Meeting up with the main group heading to Jockgrim at the DFDS terminal in Newcastle meant an early start for Mandy and I. The 7-30am ferry from Larne to Cairnryan would have us in Scotland by 10am ready for the three hour run across to Newcastle, but meant that we had to be on the road by 6am. 
On the recommendation of Petcul and after a leisurely run down the A75 we stopped for lunch at the Milecastle Inn on the B6318 above Haltwhistle, a cracking road through the edge of Northumberland National Park. Thanks Peter.
With a little time to spare before our ferry we met up with Mort. Whilst we were having the craic another visitor arrived. Nice bit of parking.
Knowing that Ash wasn’t around, Kelley made his move.
It was nice to meet Mort and CK, but time was against us and we had to head off for our ferry.
We exchanged one pair of rogues for another.
They seemed more interested in the drink than the entertainment.
Whatton did his best to ensure that I would get the very most out of my German tour. Thanks Kevin. It was very handy.
The run from Ijmuiden to Jockgrim was an uneventful motorway blast as we all wanted to get there as early as possible. This was the view from one of our stops. Tall bridge, big barge.
We received a warm and friendly welcome at the Hotel Zum Elephanten. The grub was plentiful and very good too. It was nice to meet Herr & Frau Kimmel and they seemed to appreciate the wee gifts that Alte Wolf and us had brought from Ireland.
Oonyack was his usual self.
And Whatton thought he was Churchill.
The rest of the Friday night is somewhat blurred in my memory which was to become the theme of the weekend.
On Saturday Ronno took us for an interesting rideout along part of the Wein Strasse.
What a right pair of;
We stopped off in the beautiful town of St Martin where we had a very good lunch for less than €10 each at this restaurant.
After lunch we took a walk around the town centre. Some of the buildings are very old but have been remarkably well preserved.
Pissed in the afternoon. Is there anything quite like it.
No Mandy, they are not ready for drinking yet.
Back in Jockgrim we had a wee rest then got ready to head out on the town.
Jackets are for wimps and nancy boys. Get it aff ye ya fud.
Apparently this is true.
GC sourced himself some a bonny new bonnet.
Johnny and Rab caught several folk out with their funnel down the trousers trick.
Ronno greeted everyone is his usual friendly way.
Being a safety conscious kind of chap, Rab does his drinking hands free.
Floyd was happy enough with a bit of dancing…………..
…………… until some hapless chap asked him if he was English. Luckily the paramedics were nearby.
Mandy met the tallest man in Germany. Or is she just a shortarse?
Some people can drink none.
Some drink lots.
Some were just happily pished.
Whatton was knighted by HRH Oonyack, but for the life of me I can’t remember his title.
The Scots aren’t so sure about it. He’s a Sassanach y’know.
Like the night before, my memory of the rest of Saturday night is blurred.
Reluctantly, Mandy and I left Jockgrim on the Sunday morning. We had arranged to meet up with Marcus the Mad German in Heidelberg. Marcus lived in Ireland for over eighteen months and was a regular on runs with the lads here.
After meeting up with Marcus and his partner Nadine we set off at a cracking pace along the north bank of the river Neckar until we reached a small ferry.
The ferryman was telling us that there had been a ferry at that location for several hundred years. The controls were quite basic, but in only a few minutes we were on the other side.
Marcus kept his brisk pace along some cracking roads through the beautiful countryside of the Odenwald.
Nadine and he then treated us to a lovely meal at his home near Erbach.
We enjoyed spending time with Marcus again and it was good to finally meet Nadine. Thanks for your hospitality Marcus.
For some time now Mandy has needed new textile trousers, so as we were only 50 miles from Frankfurt we decided to try some of the clothing shops there. Our first port of call was the Louis store. They had a great selection of ladies clothing and the sales assistant had flawless English which made the whole experience much easier. €130 later and we were heading off towards the Nurburgring, a happy Mandy on the back in her new ProBiker trousers.
We spent a few hours watching all the nutters lapping the Nurburgring.
Until some young lad stuffed his motor into the barrier.
An expensive evenings fun.
Monday night we stayed in the Am Tiergarten hotel ( http://www.am-tiergarten.de/en/home/ ) which is owned by the family of the lovely Sabine Schmitz.
When Mandy woke on Tuesday morning she had a very serious abcess in her lower right jaw which was very painful. The receptionist in Am Tiergarten organised for Mandy to go to her dentist in Adenau that morning. The dentist saw Mandy at 10am and arranged for her to come back at 2-30pm to have a tooth removed and the abcess drained.
