Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland

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Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland
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Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland

Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland
With the motorcycle across the Saarland

The plan: Each German federal state is driven through once, on the most attractive route for motorcyclists. City-states and big cities are left out, because the Germany Marathon is all about driving fun. The Saarland is the first. clear the path!

Dirk Schafer

08/30/2012

At first it is barely audible. That low hum. But then it swells up more and more. And now they’re shooting past me every second. BrooOOOaaauuuu! The blue and yellow border sign swings in the suction of the bikes hurrying by. Re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere won’t sound much different. It’s just a re-entry into the German atmosphere. But what does that mean?

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Flying start at the Franco-German border, the kilometer zero, to the longest and sleekest route through the country. A Tour de Germany over unimagined kilometers. The first best will come under our wheels in a wide arc between Luxembourg and West Palatinate, between Hunsruck and Lorraine. Pack your camera, sit up, go into the aisle, let’s go!

The road leaves the border quickly. Our moto trio will be reunited between vineyards, forest islands and wind farms. In the long corners that followed, we really pick up speed for the first time. Heavy clouds sink into the Saar valley ahead, bathing the lowland in a milky light. We dive into the sharpest valley in the small state, towards the Saarschleife. The perforated brake discs hum before every bend in the downhill stretch until the river shines dark green towards us. When the band of clouds in the sky has finally cleared, the 220-degree bend in the Saar widens hearts and minds. Why go to the Colorado if there’s the same thing here in green?

Passing Mettlach, the long-established porcelain industry draws attention to itself. Bellevue, beautiful view, is how the ceramic burners christened their new luxury toilet. Speaking of burners and a beautiful view: fans of open throttle valves will now get their money’s worth. And Bellevue is on top in the foothills of the Hunsruck. At least when the road to Losheim peeks out of the forest into the daylight.

Short coffee stop at the Losheimer See. Motorcycles everywhere you look. One of the most noticeable is a black and orange supermoto GS. We quickly get into conversation with one of the bystanders: Chris Frei, XT pilot with Saarland and Trans-Africa experience. Born in Berlin, he moved his life to Saarland after a stopover in the Ruhr area. And don’t regret moving. “Everything is a bit smaller here, more clearly arranged.” Or, as some locals say: “E bissje better, but oh e bissje more.” We take Chris’s tip to heart: “Always close to the border with Rhineland-Palatinate!”


Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland


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Why to the Grand Canyon? The Saar Canyon with the loop near Mettlach is the sharpest valley in Saarland.

No stop signs, speed limit … the AC / DC classic knocks through my head. Well, there are the usual speed limits, but no traffic lights, no oncoming traffic and often not even a median. The Saarland is already getting close to the motorcycle heaven on Germany’s earth. And in the villages it seems to be high noon all weekend long. Whoever goes outside, clears the sewer of the spring moss or sweeps the sidewalk. Nowhere else in the republic are there more homeowners. And they just have to sweep. And that’s what we do: to the south.

The street isn’t much wider than a family pizza, but the topping, mamma mia! It’s really flavorful and winds under the fleecy cloud sky towards the horizon. In addition, there is still no traffic to slow down the flow of traffic. Perhaps this is where the Saarland effect comes into play: In many statistics, the small country is right at the front. You have the most clubs per capita, the most effective beer and champagne consumers and apparently the least traveled routes. And then also that: Saarland was the only one of the current federal states to have its own national football team. In the 1954 World Cup qualification, the Saarkicker played against Germany. And lost extremely miserably.


Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland


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Official burn-out of a Honda Africa Twin.

Entry in St. Wendel. As the airstream fades, the engines begin to toast. The plane trees on Schlossplatz attract us like a magnet. Waiters surf around the tables with their trays.

An ice cream sundae with 15 scoops builds up in my mind’s eye and melts onto a crispy salad plate when I order it. “What a day!” Andy and Jochen are as enthusiastic as I am. And the day is not over yet.

