Touring Holland and Geramny

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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marek61
Posts: 1
Joined: 17 Oct 2014, 8:29am

Touring Holland and Geramny

Post by marek61 »

Hi
I am planning a cycling tour from Amsterdam in Holland via Germany to polish city of Szczecin. There will be two of us. (males 50+ )
we would be flying form South Africa with our bikes and try to cycle from there to poland then with train back to Amsterdam.. Projected time about 3-4 weeks.
Any information regarding routes / accommodation and anything else that useful will be more then welcome.
regards
Ron
Posts: 1385
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 9:07pm

Re: Touring Holland and Geramny

Post by Ron »

There are countless options regarding routes Amsterdam to Szczecin, you don't say if there is anyting n particular you want to see along the way. I prefer coastal or canal side routes where I will see some shipping which might interest me, so here is a route I have taken in the past, starting at Central ralway station in Amsterdam. The ferry terminal is at the back of the station, board the free ferry to North Amsterdam and proceed to Volendam, and Den Oever where you cross the water on the Afsluitdijk towards Groningen. East of Groningen follow the canal by Hoogezand , Winschoten and cross the border into Gemany at Nieuweschans. On towards the river Ems and the bridge to Leer, Hesel, Varel to Nordenham for a ferry across the Weser to Bremerhaven. Then Bremervorde and on to Finkenwerder for ferry over the Elbe to Hamburg. From there I took a northern loop up to Rostock and Stralsund, but a more direct cross country route could have been taken.
If you look at the Crazy Guy on a Bike website you would probably get information for your route, http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ , although I prefer to find my own route.
In the Netherlands, maps from the ANWB Fietskaart series are good for navigation, there are ANWB offices in most major towns in NL, certainly available in Amsterdam.
For Germany, there are Bikeline maps from Esterbauer.com, cycle maps from ADFC Radtourenkarte, also red covered road maps titled Die General Karte you might need 2 or 3 sheets, all readily available along the way. Szczecin is so close to the border I doubt you would need a Polish map, but a city map would be helpful.
I usually camp, but also use hostels and hotels, you should not have difficulty finding accommodation along the route, you're never far from a town or village.
If hostelling you could save a few Euros if you hold a Hostelling International card or the card of an affiliated association.
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