The Odenwald Limes is famous for its stubborn straightness. For about eighty kilometres, from the Main near Miltenberg south to the Neckar near Neckarburken, the Romans drew their frontier almost as a ruler line across the wooded hills, ignoring valleys and ridges, and surveyors today still marvel at it. The watchtowers numbered 7/38 to 8/10 belong to this stretch, including a small fort, and the line here passes through the countryside around Buchen, in the Neckar-Odenwald district of Baden-Württemberg, a quiet region of beech forest, meadows and farms. The wooden towers of the first phase were later replaced by stone, and the palisade was supported by a bank and ditch that survive in the woods as a long, shallow trough.
A waymarked Limes trail follows the line for walkers and cyclists, with information boards at several points. A short distance away the pilgrimage town of Walldürn is known for the Holy Blood pilgrimage, which draws many people every year, and its great baroque basilica stands out in the landscape. The frontier here is part of the UNESCO Upper German-Raetian Limes.
For riders the Odenwald is one of the favourite regions in southern Germany. The roads climb and fall over forested ridges, with long bends and good surfaces, and the traffic is moderate on weekdays. Weekends in summer bring many motorcyclists, and there are speed limits and noise restrictions on some stretches, with cameras at the usual trouble spots. The winter brings cold, and the hills can have ice and snow. Spring and early autumn are the best times, with clear air and green or golden woods.
Buchen is a small town with nearly nineteen thousand people across its villages, with fuel stations, supermarkets, inns and bakeries, about six kilometres away, and the larger towns of Mosbach and Miltenberg are within a short ride. The local dishes include Bauland produce, with spelt, known there as Grünkern, the unripe dried spelt that is used in soups and patties. Keep to the public roads, since many forest tracks along the Limes are closed to vehicles, and bring a map for the walks. Shade is plentiful in summer, but so are flies.