Something a bit different, three hours due east of Luxembourg

bowser said:
Just a couple of words of warning, I was over that way a couple of years ago at a wedding a bit further East by Hof, and the wedding was in village in the old East Germany, things to note, there are virtually NO motorway services there are rest areas with toilets, water and sometimes air for tyres but thats it. Almost all the services are just of the motorway/main A road junctions so you can access the service area from both roads, they are not 24hrs and most of them NOT open on Sundays, or if they are it is very restricted opening hours, local fuel stations also not open on a Sunday and visa/mastercards did not seem to be accepted by the systems, So I you go further east into the old east germany, just be aware sometimes getting fuel can be a problem either late at night or on a Sunday it caught out a couple of people who thought they would fill up in the morning before setting off back home on the Sunday to find that they couldn't!!
Click to expand...

The A3 which is the main motorway route to the subject area isn’t short of proper motorway services right through to Nuremberg. I’ve never had a problem getting fuel if I stuck to motorways anywhere in Germany but if you try to go north/south once you’re into what was East Germany it can get problematic due to a lack of motorways for some reason :D
 
AndyB_11 said:
The A3 which is the main motorway route to the subject area isn’t short of proper motorway services right through to Nuremberg. I’ve never had a problem getting fuel if I stuck to motorways anywhere in Germany but if you try to go north/south once you’re into what was East Germany it can get problematic due to a lack of motorways for some reason :D
Click to expand...

I was told by sombody who lives there that the rest area every 10-15 miles or so was because the cars in use then were so unreliable and tyres inner tubes in short supply they got used well beyond normal lifespan, so the area are there for cars to cool down, top up with air and water and then get going again, dont know if its true but it makes sense.

The main East/West routes are ok, but as you say anywhere in the old East and off of the main road transport routes across the country and you can get caught out, my cousin has a house in Leipzeg and going into the old East is like stepping back in time 40 years still, certainly outside of major towns and cities.

The other bit of germany always missed is the Harz national forest area, (Harz mountains) and really really easy to get to, come off ferry and its a straight motorway to gent and then the over the top via antwerp, eindhoven, venlo, dortmund head towards Leipzeg and turn left at Nordhausen, just do a google serch on the Harz national park or Harz Mountains, fantastic roads and shed loads of stuff to see.

Personally I would come off the motorway at Lippstadt and go cross country from there just to get off the autobahn as soon as possible. I used to go there at the weekends when stationed in Germany

Tomtom have a route to view to give ideas, and there are a few youtube vids of Harz trips have a look

https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/routes/details/germany/harz-national-park/#Discoverthisroute
 
Aha, the old ‘You can’t buy fuel’ chestnut.

Let’s start with the simple facts.

1. The population of Germany is roughly 84,000,000 the bulk of whom live in the highly industrialised west, close to the Rhine

1280px-Population_density_in_Germany.png


2. The country is not littered with vehicles, empty of fuel

3. The locals manage, so can a visitor

4. Yup, the motorways are often different (a bit like Spain) in that the filling stations are sometimes off the main carriageway. They are signposted though.

When faced with a day’s ride of say 290 miles on a bike with a range of say 220 miles, I know I will be 70 miles short. I do my level best to always start the day with a full tank. After about 80 miles, let’s say two and half hours, I may well fancy lunch or a coffee. I will try to find somewhere with a petrol station, irrespective that I still have some 140 miles of tank range left. I will refill the tank, which gives me back my 220 mile range, with 210 miles to go. I now have a 10 mile leeway or about 5%, which is probably good enough to get me to where I need to go. If though I see another filling station at say 160 miles (or after about another two and half hours) I might well refill again. That gives me back 220 miles but with only 130 to go. I have used this method to tour quite happily on bikes with tank capacities as small as 14 litres, let’s say 140 miles, if I mix my units, which is an unforgivable crime which would have seen me thrashed at school. The same school did though teach me to do sums and use my imagination.
 
Wapping said:
Aha, the old ‘You can’t buy fuel’ chestnut.
Click to expand...

