Meister Radelbar in the Franconian Lake District

There are 186 bicycle parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of the railway station.

Take a look at the city map in one of the information display cases on the right-hand side of the station forecourt. This will help you familiarise yourself with the route of the first stage through the town's old town centre, which is well worth seeing.

From Gunzenhausen railway station, it first leads to Bahnhofstraße. Keep left there.

At the second set of traffic lights, the route turns right along Gerberstraße and then curves directly across the town hall and market square.

Then turn left onto the promenade and head towards the first stork's nest on the tour.

If you have not come with your own bike, you can hire one in the town. In this case, we recommend walking the kilometre or so to the first stork's nest.

From there, it is only 200 metres to the Zweirad-Center Gruber bike hire shop on Weißenburger Straße.

At the cycle path signpost at the town hall, you can get an overview of the entire route of the cycle path.

Radsport Gruber rents out bicycles, e-bikes, rickshaws and accessories directly on Seestraße at the Altmühlsee - whether for a sporty, ambitious ride or a leisurely excursion.

You drive back a little way, via the short path to the Altmühl you reach the promenade.

The old malthouse stands on the promenade above the Altmühl. High up on the chimney of the former malthouse sits the first stork nest in Gunzenhausen. An information board explains details about the life of Master Adebar. With a bit of luck, you can even take a look inside the stork's nest. A webcam transmits its images directly to the nearby "Zum Storchennest" restaurant.

From the Storchenhorst at the former malthouse, follow the "Meister Radelbar" cycle path in a southerly direction until you leave Gunzenhausen.

At the roundabout, go straight on towards Weißenburg and after about 700 metres turn left onto the cycle path to Oberasbach.

There you turn right at a small lake. The road to Oberasbach leads uphill for about 50 metres, but runs relatively straight ahead. In Oberasbach, turn right towards Unterasbach until you reach the church of St. Michael.

The Protestant-Lutheran church of St Michael stands as a landmark exposed above the village of Unterasbach on a hill on the Michelsbuck. From here, there is a wide view over the Altmühl valley.

A legend explains the unusual location of the church, which is remote from the village. It is said that the church was supposed to have been built in the village. However, what had been built during the day always appeared on the heights overnight. According to legend, this hint from God meant that the church was finally completed at the top.

Well, how many storks have you seen circling so far? Keep your eyes peeled, because as you continue downhill, you will always have a wonderful view of the Franconian Lake District.

At St Michael's Church, follow the signs in an easterly direction. From Dornhausen, you will be drawn southwards like the storks towards the end of summer.

The route continues through open fields to Gundelsheim. Here, the unusual Art Nouveau church of St Bartholomew is not the only thing that invites you to take a short break. The storks on the roof of a private house at the Theilenhofen junction are also worth a detour.

Continue along the local road to Alesheim. From Alesheim, follow the "Meister Radelbar" cycle path.

On well-gravelled field paths through the scenic, wide plain of the Altmühl, you head towards Trommetsheim.

Shortly before the village, you meet the local road again and follow it into the village. In the centre of the village, next to the Raiffeisenbank, the Trommetsheim storks are waiting for you on the chimney of the former dairy.

Trommetsheim has been home to storks for a long time. Their nest in the centre of the village has a long tradition. A stork host has adorned the former dairy chimney for decades. And so the birds are certainly grateful to the citizens of the village who were able to prevent the imminent demolition of the chimney years ago and preserve the long-term nesting site.

If you can tear yourself away from the Storchenhorst in Trommetsheim, look for the sign for the "Meister Radelbar" cycle path (MR3), which you want to follow. Continue right towards the church square.

The route now leads you about 1 km out of Trommetsheim and for a good six kilometres on country lanes and partly on the Tauber-Altmühl cycle path to Windsfeld.

Here the Meister Radelbar cycle path crosses the Altmühl with the Roman road, then (only after) about 700 metres on the Tauber-Altmühl cycle path, but this does not end in Windsfeld, but we follow it to Gunzenhausen.

Once in Windsfeld, cycle straight into the village to pay a short visit to the eyrie on the roof of the "Schwarzer Adler" restaurant.

Shortly after the church, turn left and head out of the village again.

After a few hundred metres, cross the state road and cycle parallel to the railway tracks to Aha, partly on the Tauber-Altmühl cycle path again. Once there, head for the margrave church.

The Margrave Church of the Holy Cross in Aha is a hall church built in 1721 by Carl Friedrich von Zocha according to plans by Gabriel de Gabrieli in the so-called Margrave style. The three-storey church tower by Johann David Steingruber is crowned by a domed helmet with a spire. Its basement is the only remnant of the previous building.

Have you spotted it yet? There is another stork's nest right next door on the vicarage. After the church, turn left and follow the Tauber-Altmühl cycle path back to Gunzenhausen and the starting point.

Have you actually counted? How many storks did you encounter on your tour of the Franconian Lake District today and how many nests did you see?