Without ice, but now with a cool head again, we aim for the Ostertal. We leave Wendelin-Stadt in a wide arc that looks like a question mark at the end. The Oster is nothing more than a tiny brook that few people would probably know if it was not followed by a historic railway line and the B 420 for a manageable stretch. The main road leaves the brook quickly, but you can still follow it. In keeping with the digestive lethargy, we continue weighing south of Furth through the relaxing Ostertal.

In Wiebelskirchen the brook flows into the Blies. We won’t get that far. Not because we are at the gates of Erich Honecker’s birthplace, but because we are circumnavigating Neunkirchen, the second largest city in the Saarland. In the distance, the remains of the coal and steel industry peek out over the urban horizon. Feelings of home for people from the Ruhr area, but afterwards it’ll be really chic again.


Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland


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Small cathedral, big: Lutwinus Church in Mettlach.

Neunkirchen on the right, Zweibrucken on the left. In Bierbach, nomen est omen, we should actually have stopped for a glass of barley brew. But the sun is still standing over the gentle hills of the Bliesgau, and we use its light for a tempting finale. The first signs to the Mandelbachtal appear shortly after the smart Blieskastel. But we don’t want to go down into the valley, we want to go up to the heights. Turn signal left, off to Rubenbach.

We glide smoothly on the hump between the Mandelbachtal and Bliestal. What an endless landscape! Yes, you can breathe space here. Deeply relaxed, we roll down to the valley to Gersheim and turn east just before the French border. Neualtheim, Altheim, the tire flanks scrape over the asphalt once more.

Au revoir Saarland, it was beautiful! Shortly after the “border” to Rhineland-Palatinate, we stop in the first town. His name fits as a prelude to the next stage: Hornbach. There is always something to drive!

Travel info


Motorcycle tours through Germany: Saarland


Werel

Travel time: one day. Distance covered: 200 kilometers.

Why look into the distance? The trip through the Saarland is a driving experience. But there is also a lot to discover besides the low-traffic routes.

Getting there:
If you don’t just take the lap through Saarland, but also the entire Germany marathon, you will start in Perl at the border triangle of Luxembourg, France and Germany. Perl is 230 kilometers away from Cologne and 270 kilometers from Stuttgart. The closest motorway is the A 8 before it becomes the A 13 in France.

The distance:
Only 200 kilometers? Right! The route through Saarland is no longer. After all, apart from the city-states, it is the smallest of all federal states. But you can look forward to really fine meters, continuous curves and lots of surprising moments. And that on roads with little traffic. These cross parts of the Hunsruck, the Saar-Nahe mountains and the foothills of the Palatinate Forest. The top spots along the route include the Saar loop near Mettlach, the replica of the Roman Villa Borg near Perl and the baroque old town of Blieskastel.

Stay:
Right on Schlossplatz in downtown St. Wendel, Le Journal is not only a cafe or taperia, but also a hostel. Ideally suited if you still want to explore the city on foot. From 43 euros (single room) or 64 euros (double room), the night’s rest is ushered in. The motorcycles are in the underground car park. Not far from the French border, towards the end of the route, the Hotel Bliesbruck is the place to go. The single rooms start at 49 euros, for two you make a bed from 73 euros. Breakfast is included. Further information: www.bliesbruck.de

Activities:
A really unusual zoo is Werner Freund’s Wolf Park in Merzig. Around 20 wolves are currently at home with him, and Freund lives as a wolf among the wolves. Entry to the park is free. More at www.wolfspark-wernerfreund.de. Friends of museum railways get their steam locomotive costs at www.museumsbahn-losheim.de or www.ostertalbahn.de. The most recent European history is presented by Schengen, the municipality in which the contract of the same name was concluded. Schengen in Luxembourg is connected to Perl, the starting point of the route, via the Moselle bridge. Information at www.schengen-tourist.lu

Maps / addresses:
Marco Polo card Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, 1: 200,000, 8.99 euros, www.touristinfo-saar.de, www.saarland.de, www.tourismus.saarland.de

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