EUROPEAN JAUNT 2

The smudger

The smudger

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Right.

Had time to load some pictures so a nice pictorial version of the affair.

Saturday 20th, made for the tunnel at 9:30, and were off!



Arrived in France around 2:30 local time and made for Germany. Stopped somewhere in Belgium, the weather looked promising!



I love the last bit of road from Blankenhiem to Nurburg. Even on an RT you can get your pegs down (well almost:D)



OK, first night in the famous 'Lindenhof' in Nurburg.



I had the Grillhauxe (pork knuckle joint) washed down with a couple of 'Wiessbier'. The room was bloody freezing! Majid had forgotten to turn the heating on, still, i made it look more homely by scattering a few things about...



So, after a good breakfast i headed off for the Mosel valley, to Cochem. Lovely place, there was a bike meet on there as well, i chose the more quiet spots a bit further down though.







OK, now for some leg work. Koblenz, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, then across to Ingolstadt, and down towards Munich. Decided to do the Autobahn as I do visit Germany regularly and found a place just north of Munich to stay, Lichtenau. A beautiful place, with a nice hotel Wienstube Liedel.



B&B with free Wi Fi, an evening meal and a couple of beers, 50 euros? cant be bad...

So, in the morning headed into the village for a nose round. Typically German, lovely though...







Every German village appears to have its own brewery?





OK, off to Munich!

Had a nice lunch in my favourite restaurant, 'Wirtshous zur Brez'n' in Leopoldstrasse in the centre. The food is very German of course.







Then down past the monument towards the centre. A lovely part of the world...Shame about the crane though...





OK, fed and watered im off to Austria! During my stay at Lichtenau i made contact with John (The grey one!) and headed down to his place in Malta.

As I arrived at the border the weather started to look decidedly dodgy, but I pushed on. You can tell I was getting close to Austria...





I headed for Salzburg, then down the A10 for Villach. The scenery was amazing, for about an hour, then it absolutely pissed down which was a great shame as i was dying to stop and take some pictures, but i couldnt see a thing!! I stopped in a services for a hot drink, and met a couple of ladies on their bikes. One on a GPZ and the other on a Vstrom. Nothing strange about this you might ask? But this is Austria....

They were both 70 if they were a day, and while talking to the one on the Vstrom she suddenly jumped up and went out to the bike, looking like she had left the keys in it... On the back of her bike was a top box that looked like a pet carrier, and yes, there was a dog in it!

Poor thing was drenched! although it did have a coat on, and a pair of 'dog socks' but only on its back legs?

Time to move on.

I reached Gasthaus Hochalmspitze at about 6pm. As i was drenched i was very glad of the welcome from young Wilf and Ross, who showed me the famous 'Drying room'.
 
Smudger, thanks for posting your pictures. Julie and I spend a little time in Germany with friends, we also enjoy the food and Julie the drink:beer: That RT of yours is a grand looking machine. Lust after one of those as a two up tourer. Thanks for posting and may the weather be brighter on your next trip.:thumby:
 
Thanks Andrew,

More pictures to come later!!

The RT is a grand thing, I parked next to a new W/C GS in Italy, he was doing a similar tour and had bought it for the trip.




Now, i reckoned he had spend about 15k on his steed, me? 2k. Both just as capable, one a little more reliable perhaps, i'll let you decide which one...:augie
 
Right, were was I..

I arrived at John and Ross's place in Malta at 6ish. The welcome party were great. The chap next door to the hotel has a massive wood burner that appears to run the whole village, and the boiler room is right next door to John's place. It was 5-6 degrees outside when I turned up, I had a hot shower and took my riding gear into the boiler room, It was about 32 degrees in there, I actually wanted to sleep in there! The gear was dry in no time, a real blessing when your doing 1 nighters....

I had a real good night with John and his crew, Vernon the chef cooked us up a lovely selection of sausages, and we washed them down with a few beers. We talked man talk until about 11 when i retired.