Its not meant as an "old Chestnut" its just a simple fact and warning, in the area of Germany that was the DDR, you just have to plan a bit more because they are not as numerous as other places, there is great deal of infrastructure in that part of Germany that is not yet on a par with what was the West, add to that habits that "die" hard, there is a lot less open on a Sunday, or for that matter from lunchtime on Saturday, when I lived in Germany (a while ago) almost EVERY shop closed at 1200 Saturday supermarkets the lot, now most of Germany is fine but go east and that still prevails.
You can find what you need especially fuel but there are very few 24hr stations that do not need cards, and uk issued cards did not work in some machines, much like it used to be in France a few years ago, although it is becoming more commen of late, I was in Netherlands last year and several automat machines did not accept the cards along with 2 or 3 supermarkets, no issue just go to a different one.
My point is that if you are travelling in the eastern part of Germany in particular just plan out because it is more of a problem than you might expect
 
Years ago in the days before GPS, we used to visit castles/palaces. It was a way of getting round the country without knowing much of the different areas, but with a destination or two in mind.
There is reputed to be some 25,000 of them in varying states of repair, from ruins to fully restored palaces.
Pick a region, then pick a castle or three. It matters not if you visit it, though some are well worth while.

Burgen & Schlössern
 
Redboots said:
Years ago in the days before GPS, we used to visit castles/palaces. It was a way of getting round the country without knowing much of the different areas, but with a destination or two in mind.
There is reputed to be some 25,000 of them in varying states of repair, from ruins to fully restored palaces.
Pick a region, then pick a castle or three. It matters not if you visit it, though some are well worth while.

Burgen & Schlössern
Click to expand...

I still do that, especially if I am staying in a base for a few days and do not have any firm plans for a day trip. I'll either look on a paper map or sometimes google maps for a monument and then try to pick a circular route to include it. Sometimes you will see an impressive place like a large monastery or castle. Sometimes, you will struggle to see a stone poking out of the undergrowth. In most countries you can have a peek on Streetview but for Germany you are often running blind as there is no image available.
 
Thank you, Redboots. A good tip, rather like going to see cathedrals in the UK.

I have a political map of Germany, that I keep handy, just so I know my Lower Saxony from my Thuringia.

6e0547a2e5dd3538ee91997f784c2ad0.jpg
 
Getting fuel when using the german Autobahns.

German autobahn serve areas are pretty much like those in the UK, other than that the food offering is usually way better. But, as in the uk, the cost of fuel at motorway service areas is high.

My advice is to look out of signs saying ‘Autohof’. These are areas located just off the motorway, so you come off at the indicated off ramps and follow the signs. Autohof offer food and drink and fuel, but the fuel is much cheaper (I assume because the operators are not having to pay such high rents). I believe they were originally built to serve lorry drivers and they all offer overnight parking for lorries, but they also serve motorists and bikers
 
Just surfing about, using just two words, Odenwald Motorrad, I very quickly found more ideas:

https://www.motorradonline.de/reise/touren-tipps-odenwald-kraichgau-tour-1-nibelungen-race/

http://www.bikeninfranken.de/motorradtour_odenwald_2.html - Where you can download the gps route

http://www.bikeninfranken.de/downloads/odenwald2.pdf

https://www.raubacher-hoehe.de/restaurant-pension-biergarten/motorrad-touren-odenwald/

https://motorradstrassen.com/#resourceDetail,51935020

https://www.dreamango.com/de/tour/motorrad/tour-5-kurvenreich-im-odenwald/41695493/ Just by surfing around in this website gives ideas on other areas, including some off-road stuff.

https://www.motocult.de/motorradregionen/odenwald/


It just illustrates how much there is out there, available for free, with just a tiny bit of simple clicking around on an iPad. Yes, you’d then have to spend a little bit of time with a map or in BaseCamp / MyRoute / Google Maps or whatever medium you like to use, but it’s near enough all done for you.

Have fun and enjoys your holidays in what is a great area (not a million miles away) to hoon or bimble about in.
 
paul08 said:
Getting fuel when using the german Autobahns.

German autobahn serve areas are pretty much like those in the UK, other than that the food offering is usually way better. But, as in the uk, the cost of fuel at motorway service areas is high.

