The HIVE Tour - Episode 38 - Very Murhpy's Law on my goodbye to Essen and hello to Rheinland Pfalz

I pack my things here in beutifull Wittelsberg and get ready to leave this scenic region of Essen in Germany to move South West in Rheinland Pfalz. The weather is expected to be rainy (if not VERY rainy) so I keep my camera in my bag and wear my rain gear. I hate it but better dry than wet. I'm also low on fuel so I mark the closest fuel station on the map and set my route accordingly.

I want to say at this point that I found less gas stations in Germany than I expected. Though my bike has a very long range ( the pros of a large tank and a very efficient engine) there were a couple of times that I reached my limits as I tend to empty my tank before I fill it up.

I am on the same block with that fuel station here in Fronhausen where I face... this:

The Hive Tour - Episode 37 - Last day at Wittelsberg Essen Germany

What a sweet area this is but my time is running out here. So I take the chance for a last walk around in the woods as there's plenty of such choices. Today I pick this one walking South leaving the village of Wittelsberg behind me:

The Hive Tour - Episode 36 - Touring the beauties of Marburg

I have the luck to be staying just a few km away from Marburg which is the nearest city. Not a big city with a population of 80.000 people but big enough to worth the effort. I'm more than happy to find out that they have parking spots for motorcycles just outside the Philips University which is hosted in the following building:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 35 - One more palace in the heart of Germany

It's an overcast day here in the heart of Germany and as long as it's not raining I find it a great chance to explore the surroundings. You see, this is not just my longest trip (time wise at least so far) but also my coldest summer ever so whenever the weather doesn't really suck I feel obliged to "carpe diem".

So, here I am in my lovely neighbourhood for another walk around:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 34 - First walk around Wittelsberg @ Essen Germany

I wake up at this cute little village named Wittelsberg in the center of Germany on this not precisely warm summer morning but a bright day and a cute neighbourhood easily make up for this:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 33 - Goodbye Bavaria, hello Essen

What a rich area that is at Bayreuth and beyond. Just a week and brought me (and you) almost 10 posts! All good things come to an end though and now it's time to leave my beloved Bavaria behind to head West. Once again my friend Andreas leads my route via his recommendations and I'm more than happy to deviate in order to visit Pottenstein. With rock formations like this I love it instantly:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 32 - A 5km walk up to Bayreuth to visit its garden and palace

As my days here at St Johannis East of Bayreuth are not infinite I take the chance today to visit the city's center even though that's 5km away from the place I stay. However, it's a rather pleasant walk as it's a very pedestrian and cycle friendly route as you can see:

 

The Hive Tour - Episode 31 - NE Bavaria & NW Czech in one day

Knowing the right people is priceless and I couldn't have a better contact for my Bavarian days than my dear friend Andreas. I'm close to the end of my days here in Bayreuth and I will try to do as many places he has proposed around here as possible since who knows when I'll be back. Quite a challenge though as the whole area is an eye candy with endless sightseeing.

Number one on my way is Fichtel mountains. It's a nice ride up to there but the place is not exactly what I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, nothing bad about it, it's just that I thought I could ride part of it and then go back to my route for the rest while here you have to park your vehicle and continue on foot. And that's what I do:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 30d - The palace of palaces: Eremitage @ Bayreuth

Quite the walk around Bayreuth's Eremitage isn't it? 3 parts so far and not I'm done yet. In the previous (sub) Episode I covered the pool of this complex and now it's time to continue my walk North East in the woods.

If nothing else these beautiful trees are tall:

The HIVE Tour - Episode 30c - The palace of palaces: Eremitage @ Bayreuth

So far I have showed you around the Old and New Palace of the Eremitage here East of Bayreuth in Germany. I've shared the stunning beauty of both so now it's time for a little mysticism. North of the New Palace a few steps down is the "Dragon's hole":