Our first cycle tour with children still has an impact today: After a long, sunny day, we cycled up the elegant driveway of a wellness hotel. Inside, the concierge, in the manner of a professional, overlooked the children, dirty from playing, and the dusty panniers. Thank goodness! But the initial joy disappeared when a four-course dinner was served for everyone. It was clear that the kids couldn't sit still after the exciting day. Their fidgeting and our scolding went beyond the elegant framework, and we soon entrenched ourselves in the family room. Switch on the TV, good night.
Seven years and just as many cycling holidays later, we know all kinds of accommodation: Bed and breakfasts, hostels, campsites, farms. Until now, we've steered clear of youth hostels. Memories of school trips with overnight stays in shared rooms, cold showers on the floors and - well - mediocre food were too vivid. The fact that we still gave the hostels of our youth a second chance was due to other parents who spoke enthusiastically about their stays in "modern" hostels with "practical" family rooms. Cheap and good.
Are the hostels also suitable for cycling holidays? We want to find out in one of Germany's most popular cycling regions: Lake Constance. Parents who don't shy away from the lively cycle traffic on the picturesque lake circuit are in good hands here. This is because there are landing stages for scheduled boats that also transport bikes in almost every village. This means that families can cruise to their destination in comfort if their children run out of energy and desire en route.
Preparation In terms of convenience when booking, youth hostels are not inferior to traditional hotels. The locations are listed on the official website www.jugendherberge.de easy to research. Our emails with reservation enquiries are answered promptly: Unfortunately, the hostel in Lindau is already fully booked three weeks before our travel date. We find an alternative in Rorschach, Switzerland, in a former youth hostel that is now privately run. Confirmations are received from Constance (only multi-bed rooms) and for a family room in Überlingen. Note: Youth hostels have a limited number of family rooms with their own shower and toilet. But only the early bookers stay in family rooms.
Leisure activities
Day 1: The accommodation in Rorschach is part of a lido and has spacious outdoor facilities. So we quickly check into our room and head outside! Nils (12) and Sarah (10) splash around in the water, while we parents casually enjoy the sun.
Day 2: The youth hostel in Constance is surrounded by lawns. There's also a volleyball net, table tennis tables and an outdoor chess table, where Nils quickly finds players.
Day 3: Überlingen has no particular highlights. But for us parents, what counts most is the protected setting in which children can romp around with their peers and no longer need to be entertained by mum or dad.
The best thing is that we leave the fear that our offspring might disturb other guests at the youth hostel reception. Almost all the guests here are teenagers - and other families. To be honest, the relaxed atmosphere is sometimes more relaxing than a pampering hotel!
Bicycles Most youth hostels on Lake Constance - and in other cycle tourism areas - carry the ADFC's Bed + Bike seal of approval. On our tour from Lindau via Rorschach, Constance and Überlingen to Lindau, we find lockable and covered parking spaces every evening, and tools for minor repairs are also available.
Comfort The same procedure every day: we drag four sets of bed linen from reception to the room, make the beds ourselves - and take the dirty linen to the collection box the next morning. Advantage: Some children learn to make their own bed here. Drawback: If you don't get a family room, you share showers and toilets with others. Our rooms look similar in every place: sparse bunk beds and narrow lockers
narrow lockers with just enough space for helmets and panniers. The simple charm does not entice you to linger. No matter: after all, the life of the youth hostel is in the common rooms.
Multi-bed room Can't get hold of a family room? Never mind! In Constance, Sarah and I share a room for six with two nice cycle tourists, also mother and daughter, who we would otherwise never have met. So we swap tour experiences until everyone falls into a deep sleep. Luckily there is no snoring to be heard.
Food Practical: We book half board (and packed lunches) in advance at every youth hostel. This way, the evenings at the hostel end on a cosy note - without having to set off for the pizzeria in town later in the evening with the kids. The food is at least decent and satisfying: salad buffets for the diet-conscious; chicken nuggets, sliced meat and side dishes to fuel hungry cyclists. A clear highlight from the children's point of view: a breakfast of homemade waffles in Constance! They fill their bellies to the brim. That's a good thing, as we want to pedal 48 kilometres to Lindau today.
Our conclusion Youth hostels are perfect for uncomplicated one-night stops when travelling by bike with the family. This is because children can play carefree and sometimes be loud. And while the kids conquer the hostel on their own with friends they have just made, mum and dad can relax and unwind. Parents are happy to sacrifice a little comfort in their bed and room for this luxury, right?
Info Lake Constance cycle path
Length/route: 146 kilometres of cycling on the Lake Constance cycle path;
Lindau - Bregenz - Rorschach - Romanshorn - Constance - Mainau - Wallhausen - boat passage to Überlingen - Uhldingen - Meersburg - Friedrichshafen - Lindau
Hostels: Along the Lake Constance cycle path, there are many hostels on the German side that are affiliated with the German Youth Hostel Association. In Austria and Switzerland, the density is lower. All hostels offer a limited number of family rooms. For the summer months, it is advisable to book family rooms some time in advance. If these are already fully booked, the family will be accommodated separately by gender in shared rooms.
Addresses of youth hostels and family hotels along the route presented are:
Lindau Youth Hostel, Herbergsweg 11, D-88131 Lindau; Tel. +49/ 83 82/ 96 71-0; e-mail: lindau@jugendherberge.de, www.lindau.jugendherberge.de
Jufa Family Guesthouse Bregenz, Mehrerauerstraße 5, A-6900 Bregenz; Tel. +43/ 57 08 35 40;
E-mail: bregenz@jufa.eu; www.jufa.eu
Young Hotel Hard, Allmendstraße 87, A-6971 Hard; Tel. +43/ 55 74/ 734 35; e-mail: office@jugendherberge-hard.at; www.jugendherberge-hard.at
Hostel at the lido in RorschachChurerstraße 4, CH-9400 Rorschach; phone +41/ 71/ 844 97 12; e-mail: info@herberge-rorschach.ch; www.herberge-rorschach.ch
Romanshorn Youth HostelGottfried-Keller-Str. 6, CH-8590 Romanshorn;Tel. +41/ 71/ 463 17 17;
E-mail: romanshorn@youthhostel.ch; www.youthhostel.ch/romanshorn
Otto-Moericke-Tower Constance Youth HostelZur Allmannshöhe 16, D-78464 Konstanz, phone +49/ 75 31/ 322 60; e-mail: info@jugendherberge-konstanz.de; www.konstanz.jugendherberge-bw.de
Martin Buber Youth Hostel ÜberlingenAlte Nußdorfer Straße 26, D-88662 Überlingen; phone +49/ 75 51/ 42 04; e-mail: info@jugendherberge-ueberlingen.de; www.ueberlingen.jugendherberge-bw.de
Graf Zeppelin Youth Hostel FriedrichshafenLindauer Str. 3, D-88046 Friedrichshafen; phone +49/ 75 41/ 724 04; e-mail: info@jugendherberge-friedrichshafe.de; www.friedrichshafen.jugendherberge-bw.de
