Day 2: Franconian Water Wheel Route - 2

From Rossano Hotel in Sachsen near Ansbach, we set off at 10:30 am after a delicious breakfast with homemade rolls and sweet chocolate croissants. After just a few kilometers, we reached the Hofgarten Ansbach - a well-maintained garden with many colorful flowers. This invited us to take some group photos. The weather was also on our side :-), which is not always the case. We continued cycling, as the clouds gradually darkened. When we tackled the climb to Burg Colmberg in Colmberg, we were almost at the top and had to decide whether to continue cycling up to the castle or to stop for a small refreshment at the estate restaurant. Our gut feeling prevailed, so we decided to stop at the restaurant. As a precaution, we also parked our bicycles under a small shelter next to the restaurant's outdoor area to protect them from the weather. After about 3 minutes of sitting, it became clear that we had made the right decisions: It suddenly started pouring rain, thunderstorming, and even hailing. We took refuge inside the inn. We enjoyed fried potatoes with vegetables and cheese spaetzle there :-))

At one point, we lost track of the water wheel route a bit, as its signage was not always optimal. We found it again before Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We cycled through the Frankenhöhe Nature Park for a while (up and down steep hills) before completing a final climb just before Rothenburg. We definitely deserved the shower at the 'Der goldene Hirsch' hotel. The hotel still had its charm from times long gone in some places, but the rooms were very modern. In the evening, we explored the beautiful city center of Rothenburg, enjoyed baked potatoes with Yuppie sauce, and had local beer at a student brewery (Landwehr Bräu).

Data for the 2nd stage:

Distance: 52.0 km

Travel time: 3:45h

Average speed: 13.8 km/h

Max speed: 37.7 km/h

Elevation gain: 392 m