Coming to this a bit late (!), but you did say you were planning for 2011, so.....
We've done a couple of German tours in the past few years, and loved it every time. Superb for a family. First trip we took our (then) 8-year old on an Isla Rowntree trailerbike from Munich to Hamburg (the ferry was still running) over the space of about 3 weeks. Two sections stood out on what was one of the best tours we ever did as a family: the section from Ingolstadt to Wurzburg via the Altmuhltal route (sort of parallel to the Romantischerstrasse): the latter is one of our favourite ever cycling routes - incredibly bike friendly and beautiful country and towns all the way. We were told by various German cyclists that this was nicer than the Romantic Road, and that the Germans tend to avoid the latter as 'too touristy'. Having said that, the Altmuhltal wasn't exactly short of cycle tourists, but they were all German tourists! The next outstanding bit was(surprise, surprise!) the section of the Weser route from Hannoversch-Munden down to Hameln (the rest was probably great too, but we cut off from there to head towards Hamburg across the Lunerberg Heath). These were both offspring's favourite sections, especially Hameln (he tended to judge places on the food and the outdoor swimming pools!).
OH and I have also cycled the Rhine together from Dusseldorf back into the Netherlands - good fun, but there is some industrial landscape which we loved, but perhaps not for a family trip??
Finally, I had the chance to get away for a solo 4-5 days last summer cycling across Bavaria from Ulm to Salzburg following the Via Julia (signposted from Gunzberg). Beautiful route, easy rolling countryside, with the Alps in your sights almost all the way. Not a well populated route, but loved every second of it. Great place to finish for the family!
Every visit we have relied on the trains. For the first tour, we took the overnight sleeper from Hamburg to Munich and then biked it back. Second trip, we used trains from near the ferry terminal at Europort (bought tickets when we got there). For my solo trip, I took the bike (unpacked) on the Eurostar, then the night sleeper from Paris to Munich (getting off at 6am at Ulm) reversing the route on the way home. On all occasions, travel was easy, much easier than any experience we've ever had flying. I use the website "The Man in Seat 61" as the main source of information - very helpful!
(This year, we're planning to cycle the Rhine from the source to mouth, and expect to train it again too).
For the Altmuhltal, the Wesertal, and the Rhine routes, we supplemented German cycling maps with Bikeline guides - all in German but easily work outable maps if you're not a German speaker. If you are, the German is pretty straightforward. There is a similar Via Julia guide which can be obtained via their website, or via the Chiemsee tourist info people.
Hope that is of use.
We've done a couple of German tours in the past few years, and loved it every time. Superb for a family. First trip we took our (then) 8-year old on an Isla Rowntree trailerbike from Munich to Hamburg (the ferry was still running) over the space of about 3 weeks. Two sections stood out on what was one of the best tours we ever did as a family: the section from Ingolstadt to Wurzburg via the Altmuhltal route (sort of parallel to the Romantischerstrasse): the latter is one of our favourite ever cycling routes - incredibly bike friendly and beautiful country and towns all the way. We were told by various German cyclists that this was nicer than the Romantic Road, and that the Germans tend to avoid the latter as 'too touristy'. Having said that, the Altmuhltal wasn't exactly short of cycle tourists, but they were all German tourists! The next outstanding bit was(surprise, surprise!) the section of the Weser route from Hannoversch-Munden down to Hameln (the rest was probably great too, but we cut off from there to head towards Hamburg across the Lunerberg Heath). These were both offspring's favourite sections, especially Hameln (he tended to judge places on the food and the outdoor swimming pools!).
OH and I have also cycled the Rhine together from Dusseldorf back into the Netherlands - good fun, but there is some industrial landscape which we loved, but perhaps not for a family trip??
Finally, I had the chance to get away for a solo 4-5 days last summer cycling across Bavaria from Ulm to Salzburg following the Via Julia (signposted from Gunzberg). Beautiful route, easy rolling countryside, with the Alps in your sights almost all the way. Not a well populated route, but loved every second of it. Great place to finish for the family!
Every visit we have relied on the trains. For the first tour, we took the overnight sleeper from Hamburg to Munich and then biked it back. Second trip, we used trains from near the ferry terminal at Europort (bought tickets when we got there). For my solo trip, I took the bike (unpacked) on the Eurostar, then the night sleeper from Paris to Munich (getting off at 6am at Ulm) reversing the route on the way home. On all occasions, travel was easy, much easier than any experience we've ever had flying. I use the website "The Man in Seat 61" as the main source of information - very helpful!
(This year, we're planning to cycle the Rhine from the source to mouth, and expect to train it again too).
For the Altmuhltal, the Wesertal, and the Rhine routes, we supplemented German cycling maps with Bikeline guides - all in German but easily work outable maps if you're not a German speaker. If you are, the German is pretty straightforward. There is a similar Via Julia guide which can be obtained via their website, or via the Chiemsee tourist info people.
Hope that is of use.