Whilst we waited for the appointment we had some time to spend in Adenau which is a beautiful small town.
By afternoon the abcess was sorted, but we had to visit the dentist again on Wednesday morning at 10am so that he could check that all was well. Thankfully it had healed well so we could resume our holiday. All we had to pay was a prescription charge for some anti-biotics, the charges for all the dental work Mandy had was put to her E111 card.
What an odd shaped house.
A beautiful ride through rolling countryside saw us reach the River Mosel and turn west towards Trier, one of the oldest towns in Germany and a place I had intended on seeing for many years.
I think this is where members of the Scottish section go to buy a pet.
After Trier we decided to start heading north again as our ferry was leaving Ijmuiden at 5pm on Thursday evening, so we set off towards Luxemburg.
Our lunch stop was at an Imbiss on the German – Lux border. There are loads of these wee kiosks all over Germany and it’s good to see that they are making a comeback after being in decline for several years.
Good food at great prices. Try one the next time you are in Germany.
It was 33C in Luxemburg city on Wednesday afternoon, so it was nice to get off the bike for a while and relax. :sunshine
With no destination in mind on Wednesday evening we stumbled upon Hotel Aux Massotais in the Ardennes. It is a small family run hotel, friendly and with a good restaurant. It was an ideal place for our last night before the ferry back to England.
As with the whole holiday we tried as far as possible to avoid motorways on our run through Belgium and Holland. On our way through the Ardennes we stopped at a castle in the village of Harze.
Wartime duties now long behind it, the chateau is now a hotel and conference centre and looks like it would be a nice place to stay. Chateau de Harze.
No run through Holland would be complete without spotting a windmill.
After a smooth crossing from Ijmuiden back to Newcastle we had a great run down through the North Yorkshire National Park to Holmfirth, where Mandy wanted to visit some of the locations used in the Last of the Summer Wine.
In Holmfirth, Mandy decided that she would make her own way home.
Saturday saw us on the ferry home from Holyhead. We had hoped to include the EM event in our trip but unfortunately we had to be home on the Sunday.
We had a great time in Jockgrim with our fellow Tossers. The company, craic and drinking was legendry. Hopefully we will be able to return in 2010. Thanks especially to Ronnie & Christine for inviting us along.
On the recommendation of Petcul and after a leisurely run down the A75 we stopped for lunch at the Milecastle Inn on the B6318 above Haltwhistle, a cracking road through the edge of Northumberland National Park. Thanks Peter.
With a little time to spare before our ferry we met up with Mort. Whilst we were having the craic another visitor arrived. Nice bit of parking.
Knowing that Ash wasn’t around, Kelley made his move.
It was nice to meet Mort and CK, but time was against us and we had to head off for our ferry.
We exchanged one pair of rogues for another.
They seemed more interested in the drink than the entertainment.
Whatton did his best to ensure that I would get the very most out of my German tour. Thanks Kevin. It was very handy.
The run from Ijmuiden to Jockgrim was an uneventful motorway blast as we all wanted to get there as early as possible. This was the view from one of our stops. Tall bridge, big barge.
We received a warm and friendly welcome at the Hotel Zum Elephanten. The grub was plentiful and very good too. It was nice to meet Herr & Frau Kimmel and they seemed to appreciate the wee gifts that Alte Wolf and us had brought from Ireland.
Oonyack was his usual self.
And Whatton thought he was Churchill.
The rest of the Friday night is somewhat blurred in my memory which was to become the theme of the weekend.
On Saturday Ronno took us for an interesting rideout along part of the Wein Strasse.
What a right pair of;
We stopped off in the beautiful town of St Martin where we had a very good lunch for less than €10 each at this restaurant.
After lunch we took a walk around the town centre. Some of the buildings are very old but have been remarkably well preserved.
Pissed in the afternoon. Is there anything quite like it.
No Mandy, they are not ready for drinking yet.
Back in Jockgrim we had a wee rest then got ready to head out on the town.
Jackets are for wimps and nancy boys. Get it aff ye ya fud.
Apparently this is true.
GC sourced himself some a bonny new bonnet.
Johnny and Rab caught several folk out with their funnel down the trousers trick.
Ronno greeted everyone is his usual friendly way.
Being a safety conscious kind of chap, Rab does his drinking hands free.
Floyd was happy enough with a bit of dancing…………..
