sagalout
Registered user
I’ve been taking the kids on motorbike tours for 4 years now, since the were 13. Whilst my daughter is more interested in the views and the destination, hence the trip to Lake Como last year, my son shares an interest in Europe’s military past.
We did Flanders and then went down to Normandy in 2012, but this time he wanted to go to Germany, in part to practise his German which he’s going to be doing at A level next year. He’s also fascinated by the Battle of Waterloo, so a route started to come together to head to Germany via Waterloo and Bastogne, taking in the Mosel, the Technical Museum at Speyer before heading north to the Dam Busters area and then back via Amsterdam. Not a huge daily mileage as there’s quite a lot of museums to fit in, but some nice roads with as little motorway as possible.
So, bike loaded up, and with a fresh pair of TKC70’s on, and we headed off for the Ferry at Hull. I’d got some vouchers to get a free upgrade to Club class and have to say that’s a revelation compared to the normal bunks! TV in the room, stocked mini bar, proper windows and a bit of actual space! The crossing was smooth and we woke up nice and refreshed at the other side, but bloody hell it was hot!
IMG_9251 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9262 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
The first stop was Waterloo, which did require a bit of a motorway blast as we had a lot to fit in today, but only about 90 mins worth. We reached the town of Waterloo and visited the Wellington museum, which is set up in what was the headquarters of the Duke of Wellington. I didn’t know much about it beforehand, but this is a pretty good museum, with a lot of background to the battle in the audio guides, and plenty of exhibits. Jake was fascinated by it all - he’s read countless books and played the battle out in strategy video games, so to be in the place it all actually happened was great. We then went down to where the battle too place, which was about 5KM down the road. There’s a huge memorial at the top of a massive mound which, in 30 degree heat and full bike gear was quite a challenge in itself. The panoramas from the top were well worth it though.
IMG_9264 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9276 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9280 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Today was a bit of a rush so it was ‘lunch’ in a service station before heading to Bastogne via the excellent roads around Huy and the Ardenne. I’d previously visited the main war museum on another tour, so this time we thought we’d do the 101st Airborne Museum which is in the actual town itself. This is a small, but excellent museum full of memorabilia and lots of staged scenes that had been setup to recreate photos from the time, but using actual clothing and weapons. If you ever visit, don’t miss the basement were they recreate a house in Bastogne as the battle wages above - probably the noisiest museum I’ve ever been in.
IMG_9291 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9292 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
After that we headed out of the town (after posing for a picture by the Sherman Tank!) in search of the preserved fox holes of Easy Company. These aren’t especially well sign posted (I didn’t even know they existed on my first trip here) but walking through the woods, knowing that this is where all that horror took place was pretty earie. The fox holes themselves were dotted all around, but there was a big concentration of them along the perimeter to the road. They aren’t preserved in the way that, say, Hill 62 ones are - they just haven’t been filled in.
IMG_9311 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9309 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Time was getting on, so we headed off to the first hotel stop at Erst Sur Sure in Luxembourg. I didn’t even realise when we booked it that this place was part of the Motorcycle Hotels group in Europe, so we received a warm welcome and secure parking (not that you need it here!). The village itself was beautiful, set up a steep hill, almost like a castle. The first beers of the day were most welcome, and we had a great meal with a terrific view
IMG_9326 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9333 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
P1020177 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Day two was all about the riding and the roads, with a plan to ride via the Mosel to Speyer. No motorways today at all, and the Mosel looked stunning in blue skies. Luckily we’d brought mesh motorcycle clothing so at least whilst the bike was moving we remained pretty cool as the temps rose above 30 again. We meandered down the Mosel for about 75KM, stopping at Cochem for a lunch of Curry Wurst (has to be done!).
IMG_9341 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
P1020248 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9344 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9350 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Then it was all minor roads all the way to Speyer (total mileage about 375KM) where we checked into the Ibis. Speyer seemed nice for a city, and we walked into town for a decent meal and couple of of beers.
