kevls
Registered user
Hi, This story begins in 1980 when I first got a detailed map of West Germany. I noted a small mountainous area which straddled the then border with East Germany. This area is the Harz mountains. I was in the process of planning my first and only 3 month European tour. The cold war was at its height and the problems associated with crossing the Iron Curtain meant that I would have to get visas, carnets de passage etc, etc for each Iron Curtain country, so I dropped the idea and stayed on the western side of the border. I did not go to the Harz. What a mistake!
Fast forward 35 years, retirement comes along and I decide to put things right. I found B & B accommodation in Bad Lauterberg on the southern edge of the mountains with Pension Roseneck run by Jacquie and Gregory Niven, a Brit couple (www.harzbiker.net/). One of my better decisions. Hull-Rotterdam ferry booked, off I go.
The distance from Rotterdam to Bad Lauterberg is 340 miles, mainly autobahn (yuck), the only virtue being that it only took 6 hours to get there (WARNING: Obey ALL speed limits in Holland).
The drag was worth it. The Harz the nearest thing I've seen to biker heaven. I swear these roads were designed by a biker, smooth, constant radius bends winding up and down over passes by fantastic forest / lake scenery. with biker watering holes provided at the ends. The passes are not of alpine proportions but are instead a delight of swinging from left and right beam end banking and they keep coming! Sat-Nav routes are provided by Jacquie and guided tours by Greg (Versys).
I went off road a couple of times, only to find that I probably shouldn't have been on the tracks despite there being no prohibition signs. Forestry is a big industry in the Harz, the powers that be take a dim view of bikes being ridden in the woods (Beware of log transporters on the roads). I found one gravel road which was legal, the bike got a patina of white dust, due to the roads belonging to the biggest limestone quarry I've seen.
The area has towns (eg Quedlinburg) which are like living museums, entirely composed of wood framed houses, some dating to the 1300s (AD not PM). I am sure that the UK has nothing like them. The area of the Harz is about the size of Cheshire, amazing to think that so much is in so small an area.
If you haven't been there, give it a try. I'm going back, maybe I'll see you there.
This is my first post ever, I hope it is not too boring.
Kev
Fast forward 35 years, retirement comes along and I decide to put things right. I found B & B accommodation in Bad Lauterberg on the southern edge of the mountains with Pension Roseneck run by Jacquie and Gregory Niven, a Brit couple (www.harzbiker.net/). One of my better decisions. Hull-Rotterdam ferry booked, off I go.
The distance from Rotterdam to Bad Lauterberg is 340 miles, mainly autobahn (yuck), the only virtue being that it only took 6 hours to get there (WARNING: Obey ALL speed limits in Holland).
The drag was worth it. The Harz the nearest thing I've seen to biker heaven. I swear these roads were designed by a biker, smooth, constant radius bends winding up and down over passes by fantastic forest / lake scenery. with biker watering holes provided at the ends. The passes are not of alpine proportions but are instead a delight of swinging from left and right beam end banking and they keep coming! Sat-Nav routes are provided by Jacquie and guided tours by Greg (Versys).
I went off road a couple of times, only to find that I probably shouldn't have been on the tracks despite there being no prohibition signs. Forestry is a big industry in the Harz, the powers that be take a dim view of bikes being ridden in the woods (Beware of log transporters on the roads). I found one gravel road which was legal, the bike got a patina of white dust, due to the roads belonging to the biggest limestone quarry I've seen.
The area has towns (eg Quedlinburg) which are like living museums, entirely composed of wood framed houses, some dating to the 1300s (AD not PM). I am sure that the UK has nothing like them. The area of the Harz is about the size of Cheshire, amazing to think that so much is in so small an area.
If you haven't been there, give it a try. I'm going back, maybe I'll see you there.
This is my first post ever, I hope it is not too boring.
Kev
