Franconia. German Cycling Tour: Long road, sore saddles then wonderful Rothenberg

Our home in Rothenburg has been The Golden Griffin. Family run, authentic and a good price (75 euros inc breakfast)

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  The day's trip started in Ansbach with a photo (below) of the excellent Swartzer Bock (Black Goat)  We set off to find some salad and cheese for lunch and finally found the cycle path for Rothenberg.

Outside Swartzer Bock

Lerburg was first stop on castle cycle route (Burgerstrasse). After a very long climb, (for anyone not on e-bikes), it was a little disappointing. A simple tower, a good landmark from a distance, but no earthworks at all.

On to Comberg  http://www.burg-colmberg.de/en/
much more interesting, an impressive castle, now a hotel, where one could picnic in delightful shady loggia or go round to the hotel entrance and terrace for drinks or lunch.

Comberg Castle

At this point we took the wrong cycle path and left the Burgerstrasse for a longer route, pleasant enough, but it made our trip 30 miles rather than the planned 20 miles. Our knees and feet were suffering by the time we arrived in Rothenberg ob der Tauber.

After making our way along the designated and separate cycle path through the inevitable main through roads, suburbs and traffic noise, we found ourselves at one of the gates to the old city, no traffic and calm-ish, but it was busy with people, Japanese and American mainly. (We were later told that this was nothing compared to what it would be June onwards!)

We headed for the centre and while Julian sat on the steps of the impressive Rathaus, I looked for the Golden Griffin which according to Booking.com promised a room for 75 euros. A bargain in this town.  Yes we got the last room and it had a bath, the only bath in the place. Bliss!

Rothenberg has a covered fortified walkway that almost entirely encircles the town, and we walked along all of it - 1.5 km.

Rothenberg is liberally sprinkled with turrets, mansion houses, merchant houses old fortifications.  All looking splendid.  If it were not for the bustle of ordinary people going about their business, one would feel you were in the middle of a film set or a fairy tale...

The following are photos that we took during our 2 day stay at the Golden Griffin.

The Golden Griffin with Julian in there somewhere.

Franconia. German Cycle Tour: Across country to Ansbach

Ansbach is known for it's 18th century buildings.  Palace (here) and Orangery.

We left the Gasthaus Bub after a chaotic and noisy breakfast in canteen-like surrundings for the peaceful paths of Franconia.

Views on the way

Ansbach was another city that I had visited 35 years ago.  Each place I revisit has changed so dramatically that I can't recognise anything.  Partly I'm sure because at 18, I was not much interested in the architecture, and also because new buildings are everywhere, although historic centres are well preserved.

Orangery Garden, Ansbach

Ansbach has a large US military presence. It also has the best Indian restaurant I have ever been to.  The Maharaja http://www.maharaja-ansbach.de/

Orangery Garden

Orangery Garden

Swartzer Bock - Very good

We stayed at the Swartzer Bock and were very pleased with our choice.  Excellent breakfast in the restaurant formerly royal stables.  A little expensive at 119 euros, but there was a limited choice in town.

Outside the Swartzer Bock as we left.  Black Goat.

Each day when we arrive on our bikes, we feel very much that we want to get off them and not spend too much time finding accommodation.  The centres of these old towns have been carefully managed to retain their atmostphere, stray to far away from the centre and you are in the busy streets full of cars and the view changed dramatically for the worse!

Cathedral - or possibly church, Ansbach 

Franconia. German cycling tour. Goodbye Bamberg, hello Forsheim, Erlangen and Zirndorf.

Hotel Brudermühle - what a find!



http://www.brudermuehle.de/

We could not have had a better start to our trip, now it was time to get our cycles from the store across the courtyard and get started!

A lock just outside Bamberg

Lock on canalised River Main

Forsheim port

Forsheim - an interesting fortified town between Bamberg and Nurnburg

Forsheim

Erlangen - it poured with rain as we arrived.  Thankfully we found a handy cafe in main square.

Zorndorf was something of a dissapointment.  I wanted to visit having stayed at the Cafe Bub 35 years ago. Now the grandmother who ran it has long gone and the place has expanded to 5 properties, but the personal touch has gone.  It is very near Playmobile Fun Park and so caters for families visiting the funpark, and not couples wanting a quiet time in refined surroundings!

We arrive in Franconia on the first leg of our cycling tour, Bamberg

We walked along the River Main in the centre of Bamberg late evening

Same as above.  Saw a man eating an ice cream.  Followed the trail of people eating ice creams to the ice cream shop that was doing a roaring trade at 9pm!

Our hotel on the right

Near our hotel centre of Bamberg. UNESCO city for exceptional preservation. No WW2 bombing

Simon would have loved all of these.  Tracy said 'thank God they are in Bamberg and not down the road'

We have arrived in Bamberg UNESCO world heritage site. Beautiful university city and found the last available room in wonderful family run gasthaus in the heart of the old city. We have the car safely parked in the underground Karlstadt carpark which states max daily charge 10euros (we think it says that!) and the electric bikes stowed in an adjoining store, supper at the hotel, (a rather strange 'quark' concoction, but we were unable to read the menu and too tired to bother to translate) and tomorrow we head for Nuremberg (or Zirndorf to be precise - 50 miles)  Decided not to go to Nurnberg, that will be for another time.  There are only so many cities that you can absorb in a week!