rotterdam to vienna

[paulrw]

I've just committed to a solo tour from Rotterdam to Vienna i.e. Ive got a single ferry ticket from Hull for the middle of next month. It's my intention to travel through Holland on cycle paths then sort of follow the Rhine then across to the Danube. I'm a 55 year old relative novice, although I did a debut tour last year-St Malo to Narbonne- I covered an average of 55 to 65 miles a day and camped 12 nights and rooms for three. Am I likely to be as successful on this trip ? Are camping and accom. plentiful ? Are routes simple to find ? How long do you reckon ?

Also, is it relatively straightforward to catch trains back with the bike ?

Any info much appreciated

 

[rich p]

Definitely doable with that sort of daily mileage. It will be a fairly flat route too following the rivers. Someone will be along shortly to recommend the great Bikeline guides that are available. I've done bits of it and the camps were readily available too.
Each to his own, of course, but river routes can get a bit monotonous after a while but if you find that then you can choose a detour up some hills.

 

[snorri]

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=30433

If you turned that route around, Vienna-Rotterdam, it would be all downhill

 

[paulrw]

How come?

 

[HJ]

The best guides for the route are from Verlag Esterbauer. The Rhine guides are only available in German, but don't let that put you off they are worth getting just for the maps.
Rotterdam to Mainz with profile,
Mainz to Basel with profile,
Basel to Andermatt with profile.

Then cross over the watershed to the Danube, these guides are in English, Donaueschingen to Passau (hint hit the tour button), with route profile,
Passau to Vienna with profile.

For rail information to get back the Deutsche Bahn (German Rail, don't worry it is in English) web site is a good place to start...

 

[HJ]

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=30433

If you turned that route around, Vienna-Rotterdam, it would be all downhill

No it would still be up hill along the Danube...

 

[snorri]

No it would still be up hill along the Danube...

You are correct of course. My apologies to paulrw
I was thinking of the time I cycled up the Rhine from Koln to Mainz and then took the train back to Koln, silly me.

 

[rich p]

I've no idea how easy it will be to train back. I flew back with BA on a pre-booked flight.

 

[Andy in Sig]

There's certainly a train from Vienna to Munich, possibly even to Frankfurt.

 

[tapan]

In 2005 i cycled from Donaueschingen to Bratislava and back. I had a fantastic trip and camped all the way. Easy cycling but some great places to see. And the river route is not at all boring. Also some good side diversions worth taking.
In 2006 I cycled from Mulhouse to Rotterdam down the Rhein with a side jaunt up and down the Mosel. The Mosel is beautiful and worth doing . The main Rhein route can get a bit boring at times where the high banks shield you from the river but lots of things to see and do. The big conurbations are a bit confusing at times but I never failed to get help and advice when I needed it.
On both routes I camped all the way without problems. By the way both rivers are very busy "highways" with lots of traffic ( ( when I went down the Rhone in 2007 I was surprised to find virtually no working boats at all.)

This is taken at Inzel on the Danube --- lots of boats loaded like this!

The "Bikeline guides" are excellent

This year I set off for Berlin and back on 27 May -- via Hull -- Rotterdam and the North Sea Cycle Route to Hamburg and then up the Elbe for a bit before heading to Berlin.

I am sure you will enjoy it as a solo trip -- I find it is a great way to meet people on your way and your German will improve by leaps and bounds. Do buy some multi flavoured icecreams on your way down the Danube!

BTW the Donau Radweg is a very busy cycling route ( like the M1 on bikes) watch out for the long strings of supported tours pootling along!

 

[paulrw]

The bikeline website indicates the guides I want online are out of stock. Are these available at bookshops/cycle shops. Also those of you who have done this route,are the surfaces good. I have a Dawes Galaxy and it was brilliant in France last year except for some sections of the Canal du Midi where it got quite rough at times and I had to use roads.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Do you mean that the ones in English are out of stock? The main thing about those books is that even though they are mostly written in German, the information you really need is readily understandable i.e. the mapping is excellent and there are lists of hotels and campsites, by town and village, at the back. They are readily available in decent bookshops (and often in bigger railway station bookshops) in all the towns along the routes i.e. don't worry, you can buy them locally.

 

[paulrw]

Thanks for that info. I'll try and get hold of them before I go. Is it possible to avoid going into big towns or does that get complicated ?

 

[Andy in Sig]

The routes take you through big towns but they continue to be signed and it is rare that you have to join the traffic. Plus in the Bikeline books the big towns get their own bigger scale bit of map which really helps. I don't think you've said how you intend to get from the Rhine to the Danube but one thing you can do is follow the Rhine down to Waldshut and then up the Wutach valley which brings you out on Plateau south of Donaueschingen.

 

[paulrw]

good point andy, I hadn,t got that far really. I figured by the time I was in the south of Germany I,d have it sussed and just find my way. That,s sort of what I did in France last year. I must admit though it's very useful to have an overall idea of where to head for even if it isn't too specific so I much appreciate your information,thanks. Basically I'm looking for fairly gentle, pleasant and well surfaced routes with plenty of camping/accom options along the way. I had no probs in France but I speak a fair bit which was really useful. Unfortunately my German is currently restricted to the bits I read in comics as a kid ! Still it will be a challenge to overcome!