Part II of our European Vacation!
Our travel adventure continued seamlessly, using Viking Air, from Lyon, France to Frankfurt, Germany. From the Frankfurt Airport, we traveled on the ICE train to Wurzburg, Germany (about a 90 minute train ride). From the train station in Wurzburg, we pulled our luggage just under a mile (in comfortable weather) to the Marriott AC Hotel. Check in was smooth and we unpacked some essentials before stocking up for a week’s stay. My only complaint with the AC chain is the lack of storage space in the rooms for a longer stay. We proceeded to get a few groceries (groceries in Germany were much less expensive than the U.S. and Karen loved the extensive selection of great N/A beers). A plant based dinner (Impossible Burgers at Burger King) just a few blocks from our hotel was a quick and easy meal after a day of traveling and getting settled.
We were fortunate to find an excellent bike shop (Bike & Co) a block from our hotel. So we rented two e-bikes for the week and had a blast with them, exploring the city of Wurzburg and nearby towns within a 30-mile radius. We used them every day that we stayed in Wurzburg.
Our first morning in Wurzburg was wonderful! The breakfast buffet and “to order” items were excellent at the AC. I got hooked on their Belgian waffles with assorted fruit and applesauce. It is a very clean and well managed hotel.
After breakfast we had a very enjoyable run from the AC, thru Wurzburg’s beautiful and convenient park/trail network, to the Old Town and Main River. The 4.5-mile (roundtrip) run gave us a nice orientation to Wurzburg and the Main River.
Later that day we biked 44 miles (round trip) to Ochsenfurt with a significant side tour of Rendersacker along the way. The scenery and towns were spectacular! We feel that biking is the best way to really get to see and experience the local area. Rendersacker and Ochsenfurt were both superb, well-preserved, old German towns that we couldn’t get enough of. The bike path along the Main River, that connected all these towns, was impeccably maintained with nary a crack or bump to be found. Not to mention a multitude of Beer Gardens sprinkled all along the bike routes.
After the ride we found ourselves in Old Town Wurzburg enjoying some live music in the Marktplatz while eating some plant-based takeout food from Deen & David (an excellent plant-based restaurant chain in Germany, Austria, and Belgium) and to go beer from Beerhaus 111. What a fantastic first full day in Northern Baveria!!!
The next day was spent exploring and enjoying the city of Wurzburg, especially Old Town Wurzburg. The Wurzburg Residence (palace) was amazing. It reminded us of a slightly toned-down version of Versailles, France. Our guide was a history graduate student at Wurzburg University and was extremely knowledgeable about the Residence. The Residence was completed in 1744 and housed the Price-Bishops of Wurzburg in the 18th century. It exemplified Baroque art, design, and architecture.
After exploring more of Wurzburg, on bike, we wound down the day with some good beers at Beerhaus 111 and another plant forward meal at Deen & David. But before retiring to our hotel we hung out on the Old Main Bridge in the center of Old Town and the Main River to people watch and listen to music.
The next day we were back to some serious bike touring and explored towns north of Wurzburg along the Main River. Another amazing find was the town of Karlstadt on the Main River about 20 miles north of Wurzburg. Karlstadt is a picture perfect, fairy tale German town and as an added bonus it has a fantastic bakery. I was really in my element at the Cafe’ Schrodl Konditorei. The poppy seed pie and ice cream was so good! I wish I had room to try much, much, more.
Heading back towards Wurzburg we stopped in another quaint, old German town (Margetschocheim) to listen to a local band playing at a little community festival right along the banks of the Main River.
Another new day, another new adventure. This day we bought a Bavarian train pass (about 60 Euro, for two) that allowed us to travel as much as we liked, within Bavaria for a 24-hour period. We toted our e-bikes on the train and headed for Bamberg, Germany for the day. Good thing we took our e-bikes as it was extremely hilly. However, on our trip back to Wurzburg the elevator at the Bamberg train station was not working. If it weren’t for a kind couple helping us carry our 60lb e-bikes up the stairs we would have missed our train back.
Overall Bamberg was not among our favorite towns, but it certainly had its highlights. Despite it’s well-preserved buildings, it was dirty and very hard to navigate. The Bamberg New Residence was not nearly as palatial as the Wurzburg Residence although it was still worth seeing.
The highlight was eating/drinking at Bamberg’s oldest brewery (Klosterbrau Bamberg) established in 1533. They are known for their Rauchbier (smoked) but all were worth drinking (Braunbier/Brown, Schwarzbier/Black, and Kellerbier/Carmel,Amber). Also the authentic German food was very good.
Back on the bikes the next day heading south-east on the Main River again, this time the destination was Markbreit, Germany (close to a 40-mile round trip ride).
Along the way we veered off the bike path to explore Frickenhausen. Another story book old German town that had a beautiful hotel.
Back on the path – we made it to Markbreit, beautiful, old German town. While there, we ran into the 17-year-old boy who rented us our bikes. I was surprised to hear someone calling after me so far from home.
On the way back to Wurzburg, I had to stop in Ochsenfurt (again) for some awesome cheesecake and a German hat (which is featured in an upcoming Rothenburg photo).
Finally on our last full day in Wurzburg, we went to Rothenburg ob her Tauber! After riding and parking our bikes at the train station we used the Bavarian pass again for the 1.5-hour train ride.
For the past 8 years Rothenburg has been at the top of my list to see but has always been elusive as it is pretty much off the beaten path. In fact, the primary reason we chose Wurzburg as our home base was for the day trip to Rothenburg.
The weather could not have been better (83 degrees and sunny). After a ten-minute walk from the train station, we arrived, and my high expectations were definitely met. For me it was the highlight of the whole extraordinary 17-day trip! The 1000-year-old town was so well preserved that it was easy to imagine how people lived during that time period. There were many wonderful shops, bakeries, and historical buildings (although there were very few dark beer choices as Germany is territorial with their beer distribution). The walk along the original city wall (fortifying the city) gave us a good overview and perspective of the city. There was just so much to see within the city that we couldn’t even get to it all. I could have easily spent another day there.
We made the most out of our final (half) day in Wurzburg before turning our bikes in, checking out of the hotel and taking the train back to Frankfurt for our next morning flight home.
We finally made it up the huge hill to get inside the Fortress Marienberg castle walls. The views were amazing. Then we took one last tour around Old Town Wurzburg which reminded us how much we loved this city.
We then spent the evening and overnight at the Frankfurt Airport Marriott hotel (in Terminal 1). This exquisite hotel was extremely convenient to both the train station and the airport making our final evening in Germany very nice.
Till next year Germany, if we are so lucky!