Short trip to Churfranken: With time on the Main: two tour tips between the Odenwald and Spessart

The whole of Miltenberg has dressed up: There's hardly a person on the street who isn't wearing a dirndl or lederhosen or has at least pulled an Oktoberfest-appropriate T-shirt out of their wardrobe. Dressed up like this, they head towards the Main. Because there is the Michaelismesse, the largest folk festival in the region. A huge wooden marquee with space for more than 3,000 guests, chain carousels and other rides, the usual sales and food stalls and all this against the decorative backdrop of the River Main: It is understandable that so many people are attracted to the festivities that take place at the end of August.

Live slowly - that's the motto

We and our bikes are glad to have the pretty little half-timbered town largely to ourselves and, before we set off, we let our resolute city guide Dorothea Zöller tell us more about Miltenberg and its history. During the tour, Dorothea turns out to be Wikipedia personified - she simply knows everything. About the famous Gasthof Riesen, one of the oldest inns in Germany and probably older than Miltenberg itself, where the Schnatterloch - the upper part of the medieval market square surrounded by half-timbered houses - gets its name from: Not because there was so much chatting and chattering on the market square, but possibly from the medieval word Snade or Schnade for Schneise, which could have been the cut between Schloßberg and Greinberg. Of course, Dorothea can also show us where the synagogue, the brothel and the twelve public fountains were in the Middle Ages. And she immediately introduces us to a fact that will accompany us the whole time on our journey through Churfranken: "We take our time here - live slowly, that's our motto". Just like bread dough is given time to rise fluffily. Or the vegetables that are allowed to stay on the bush until they are ripe for harvesting. Or the wine. But more on that later, for now: off to the Spessart. A brief explanation: the Churfranken region, which we are exploring by bike, lies between Spessart and Odenwald in the Main valley and belongs to northern Bavaria, or Franconia to be precise. You won't find the term Churfranken on a map, however, because it was invented by tourism experts.

Castles made of colourful rocks

Even on the first few kilometres of our tour, we notice the mighty reddish-brown red sandstone cliffs that rise up along the banks of the Main. The reddish-coloured stones can be seen again at the castles, or rather the castle ruins, of which we get to see quite a few on our tour. They are enthroned high above the Main. We take a closer look at one of them, the Henneburg castle ruins near Dorfprozelten, on our tour along the Main. Dressed as a damsel of the castle, Petra Werthheim, a medieval enthusiast, guides us through the well-preserved mighty castle ruins, which are owned by the state of Bavaria. It was built around 1160 as a demonstration of power against Würzburg. "In its heyday, 200 members of the Teutonic Knights lived here, it was like a small town," explains part-time castle mistress Petra. When the knights left, the castle fell into disrepair. It was not until the Romantics, above all Ludwig I of Bavaria with his penchant for decorative decay, that it was rediscovered.

We could visit many more castles and monasteries or stop off in the pretty half-timbered towns. But we want to make progress for a few kilometres, because it's also a great place to visit from a bike. And there is something almost meditative about cycling along the calmly flowing, leisurely Main.

Visit to the vineyards

In Erlenbach, we meet Verena Waigand, a young winegrower who runs a vineyard with her family. We pushed our bikes up to Verena's vineyard, because it's really steep. But the view is gigantic: we almost seem to be floating above the Main valley. The sun is beating down fiercely on the vineyard and heating up the reddish earth. "We can only cultivate the vineyard by hand," says Verena. She only uses one brush cutter. And a mini tractor from the 1950s. Verena doesn't mind the extra work. "I've known it since I was a child," she says. There are two hectares of vines to cultivate. Verena is the third generation to do this, was once wine princess, has a bachelor's degree in marketing and trained as a wine cooper. "I'm actually a bit of a cellar rat," she says and laughs. And yet she enjoys introducing her guests to wine on hikes and tastings through her vineyards. She has painted the front of the little vineyard house that her grandfather built pink - you can even see it shining from the road below. What does she particularly like about the work? "When you come here early in the morning for the grape harvest and the fog is still hanging in the Main Valley, the air here is very clear - that's a very special moment," she says. Verena has already won several prizes with her wines.

The fact that the wine thrives so well here is due to the soil and the special location. The deeply fissured, iron-rich red sandstone soils here have long produced wines that are recognised worldwide. And - the time factor: Verena: "We only harvest when we like the flavour of the grapes. When our hands bob, when we touch the grapes and the seeds in the grapes are brown." Take your time. Be patient. Wait and see what happens. We'll take that with us. And a bottle of Verena's Ruländer as a memento of the afternoon in the vineyard.

