially read the report about his trip last fall on a budget. It's www.bensbauernhof.com (not .de as he wrote)

This is a good wealth of information - I had no idea that guesthouses and B&B's would be so inexpensive, I will definetly take these over hostels. thanks for all of the information

In towns and villages, watch for "Zimmer" or "Zimmer frei". These are rooms in private homes, usually very inexpensive. You may also ask for rooms, either in the local tourist office or in a local Gasthaus (bar).

<<In towns and villages, watch for "Zimmer" or "Zimmer frei". These are rooms in private homes, usually very inexpensive. You may also ask for rooms, either in the local tourist office or in a local Gasthaus (bar).>>

thanks for this information. I've always tried to book stuff ahead of time, but it seems that while doing this (cycling) it would be more wise to find lodging while I'm there? I'm not opposed to this but i'm afraid that everything will be booked (since it's in the summer)

In the central square of almost every German town, including villages whose small size might not seem to warrant one, is a tourist information office. Usually the sign above its front is white I (as in info) on a green background. If it's not evident, just ask "vo ist zee tour info" (that's phonetic), and someone will point the direction. Generally they'll have list of pensions(B^Bs) in various price ranges, some even competitive with a hostel.

From a German's perspective, the Romantic Road seems to be more popular with American tourists than with the local population. Some of the towns along the "road" attract also local visitors, but I don't know of anyone who ever chose it as a destination of its own, i.e. was going all way.
So, even in summer, you won't find all the places along the RR packed with tourists. The cute towns along the RR are often more a day-trip destination for Germans from the area, than a one week holiday destinantion.
And the seasonal effect on the availabilty of hotels, B&Bs, or private rooms is much less than at destinations like Cote d'Azur in August, Provence during lavender season, Holland during tulip bloom etc.
Therefore, I think you can leave it to your personal taste if you want to pre-arrange your accomodations or if you start to look for a room when you get tired.

Indeed after having cycled in Germany for years there are much better cycling places than the RRd IMO - it does get all the hype - i'd head up the Neckar Valley - the Castle Road route to Heidelberg - this is a gorgeous river valley punctuated by old towns and castles.

I have cycled both with reservations and without. Without can be a problem if you can't easily find a place (has happened to me twice, altho not along the RR). It isn't a small matter if you have to cycle a few more miles to find a place.

If you do have reservations, then it can be a real pain if you find you have to cycle very far in the rain or if your energy has evaporated.

If you are a strong cyclist and don't mind riding in the rain, then I would probably make reservations.

If you are not a strong cyclist, then I would play it by ear.

How many days are you planning on? As I mentioned, it took me 5 days. Doing it again, I would probably take the 5 days of cycling with one full day at both the start and end towns and a full day in Rothenburg.

ww.themapshop.co.uk/europe/germany/germany.htm
has a guide on the romantic road bike route

http://www.romantisches-franken.de/s...=2&selid=3

is a great site for cycling near rothenburg