Germany 2013 sites not to miss

[roastbeef82]

Hi guys, I am planning a trip to Germany in August 2013 and I am looking for any tips for places to visit.
There will be about 4 of us in the team, ( 2 Triumph Tigers, 1 BMW GS and my KTM adv) and not forgetting Chris's K 100 or Bonneville !
Things we like are: Beer, old castles, twisty roads through the forests, beer, good campsites, mountains with viewpoints, beer - all fairly standard stuff really.
Neuschwanstein castle (that's the jigsaw one) is already on the list.
We will be there for about a week, so if you know of anything that's "not to miss" then it would be great if you could let me know.
Thanks and "Cheers"
Phil

[DantesDame]

Poking my head into this thread as I'll be moving to the area in a month and am always on the look out for some good riding. I also like your list of "likes"

[MikJogg]

Well, the blackforest is my first recommendation (sure,i live here ) But personelly i would rather go into the vosges-alsace,just an hour west to the blackforest.
And try the "tannenzäpfle" beer from http://rothaus.de/de/die_brauerei

Also very nice is for me the north-eastern area of bavaria,the bavarian forest and saxony/thüringen in the east. Many nice little roads and less traffic than in the alps region.

And there´s always a lot of good beer

Cheers

[strom thingie]

One week is not nearly enough time. I'd tour the Alps and Dolomites after visiting Neuschwanstein. Great beer and even better roads.

[jayseabea]

Excuse me, Phil, but I think you'll find there's an '05 Bonnie or '85 K100 in there as well....

[roastbeef82]

Originally Posted by jayseabea

Excuse me, Phil, but I think you'll find there's an '05 Bonnie or '85 K100 in there as well....

Oops, well you know me, unless its orange I don't pay much attention

[der-Seppel]

You definitely have to miss the the flat western north of germany. It is total boring to ride, no mountains or curved roads.

[Ali in Austria]

If it is castles you are looking for have a look at The Castle Road and Romantic Road.

Not single roads but well signposted routes taking in the Castles and Medieval Towns. Google and Wiki should provide you with all the information.

If you get down our way take a look at Werfen Castle, Schloss Adler in "Where Eagles Dare".

[Rensen]

Just follow these road signs called "Romantische Straße", you will be not disappointed!

Ride in Bavaria, best beer, wonderful countryside and twisty roads!

[MichaelJ]

Originally Posted by roastbeef82

Neuschwanstein castle (that's the jigsaw one) is already on the list.
We will be there for about a week

That should be long enough to get through the lines (one to get a ticket and another to get in the castle once you have a ticket) to see the castle.

I saw it in 1982, and it was pretty much walk up, get a ticket and go through.

I took a couple of friends there in 2007 who REALLY wanted to see it, and they looked at the lines and said "Forget it".

We got there in mid-day, it's probably better if you can be there early.

Neat place, though.

+1 on the Romantische Strasse and a +1+ on the Dolomites.

[DantesDame]

[marret]

Originally Posted by MichaelJ

That should be long enough to get through the lines (one to get a ticket and another to get in the castle once you have a ticket) to see the castle.

I saw it in 1982, and it was pretty much walk up, get a ticket and go through.

I took a couple of friends there in 2007 who REALLY wanted to see it, and they looked at the lines and said "Forget it".

We got there in mid-day, it's probably better if you can be there early.

Neat place, though.

+1 on the Romantische Strasse and a +1+ on the Dolomites.

If you go to Neuschwanstein castle, suggest you buy the ticket online and pick it up there. Allows you to bypass the ticket purchase line as there is a separate line for pre-purchased tickets. We didn't do that, waited about 45 mintues to buy the ticket for a tour that was a couple hours after that. One can walk up the hill and take exterior photos without buying a ticket and going on the tour.

The riding across southern Germany is good. +1 on the Blackforest, Alps and Dolomites too. We did a week trip in June of this year starting in Heidelberg, then Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland, Blackforest, and back to Heidelberg.

[MichaelJ]

Originally Posted by marret

If you go to Neuschwanstein castle, suggest you buy the ticket online and pick it up there.

Now THAT'S a great bit of info - thanks

I almost had a crash near Kaiserslautern last year - I was heading back to Heidelberg from the Nurburgring and there was a light fog. As I was passing by Ramstein AB, a C-5 on a landing run appeared out of the fog. It looked like a flying building.

I damn near stopped in the middle of the Autobahn just to watch

[marret]

This site provides information for ticket purchase: http://www.hohenschwangau.de/543.html

Yep, we have fog/rain a lot and of course aircraft landing all the time on Ramstein AFB. We live near the glide path so see them coming in low and slow all the time. More C17s than C5s, but all kinds of military aircraft and contract flights.

I finally made it to Nurburgring in my 911 a couple months ago. Of course it was overcast and foggy. Made two trips around. The terrain elevation changes were more than I was expecting. Great time.

My friends who came from the states for the trip rented bikes from Stefan at Knopf Tours in Heidelberg. We also stayed there the first and last nights of the trip. Stefan took fine care of us.

[roastbeef82]

Getting some good quality info here, thanks to all of you guys who have responded so far. As far as castle viewing goes, I know what will happen in our group - if there is any waiting in lines - forget it - we would rather be riding.

What about campsites ? I presume they are good campsites in the Black Forest - with bars ??

Phil