German Rivers

[Brains]

We have a limited experience of cycling on the amazing German cycle path infrastructure but want to do it again.
We have cycled along the Danube (Austrian section) and the Elbe (E. German section) and we are now looking for a cycle route following one of the rivers in western Germany.

Has anyone 'done them all' who would know the top few to take a close look at, I'm thinking maybe Moselle or Weser or what about the Eems or others ?
I'm open to other ideas as we seem to be spoilt for choice

The specification:
Western Germany
Flat route
Scenic
Lots of things to see and do along the route
A bit of history
Wein Weib und Gesang mit wurst und kartoffel salat

This will be a B&B/Credit card trip for up to 6 people, two of whom can put the number of miles ridden on a bike in the last decade on to their fingers, so I'll also be looking for somewhere at the start or end that can rent a couple of decent bikes

 

[Brains]

For some reason this has been posted multiple times. This is the real one - others are duplicates)

 

[Saskia]

Well, I haven't done them all - parts of the Elbe, parts of the Rhein, part of the Werra, all of the the Diemel, and all of the Weser, which starts close to where I live.
The Weser route is mostly flat, the Upper Weser has a few ups and downs. Upper Weser is scenic - lots of picturesque half-timbered towns and villages. After Bad Oeynhausen, the countryside flattens out, north of Bremen it gets kind of boring (lots of sheep, gates and the like).
What kinds of things do you want to see and do along the route?
Northern Germany is beer country (although you can get decent wine in the supermarkets). If you're looking for vineyards, this isn't the right place.
The Weser tour is immensely popular so you shouldn't have any trouble finding "Bett und Bike" places. It should also be possible to rent bikes in Hann.Münden, although I don't know about dropping them off at the end. Likewise it's possible to do the whole thing with an outfitter (luggage transfer, hotel reservation and all).
We hopped over to Helgoland (from Bremerhaven) for a few days at the end and greatly enjoyed that. Don't take your bikes, though.
You might consider the Main river, if you're serious about wine. Can't tell you anything about it as I've never biked it.
The Rhein is classic for wine, of course, but can also be a bit boring. You get sent through the dike landscape and so on.
Any other questions? I'll be happy to help.

 

[alpine fenlander]

They are probably all very similar, Mosel is scenic - route goes along the river (i.e. there is no climbing out of the river valleys), lots of pretty small towns with cafes and restaurants and plenty of river boats if some of your group want to have break from cycling on some days. The only downside is perhaps that it might be a bit too touristy and busy.

Altmuehl Radweg is supposed to be good and perhaps a bit less mainstream (ha pun intended!):
http://www.frankentourismus.de/wege/altmuehltal-radweg-366/

Isar Radweg http://www.isarradweg.de/de/wissenswertes/ from Munich to Garmisch (direct train back to Munich) would be easy transport wise and you'd cycle towards the Alps (not up) which is very scenic.

 

[mcr]

Of the several rivers I followed in 2012, I found the least-known, the Lahn, to be the most enjoyable - quiet, scenic and intimate. Of the others, the Saar was surprisingly attractive, with an interesting industrial heritage that didn't detract from the scenery. The Neckar had its lovely stretches, but also some industry, and all the nicest places to visit were stuck up high on the hills overlooking the river, so I didn't get to see them all. I was disappointed by the Mosel, but it may have had more to do with the rainy weather when I was there: the path itself is busy, it is often simply a lane on the busy main road (two-way, so one can find oneself squeezed between oncoming cyclists and oncoming motor vehicles) and the valley itself, though full of interesting towns and villages, can't escape its image as a major transport thoroughfare and tourism hotspot. The latter point also marks out long stretches of the Rhine - you're sharing limited valley space with roads and railways. So, personally, I'd go for the less touristy and busy river routes in future - the Ahr, Tauber, Altmuhl, Werre amd Saale all look promising.

Write-up of the 2012 trip at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/mrye2012

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I've ridden from Bremen to the Bodensee , schaffhausen and basel along the rivers. Wesser etc. All very nice rides!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

If you cycle south and over the border to CH, you'll soon learn to tell your Aares from your Elbes.

 

[Fandango]

My family cycled south from Munich to the Alps via Starnburg and Murnau, and back via Bad Tolz and Wolfratshausen. Most of the route was on cycle paths which were dead flat as they followed rivers, I am the only cyclist in my family and the others had no problem with the few small hills on the way back. The scenery is amazing: you get to ride through the Alps without having to climb any hills! The weather was fantastic which helped, the view from the top of the fiddle (hey, I didn't name it) mountain was stunning. You can walk up it if you like but we took the cable car.

Wifey's turn to choose this year so we are having a villa in Cyprus but I'm thinking of doing one of the German rivers next year so I'll be watching this thread for info.

There are several organised trips doing this route but I just bought a couple of ADFC maps and worked out my own. We had no trouble navigating apart from getting out of Munich which was a bit trickier than I expected. I forgot my compass which would have made it easy.

Have a great trip wherever you decide to go.

 

[Brains]

OK, so we had a family vote over a curry, its the Mosel from Trier to Koblenz, with a 2-3 day side trip for some us from Trier either south along the Moselle or the Saar