…………… until some hapless chap asked him if he was English. Luckily the paramedics were nearby.
Mandy met the tallest man in Germany. Or is she just a shortarse?
Some people can drink none.
Some drink lots.
Some were just happily pished.
Whatton was knighted by HRH Oonyack, but for the life of me I can’t remember his title.
The Scots aren’t so sure about it. He’s a Sassanach y’know.
Like the night before, my memory of the rest of Saturday night is blurred.
Reluctantly, Mandy and I left Jockgrim on the Sunday morning. We had arranged to meet up with Marcus the Mad German in Heidelberg. Marcus lived in Ireland for over eighteen months and was a regular on runs with the lads here.
After meeting up with Marcus and his partner Nadine we set off at a cracking pace along the north bank of the river Neckar until we reached a small ferry.
The ferryman was telling us that there had been a ferry at that location for several hundred years. The controls were quite basic, but in only a few minutes we were on the other side.
Marcus kept his brisk pace along some cracking roads through the beautiful countryside of the Odenwald.
Nadine and he then treated us to a lovely meal at his home near Erbach.
We enjoyed spending time with Marcus again and it was good to finally meet Nadine. Thanks for your hospitality Marcus.
For some time now Mandy has needed new textile trousers, so as we were only 50 miles from Frankfurt we decided to try some of the clothing shops there. Our first port of call was the Louis store. They had a great selection of ladies clothing and the sales assistant had flawless English which made the whole experience much easier. €130 later and we were heading off towards the Nurburgring, a happy Mandy on the back in her new ProBiker trousers.
We spent a few hours watching all the nutters lapping the Nurburgring.
Until some young lad stuffed his motor into the barrier.
An expensive evenings fun.
Monday night we stayed in the Am Tiergarten hotel ( http://www.am-tiergarten.de/en/home/ ) which is owned by the family of the lovely Sabine Schmitz.
When Mandy woke on Tuesday morning she had a very serious abcess in her lower right jaw which was very painful. The receptionist in Am Tiergarten organised for Mandy to go to her dentist in Adenau that morning. The dentist saw Mandy at 10am and arranged for her to come back at 2-30pm to have a tooth removed and the abcess drained.
Whilst we waited for the appointment we had some time to spend in Adenau which is a beautiful small town.
By afternoon the abcess was sorted, but we had to visit the dentist again on Wednesday morning at 10am so that he could check that all was well. Thankfully it had healed well so we could resume our holiday. All we had to pay was a prescription charge for some anti-biotics, the charges for all the dental work Mandy had was put to her E111 card.
What an odd shaped house.
A beautiful ride through rolling countryside saw us reach the River Mosel and turn west towards Trier, one of the oldest towns in Germany and a place I had intended on seeing for many years.
I think this is where members of the Scottish section go to buy a pet.
After Trier we decided to start heading north again as our ferry was leaving Ijmuiden at 5pm on Thursday evening, so we set off towards Luxemburg.
Our lunch stop was at an Imbiss on the German – Lux border. There are loads of these wee kiosks all over Germany and it’s good to see that they are making a comeback after being in decline for several years.
Good food at great prices. Try one the next time you are in Germany.
It was 33C in Luxemburg city on Wednesday afternoon, so it was nice to get off the bike for a while and relax. :sunshine
With no destination in mind on Wednesday evening we stumbled upon Hotel Aux Massotais in the Ardennes. It is a small family run hotel, friendly and with a good restaurant. It was an ideal place for our last night before the ferry back to England.
As with the whole holiday we tried as far as possible to avoid motorways on our run through Belgium and Holland. On our way through the Ardennes we stopped at a castle in the village of Harze.
Wartime duties now long behind it, the chateau is now a hotel and conference centre and looks like it would be a nice place to stay. Chateau de Harze.
No run through Holland would be complete without spotting a windmill.
After a smooth crossing from Ijmuiden back to Newcastle we had a great run down through the North Yorkshire National Park to Holmfirth, where Mandy wanted to visit some of the locations used in the Last of the Summer Wine.
In Holmfirth, Mandy decided that she would make her own way home.
Saturday saw us on the ferry home from Holyhead. We had hoped to include the EM event in our trip but unfortunately we had to be home on the Sunday.
We had a great time in Jockgrim with our fellow Tossers. The company, craic and drinking was legendry. Hopefully we will be able to return in 2010. Thanks especially to Ronnie & Christine for inviting us along.
