Around Saarland

Starting from Überherrn, the Saar-Lor-Lux route, the Bistal-Bliesgau route, the Alsace route as well as the Lorraine route begin. Each alone is a good reason to spend a few days in the border region.

The "Around Saarland – route" is especially suitable to get an introduction to this so German region with its so French character.

We start in Überherrn – at the town hall on the main street. First, we turn left at the roundabout and then head northward up the hill to Berus. Here, we follow the signs to the "Europe Monument" and are already 120m above the Saar valley on the so-called Saargau. From here, there is a wide view over the Saar valley as well as the Lorraine hilly landscape.

We continue on the small road past the St. Oranna chapel and turn left on L351 towards Ittersdorf. Passing the French transmitter Europe 1, easily recognizable by the tall masts, we go to Ittersdorf. By the way, the French transmitter stands on German soil – actually quite normal for the people of Saarland.

In Ittersdorf, we turn left onto the country road L405 towards Thionville. We follow it for about 3 km, passing the former customs house on the left, down to the small French village of Schreckling. At the lowest point of the valley, we turn immediately right after the roundabout towards Leiding. Those who observe the border stones on the right and left of the road and the license plates of parked cars just before Leiding (in German: Leidingen) will notice that the right side of the street is German and the left side is French. We are on the "Neutral Street" in the German part of Leidingen: nothing new for the Saarlanders in daily border traffic.

In Leidingen, turn right at the intersection into the Ihner Bach valley. We ride on L354 to Niedaltdorf - Ihn. In Ihn, we turn right onto L355 towards Dillingen, Wallerfangen and climb the Saargau again, passing through Rammelfangen just before Gisingen. Here, we turn left northwards onto L352 towards Hemmersdorf. We continue about 2 km on this beautiful road until we reach L171 and turn right towards Saarlouis. After 500m, turn left down to Hemmersdorf. In town, follow the main street and finally turn right towards Gerlfangen, Fürweiler. We cross the Nied river, keep left, and follow L356.

Over a hairpin bend, we go up the Saargau for another three kilometers on winding roads to Fürweiler. In Fürweiler, we turn right towards Gerlfangen. We ride to the sports field and immediately turn left behind it towards Waldwisse on L172.

We stay on the German side and follow this road over Oberesch to the border town of Biringen. Those who want and have space in their tank bag can stock up on “homemade” products at the Pehlinger Hof farm shop beforehand.

In Biringen, we keep right towards Silwingen. We are now on the Viez road (Viez is the regional apple wine, which can be drunk both cold and hot – with cinnamon and sugar).

Before Silwingen, L172 turns left and so do we, heading towards Thionville, Waldwisse. After about 1000m, we turn right onto L173 towards Merzig, Hilbringen. After 200m we turn left again and follow the narrow asphalt road winding down to Büdingen. Those interested can visit the sculpture project "Stones on the Border" in between.

In Büdingen, we keep left and drive always downhill to L170. Now turn left again towards Wellingen. We’re still on the Viez road. Continuing on L170 through Wehingen to Tünsdorf. Here, we go half-right onto L178 to Orscholz. In the center of Orscholz, turn right towards the "Cloef-Saar loop" on L177. At the roundabout, take the second exit and drive to the “Cloef” parking lot. Here you have the opportunity to enjoy a café in the "Bistro Mirabell" and after a five-minute walk, visit the Saar loop. Those who want to drive up to the Saar loop itself take the road to the right in front of the parking lot and follow the signs.

A majestic view awaits the motorcyclist: the Saar, the forest, the basement rock. And who hasn't been here: Friedrich Wilhelm, King of Prussia, Oskar Lafontaine from Saarland, Jacques Chirac from France, Lech Kaczynski from Poland, Angela Merkel and of course us with our biker friend Max Mustermann...

Back on the bikes, we start the engines, ride back into town to the roundabout, and take the first exit towards Mettlach. We steer east through Lutwinus forest to L176 and turn right onto Eichenlaubstraße, down to the Saar at Mettlach.