Two cycle tours in Churfranken

Tour 1: Off into the Spessart

• 44.1 km, 408 m elevation gain, road surface asphalt, gravel
• rather sporty tour

The less pleasant part comes right at the start of the tour: from Erlenbach, the route leads along the busy state road 2309 to Klingenberg-Röllfeld, where the view of the Clingenburg ruins makes up for the traffic. Continue along the Main cycle path to Großheubach, past the Franciscan monastery on the Engelberg across the fields to Mönchberg and into the Elsava valley to Schippach. On the old railway line to Elsenfeld. Later we cross the Main on a cycle overpass and end up in Obernburg. Back up the Main to Wörth, then over the railway bridge to the other side of the river and back to Erlenbach.

The GPX data for tour 1 can be found on the DK tour portal:

Tour 2: Five castles on the Main

• 35 or 70 km, 50 m elevation gain, road surface asphalt, gravel.
• Very relaxed tour on the Main cycle path. The tour can also be cycled as a one-way tour from Miltenberg to Wertheim, then back to Miltenberg by train.

We start in Miltenberg along the Main via Bürgstadt to Freudenberg, where we come to castle number two after the Mildenburg in Miltenberg: the Freudenburg towers impressively over the Main. We cross the Main bridge and cycle through Kirschfurt towards Collenberg. There's a castle here too, namely the ruins of Kollenburg Castle. The cycle path continues along the banks of the Main via Dorfprozelten to Stadtprozelten. From there, we cycle or push up to the ruins of Henneburg Castle. The short, steep path to the top is definitely worth it - not only because of the magnificent view of the Main, but also because of the well-preserved, extensive castle complex itself. In Wertheim in Baden-Württemberg, we take time to stroll through the small town and visit the ruins of Wertheim Castle. If you still have enough energy left, you can cycle the 35 kilometres back or take the train.

The GPX data for tour 2 can be found on the DK tour portal:

General information & tips on cycle tours in Churfranken between Spessart and Odenwald

Journey

Car: The region can be reached from all directions via well-developed feeder roads from the federal motorways: A3 from Würzburg with exit Wertheim along the Main, A81 with exit Osterburken, Ahorn or Tauberbischofsheim, via Hardheim and the Erftal or A3 from Frankfurt with exit Aschaffenburg-West, via B469

Railway: The RB 88 or RE87 (Maintalbahn) runs from Aschaffenburg to Miltenberg several times a day. Several regional trains also connect Miltenberg with larger railway stations. www.bahn.de

Best time to travel

April to the beginning of October

Accommodation

In the centre of Miltenberg: The Hotel Hopfengarten is located in a historic building with pleasantly modernised rooms. When the weather is nice, breakfast is served on the terrace. Double room from 100 euros with breakfast. www.flairhotel-hopfengarten.de

If you've always wanted to sleep in the trees, you can do so at the Wipfelglück tree house hotel in Mönchberg - the eight cosy wooden chalets are absolutely comfortable. On request, the host family will serve a delicious breakfast in a basket. Overnight stay per cottage without breakfast 196 euros. www.wipfelglueck.de

Food

Excellent regional dishes made from local produce are served at the Gasthaus Zur Krone in Großheubach, where many fish dishes and selected wines from the region are also on the menu. gasthauskrone.de

Some winegrowers operate seasonal Bakerieswhere wines and regional delicacies are served. churfranken.de/genuss-wein/wein/haeckerkalender

Bicycle service

Just CyclesAm Bahnhof 2, Amorbach, Tel. 09373-20355
Sales, bicycle workshop and tube vending machine, www.just-cycles.de

Bike & Service PfeifferIndustriestr. 11, Sulzbach, Tel. 06028-1239950, www.zweiradsport.de

E-bike café Großostheim, Sale & hire of bicycles and e-bikes, repair, Pflaumheimer Str. 50, Tel. 06026 7090400, www.e-bike-cafe.de

E-bike charging stations: https://churfranken.de/aktiv-kultur/radfahren/ladestationen

Tubing machine/bicycle repair station: Motorbike car park/Mainanlage, Miltenberg

Maps

These two maps depict the entire region:

• Spessart South Nature Park, ISBN 978-3-89933-556-9
• Spessart North Nature Park, ISBN 978-3-89933-555-2

Info

Further helpful information on accommodation, restaurants and tours for a holiday in the region can be found on the website www.churfranken.de