IMG_9366 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9363 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Next morning we decided go for a quick look round the Cathedral before the big Technical Museum. This was well worth it, and we paid the extra couple of Euros to look around the crypt, which houses it seems pretty much all the medieval kings and queens of of Germany!
IMG_9359 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
We headed over to the Speyer Technical museum for about 10am. This is an amazing place, with full size aircraft, U Boats, cars, bike and even a Space Shuttle, most of which you can climb in and around. Highlights were the 747, which is suspended on massive poles and you can walk out onto the wing, the U Boat, which is incredibly claustrophobic and the Space Shuttle, but there were some stunning cars and bikes, and the Space exhibition, which is the biggest in the world apparently, was also fascinating with lots of original Apollo exhibits.
IMG_9423 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9398 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9396 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9395 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9441 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9432 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9472 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9474 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
We spent about 5 hours here and could have spent more, but we had 200 miles to ride to the next hotel in the Sauerland area, so we hit the road at about 3:30pm. Just as we set off the heavens opened and it was biblical rain nearly the whole way. We had about 170 miles of motorways followed by an excellent 30 miles around some stunning twists….or they would have been in dry conditions! Luckily the waterproofs did an excellent job and we arrived at the hotel, which was a typical german guesthouse where they serve a great set meal (no choice of menu, but we’re not fussy eaters). I really liked this hotel as it was so warm and friendly, also it turned out to be another bike friendly one with a barn to lock the bike away in.
P1020347 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9513 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9502 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Next morning, after another breakfast of meats and cheeses, we began our tour of the Dams, beginning with the Eder. The roads around this area are really excellent - a bit like the Eiffel region with some tight twisties but excellent condition. We stopped at the Eder, one of the breached Dams, but unfortunately the museum was closed
IMG_9519 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9525 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9521 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
On route to the Mohne we wanted to visit Castle Wewelsberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wewelsburg) which was the headquarters of the SS in WW2. This was a fascinating place, with a real air of menace about it, especially the crypt, which whilst never completed, houses what was to be an eternal flame and has a very satanic feel to it. There is a very thorough museum detailing the history of the castle and the SS, and also the concentration camp that was in the grounds. This whole area was planned to be ‘ground zero’ for the Nazi ideology.
IMG_9536 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9670 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
After leaving here we carried on to the Mohne where we came across a couple of other English bikers. The Mohne was the primary target in the Dams raids (although history suggests it shouldn’t have been as the Sorpe would have been much more devastating). I was lucky enough last year to get a taxi ride in a Lancaster (Just Jane) so in my head I was trying to tie in that memory, to standing on the Dam and imagining the Lancasters coming in at 60 feet. There’s a memorial to the people (mostly forced labourers) that died when the dam was breached, and it’s a strange feeling to both appreciate the bravery and ingenuity of the raid, but also get a feeling of the sheer scale of what must have been unleashed with the dam was breached.
IMG_9551 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9550 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9556 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9561 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
After that we headed off to the Sorpe dam where the next hotel was. Again, this was a lovely area - the Dam is bloody huge and felt more like a vast lake, with the hotel having a nice view of it.
IMG_9570 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9573 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
The next day was travelling to Amsterdam, but taking in Arnhem on the way. I don’t know much about Market Garden, other than vague memories of ‘A Bridge Too Far’ but the Airborne museum at Oosterbook did a great job of educating us. This museum is based in what was the British headquarters (heavily featured in the film) and is well worth a visit, with a mix of real exhibits and some impressive dioramas. We spent a couple of hours here before heading off the nearby cemetery where all those brave soldiers are buried.
