Gotte

After much too-ing and fro-ing, I'm pretty sure my next tour will start from Berlin (end of April). We've been looking at what cycle routes are on offer, and there seem a lot. We're toying with the idea of heading out West, through Potsdam, but are unsure of what routes there are aound there. We've seen that the Euroroute 1 kind of loops down around there, and there's the Elbe to go back up on, but we'd be interested in knowing what the land is like around there.
Our other options are to go up towards Penemunde, or south to Dresden.
Anyone got any opinions either way about what's god and bad, or how worthwhile the country west of Berlin is.

Anyone know what the country East of Berlin is like, for that matter?

Thanks in advance.

becnal

The Elbe is voted Germany's best bike route every year, so you can't go wrong doing that.

raybo

This page at www.biketouringtips.com has 15 links to information about bike touring in Germany.

Ray

Gotte

Thanks for that, Becnal. Have you ever done it, or ventured into the country around?

becnal

I haven't done it yet, but a good friend of mine has, and he said it was great. Tell me when you're going, and I just might crash your ride.

Gotte

Thanks for that. We're not sure when we're going. My wife has commitments at work which mean we keep having to change the date (she'll be at home looking after the kids). As it stands it's sometime late April, early May.

m_yates

I'm not much help on the bike routes, but I am envious of the trip. I worked in Golm for two summers (west of Potsdam) and lived in Potsdam. Brandenburg state west of Berlin has some areas of beautiful open farmland and small villages, but I didn't have a bike or car when I was there. I mostly traveled by bus or train, so I don't know anything about bike routes. Potsdam itself is one of my favorite places. Be sure to ride through the Park Sanssouci west of Potsdam. It is a large park with numerous old castles. If you haven't seen it, it is very impressive. The old part of Potsdam just north and west of the main train station is a great place to visit as well. Brandenburger Strasse is a pedestrian-only road with lots of shops. The Dutch quarter is also nice to see.

DukeArcher 

The Elbe route is nice, if a little boring. It's is a nightmare getting out of Berlin to the west with only an auto-driver's map (well it was coming in from the west) Until you get to Havelburg on the Elbe (make sure to say hi to the Mayor) it's just a lot of windfarms and flat land.

jscotkey

Following up on the results of some "berlin" searches here, I'm looking for any input on various Euro and "D" routes out of Berlin. My plan for late May to late June definitely includes Leipzig (already found that cycle route), and I'd like to head down to the Main River route for a bit, then down toward Freiburg or stay north and cross at Strasbourg.

Has anybody done the D-Route 11 from Berlin going South?
Any feedback on the Main River route versus other central Germany routes?
Is it worth it to go even further South to catch the Euro "Rivers" route at Ulm?
How about the Euro "capitals" route East/West, any feedback on that one?
What is the German train policy on bikes for non-ICE trains? Is there a charge (I can't find that)?
Lastly...anybody got a good site in English for the German "AFDC" (I think I got that acronym right) bike association? Right now I'm just translating pages in Google, and I'm getting some cockeyed information.

Any information most welcome. Oh yeah, anybody got a good updated place to rent/buy a touring bike in Berlin? I'm the sort who doesn't mind touring with a less than ideal bike if it means avoidance of boxing/transporting/unboxing/boxing/transporting/etc. my bike.

vgXhc

One very useful ressource for touring in Germany is https://www.radweit.de The site is a bit confusing and only in German but very useful. They don't cover the tourist routes, like the Elbe-Radweg, but offer city connections, following the principles "as direct as possible, as much paved road as possible, as little car traffic as possible, not too many hills." So if you care more about getting around quickly than following more touristy routes this is the place to go. For example, their route from Berlin to Rostock is one third shorter than the one following the Berlin-Copenhagen route. I've used their maps for navigating around Berlin and it worked very well once you've figured out their system.

vgXhc

No trains are allowed on the ICE-trains. The ADFC has been lobbying for a change of policy for years but to no avail so far. On IC/EC and other long-distance trains there is a 10 Euro charge for transporting your bike. Regional trains are usually 4.50 per day.

I don't think they have an English website.

If you want to buy a new LHT you should go to the Radspannerei in Kreuzberg. They're very nice guys and one of the few places to get a Surly. But they don't do rentals and I don't have any good recommendations for that.

jscotkey

Thanks for the input folks. Keep it coming. Btw, for those looking for a Surly in Berlin, this link to the Radspannerrei works best.

Between here and CrazyGuy I'm getting much helpful info. Thanks.

becnal

Hey Jscot

The MainRadweg (Main River Bike Path) is a great route. Not that I'm biased or anything because I live on it.

The policy on bikes on trains depends on what part of Germany you are in. Bavaria for example charges for bikes on trains, but most states (e.g. Hessen, Baden Wurtemburg, NRW et al.)

The ADFC website doesn't have much in English, but if you ask me specific questions, I can translate the answers for you. You could also try www.ecf.com


What are your goals for your upcoming trip?

yours,

Lance

DukeArcher 

Oh man, getting INTO Berlin from the west was horrific, ugly landscape (brown untilled fields and wind farms as far as the eye can see) and those damn ring-roads around Berlin basically hell until you get to the Elbe.

However, as soon as you get to Havelburg, you can follow the Elbe river path to Hamburg. Make sure you say hello to the Havelburg mayor, he's a laff.

jscotkey

Duke: I remember seeing your "west of Berlin" comment elsewhere, and wonder how one might best get to the "Radweg Berlin-Leipzig". For personal and tourist reasons Leipzig is a must-see for me, and this Radweg sounds dreamy. Getting to it sounds like it might be far less than dreamy. Any help most welcome.

btw, thanks in large part to the help above, I'm 99.9% committed to a Leipzig, Main River Route for a stretch, down to Ulm, back up the Danube route to ??? and return (somehow...Czech Republic?) to Berlin route. At least at present.

DukeArcher 

If going north from the Danube up into the Czech Republic, aim for Jindichuv Hradec, as it joins a path called the Prague-Vienna greenways. I have done it twice, and it is great.

Gotte

There's not much I can help you with, as our route was via the Elbe. But as for getting into Berlin from the west, we got out by cycling down Unter den Linden, Tiergarten, Kaiserdamm, then kind of turned south and went through the Grunnewald, past Wansee, and towards Potsdam, then south again down the side of the Schweilowsee, which I have to say, was very pleasant indeed. Ferch, at the far tip of the lake, is small, but there are a few lovely hotels by the water's edge. Apart from seeing the light atop the Fersnsehenturm way off in the distance, you wouldn;t know you were so close to Berlin.