The Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) is a 500km cycle route in Germany that runs north from Füssen at the foot of the Alps on the Austrian border to Würzburg. Many cyclists will go from Würzburg to Füssen, to crescendo from flat scenery to increasingly dramatic mountainous landscapes. We opted for the opposite way to take advantage of a slight downhill as you cycle away from the Alps. The route follows dedicated cycle paths and quiet local roads, through forests, fields and medieval villages. Not all sections are asphalted, so thicker tires plus a spare are recommended.
The route is well signaged – simply follow the green “Romantic Road” signs with the bike symbol. We brought the Bikeline Romantische Strasse book – it has detailed route directions with alternative routes in addition to useful information on accommodation, points of interest and places to eat. The only problem with carrying a book is that it doesn’t help much in the rain. You’re better off downloading the Komoot app for cycling routes and using the usual search tools on your phone for tips.
Build Flexibility into your Cycle Trip
Depending on how far you can cycle each day with packs and the weather, the total time to complete the trip will vary. You can also choose to do just a section of the route or even hop on a train between sections of the route. We chose to do the 5-day cycle tour from Füssen to Rothenburg ob der Tauber since it seemed like it had some of the most picturesque villages along the way. We planned to do no more than 70km a day. Weighed down with camping gear, water, snacks, and clothes, we knew we could only cycle about 12km an hour through hilly terrain.
Tip: If you choose to do a multi-day cycling trip but you're not sure how many km you can handle a day, it helps to do a trial run of 65km a few weeks before you set off. You'll know then how many snacks and litres of water you need, and how far you can go before you question your life choices.
We were able to borrow my aunt and uncle’s bicycles and cycle gear (e.g. pack bags, cycle ponchos, helmets). If you don’t have a bicycle or don’t want to fly yours to Germany, there are many different bike rental options to choose from. For example, you can rent a 27-speed bicycle for 5 days for 70€ in Munich.
The best way to get to Füssen is two hours by regional train from Munich (if you bring a bike, be sure to have a bike ticket). We came down from the Berlin area and spent a day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen before taking a bus and train through Austria to Füssen. We spent the night at the Hotel Schlosskrone, a birthday gift from my aunt and uncle to the South African and our last piece of luxury, before starting what would become a very eventful cycle tour.
The first day’s stretch from Füssen to Landsberg is incredibly picturesque – you’ll pass through old Bavarian towns, see castles in the distance and cycle through bucolic farms. For the most part the hills are manageable, though there was one point we had to dismount and push our bikes up a 13.1% gradient stretch of road. Unfortunately, after our first day of cycling the weather went south.
We had planned to camp along the entire route. Camping gives you the flexibility to change your itinerary if you want to change your daily distance, depending on how you are feeling. But after a sleepless night with thunder and rainstorms battering our tent and seeping through our sleeping bags (I also got attacked by an ant that night), we revisited our itinerary. Additionally, as we are spoilt with some of the best campsites in the world in South Africa, we were pretty disappointed with the quality of German campsites. These are more like long-term caravan parks – you know when it’s not a holiday spot but a cheap permanent living arrangement when the camper vans have gardens outside and your neighbours know where the best shower is in the communal bathroom.
At about noon, we decided that if the rest of the week was going to continue with this torrential rain, we’d need to drink some cement and cycle through it. So we packed up our camping gear in the shelter of the bathrooms, donned our cycle ponchos and set off towards Augsburg. That day, was by far the worst rain I had ever cycled through. Part of the path to Augsburg that slung through a forest was unpaved, kicking up dirt onto our bags as we slowly fought our way forward. With the cycle poncho covering myself and the handle bars, I stayed completely dry even down to my legs. However, the rainwater would amass in a puddle on the part of my poncho that stretched over the handlebars, so I was dumping buckets of water every few minutes.
It showered on and off for the next four days of our trip. When the rain let up, we’d try to cover more ground to give us buffer time if the weather escalated, eventually exceeding the max intended distance per day. With the cold rainy weather hanging about, we also needed to book hotels for our second and third nights. We ended up deviating from our Day 3 and 4 plans, cycling instead from Augsburg to Nördlingen on Day 3, and from Nördlingen to Shillingsfürst on Day 4. There was an option to detour to a village called Rain, but we skipped it since we were dealing with actual rain. By the end of Day 4, we were just a few kilometres from our final destination, Rothenburg, but, as it was already getting dark and it wasn’t raining, we decided to camp outside of Shillingsfürst.
We had also made a costly 16 km mistake that day. Instead of making a turn down a road, we continued straight around a bend, joyfully cycling 8km downhill before we questioned the direction we were heading. Luckily we met a local farmer who, in thick Swabian, told us there was no way to correct our mistake except to retrace our route, 8km uphill from the way we came.
What to See Along the Way
The primary reason why we had planned to do max 70km a day was so that we’d still have time and energy to do sightseeing on the way. Ideally, on a cycle trip with historic points of interest cluttering the route, you want to plan to spend max half of your day cycling and the other half sightseeing. But with bad weather slowing us down and longer cycling stretches, we ended up only having a few hours each day around sunset or early morning to visit places. In that time we did manage to see the Fuggerei – a neat social housing project with a WWII bunker where residents pay 0.88€ a year for rent and in return pray 3 times a day for the Fugger family. Between Augsburg and Nördlingen are two medieval villages of interest – the castle town of Harburg and Donauwörth. Nördlingen was an unexpected surprise – it’s a medieval town encircled by stone walls, built in a crater impact site. In retrospect and with sunnier weather, I would have preferred our original itinerary to maximise time to explore these places. But with the rain, the trip became less about the journey and more about the destination.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Packing Essentials
Packing light is key. While camping gear gives you the flexibility to change your trip as you go, it’s also heavy and will slow you down. Our camping gear took up about half of our packing space and was about 2/3 of all the weight we carried. If you are cycling between towns that have a lot of accommodation, you will likely be able to find a place to stay last minute at around 100€ or less a night for two people. In this case, I would almost suggest to skip the camping. Contrarily, if you are cycling somewhere with less tourism infrastructure, camping gear will give you ease of mind.
Only pack two days worth of snacks and restock as you go. The Romantische Strasse goes through well-inhabited areas with plenty of supermarkets. Have at least 2L of water with you at all times.
Bring one set of breathable clothes for cycling, pajamas, and a set of everyday walking clothes. Make sure to have long pants and a fleece sweater with you for cooler evenings. While we set off in summer weather, it quickly turned to chilly autumn weather when the rain hit. A cycle poncho or a rain jacket for a multi-day ride is an absolute must, no matter what the weather forecast predicts. I only packed two pairs of shoes – flipflops and my Keds. You don’t need to bother with a swimsuit on this trip – there was only one swimming opportunity in the Lech river on the first day.
As for bike gear, bring a bike lock so you can lock up your bike while you explore towns on foot. Pack spare inner tire tubes in case you get a flat. Just make sure they fit your tire size. You’ll also want a bike pump and a small toolset to remove the wheel. Bike bags are ideal for balancing the weight of your baggage on the bike, easy to use, and waterproof.
Some useful miscellaneous items include plastic bags, toilet paper, tupperware and a battery pack for your phone.
You can easily do this cycle tour solo, but if you choose to go with friends, make sure you go with people you are comfortable with and who can handle disappointment well. Cycle trips rarely feel as picturesque as they look and will wear you down especially if unexpected events happen, like flat tires or persistently bad weather. Whom you choose to travel with can make or break the trip.