My advice is to look out of signs saying ‘Autohof’. These are areas located just off the motorway, so you come off at the indicated off ramps and follow the signs. Autohof offer food and drink and fuel, but the fuel is much cheaper (I assume because the operators are not having to pay such high rents). I believe they were originally built to serve lorry drivers and they all offer overnight parking for lorries, but they also serve motorists and bikers
Click to expand...

If I’m travelling on my own I always use an Autohof type stop to refuel but never bother if I’m a group because there’s always one who asks why I rode past a ‘proper’ service station and messed about leaving the motorway :blast

An Autohof is also far more likely to have a Golden Arches nearby for the more discerning type of traveler :D
 
AndyB_11 said:
If I’m travelling on my own I always use an Autohof type stop to refuel but never bother if I’m a group because there’s always one who asks why I rode past a ‘proper’ service station and messed about leaving the motorway :blast
Click to expand...

That is on a par with the bod who sidles up at every stop, clutching his Garmin (that is not a euphemism) saying, “My Garmin was saying we should have turned right twice back there somewhere”. To which the reply is always, “Yes, it’s very probably all down to your preference settings. Let me right now stop what I was doing and at once adjust them for you, whist you enjoy your coffee”.... whilst actually thinking: Do I really care one fig what your feckin’ device said? But hey, I’m a nice guy.
 
Spessart.....

Some more ideas, along with the tour codes to download the routes....

c1f08fb7136b417ff4e7d7f84fcd32ed.png


f41766c9f2241411100ef01a5a9f5d74.png


7d735567fd9db06cb5a18cd39089d380.png


fe1083072b20441c5439a19aacdb77ae.png



982d94429b89ad0c000b848df152b954.png


a1231a0fe75202eb0dda7011d55526f7.png


7db5d4e6e7a59cc8488b67ee144a7ef6.png


fd8c4b3a0ecad7cfed0ef551469673b1.png


7dda10093169024f2d28575558139791.png


c8f54fe156b664d43af7a374b7db2667.png


a971f49bac376351454054782f4492db.png


489e35f9f28dc709bb2221dd99f34376.png


c2167d5e4e159b034b4543688f1e8885.png


f74587e358f19670f34b4fd06f584e89.png



If somebody can’t make themselves a fantastic holiday out of this thread, then they might as well stay at home.
 
From a link


https://motorrad-vogelsberg.de/


on just one of the pages shown above:

c2c56185c7392d92a7f3b7afce4f29b1.png



c01db5860a1840575f35a7879ce96a1e.png


68cb8fa8aad59e602cca718120f8f514.png


5960864ac5bdd8c3443463169c37ba95.png


ec00ada0d3657d976e14a0ef33ba3831.png


And a video to boot....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HvjCVTvAPck" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


It really is amazing where just a tiny bit of imagination and Google surfing will take you.
 
I found another site that has downloadable Kurviger routes of the Spessart/Franconia region.
Clicking the link opens the Kurviger web page where you can export the route to gpx.

Motorradurlaub-spessart

EDIT ** Obviously missed Wapping's inclusion of this link in this thread :blast

Tour number 2 takes you past the "Der Engländer" A biker meeting point where you can eat/drink/camp/B&B - Zum Engländer

Tour 4 takes you past the 3 pissers in Miltenberg.
bizarre-fountain
 

Attachments

  • england.jpg
    england.jpg
    40 KB · Views: 72
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Wapping
GPX - Northen end of the Black Forest - Pforzheim - 360 km - Circular
Replies
7
Views
792
Wapping
Wapping
Wapping
Something a bit different - 800 km Kassel to Alken
Replies
0
Views
349
Wapping
Wapping
Wapping
Three jaunts in the Dolomites….. and more……
Replies
12
Views
1,968
timeandtide
timeandtide
Wapping
  • Sticky
Routes - jaunts - great roads, mate - GPS files - got a route, mate?……..
Replies
1
Views
1,811
Wapping
Wapping
Wapping
If you are in the Black Forest or coming north from Lake Konstanz
Replies
3
Views
1,262
Wapping
Wapping


Back
Top Bottom