Up early for a walk around the village, the weather had cleared a little but the cloud was still looming. It's a really nice place this, so clean.







Heres John and the gang...from the left, Vernon, Ross, John and Wilf



So, headed off after a great breakfast. John kindly did me a bit of a route through to Slovenia, across the WurzenPass, then into Kranskja Gora, and then into Italy via the Vrsic pass.

WurzenPass was still a bit snowy, but the views were stunning!!



Had to get the bike in on this one...



Well, this one also...




At the top, before the border with Slovenia there was still a lot of snow, but the sun was shining..



Dear Adolf, I think i may have found your tank...




It was all shut, weird....Nice satnav Steve!!!!!!




Welcome to Slovenia!!!



The ride down into Slovenia was better than on the Austrian side of the WurzenPass, an unbelievably good twisty road down, and the views were simply stunning...
















I rode into Slovenia for about an hour, just so as I could see a bit more really, and glad I did. I came across this river, emerald green water, really stunning although the pictures dont seem to do it justice, it was much greener in the flesh..









The next pass, Vrsic, was still closed, too much snow. So back to Kranskja Gora, then left back towards WurzenPass, after a few miles met with this...



Welcome to Italy!

After a few miles down through some really pretty villages, I came to an open area with a sort of a car park. This was a strange thing to have in a car park but?





Now to Italy.

I took the road to Udine. It was a nice road, loads of twists and turns, lovely bit of road, sports bike heaven?





Sort of bypassed Udine, didnt mind though as its not about the big cities for me on this trip, got me head down and headed for Venice.....
 
Great pictures:thumb Looks like you're having a good time:beerjug:
 
Great pictures and write up, glad you had fun and kept your virtue!
Went over the Wurzen pass today and the snow had all but disappeared.

John
 
OK, so the speedo cable snapped just outside Spitall in Austria so now I can't tell how fast I'm going......

I got to Udine and passed it without a thought, the trip was never about cities, just being on the bike and stopping in remote places, but Venice was a must.



Having never been to Venice I didn't know what to expect, OK, it's a very romantic place but I was alone, and I was told it was an expensive place. The weather was kind and I got there at about 6. I asked a young chap on an F800 where I could park, his English was as good as my Italian, so he gestured I follow him and he showed me where to park.

Now I didn't give parking a thought, but all the hotels have parking, but only for boats... I parked in a huge bike park just over the bridge from Venice, it was free and looked pretty secure, but it left me a 10 minute walk back into town, in bike gear, carrying panniers etc......

The first hotel was out, 120 euro a night, plus breakfast:eek:

Second one was more like it. 80 euro including breakfast. Hotel Gardena, really nice, and on the water.



Lovely place. I had a romantic dinner for one in a pizzeria, plus a couple of beers, then headed of back to the hotel. It's a lovely place by night as well...

Look closely in this picture, there's a guy playing the accordion, he sang 'o sole mio' to me and a couple next to me (I like to think it was meant for them!) he had a great voice, brought tears to my eyes....when I realised I had to put some money in his hat!!!







Loads of people there, really busy. Lots of street sellers as well, although being on my own they didn't seem to bother me.



I got up early, 6ish, and decided to have a wander. Weather was perfect for a morning stroll, I really enjoyed seeing the city 'wake up'







After about 2 hours, well OK, I got lost, easily done in Venice! I headed back to the hotel for a spot of breakfast. I do love fresh coffee, and the coffee in my hotel was superb. I had a big fill and left the hotel about 10.

Walking back over the bridge was a chore, I'd travel lighter if I was doing it again, and I suddenly thought as I was nearing the car park, what if the bikes gone?
 
OK, time to do a bit more.

I must admit I was a bit jittery about leaving the bike so far away but, what the heck, its a couple of grands worth of bike thats insured....

