UK to Vienna via Netherlands & Germany
 

I have to ride from the UK to Vienna at the end of the month and I’ve put together a tentative itinerary, but I’d welcome any thoughts/advice from people who have been along any part of my route.

I’m thinking quick motorway dash from Hook of Holland to Frankfurt in Germany. Then slower country roads to Rottenburg and Würzburg. From there take the rural Romantic Route to Füssen. Then cross over to Telfs in Austria and make my way to Vienna via Gmunden and Wildalpen, again on rural roads.

Apart from the start from Hook of Holland to Frankfurt I’d like to avoid motorways. My only deadline is that I need to be in Vienna May 1, so I’m allowing 6 days for the trip. Does that seem reasonable? I can change the route completely if needed to arrive in Vienna on time, which is the most important thing.

In 2011, I went from the Netherlands to Schloss Neuschwanstein (near Füssen) in Germany and then to Vienna.
My travel log is on my website: Jan Krijtenburg homepage (Travel pages)

Have a nice trip !

In view of the time you have then might suggest Rothenburg , then Donauworth, due south to Fussen , have a look at Neuschwanstein (castle) , Garmish , then across to Berchtesgaden (Eagles nest Hitler) worth a look .
The road down from R,burg to Fussen , smallish , pleasant ride.
route from Fussen to b,gaden as fast or slow as you want . JMHO

I've travelled to the general area of Salzburg in about 2 days using main roads, including the generally excellent German autobahns, to get to the areas of interest.
It's not easy to comment on a particular route because there are so many competing roads once into south Germany/Austria.
But, the Austrian main roads are pretty busy with traffic of all types while the passes are slower to traverse, even on a bike (the higher ones are still being cleared of snow of course and the ski season remains under way at present I think). Hence I would look for the lower passes which should not be discounted actually - altitude is not everything when it comes to the roads.


That's a good route for the typical touristy type of things to see.
Rather than more or less due south from Fussen, head to the road alongside the Plansee that runs more or less from Reutte to Oberammergau and Garmisch-P.

I could never be bothered to produce such a record of riding, yet I enjoy reading them, for a while anyway.
You have indulged in lane splitting/filtering (called different things by folks but the same process); it is illegal in Germany but almost inevitable when coming across the big traffic jams that build on the autobahns at times (I have done the same and ridden the bike along the hard shoulder/verge of the motorway to get to the next junction to exit the highway because of major jams that are often caused by traffic accidents).

Also, while riding in Austria I haven't bothered with the vignette because it is quite possible to stay off their motorways by using other roads; in contrast, in Switzerland I have generally bought the vignette (which costs much more than the Austrian version) simply because travelling on their main roads takes for ever without using the motorways.

I read somewhere that the Bavarian State highway authorities have introduced a road tax because they are fed up with the international traffic heading through Bavaria to everywhere else; for this I think we can take it to be heavy trucks that annoy the Bavarians.
I am told that this tax does not apply to motorcycles.

Just to add, last time I was travelling in the area of the German/Netherlands border there were a number of police manned speed traps on the Dutch side of the border pulling over the German registered vehicles that had just crossed the border - it pays to be cautious near the international borders at least until you have got a feel for "how things are today".
Similar things happen in the vicinity of the channel ports with the French police looking out for Brit vehicles happily "making progress" on their vacations.

Hi Russki:

6 days is certainly enough time to make your trip and enjoy yourself along the way.

Keep in mind that Austria is a deceptively wide country (from west to east), heck, if you take the train from Zurich to Vienna, it is an 8 hour journey, and the train doesn't stop at many traffic lights, nor does it ever encounter traffic jams.

If you find, towards the end of your outbound trip, that you have more distance to cover than you expected (in other words, if it is day 5 and you are still west of Salzburg), then go ahead and buy an Austrian vignette and take the motorway into Vienna. The Austrian motorways are very scenic and very well maintained, you will save a heck of a lot of time compared to taking non-motorway roads.

Don't try to sneak along the motorway without a vignette, the Austrian cops are experts at setting up checkpoints at the exit from tunnels.

Michael

How many times have I seen those! Head back from (say) Reims to Calais on the autoroute on a summer Sunday morning and see how many GB reg cars are pulled over - usually the ones that have come past you at 100mph half an hour earlier. None of our wrecks will get anywhere near the speed limit and I often amuse myself on that road by playing spot the radar trap about 50-70 miles out from Calais. Anyone know if there's a French equivalent for schadenfreude? :laugh:

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I think I'll probably dash for southern Germany / Austria and take a look at whatever Alpine passes are open. The trip's now been extended & I'll head on from Vienna back to Moscow.

Hi Russki:

If you are heading back to Moscow from Vienna, do try and spend some time poking around on the secondary roads in Slovakia. Slovakia is a very pleasant country to tour in. A routing I have done myself in the past is to ride northeast, from Vienna to Zakopane, Poland, then continue on the same more or less northeast direction towards Ruthenia (Белая Русь).

The mountains in northern Slovakia / southern Poland are full of delightful roads, beautiful scenery, but not at all full of cars.

Michael

Thanks for that. I had planned to go up through Czech since I have a friend in a village near Brno. But if he's absent I'll go though Slovakia. In fact I might do that anyway since I haven't been there.