IMG_9604 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9585 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9584 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9621 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9614 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
From here we headed towards Amsterdam on the country roads, but to be honest it seems that the Netherlands doesn’t have much in the way of good biking roads! We arrived at the Hotel Arena that evening to find that the car park was dug up. As Amsterdam is apparently the motorcycle theft capital of Europe, they suggested that I parked it at the nearby hospital secure car park. Unfortunately after riding down the ramp is seems that their system doesn’t recognise bikes, and as a car followed me down I found myself stuck! I managed to get in by piggy backing in on the car, but was then told bikes weren’t allowed, so had to go back to the hotel. Luckily they were pretty accommodating and constucted some of the building works around my bike and locked it up for me.
IMG_9672 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
The next day was a day off the bike in sunny Amsterdam. It was a bit of a culture shock after spending a week in relatively remove and quiet villages. I’d booked a Sandemans Free Walking Tour. I always like to do these tours as they give you a good insight into a city in a short space of time, and as the guides are only paid on tips, they tend to be better and more entertaining that the normal paid ones. It was a great 3 hour tour which included the red light district (cue embarrassed 16 year old son!) and the 9 streets area, ending up at the Ann Frank house (which we didn’t do after seeing the queues!).
IMG_9644 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9654 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9650 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9659 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Had a nice lunch before heading off toward Vondel Park, which was a nice antidote to the bustling city. That evening we had a ‘blow out’ meal at a place just around the corner. 5 course tasting meal and a bottle of wine - nice way to end the trip in Europe!
IMG_9664 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9673 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9679 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
The next day we were heading back to Zeebrugge, but managed to pop in to Steenbergen on the way, which is the final resting place of Guy Gibson - seemed an apt way to tie the trip up. They are the only war graves in the cemetery and seem out of place somehow.
IMG_9685 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Then it was a quick dash over to Bruges, where we spent the afternoon eating Crepes and killing time before heading for the ferry and another smooth crossing home and a complimentary voucher for a glass of champagne in the room!
IMG_9706 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9702 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9710 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
IMG_9711 by Dave Wrightson, on Flickr
Overall a really excellent trip - some great roads, not too many motorways, the bike was faultless again (this was it’s 4th Euro trip), learned quite a lot, saw some great sights and it was nice to spend time with my son now that he’s getting towards University age!
We did Flanders and then went down to Normandy in 2012, but this time he wanted to go to Germany, in part to practise his German which he’s going to be doing at A level next year. He’s also fascinated by the Battle of Waterloo, so a route started to come together to head to Germany via Waterloo and Bastogne, taking in the Mosel, the Technical Museum at Speyer before heading north to the Dam Busters area and then back via Amsterdam. Not a huge daily mileage as there’s quite a lot of museums to fit in, but some nice roads with as little motorway as possible.
So, bike loaded up, and with a fresh pair of TKC70’s on, and we headed off for the Ferry at Hull. I’d got some vouchers to get a free upgrade to Club class and have to say that’s a revelation compared to the normal bunks! TV in the room, stocked mini bar, proper windows and a bit of actual space! The crossing was smooth and we woke up nice and refreshed at the other side, but bloody hell it was hot!
IMG_9251 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9262 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrThe first stop was Waterloo, which did require a bit of a motorway blast as we had a lot to fit in today, but only about 90 mins worth. We reached the town of Waterloo and visited the Wellington museum, which is set up in what was the headquarters of the Duke of Wellington. I didn’t know much about it beforehand, but this is a pretty good museum, with a lot of background to the battle in the audio guides, and plenty of exhibits. Jake was fascinated by it all - he’s read countless books and played the battle out in strategy video games, so to be in the place it all actually happened was great. We then went down to where the battle too place, which was about 5KM down the road. There’s a huge memorial at the top of a massive mound which, in 30 degree heat and full bike gear was quite a challenge in itself. The panoramas from the top were well worth it though.