It was there though. I did think as I'd left the bike there the night before, "every bike has a chain or disc lock on it", but I sort of guessed the RT was a bit of a heavy beast for someone to try to walk away with...

Had to get a picture of the bike in Venice so here's a couple. The bike park is behind in the first one, was empty when i left the night before, but full again in the morning!







Well, a nice morning to set off, so I headed out of Venice about 10, after rush hour, and headed to Bologna. I decided the Autostrada would be a better bet but had a little stop in Padua where I saw this beast...



He had bought it for a trip, must have spent a small fortune....

Onwards and upwards, headed out on the Autostrada again, for Modena, via Bologna.

On entering Modena i noticed a girl on the junction of a main road, in the middle of no-where just off the Autostrada. I must say my first thoughts were, "Odd place to be" I thought she was waiting for a lift or something. Then, I noticed another 2 girls, one in fishnets........

About 10 miles of road was absolutely littered with prostitutes!!

One girl, possibly 20ish, was wearing a T shirt, that finished just ABOVE her waist, and a pair of stilletto's, nothing else!!!!

I did stop in Modena, for some lunch and a rest but it was all very industrial, so i decided to push on to Genoa.

Somewhere outside Modena





I reached Genoa about 6 o'clock, rush hour in a big Italian city, deep joy......

I must say I thought it was just a big city, maybe I went to the wrong part? After about an hour in traffic, being almost forced off the road a few times by scooter riders or car drivers I decided i really didnt want to stay here!!!!

I headed back out on the Autostrada and remembered seeing a much smaller town about 2 junctions back along the coast, Recco. I arrived in Recco at 7:30 and found a hotel on the sea front almost straight away. A really nice little place, a room with a sea view!

The view from my room..



Real nice eh!



Under the railway arch in the distance, i found a nice local Pizzeria. It was absolutely full with locals. I sat outside and had, without doubt, the very best Pizza I have ever had...



Lovely place...



This nice little coastal road was next to the hotel.....





OK, fed and watered, off towards France.

I stayed on the coastal road and headed for Nice. That Mediterranean coast road is quite stunning, must do a trip of that along the actual coast one day.....

Arrived at the French border about midday.

Some of the tunnels were nice, some bikes ragging through them, the noises were great but nothing compared to the McLaren that went through...

I heard this deafening exhaust note in a long tunnel, and as it went past the driver must have backed off the throttle a little as I could see the blue flames 'rolling' out of the pipes at the back, made me smile!!!

French border..



And on towards Montpellier!
 
From the French border, I stuck with the Autoroute down towards Marseilles, as I had a deadline (first one of the trip) had to be in Laurens by the evening as I had a couple of days planned with my best mate who has moved down there to pursue his career as an artist. I reached Laurens by 6ish, after a hard push on. In honesty, I might have stopped near Marseilles somewhere as it was a long ride down, 390 miles, but i pushed on as I knew if I got to Laurens that night I could have a couple of days off the bike.

After a shower and some grub we were out to a Jazz evening, in one of the local ex-pats homes. The living room seated 80 people!!!! The music was superb. A Jazz quartet comprising a lady who sang and played Xylophone, the host on guitar, a good pianist, and a superb drummer. The lady once played with Van Morrison (Phnarrrr..)

A few glasses of red and it was 2am all of a sudden! Slept like a stone....

Had a wonder round Laurens the following day, nice little place...

This house really won me over. Belongs to a lady from Yorkshire who runs the local art club my mate attends. Very down to earth..




























We had a wonder around, some super wildlife there, we spotted this butterfly. Any Entomologists fancy having a go at naming this one?





Also this bird....



We heard a pair of Nightingales as well. Their song is unbelievable....

We had a run up to a place called Pezenas in the car. It was nice not to be driving for a change.

Its a really nice place, very old, the weather was a bit wet but nice all the same...















An evening in front of the TV (Snooker was on), with a glass of red and a beef bourginon, and then an early night beckoned....

Saturday morning i woke up to the sound of rain against the window....