Mettlach is the porcelain metropolis of Saarland and shaped by the Derer family of Villeroy and Boch. Also here applies: those who still have room in their tank bag bring their loved one a porcelain treasure or better: come back sometime with a large vehicle. Until then, we cross the Saar, keep right at the roundabout, and pass under Saaruferstraße. After about 300m, we turn left onto L158 towards Losheim, Weiskirchen.

After about 2-3 km, we turn left again onto L375 towards Weiskirchen, Britten, and ride through the Black Forest highlands on Eichenlaubstraße. This wooded area already belongs to the Hunsrück and is the highest (in meters above sea level) that Saarland has to offer.

We pass through Britten, turn right onto B268 towards Bergen, Weiskirchen, then after three kilometers, turn half-left onto L373 towards Weiskirchen. Now we pass through the "Hohwäller" villages Bergen and Scheiden (Hohwäller = Hochwälder: Moselle Franconian dialect, barely understandable for a south Saarlander).

At the entrance to Waldhölzbach, at the hairpin bend near the cemetery, we turn sharply right. The route is narrow and winding, leading through forest, meadows, and fields south to just before Losheim.

Those who want to take a break at Losheim reservoir turn right at the end of the road and are guided by signs over about one kilometer to the reservoir and the brewpub with hotel.

Others also keep right and drive onto B268 east towards Saarbrücken. Passing Münchweiler (with Schloss-Hotel Münchweiler and Castle Café), we go to Nunkirchen. At the Nunkirchen roundabout, follow B268 south towards Saarbrücken, Schmelz. After about 10 km on the well-developed road, turn left at the Aral gas station towards Theley, Hasborn.

Heading north initially along the valley of the Prims river. At Limbach entrance, we cross the Prims and continue on L145 northeast. Passing through Neipel and Scheuern to Dörsdorf. There, turn left and continue on L145 to Hasborn in Schaumberger Land.

Here, follow the main street towards Theley and pass through the village of Leitzweiler. Arriving at Theley, turn right towards St. Wendel. Then follow signs to Schaumberg bath and finally to Schaumberg itself. An observation tower is currently (05/2012) being extensively renovated with a platform, offering a wonderful view over the Tholey - St. Wendel region. The mountain is considered the home mountain of the Saarlanders, although it is not the highest elevation in the region.

From here, we drive back past Theley northwards towards Oberthal. Before Seelbach, turn right onto L134 and ride into the Blies valley (which springs here shortly before Seelbach). Passing Gronig, Oberhal, Bliesen, we reach St. Wendel.

The old town of St. Wendel with the Wendelinus Basilica and its picturesque streets is worth a stop. By the way, according to legend, St. Wendelin was said to be the brother of Oranna, whose chapel we passed early morning in Berus.

Whoever is hungry will be well served midday or evening at the cult restaurant "Zum Ochsen" at Balduinstraße 40. The rustic venue has existed since 1620 and was formerly a butcher’s shop, easily recognizable by the interior fittings.

And another tip: We go a bit further east on L307 over Balduinstraße and Ostertalstraße and reach the Wendelinushof after about four kilometers. This is a former monastery complex of the Steyler missionaries. Today it is a model agricultural operation where mainly disabled people work. Beer garden, farm shop, and farm kitchen with continuously warm food invite visitors all day long.

We continue on this road further east towards Niederkirchen, Saal, and finally reach the Oster valley on B420. Here we turn right and steer bikes south. Shortly before Fürth, turn right onto L121, pass through Fürth and follow the Ostertal. Then, at a sharp angle, turn left towards Bexbach, Münchwies. We follow signs and pass through Frankenholz and Oberbexbach. In Bexbach itself, we take the first exit right at the roundabout towards Neunkirchen, drive on L115, then after 200m turn left onto L121.

