A few weeks ago, we set off on our biggest adventure of the year. We enjoy traveling by bicycle, also known as bikepacking. What better place to cycle than the Bavarian region of Germany? It ended up being an amazing 7 day tour (320 km – 6 ride days plus a rest day) thru some beautiful countryside and villages along the route named “The Bavarian Beer Bike Trail.”
Cycle touring requires a lot of planning. Sure you can book through an adventure travel company and they will take care of most of the logistics, but you can do it for about half the cost if you book everything yourself. Some people like to camp and prepare their meals which requires packing a lot of extra gear on the bikes. We prefer “credit card bikepacking” which means we eat at cafes and restaurants and stay in hotels. We booked all our hotels and arranged the bike and gear rentals.
The tour started and ended in Nuremberg. We flew in direct from Porto and headed straight away to the bike shop. Stefan at “rent a bike Nürnberg” had our bikes and panniers ready to go. We transferred our gear from backpacks to the panniers. He stored our empty backpacks for the week we would be on the road. After some basic fit adjustments, we were ready to roll. For today, we only had to go 5 km across town to our hotel — a nice break-in ride to get a feel for how the bikes handled. Touring bikes are quite a bit different than our road bikes we ride regularly around Braga.
After checking in at the hotel, we rode the underground metro to the Alstadt (historic city center). Sausages, sauerkraut, potato salad, and beer quenched our hunger and thirst. I have been waiting all my life to try German sausage — check that one off the list 🙂 The first of many on this trip 🙂 After exploring the city a bit more, it was time to call it a night for tomorrow was our first ride day.
We ate a nice breakfast at the hotel. I enjoyed all of the variety of cured meats, fresh baked breads, and the ginger shot at the end as a digestive aid. The automated espresso machine required some trial and error. Figuring out the German names for the various coffee drinks and which cup to use. Needless to say, we walked out of breakfast highly caffeinated with plenty of energy for the day’s ride.
Riding on bike paths that traversed parks, canals, wooded areas, and farm land, passing thru several small villages along the way made the ride to Erlangen pleasant. No cars allowed on any of these paths. This country really is a cyclist paradise. We arrived in Erlangen before our hotel room was ready so we dropped off the bikes and gear and went to lunch down the street at Mei’s Chinese restaurant. The locals sitting outside reassured us that we must eat here as we perused the menu. I am glad we took their advice — bao zi’s, handmade noodle stir fry — everything tasted incredible. After lunch, we checked in, took showers, and strolled around town. Erlangen is a college town with a youthful vibe. The university-ran botanical garden provided some relaxation and our first red squirrel sighting since moving to Europe 🙂 We are so accustomed to seeing squirrels everywhere in the Pacific Northwest — almost to the point they are a nuisance, but they have eluded us here until now. For dinner, we went to a local sports bar — sport meaning darts — boasting several dart boards in back all of which had a game in progress. Burger, fries, beer — simple yet satisfying comfort food. Can’t get enough of these German beers 🙂 Time to rest up for tomorrow would be a much longer ride day.
Our next stage took us further north to Bamberg. Eventhough a longer day in the saddle, it was mostly flat and enjoyable. Along the route we discovered a wonderful fall harvest consisting of an old, wooden wagon full of all types of squash and gourds for sale. Take what you want and put your money in the cash box. Honor and trust still exist in this part of the world. We stopped at a grocery store cafe for lunch. Most of the grocery stores in Bavaria have an amazing bakery/cafe located at the entrance. After a chai latte and flaky pretzel pastry, we felt re-fueled and ready to conquer the remaining distance to Bamberg.
The next day’s ride to Neustadt an der Aisch was the most challenging yet. 61.5 km and finally some elevation gain albeit it very gradual. Lunch at another grocery store cafe complete with a wurst sandwich on pretzel bread with a super tasty honey mustard. I could have ate a few more of them. Our first rain of the tour occurred about 15 km from the finish. So the final hour we rode in our rain gear and stayed dry and warm, almost too warm for rain gear doesn’t breathe very well. Our hotel was super fancy — we felt a bit under-dressed in our cycling gear but the employee at the front desk was very nice and gave us the garage door opener for the bike parking room. These parking areas reserved for bicycles are common in the region and most even have outlets for charging e-bikes. Very convenient. Only twice did we have to disconnect Emi’s e-bike battery and charge it up in the hotel room. We dined at a nice Greek restaurant. The menu featured a lot of dishes unfamiliar to me, but luckily the owner’s wife spoke many languages including some Spanish and English. Excellent food and even a free shot of some anise-flavored booze that was super strong — funny how they call that a digestive 🙂
We were beginning to get into a nice routine or rhythm. Shower the night before. Wake up, go down for breakfast at the hotel. These hotel breakfasts provide simple, high quality fare. Head back up to the room, get geared up, pack up the panniers, load up the bikes, wheels rolling. We usually take our time to enjoy a slow breakfast and roll out between 9h30 and 10h. The mornings are cool so by that time it has warmed up a bit. Stop for a lunch break about half way through the ride. Roll into our next destination around 14h or 15h. Check in to the hotel. Take a shower to wash away the sweat and grime from the day’s effort. Explore the town for the rest of the afternoon and evening including beers and dinner. Repeat.