IMG_9264 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9276 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9280 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrToday was a bit of a rush so it was ‘lunch’ in a service station before heading to Bastogne via the excellent roads around Huy and the Ardenne. I’d previously visited the main war museum on another tour, so this time we thought we’d do the 101st Airborne Museum which is in the actual town itself. This is a small, but excellent museum full of memorabilia and lots of staged scenes that had been setup to recreate photos from the time, but using actual clothing and weapons. If you ever visit, don’t miss the basement were they recreate a house in Bastogne as the battle wages above - probably the noisiest museum I’ve ever been in.
IMG_9291 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9292 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrAfter that we headed out of the town (after posing for a picture by the Sherman Tank!) in search of the preserved fox holes of Easy Company. These aren’t especially well sign posted (I didn’t even know they existed on my first trip here) but walking through the woods, knowing that this is where all that horror took place was pretty earie. The fox holes themselves were dotted all around, but there was a big concentration of them along the perimeter to the road. They aren’t preserved in the way that, say, Hill 62 ones are - they just haven’t been filled in.
IMG_9311 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9309 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrTime was getting on, so we headed off to the first hotel stop at Erst Sur Sure in Luxembourg. I didn’t even realise when we booked it that this place was part of the Motorcycle Hotels group in Europe, so we received a warm welcome and secure parking (not that you need it here!). The village itself was beautiful, set up a steep hill, almost like a castle. The first beers of the day were most welcome, and we had a great meal with a terrific view
IMG_9326 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9333 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrP1020177 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrDay two was all about the riding and the roads, with a plan to ride via the Mosel to Speyer. No motorways today at all, and the Mosel looked stunning in blue skies. Luckily we’d brought mesh motorcycle clothing so at least whilst the bike was moving we remained pretty cool as the temps rose above 30 again. We meandered down the Mosel for about 75KM, stopping at Cochem for a lunch of Curry Wurst (has to be done!).
IMG_9341 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrP1020248 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9344 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9350 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrThen it was all minor roads all the way to Speyer (total mileage about 375KM) where we checked into the Ibis. Speyer seemed nice for a city, and we walked into town for a decent meal and couple of of beers.
IMG_9366 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9363 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrNext morning we decided go for a quick look round the Cathedral before the big Technical Museum. This was well worth it, and we paid the extra couple of Euros to look around the crypt, which houses it seems pretty much all the medieval kings and queens of of Germany!
IMG_9359 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrWe headed over to the Speyer Technical museum for about 10am. This is an amazing place, with full size aircraft, U Boats, cars, bike and even a Space Shuttle, most of which you can climb in and around. Highlights were the 747, which is suspended on massive poles and you can walk out onto the wing, the U Boat, which is incredibly claustrophobic and the Space Shuttle, but there were some stunning cars and bikes, and the Space exhibition, which is the biggest in the world apparently, was also fascinating with lots of original Apollo exhibits.
IMG_9423 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9398 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9396 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9395 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9441 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9432 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9472 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9474 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrWe spent about 5 hours here and could have spent more, but we had 200 miles to ride to the next hotel in the Sauerland area, so we hit the road at about 3:30pm. Just as we set off the heavens opened and it was biblical rain nearly the whole way. We had about 170 miles of motorways followed by an excellent 30 miles around some stunning twists….or they would have been in dry conditions! Luckily the waterproofs did an excellent job and we arrived at the hotel, which was a typical german guesthouse where they serve a great set meal (no choice of menu, but we’re not fussy eaters). I really liked this hotel as it was so warm and friendly, also it turned out to be another bike friendly one with a barn to lock the bike away in.
P1020347 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9513 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9502 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrNext morning, after another breakfast of meats and cheeses, we began our tour of the Dams, beginning with the Eder. The roads around this area are really excellent - a bit like the Eiffel region with some tight twisties but excellent condition. We stopped at the Eder, one of the breached Dams, but unfortunately the museum was closed
IMG_9519 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9525 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9521 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrOn route to the Mohne we wanted to visit Castle Wewelsberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wewelsburg) which was the headquarters of the SS in WW2. This was a fascinating place, with a real air of menace about it, especially the crypt, which whilst never completed, houses what was to be an eternal flame and has a very satanic feel to it. There is a very thorough museum detailing the history of the castle and the SS, and also the concentration camp that was in the grounds. This whole area was planned to be ‘ground zero’ for the Nazi ideology.
