20 Years of Family Cycling & Youth Hostelling in Germany

Seebach took part in the Konus scheme offering free public transport throughout the Black Forest which we made the most of with visits to Freiburg and Baden Baden  as well as getting as far afield as Basel (included in the scheme) and Strasbourg which cost about 4 Euros return from Kehl on the border. As usual the trains were punctual, clean and comfortable. We hired bikes for a couple of hours in Baden Baden for just 1 Euro each! This was more a walking holiday than a cycling one!

I fell in love with Germany after my first visit in 1988. I was with my husband Steve and my two daughters Joanne, then aged 4, and Carol age 3. We were staying in Alsace on a school exchange, which Steve had organised, and borrowed bikes with child seats. As keen cyclists we were impressed with the well sign posted cycle paths and the positive attitude towards cyclists. The girls loved the outdoor pool in Teningen, which was more like a sports complex with volleyball, table tennis and not just one pool but one for toddlers, a play pool with slides and one for adults swimming lengths as well as a playground. We were hooked and since then have made regular trips to Germany.

The following year we were in Alsace again at Easter and although the girls were disappointed that the pool wasn�t open at that time of year a visit to Europa Park more than made up for it.

In the Summer we decided on a family holiday in Würzburg; we bought bikes with child seats and explored the area by bike and train, enjoying the varied scenery and the beautiful towns in the region for example Bamberg, Nurnburg and Rothenburg, this was to be the first of many long Summer holidays in Germany. Taking bikes on trains was easy and the guards were always very helpful, on one trip the guards van was full so the bikes went in an empty first class carriage! The girls looked out for playgrounds along the way and Spielplatz was one of the first German words they learnt. Young as they were, even they couldn�t fail to be impressed with the places we visited like the magnificent Würzburg Residence and its beautiful garden.

The following year we were more adventurous starting with a house swap with a family in Siegen for the first week of our holiday and then travelled to Kiel to collect the bikes which at that time had to be sent onto the ferry and to your destination rather than being taken. We cycled to Kronsgaard where we stayed in a flat for a week before heading south. So began what was to become our regular summer holiday for the next few years, cycling and Youth Hostelling.

The family rooms in German youth hostels are of a very high standard, most English people think of big dormitories, iron bedsteads and cold showers, when they think of a Youth Hostel, but these were small, comfortable, mostly en-suite rooms. The breakfasts are also excellent, I love the great variety of Brotchen and these along with cheese and various cold meats, jam and other spreads as well as cereal and fruit provide a substantial breakfast ready for a day�s cycling. It also gave us chance to meet people and we made friends with other families often travelling the same route as us. There is also plenty to do in the evening with table tennis, kicker, outdoor play areas, barbeques as well as indoor games and room to write, draw and read. Most of the time we booked in advance, easier now with the internet, but if we just turned up we were always found a bed.

That first year we headed for the picturesque half timbered town of Hann-Münden staying in Youth Hostels along the way. We especially enjoyed our time in Celle and the ride along the Weser radweg through Hamelin, although on the last day my husband underestimated the distance, not taking into account the meandering of the river and what was supposed to be about 70Km ended up100km!! A first practical lesson in geography.

Cycling through a country brings both geography and history alive seeing at close quarters the winding rivers, the changing soils on which different crops grow, like the vines along the Mosel valley, the fruit trees in the Black Forest, the volcanic Eiffel region. It is easy to see why people settled in certain places; for example from the impressive Roman remains at Trier. The girls benefited greatly for our tours both in fitness and health and educationally.

We have visited a wide variety of places from Busum in the North down to Freiburg, across to the Polish border and back through Berlin, a lot of the time following excellent riverside cycle paths including the Kyll, Mosel, Lahn, Rhine and Elbe for example. The girls progressed from child seats to tandems and then their own bikes. The only corner yet to explore is Bavaria which I�m looking forward to visiting in the near future!

After a few years off my daughter Carol and I decided to do a short tour visiting some of our old favourites. Starting at the lovely half timbered town of Bernkastel Kues on the Mosel we heading up to Daun, on the way finding one of my favourite cycle paths the Maare-Mosel cycle trail which follows an old railway line, beautifully smooth tarmac largely through oak woodland, we crossed to Gerolstein, then followed the Kyll route to Trier and back along the Mosel, for the next three years we gradually extended the route to take in more of our best loved stops like Marburg, Waldeck on the Edersee, Kassel heading along the Weser again and across the R1 with a train ride back to Cologne with its magnificent cathedral.

The following year with Carol busy working Joanne decided she�d like to relive the past and we flew to Baden Baden where we enjoyed rest and relaxation in the Spa, then took the train down to Breisach am Rhine where we hired bikes and did some cycling and swimming just like old times, followed by a bit more pampering before flying home.

As I find it very difficult to decide where in Germany I�d like to go for a holiday, my dream is to stay fit until I retire and then have a �gap year� cycling round visiting old favourites as well as exploring new places, if I fail the fitness test then a motor home might serve the same purpose!!


Judith Glover
May 2009