We follow this road and cross the A6 motorway (Saarbrücken-Mannheim). Then we ride through the town of Altstadt on L121. We cross the Blies river and turn immediately left. After 500 m on L119, at a roundabout (first exit towards St. Ingbert) turn right, then after 100 m again left before the traffic light towards Wörschweiler onto L222.

We follow L222 towards Blieskastel, crossing the A8 motorway until finally reaching Wörschweiler on L111. Here we turn right and ride along the Blies valley towards Bierbach, Blieskastel. In Lautzkirchen, we turn left again onto L113 and ride towards Blieskastel center.

The Blies is the longest river in Saarland and gives both the baroque town of Blieskastel and the Bliesgau region with the biosphere reserve its name.

Who wants to, can take a short break in the middle of the town center on the charming “Paradeplatz”. The bikes can be parked right next to the cafés.

We leave Blieskastel heading southwest and follow the signs: Mandelbachtal, Saargemünd, Saarbrücken. The B423 goes up to the Bliesgau.

The St. Anna church in Biesingen is still visible from afar today. And this is only because some Biesingen residents stole the explosives from the tower on the night of March 15, 1945. The SS guards wanted to blow up the tower along with the surrounding houses so that it would not serve as a landmark for the American artillery. Well, the American troops found their way a few days later even without destroying the church.

We pass through Biesingen and at the Assweiler roundabout take the second exit towards Ommersheim on L107. Continuing through Mandelbachtal until we turn left onto L108 towards Saarbrücken, Ensheim. We now drive parallel to the runway of Ensheim airport. Further downwards towards Fechingen.

In Fechingen, we keep right and then take the A620 motorway towards Saarbrücken because we want to visit the state capital. About 5 km of urban motorway along the Saar lie ahead of us.

Already from the motorway, on the right we see the most idyllic and largest beer garden of Saarbrücken: the Staden. To get to the other Saar bank here, we turn right “Exit Bismarckbrücke,” cross the Saar, and take two immediate right turns (Bismarckstraße, Obere Lauerfahrt). At the Saarbrücken Staden facility, we stop at the popular Ulanen Pavillon. Here, the people of Saarbrücken enjoy the sun with beer and pretzels under shady plane trees. A place to relax and philosophize.

After a break, the way leads back to the other side of the Saar. For this, we continue on the street “Am Staden,” turn left at its end into Heinrich Böcking Str. and follow it 400m into town to B51: Mainzer Straße. Here, we turn right, drive past the Etap Hotel until we see “Burger King.” Here, turn right towards Großmarkt, motorway. We cross the Saar again (over the Ostspangen Bridge) and take the first exit right at the roundabout onto the motorway A620, towards Luxembourg.

After about 8 km of urban motorway over the main artery of Saarland's industrial culture, we take exit No. 11 “Saarbrücken-Klarenthal.” After the exit, we follow this road and turn left at the second traffic light towards Großrosseln, Ludweiler. Now it goes uphill first on L163.

Then downhill through the forest, until after 6-7 km we reach the former Velsen mine. A stop here is worthwhile in the “Kaffeekisch.” This is what the canteen of the Velsen mine is called. It has survived Saarland mining and here mining history is authentic and tangible. Time seems to have stood still. Attention: self-service! Right next door is the visitor mine. However, booking in advance is required.

We continue to the next roundabout. We take the first exit and drive through the Rossel valley on L164 to the traffic light. Now turn left on L165. We pass through Ludweiler and about 2-3 km after leaving town, turn right uphill onto L279 towards Überherrn, Warndt-Weier. Now we traverse the Warndt forest on winding roads. At the end of the forest, the beer garden of the Romantic Hotel and Estate Linsler Hof or at the town hall the beer garden of Chapeau Noir invite us to a well-deserved cold drink.

We are back in Überherrn. The odometer shows almost 280 km. It's a pity we can’t make as many coffee breaks as there are idyllic, rustic, and interesting places in Saarland.