By bike across Germany: Memmingen to Lübeck

Across Germany from the Alps to the Baltic. A long bicycle tour of about 1,600 km from Memmingen in Allgäu, Bavaria, to the Hanseatic city of Lübeck on the Baltic coast. It goes from about 600 m above sea level down to the sea through five states of Germany and takes about three weeks at 80 km a day. The slopes are gentle: the highest point is about 690 m.

The route. Memmingen – Stuttgart – Schwäbisch Gmünd – the Main valley (Kitzingen) – the Coburg region – Thuringia (Eisenberg) – Saxony (Döbeln) – Brandenburg (Altdöbern) – Berlin – Mecklenburg (Ludwigslust) – Hamburg – Lübeck.

Highlights. Memmingen’s medieval old town. Schwäbisch Gmünd, one of the oldest towns of the Staufer dynasty. The wine villages of Franconia on the river Main. The Cistercian abbey of Altzella near Döbeln. Berlin, with the Brandenburg Gate. The baroque palace and park of Ludwigslust. Hamburg and its harbour. And Lübeck, with the Holstentor gate and an old town that is a UNESCO World Heritage site – and marzipan.

Good to know. Many sections can follow marked long-distance cycle routes such as the Elberadweg and the Main cycle path; the rest is on quiet roads. The best months are May to September. The music is Alpine folk music, from where the tour starts.

Picture: The Holstentor in Lübeck, Christian Wolf (www.c-w-design.de), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de.