IMG_9536 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9670 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrAfter leaving here we carried on to the Mohne where we came across a couple of other English bikers. The Mohne was the primary target in the Dams raids (although history suggests it shouldn’t have been as the Sorpe would have been much more devastating). I was lucky enough last year to get a taxi ride in a Lancaster (Just Jane) so in my head I was trying to tie in that memory, to standing on the Dam and imagining the Lancasters coming in at 60 feet. There’s a memorial to the people (mostly forced labourers) that died when the dam was breached, and it’s a strange feeling to both appreciate the bravery and ingenuity of the raid, but also get a feeling of the sheer scale of what must have been unleashed with the dam was breached.
IMG_9551 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9550 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9556 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9561 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrAfter that we headed off to the Sorpe dam where the next hotel was. Again, this was a lovely area - the Dam is bloody huge and felt more like a vast lake, with the hotel having a nice view of it.
IMG_9570 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9573 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrThe next day was travelling to Amsterdam, but taking in Arnhem on the way. I don’t know much about Market Garden, other than vague memories of ‘A Bridge Too Far’ but the Airborne museum at Oosterbook did a great job of educating us. This museum is based in what was the British headquarters (heavily featured in the film) and is well worth a visit, with a mix of real exhibits and some impressive dioramas. We spent a couple of hours here before heading off the nearby cemetery where all those brave soldiers are buried.
IMG_9604 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9585 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9584 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9621 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9614 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrFrom here we headed towards Amsterdam on the country roads, but to be honest it seems that the Netherlands doesn’t have much in the way of good biking roads! We arrived at the Hotel Arena that evening to find that the car park was dug up. As Amsterdam is apparently the motorcycle theft capital of Europe, they suggested that I parked it at the nearby hospital secure car park. Unfortunately after riding down the ramp is seems that their system doesn’t recognise bikes, and as a car followed me down I found myself stuck! I managed to get in by piggy backing in on the car, but was then told bikes weren’t allowed, so had to go back to the hotel. Luckily they were pretty accommodating and constucted some of the building works around my bike and locked it up for me.
IMG_9672 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrThe next day was a day off the bike in sunny Amsterdam. It was a bit of a culture shock after spending a week in relatively remove and quiet villages. I’d booked a Sandemans Free Walking Tour. I always like to do these tours as they give you a good insight into a city in a short space of time, and as the guides are only paid on tips, they tend to be better and more entertaining that the normal paid ones. It was a great 3 hour tour which included the red light district (cue embarrassed 16 year old son!) and the 9 streets area, ending up at the Ann Frank house (which we didn’t do after seeing the queues!).
IMG_9644 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9654 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9650 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9659 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrHad a nice lunch before heading off toward Vondel Park, which was a nice antidote to the bustling city. That evening we had a ‘blow out’ meal at a place just around the corner. 5 course tasting meal and a bottle of wine - nice way to end the trip in Europe!
IMG_9664 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9673 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9679 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrThe next day we were heading back to Zeebrugge, but managed to pop in to Steenbergen on the way, which is the final resting place of Guy Gibson - seemed an apt way to tie the trip up. They are the only war graves in the cemetery and seem out of place somehow.
IMG_9685 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrThen it was a quick dash over to Bruges, where we spent the afternoon eating Crepes and killing time before heading for the ferry and another smooth crossing home and a complimentary voucher for a glass of champagne in the room!
IMG_9706 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9702 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9710 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrIMG_9711 by Dave Wrightson, on FlickrOverall a really excellent trip - some great roads, not too many motorways, the bike was faultless again (this was it’s 4th Euro trip), learned quite a lot, saw some great sights and it was nice to spend time with my son now that he’s getting towards University age!
