Me and the missus were invited by German friends to a BIG birthday so I thought we'd take the Jaaaaazz. We've been previously on fly drives but not together all the way since we did it on my R60/6 back in the middle ages.
As I get wi fi, i'll post a brief report with whatever info might be helpful to folks.
We took the ferry from Newcastle on Sunday. An uneventful run dow the 697 and a stop off at the ever excellent Maelmin for lunch. Near Morpeth... Bugger!!! The TPS alarm went indicating low pressure. I pull over and got the old fashioned sensor out but false alarm! It's the new front tyres I put on before the trip. I've already reset the system once but will leave the warning glowering at me until I get back.
A meal on the ferry in the posh restaurant and a very decent bottle of Red for only 20 Euros sets us up for the night.
Ok. So the top tip for coming out of Ijmuiden into Germany is to avoid the A2. We ended up stuck in a stau for ages. They'd pulled up about 20 klicks of autobahn and fed everything into the one carriageway. That and out of date maps in the Jazz added a bit to the stress levels. I seem to be fated in fact: EVERY time I get near Schiphol in recent years, the GPS goes awol!
Several hours later and we're in the Sauerland. Swoopy, well surfaced roads (just the very occasional frost repair) make this an area I'll definitely come back to on a bike. Just as good as the Eiffel. We'd booked at the Esloher Brauhaus and I was looking forward to a dunkel beer and sausages. Might have kent! The brewery was preparing for MaiFest so no grub and no beer!!!
However, there was a very nice Italian restaurant a couple of hundred metres away and we'd an excellent meal with house red wine and weitzen beer.
So a few pics of Eslohe. A lovely wee toon and would be an excellent base for an explore of the Sauerland. The Esloher Brauhaus is first class too. 60 Euros pp on and good value for what you get. Just make sure you don't arrive when they're preparing for a local fest!
Will be quiet for a couple of days Iain. Birthday celebrations call! However, folks may want to know about Cafe Bauer where we're staying in Hersbruck. It's a proper wee local pub/restaurant with rooms. You can tell how good it is by the fact that last night it was rammed with locals eating and drinking and having a great time.
Her nibs and I had a plate of dumplings and meat (pork and roast duck) preceded by salad. All washed down with a nice German red and a couple of local beers in my case. Oh and an apfel Korn as a digestif.
Anyone headed for Czechia or riding further south could do a lot worse than stopping at Cafe Baur.
Last time here on wheels. This pic made the local squeak. Local friend Hanne on the left (sadly no longer with us) me myself, her nibs (CW Agordo helmet!), pals Andy and Marion. Andy sold his Tiger for a GS550 after that trip!
So farewell to Hersbruck. Just a fabulous, friendly , welcoming Bavarian town and worth a visit all to itself. I can't recommend the Cafe Baur highly enough: a proper Bayrisch kneipe selling only Franconian food and local bier and in the same family for 120 years nearly. Brilliant roads in the area too and handy as a base for trips around here and into Nurnberg and the Czech Republic.
