The Thuringian Forest is a rich motorbike region. No wonder we have ten partner hotels in this pleasant low mountain region, all with their own flair and special features. We have chosen the Hotel Mellestollen for the 17th THT. A partner hotel since 2013 and equipped with everything a motorcyclist could need.
But the bad news right at the start: biker host Sven wasn't there and wasn't due to arrive until Saturday evening. An important appointment that can't be postponed - who hasn't experienced that? But senior manager Werner and the hotel team held the fort. And they had their hands full with our not-so-small group.
Sven had left the tour planning to his ‘house tour guide’ René right from the start. A true professional who not only knows his way around Thuringia, but also organises on- and off-road tours abroad (www.mein-motorradabenteuer.de). Together with his colleague Frank, he showed us the best routes and sights around the hotel on mostly low-traffic roads.
One of the most beautiful sections was the Schwarzatal valley, which begins in nearby Bad Blankenburg. Short stop at the ‘Schweizerhaus’: ‘Is the pace okay? Would anyone like to swap positions?’ And then we continued on a lively route through the forest, through pretty villages and over mountain ranges with great views until we finally reached the Rennsteig at Spechtsbrunn. The ‘Kalte Küche’, the nature park information centre with - very importantly - a snack bar, proved to be the ideal place for a break.
‘But it's not that old,’ I thought on arrival at the Altvaterturm tower near Lehesten. I didn't realise then that it was a replica tower from the Altvater Mountains. Sudeten people expelled from there rebuilt it here as a memorial against expulsion and as a sign of reconciliation and inaugurated it in 2004. There is a museum inside and from the top you have a good view of the Ore Mountains, the Fichtel Mountains, the Franconian Forest and the heights of the Thuringian Forest.
‘Now we're off to the Thuringian Sea,’ René drums up his group. This refers to Germany's largest reservoir region. In the Thuringian Slate Mountains, the river Saale has been dammed since 1932 for energy production and flood protection. A magnificent leisure and recreation area was also created in the process. The two largest reservoirs are the Bleiloch and Hohenwarte reservoirs, where we took a longer break at the dam wall.
To round off our tour, we headed up the Kulmberg, the local mountain of Saalfeld and Rudolstadt. Built in 1884, the 20-metre-high observation tower is one of the oldest steel lattice towers in Germany and is a listed building. If you climb all the steep steps, you can enjoy an excellent panoramic view of the Saale valley, the Rinne valley, the Orlasenke and the Thuringian Slate Mountains from a height of exactly 500 metres.
Back at the hotel, we had the opportunity to visit the tunnel that starts behind the hotel. This ore mine, which has been closed since 1969, was once dug several levels deep into the mountain and only a small section is open to visitors. Nevertheless, the interesting tour lasted almost an hour. Outside, the aroma of the barbecue buffet was already wafting through the air and it was completely cleared away in no time at all. And then, when everything was over and the first people had gone to bed, Sven arrived. ‘Yes of course, thanks to René and Frank, everything went really well. But next time you're going with us!’
The participants
Bernd: Yamaha FJR 1300 - Dagmar: Ducati Hypermotard 950 - Elke: Yamaha XJ 6 - Eugen and Gerlinde: Moto Guzzi V 85 - Frank*: Honda CRF 1100 L Afria Twin - Friedhelm and Heidi: BMW R 1250 GS - Georg: BMW R 1250 RT - Gerhard: Kawasaki Versys 1000 - Guido: BMW R 1200 RT - Harald: BMW R 1200 GS Rallye - Karsten: KTM 890 Adventure - Marcel: Yamaha XV 535 Virago - Martin: Ducati Scrambler - Michael and Magda: Suzuki V-Strom 650 - Olaf: BMW K 1300 R - Peter: Ducati Multistrada V4 S - René*: Yamaha Ténéré 700 - Roland E.: BMW R 1200 GS Adventure - Roland W.: BMW R 1200 GS Adventure - Stefan and Silvia: BMW R 1250 GS - Steffen : Harley-Davidson E-Glide Police - Toni: Yamaha Tracer 7 - Uli: BMW R 1200 GS - Winnie: Kawasaki Versys 1000
* Tour guide