We recently examined the costs of getting to the popular touring destinations in Europe. Having tortured the Editor by making him plan routes and calculate the costs, it is perhaps no wonder that he is off to the Harz Forest in Germany in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, the Belgian Tourist Board has started reminding people that rather than being a country you ride through to get where you are going, it has a lot to offer, and your tour begins almost as soon as you ride off the ferry.
The GPX files for the Harz Forest are on the Routes Page – free as always, thanks to those wonderful people at Dunlop. Details on where to stay in the Harz Forest, along with more information on Belgium … it is all below.
Harz Forest
Do places become popular because of the roads, or are there good roads everywhere and you only need to know where to look?
The Black Forest High Road (Schwarzwaldhochstrasse), more commonly referred to as the B500 in Germany, may draw motorcyclists to that area, yet the roads through the Palatinate Forest on the way to the B500 are better. They are simply stunning, and there is kilometre upon kilometre of them to explore.
Perhaps the most famous Harz Forest road is the 10-mile long Kyffhäuserstrasse from Kelbra to Bad Frankenhausen. Officially called the B85.
The first few kilometres after leaving Kelbra involves 36 corners. Some claim there are 36 hairpins, but that is stretching it a bit. My count is around 20 actual hairpins, but the B85 easily has more than 30 excellent corners in a very short amount of road.
Similar to the B500, the fun police have been out and slapped a disappointingly low-speed limit on the road, but as the corners keep coming, it isn’t perhaps surprising.
The Biker Oase Cafe 36 in Kelbra is a popular place for motorcyclists and four-wheeled petrolheads the gather.
Whereas the B85 is well known, it isn’t why you visit the Harz region. The map above covers an area roughly 40 miles wide by 18 miles high and doesn’t show the more minor roads and tracks through the Harz Forest. Even allowing for the level of detail on the map, the number of enticing roads is high.
The L521 and L519 running from Herzberg am Harz or the B242 from Clausthal Zellerfeld are both on the “going to ride” list, and to that, I’m sure I’ll add several random left and right turns.
Where to Stay
There are lots of hotels and guest houses in the Harz area. Nearly all are biker friendly, and there is a hotel to suit every budget.
However, search the forums or the internet, and one name will keep appearing … Hotel Harmonie (Biker-Hotel-Harz.de)
Run by Peter and Corinna Döhring, Hotel Harmonie has welcomed motorcyclists since 2013. If this is your first time in the Harz Forest, they can point you to the most exciting, exhilarating, inspiring, stimulating, or thrilling [pick your favourite word] routes to ride.
They even offer a ride-along service if you are concerned about missing the best bits or the good places to stop.
As with most hotels and guest houses, you can find Hotel Harmonie on Booking.com, or you can book directly with Peter and Corinna through their website.
Booking direct does take longer. Having filled out the online form and then called them a few days later, Christina from the admin office emailed my confirmation, along with the PayPal invoice for the deposit.
Booking.Com would have been faster, but where is the fun in that?
Belgium
Meanwhile, the Belgian Tourist Office – or more specifically, the Wallonia region of southern Belgium – wants to attract more motorcyclists to the region. You might have seen the adverts on Facebook and downloaded their brochure. If not, you can download a copy here or take a look at their promo video.
In short, Belgium has a lot to offer, including Spa Francorchamps and Circuit Mettet, not to mention hangover-inducing beer, recent history to go with the older castles, and most importantly, some excellent roads.
So, one last blast before summer ends? Or perhaps you’re doing some early planning for next year.
Either way, what could possibly go wrong?