On our fourth ride day, we had another uphill stage with some steeper hills. Despite the challenge, the weather was cool and clear, perfect for cycling. We would have a rest day tomorrow and we earned it. I was definitely feeling a bit fatigued. When we rolled through the city gates and inside the walls of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, it felt like we had travelled in time. I have never seen a whole town so well historically preserved. It felt like we were on a movie set of any time period film of medieval Europe. We picked a great spot for a rest day. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring Rothenburg the next day. Walking the city walls and all the city gate towers. The churches that seem to reach for the skies. All of the timber-framed houses. My mom has a ceramic cottage collection and creates a little village at Christmas time. Rothenburg felt like a real-life representation — it is simply magical. As I am writing this post, I already want to go back.
We felt re-energized after the rest day and ready to get back on the road. The body rested, the legs felt strong, our spirits were high, and the kilometers flew by. Since it was Sunday we stocked up on food at the one bakery in Rothenburg that was open. In Germany, or at least in the Bavarian region, pretty much everything is closed on Sundays. 100% of grocery stores closed. 80% of cafes and restaurants closed. So it was a good thing we ensured we had provisions to last us until we reached our next destination — the small village of Wolframs-Eschenbach. We had a nice picnic near some train tracks. Since all the trains are electric, the noise isn’t too obnoxious and it’s kind of fun to relax, eat, and watch them roll by. We treated ourselves with a pistachio croissant that was to die for. We had a fair amount of climbing towards the end of this day’s route. We reached the top of a hill and rode next to some wind turbines that made us feel like ants in comparison. Wolframs is a small, sleepy village. The Liebfrauenmünster church towered above the town, featuring a unique, spire roof with patterns and symbols made of multi-colored tiles (green, orange, white, and blue). For dinner, we soaked up the sun in a biergarten and I thought I was ordering a steak but it was actually a pork chop. My disappointment did not last long for it was a very good cut of pork and cooked to perfection, juicy and tender, covered in a rich, dark mushroom gravy.
Our bike tour was coming to an end. On the final ride day, the route would take us back to Nuremberg, mostly through gravel forest roads and along canals. The weather had cooperated with us up to this point, but all that would change today. It rained all day, luckily no heavy downpours but a light drizzle to a steady rain the entire duration. My expensive Pearl Izumi rain jacket soaked through within the first hour while Emi’s very inexpensive Decathlon jacket kept her dry the entire four hour stage. I did have a couple layers underneath the rain jacket so while a bit wet, I managed to stay warm by pedaling hard and keeping my heart rate up. This is one of the challenges of bikepacking — you can’t predict the weather and you are very exposed. We put our heads down and kept the pedals pumping until we completed the 60 km and made it back to the bike shop where we started our adventure. It was not a pleasant day on the bike but just one of the things you have to expect and be prepared for when touring on a bicycle. Days like this do make you ponder, “Why the heck am I doing this?” Stefan had a hot cup of coffee waiting for us and our spirits lifted knowing what we had accomplished over the past week. My bike and panniers and back of my rain jacket were covered in mud — sorry Stefan — but he acted as if this was not uncommon 🙂 We ended up with 4 really nice ride days, 1 good day where we got a little rain towards the end but our rain gear held up well, and 1 tough, rather miserable day of non-stop rain. Rather ironic, because at dinner with friends the week before the trip, I stated this exact scenario and if it came to fruition it would be a win 🙂
We stayed two nights in Nuremberg before heading back home. First thing I did after checking into the hotel? Tossed my rain jacket in the trash 🙂 After a hot shower, we felt like new and ready for a night on the town.
Like Rothenburg, Nuremberg still has part of the old city walls but these walls are 5 meters thick! As a result, parks and gardens complete with mature trees sit atop. And the gates into the city feel more like tunnels. Exploring the old city is quite the experience.
We lucked out on the timing for this trip because both the Autumn Market and AlstadtFest were happening. AlstadtFest is like an Oktoberfest with about a dozen beer gardens each with their own temporary wooden structures and large tents filled with long tables. Each beer garden offered a unique selection of food, drink, and entertainment. At the Autumn Market, we really enjoyed trying a variety of street foods.
And just like that the adventure came to an end for it was time to go home. We feel so grateful to have the opportunity to do the things we love especially traveling by bicycle. More adventures to come…bye for now.