To the Alps! Day 1

The Alps are one of our favorite places to vacation. And so after enjoying a hiking vacation in England last year, the SO and I were going to return to the Alps again this year. Our vacation logistics are always complicated, and this trip was no exception. But fortunately those complications also meant that I had a window for a short bike tour: From my parents’ house in southwest Germany I would bike to the Kleinwalsertal, a valley in the Allgäu Alps.

The most direct route would have been about 230 kilometers (140 mil) – a little too far for riding it in one day, especially when riding the MTB that I have stashed in Germany. Instead I used Komoot to come up with a longer, more scenic route and did it over two days.

Day 1: Welzheim to Füramoos (155 km/95 mi)

The destination for the first day was Füramoos in Upper Swabia. Why Füramoos? When browsing for vegan-friendly places along my route on HappyCow, to my surprise I had found a traditional inn in this 600-people village. They offered a couple vegan and vegetarian items on their menu and also had rooms.

The ride started a little after 7 am. Despite it being July, it was still chilly and pockets of fog were hovering in the morning light. For the first half hour I was on roads and paths familiar from having grown up around here.

Leineck Lake

I descended into Lorch with its beautiful former monastery on a steep gravel path, part of the Limes bike route, which follows the route of the old Roman fortification wall. Up the other side of the Rems valley my route took me through the Beutental. This one-lane road is closed to motorized traffic on the weekends because it’s a popular hiking destination, but on a Monday morning there was hardly any traffic either. After the long-but-not-too-steep climb I connected up with a rail trail that connects Schwäbisch Gmünd in the Rems valley with Göppingen in the Fils valley.

Lorch Monastery

Restaurant in the Beutenal -- a very popular hiking destination

Much of my ride was on paths and roads like this

Rest stop on the rail trail. With bike parking, a self-repair station, water, and even an e-bike charging station!

Church in Rechberghausen

One barrier on the way from my parents’ to the Alps is the Swabian Jura. Its German name is Schwäbische Alb, sometimes leading to confusion between Alps and Alb. This mountain range is much lower than the Alps, but its northern edge forms a steep escarpment, which is a barrier for all kinds of traffic. Of course, the most gentle grades up the escarpment are occupied by motor vehicle and train traffic, while the quieter climbs are also the steeper ones. A good reminder of this was a chance encounter with a rail construction project: In an effort to reduce travel times between Stuttgart and Munich, a new high speed rail corridor is being built. At the portal to one of the tunnels up the Jura, I had the opportunity to take some nice pictures from an observation deck.

Near the Swabian Jura

Kurhaus Bad Boll

North portal of the Bossler tunnel

I wasn’t afforded the luxury of a shallow-grade tunnel and continued farther west along the foot of the Jura to Neidlingen. This was where Komoot had suggested climbing the escarpment on an unpaved path. To get to the path, however, I was routed first on an incredibly steep paved path and then on an even steeper single-track trail---even walking my bike up there was a challenge. Presumably the routing algorithm was trying to avoid roads, which in this case wasn’t ideal. Once I got to the Neidliner Steige trail I was greeted by a fence: Because of the risk of rock fall, the trail was closed. Clearly there was a goat trail around the barrier, though, and so I continued on. It was a scenic climb, and I’m happy to report that I wasn’t hit by any rocks.

Filling up my Madison Public Library bottle before the big climb

Public weigh station, where you weigh your cider apples and pears before dropping them off at the press

Neidlinger Steige

Once you’ve climbed the Swabian Jura, the landscape turns into a sparse, undulating high plateau. This has always been a poor region, with rocky soils and low population density. That’s probably also what led to the creation of the Münsingen military training area, the remains of which I would bike through. Abandoned by the French military in the 1990s, the area is now a nature preserve. Because there is undetonated ordinance and other contamination, cyclists and hikers are only allowed on a few roads. The rest of the area is left to nature and grazing sheep – watching a traditional shepherd with pole and sheep dogs was fun! The area also features an abandoned village, Gruorn. Most of the village was razed when the Nazis expanded the military training area in the 1930s, and all that remains now is a church, graveyard, and the old school house.

Up on the Swabian Jura's high plateau

Warning signs at the former military training area

Former tank ring road, now being used as a test track by Mercedes and Liebherr

Shepherd

Former Gruorn school house

Gruorn church

From Gruorn, it wasn’t far to the next highlight of the tour, the Great Lauter valley. The bike path follows the small stream of the Lauter on its curvy 42-kilometer run toward the Danube. Flanking the valley are castles (or ruins thereof) and pointy rocks of corallian limestone. The bike path appeared very popular, with people of all ages on regular or electric assist bikes.

Inspired by the lovely children's book Friends

Rest area at the Lauter River

Lauter valley

"What you sow you will reap"

Farm-made ice cream self-serve station!

At the end of the Lauter valley I reach the Danube long distance bike path. This is part of the EuroVelo 6 route, which connects the Atlantic with the Black Sea and is one of the most popular bike touring routes in Europe. For some reason I didn’t encounter many other cyclists here, but I also didn't follow the route for very long. As the Danube ran southeast, I continued straight south toward today’s destination. One could feel that I was getting closer to the Allgäu region: Catholic churches with their characteristic “onion” domes, crucifixes along the road, and rolling hills.

Onion dome

Weir on the Danube

The SO is easily amused by German town names such as Assmannshardt...

Market square in Biberach

Finally, I saw a sign for Füramoos. Unfortunately it was accompanied by a sign warning of a 12 % grade for x km. But the climbing wasn’t all that bad and soon I arrived at my inn. There was a brief moment of panic when my name didn’t appear in the reservation book (yes, an actual, handwritten book), but in the end all was well. After a shower and washing out my kit, I enjoyed a vegan meal and a couple of wheat beers in the Rössle‘s beautiful beer garden.

The view from my room

Tired and happy