The question of where to go on this year's information trip marked the start of planning for the time when we get to swap the office chair for the bicycle saddle and experience one of our many cycle tours ourselves. Since it is only my second year in Marburg, I decide to discover the river that flows on my doorstep. In September, my mother and I set off on the classic route along the Lahn from Marburg.
After a rainy morning, we finally start our bike tour. We ride through fields and meadows, past lakes, over bridges and footbridges. There is a lot to see along the way: nature, animals, castles and ruins, and many small and large towns. When we arrive in Gießen, the dark clouds do not bode well, so we do not stay there long in order to arrive in Wetzlar as dry as possible. Unfortunately, we are unlucky and the rain returns for the last 15 km. When we arrive in Wetzlar, we cycle directly to our hotel, looking forward to a warm shower. Later, the rain stops again and we go for a walk through Wetzlar with its many half-timbered houses and romantic alleys in the old town.
After a hearty breakfast, we took another tour of Wetzlar and visited the beautiful Wetzlar Cathedral. Afterwards, we headed to the Lahn and started in the direction of Weilburg. On the way, you can make a detour to the Grube Fortuna visitor mine, but you should book the tickets online in advance, which unfortunately we failed to do, so the visit unfortunately had to be canceled. We made good progress through small towns and past small locks. We then decided to make the second possible detour of the day: Braunfels Castle. To do this, we left the Lahn Cycle Route in Leun and rode to Braunfels. We were very happy that we had e-bikes to make it up to the castle. The castle is very well preserved and definitely worth a visit. After that, we cycle back to Leun and on via Löhnberg to our destination today, Weilburg. After a break at the hotel, we set out on foot to explore the old town, the stone bridge, the castle, the castle garden and the castle church.
As soon as we wake up, we hear the rain and therefore take it easy. We enjoy a leisurely breakfast buffet in the hope that the rain will subside. This decision proves to be the right one: by the time we are ready to leave, the rain clouds have cleared and we set off in a good mood. Today the Lahn Cycle Path shows itself from its most idyllic side, as it almost exclusively runs along the Lahn on old towpaths, through pure nature. In Runkel, you cycle over the Lahnbrücke bridge into town. Our tip: take a break and treat yourself to an ice cream at Eiscafé Mancuso - simply delicious. Afterwards, we set off for Runkel Castle: don't miss the tour, because the castle is still very well preserved and you can explore it on your own without a guide. After climbing many steps, you reach the keep at the end and as a reward for the many steps you get a wonderful view over Runkel and the Lahn. From Runkel it is not far to Limburg. After check-in and a short break, we explore the old town and the cathedral on foot. We fell in love with the romantic, dreamy old town with its many winding alleys and half-timbered houses, so don't miss an evening stroll through the city.
After a hearty breakfast, we jump straight onto our bikes. We ride along the Lahn and over bridges in the cool autumn air. You can see many castles and palaces on the hills. In Diez, we are greeted from afar by Oranienstein Castle and we are once again impressed by the old town with its narrow streets and half-timbered houses. Due to a closure on the Lahnradweg, we decide to take the train from Oberndorf to Nassau, which works without any problems. For us, the train ride has another advantage: we survive the short rain shower dry. From Nassau it is not far to Bad Ems, so we arrive there in the early afternoon. Despite the early arrival, our room is already ready. Unfortunately, the rain has returned, so we take a longer break before setting out on foot to explore Bad Ems. Bad Ems is an old spa town with a beautiful spa park and exudes the spirit of old times. Take a walk in the beautiful evening atmosphere, believe us, it will be worth it.
On our last day of cycling, the weather gods are smiling on us again, and there are even a few rays of sunshine. In high spirits, we leave Bad Ems and follow the idyllic Lahn on old towpaths to Lahnstein, where we reach the Rhine. While the Lahn was a small, idyllic river, the Rhine is a large river with a very busy bike path. We had already decided that we would like to take the excursion to St. Goar with a boat trip to Koblenz (included in the tour price). So we cycle along the Rhine, passing many castles and palaces on the way to Filsen, where we take a ferry to the other side of the Rhine to Boppard. In Boppard, we decide to take the chairlift to the Vierseenblick, where a wonderful view of the Rhine awaits us. Back in Boppard, we cycle to St. Goar. Once there, we should have gone directly to the ship to Koblenz, but it was canceled due to a defect. Our constant companion - the rain - is back, so we don't cycle on to the Loreley, but prefer to take shelter. Due to the late departure, we were able to enjoy a wonderful sunset and the many castles and palaces along the way. The cruise ends with an evening arrival in Koblenz and a view of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. Since it is already late, we head straight to our hotel and, after a glass of wine and a hot shower, fall exhausted but happy into our beds.
If you are looking for an idyllic bike tour, the Lahn is the perfect place for you. Here you can cycle relaxed through the landscape, discover small and larger towns, castles and palaces are waiting to be discovered, the stages are not too long - for us an all-round successful bike tour. It was my mother's first bike tour, she liked it so much that she is already choosing the next bike tour destinations.
