On the Romantic Road from Donauwörth to Raustetten
Monday June 18, 2018
We had been having unusually good weather - had to take advantage of that. You never know if we won't be paying for these warm days in July in the form of rain. So I got busy planning the continuation of our trip along the Romantic Road to Würzburg. I was eager to cycle the Tauber Valley which starts in Rothenburg and also visit the lovely towns with romantic half-timbered house facades along the way. Having traveled the Romantic Road from Füssen to Donauwörth just a few weeks earlier, we now pick up where we left off. We take the train to Donauwörth, an easy connection involving no changing of trains. We are pleasantly surprised to find the bicycle section empty. We have had enough experiences on German trains crowded with cyclists that have made us wary.
The day is sunny but we are plagued with headwinds all day and have enough climbs to make the landscape interesting and the old legs weary. Most of the route is on sealed surfaces, but there are the occasional trails with stones and gravel, very unwelcome, particularly at the end of the day when I am tired. By the time we reach the hotel, I am knackered.
The day is sunny but we are plagued with headwinds all day and have enough climbs to make the landscape interesting and the old legs weary. Most of the route is on sealed surfaces, but there are the occasional trails with stones and gravel, very unwelcome, particularly at the end of the day when I am tired. By the time we reach the hotel, I am knackered.
Donauwörth - starting where we left off at the end of May
The ride starts out grey, with hefty headwinds that continue all day.
A bridge over the Wörnitz at Wörnitzstein
We ride a dirt track leaving Wörnitzstein behind us.
Today we see storks in the fields, probably looking for insects to feed its brood.
Around noon we reach Harburg with its medieval castle ovelooking the Wörnitz.
To the north the weather looks good with fluffy clouds and a blue sky.
In the foreground is the old mill on the river.
Our planned route takes us from smooth asphalt to an unlikely looking path and a tiny footbridge. We are happy to see that it connects up to a proper route after all.
Much of the afternoon we have vistas like this. I never tire of the wide open countryside and sweeping views.
Nördlingen - an attractive town on the Romantic Road, one of the only remaining walled medieval towns in Germany.
Beautifully maintained half-timbered houses
Prime real estate for a storks nest
Storks with their young
Facade close-up
Gothic interior of St. George's in Nördlingen
View of the medieval wall as we leave Nördlingen.
Countryside and solar panels
At the end of the ride we encounter some charming and at the same time irritating little paths.
The final stretch, our destination Raustetten in the distance. I'm too tired now for this kind of surface, but we are almost there.