German Rhine Untour, Spring of 2004
by George & Nel Miller, Medford, OR
Our eighth Untour started with a nonstop flight from Portland, Oregon to Frankfurt, Germany. We had made arrangements to arrive a day early and spend a night in an airport hotel and meet the Idyll group the next day.
First a word about making hotel reservations.
A friend of mine recommended the Steigenberger Esprix, a three star hotel located near the Frankfurt airport with shuttle service. I called (1-800 223 5652) which I got from the Rhine Untour Planning Guide. The first quote was 205 Euros plus 12 Euros per person for breakfast. I asked if they had a senior citizen rate and girl said yes, that would be 92 Euros plus 12 for breakfast. I then told a little white lie about being retired and had received a small one month contract from my old employer and was attempting to take my wife along with me on the limited expense accout I received. She said the lowest rate she could find was 77 Euros without any additional charge for breakfast. It pays to ask!
Okay, back to the biking untour.
After a good nights sleep, we met the Idyll rep at the airport, took the van to our apartment in St.Goar and rented our bikes. We were now ready for two weeks of biking in Germany.
My wife Nel and I are avid bikers and spend a great deal of our European vacations on two wheels. On this trip we plan to bike the Rhine River from Koblenz to Bingen and Moselle from Trier to Koblenz.
On the first day, we biked from St.Goar to Koblenz and back with a lunch stop in the pleasant riverside town of Boppard. (total 86km)
On the second day we biked from St.Goar to Bingen and on to Mainz. We still had time for some shopping, lunch and a concert at the Dom before biking back to Bingen. We then loaded our bikes onto a KD riverboat and sailed down the river to Kaub, walked around the town for half an hour or so, then took the ferry across the river and biked back to St.Goar. (total 53km)
The high point of biking in the Rhine area was biking the popular route with the German bikers but almost unknown to Americans, the Lahn River Valley Bicycle Route. This route starts in Feudingen and ends in Lanhstein. It is a 4 day 133 mile (215km) ride. My wife and I elected to do only days 3 and 4. We got up early and took the train to Wetzlar. We rode from there to Runkel 39 miles (63km), spent the night in Runkel, then biked to Lahnstein which should have been about 34 miles. However, at about mile 16 we did not see a sign "der Radweg endet hier", (the bike path ends here). In our ignorance we continued pedaling down the river until it became impassable. We had no choice but to return to Balduinstein, load our bikes on the train, ride for about 10 minutes, unload our bikes and continue on to the end of the bike route. The two days of biking this route was about 83 miles (137km) including the extra 12 miles because we missed the sign.
This bike trip is highly recommended to all, beginners and experienced alike. For more information go to www.BicycleGermany.com click on "tours" then "Lahn"
After a day trip to Cologne and Bonn (without our bikes) we were ready to tackle the Moselle River.
Our four day 163 mile (263km) trip down the Moselle Valley started with a fairly long rail trip from St.Goar to Trier. The day one (64km) leg started with a very short tour of Trier. We then crossed the Kaiser-Wilhelm Bridge to the west bank and followed the signs to Ehrang, Schweich and eventually arrived in Bernkastel. This is a town that has it all, a castle, beautiful surroundings and an old market square. At this point, we rented a hotel room for the night as we planned to deviate from our trip down the Moselle to bike one of the best paths in Europe.
The "Maar-Moselle Cycle Route" is not widely known except for local German bikers. The first step is to go to the local tourist office and ask for directions for the "Bike Bus" to Daun. They will give you a city map with directions to the second floor shopping center parking lot bus stop. The bus is equipped to carry 20-25 bikers and their bikes to the starting point of this wonderful bike path. This 60km route is built on an unused rail bed with a series of long tunnels and towering bridges. As you leave the trailhead, you will cross over a 100 foot tall bridge which provides a spectacular view. There is a second bridge a short way into the ride that is located in the middle of the forest and offers an even more impressive view. Not too far out of Daun, you will come to the first of two long tunnels, both are over half a kilometer in length and you will notice the temperature difference inside these tunnels. As you continue on the bike route, you will pass through the city of Wittlich. I recommend a detour through its marketplace. From here it is a short sprint to the end of the trail in Bernkastel-Kues.
For us it was not the end of our day of biking. The railroad runs parallel to the river for most of the way from Trier to Koblenz, however at Schweich it leaves the river and does not reappear until Trabeb-Trarbach. We therefore had to bike an additional 20km to Traben-Trabach to lock our bikes at the station and take the train back to St.Goar. (80km for the day)
The next day we returned to Traben-Trabach, reclaimed our bikes and started off towards Cochem. After lunch in Zell we planned to stop in Beilstein as it had been highly recommended. The bike path is on the left side of the river and Beilstein on the right. Unfortunately, the ferry was out of commission so a visit to this town will have to wait until our next trip. We had no choice but to continue on to Cochem. We had no interest in this town so we locked our bikes and returned by rail to our apartment.
The last leg on the Moselle (Cochem to Koblenz) started out okay, but there was not much of the bike path left. Only a bike lane on a fairly busy road. An English speaking German biker informed us it was like that all the way to Koblenz. We then took the train to Koblenz and the riverboat to our Idyll apartment in St.Goar.
This was a great trip...good food, good beer, good wine and great biking. The scenery is spectacular, the castles and steep vineyards along the Rhine and the even steeper vineyards along the Moselle.
Next trip...a biking Untour to Holland, fall 2004.
George and Nel Miller
Medford, Oregon