I suppose its inevitable after being on the bike for so many miles but i still loathe the rain when riding....Had a good breakfast and set of from Laurens at 10ish. I headed for Milau to see the bridge.

Now this was to be one of the highlights of my trip, but the weather was to put pay to that...

As i rode up towards Milau on the A75 it started to rain even heavier, and i kept noticing the altitude signs at the roadside getting higher. By the time I reached Milau the weather was awful. Rain had turned to sleet, and as I was low on fuel I dropped down into Milau to fill up.

I waited there for about half an hour and it seemed to let up a bit but the very low cloud meant i only caught a glimpse of the bridge, I was gutted...

I pushed on towards Chermond it got worse, it was bloody freezing and the altitude was about 1200 metres, I pulled into a services about 20 miles from Chermond and contemplated staying there the snow was so bad!!!

This was a real low point in the trip. I was fucking freezing. The services were mobbed with people contemplating the same i'm sure. I decided to push on as I knew i couldn't be that far from Chermond, where I would turn off towards Limoge, surely the weather must improve soon??

It did, but about 20 miles towards Limoge on the E70 and it started snowing again......

I made it to Limoge about 6, but came off the A20 before then, found a little place called Pierre Bufferie. Rode through the village (5 minutes!) and settled on this place.



Beautiful little place, and it had a bath! After the right soaking i'd had a hot bath was very welcome I can tell you!!

Had dinner in the restaurant there. The hotel was owned by an elderly couple, really nice but no English spoken, this tested my French, but I got by... Here's dinner....

This was Pumpkin soup, bloody delicious!




Followed by the main event....



And of course, a pud.....



Followed by a couple of beers, then an early night, not before saying goodnight to the bike of course...



More to follow...
 
OK, following a great nights sleep spoiled only by the realisation that my boots were still wet, I had a wander around Pierre Bufferie.

Its a lovely place, off the beaten track slightly, has a real French feel about it.










And a real plus is the sun is shining!!!

I decided to do the Route Nationale up to Maison Laudiere, which was to be the last stop on my jaunt. I took the Autoroute to Limoge, then just topside of Limoge I branched off on the N147 heading for Bellac. Lots of really nice scenery, I could have literally stopped every turn for a photo!!

From Bellac the 147 again up to Lussac where i stopped for an almond croissant and a drink. Lussac is a really nice place, lovely French feel again.











I think had I taken the rn all the way to Le Mans it could have easily taken a day, so i stayed on it until Poitiers, then picked up the A road to Tours, then on up to Le Mans.

I reached Le Mans about 5 so stopped for a photo on the Mulsanne straight. I like the feel of Le Mans, must be the racing heritage?




You can see in this picture the arncoving is temporary, opened up for the 24 hr race. I didnt realise it was that long!






From Le Mans up to Alencon, then a nice 40 minute ride through some great roads to Maison Laudiere.

As ever, the welcome from Carole was top notch, she came out and put the wooden sidestand block down for me, after which i was offered a cuppa.

Nigel certainly has her well trained (:D)

A lovely meal that evening, washed down with a few beers and good company to boot.

Next morning, well, the trip is nearly over, looking out of the bedroom window the bikes looked decidedly icy!!







After a good breakfast (as ever!) I headed off towards the tunnel. Went back on the coastal road, over the Honfleur bridge, good shout from Nigel, if you keep over to the right as you approach, bikes are allowed through free!

Its a pretty impressive bridge as well!!

Arrived at the train for 2 o'clock ish.

I felt pretty sad here. I had a 25 minute wait for the train so sat and reflected on the last 9 days.

2970 miles, some in the sun, some in the snow, every one enjoyed!!!

Will I do it again? probably....



Morocco next year on the GS..........:D:D:D:D
 
Great piccies Smudger :thumb

If that doesn't whet peoples appetite's then they can't have any red blood corpuscles running through their body :D

:beerjug:
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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