Scotland to the Black Forrest and the Alps.....enjoy

[AndyT]

Well sit back and hopefully enjoy – apologies if it’s a bit long but I’m not sure where and when to stop.
Anyway, 5 of us took the world famous Superfast ferry from Rosythe to Zeebrugge on Thursday 13th Sept. In the group there was a Honda Varadeo, a R1200GS, a R1200GSA (new), a Yamaha FJR1300 and myself on my new to me R1150 GSA SE. The ferry was as usual superb and a fantastic meal was followed by Albanian Cabaret where the duo proceeded to murder song after song long into the night.

Arriving at Zeebrugge 4 of us made it through customs but what of Doug and his new pride and joy a R1200GSA?? We waited until we saw him pushing it off the boat refusing to start, he was not a happy camper. The Alarm would not deactivate so it was a call to BMW assist. 3 hours later a Mitsubishi Shogun and a trailer arrived to tow it away the 30 KM to the nearest BMW Garage. Immediately the lads at the garage investigated the fault which lay in the pick up unit for the transponder in the ignition key. Luckily they had one in stock as another had failed and was due to be fitted on the Monday. The service given by the BMW Belgium was superb and all 5 of us were treated to endless cups of coffee, what a great bunch of guys.
I chatted to the owner who was also at the Dutch GS Club meeting in Nijmegen this Easter and will be at the 2008 GS meeting at Belgium - top bloke and really knows his bikes. Whilst there I chatted with the mechanics about a problem I was having with my rear wheel locking up when breaking and I was told this is a known problem and a new servo pump should be fitted with a smaller orifice on the rear wheel port. I will be taking this up with John Clarks in Dundee as I have had a few scary moments on bends with the rear wheel locking up.
Anyway the garage stayed open to fix the problem for us until 6pm on a Friday - I can’t imagine that in the UK??? Onward to Cochem in the Mossel Valley where we had 2 nights booked. (Note to ones self - take a clear visor just in case you need to ride the bike in the dark).
.............

 

[AndyT]

The next morning we had a day on the bikes with no luggage - the roads in the Eiffel Mountains are just superb and full of bikers observing the speed limits…NOT. A trip to the Nurburgring was on the cards where we watched a few hours of the DTT championship for less than a tenner – Donnington take note. I noticed that the tappets on my bike were getting very loud and checked the oil. It was a little low so I topped it up and it quietened them down for a few minutes……mmmmm…

At the ring I saw a Hummer with the biggest wheels I have ever seen, I was looking for the sponsors employees but didn’t see them ;-) I was also tempted to ask this young lady if she did but thought better of it when she turned round :-(

 

[AndyT]

The next day was a ride down to Buhlertal near Baden Baden in the Black Forrest. We stayed here last year and it was so nice we wanted to return. We stumbled on a biker meeting area just south of Kaiserslautern. The Hotel at Johanniskreuz attracts hundreds of bikers riding everything from Race replicas to Cruisers. The B48 heading down the valley towards Annweiller is just like Mad Sunday on the Isle of Man with bikers lining the corners at viewpoints armed with cameras to get that elusive picture and not a policeman in site.
We arrived at Buhlertal in good time and had a fantastic meal on the terrace with the sun still beating down on us. I was shattered and had an early night. A hearty breakfast was followed by a swift run out to the Touratech factory. When I say swift I mean swift as we discovered the B500 known locally as the “Schwazwald HochenStrasse” or black Forrest High Road. This is a 60km long road of the most fantastic surface complete with amazing bends - God really was a biker. On arrival at Touratech I had a chat with some of the staff there about the poor service in the UK and it seems they are fully aware of it and have problems with the UK themselves. I also mentioned that they may be contravening EEC legislation about free trade in Europe and they said it was a company decision as TTUK has exclusive rights. Someone has to take them to court - I’m sue they would win. Anyway here are a few of the goodies on view in the showroom. I just love the Revamp and it is just so comfy to sit on (with a nice low seat if any of you ladies are tempted).

 

[AndyT]

And a few more……….

 

[AndyT]

They also had a very nice looking Varadeo and a Buell ready for Tarka to flex his credit card. The prices in Germany although cheaper than the UK are still scary so I limited myself somewhat to just a few essential goodies

Outside was this 1150 with a very nice paint job. I ran a coin down the tank out of envy......
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that was a lie but it was very nice.

 

[AndyT]

Loaded up with goodies we headed back to Buhlertal and had a stop at Fruedenstat which is yet another charming town in the Black Forrest. The feel of raindrops whilst supping coffee signalled a quick dash back to the hotel. If only we were quick enough. I have never seen a downpour like it and in 5 minutes the hill off the top road into Buhlertal was like a river. The Fire brigade came to the hotel and pumped out the cellars as efficiently as I could have imagined, I guess this is a common occurrence.
Yet again a fantastic meal in the hotel with plenty of local wine.

 

[AndyT]

The next day we departed to an overcast sky which turned out to be low cloud which stayed with us for the next few hours. Our destination was Besancon in France but due to a cock up with my GPS progress was slow as I hadn’t downloaded the correct maps and kept stopping to check the map. The black Forrest really is a gem of a place and I will definitely be back another year. France by comparison is just so boring on the East side until you get to the Vosges Mountains. We started to look for accommodation around 1730 but didn’t find any until 2000hrs where we booked into the Central Hotel in Bains-le-Dames. This was our cheapest hotel of the holiday at just 20 Euros with Petit Dejunier and one of the most interesting. The walls in the rooms were bowing out so much I thought they were going to collapse and the ceilings drooped in as though there was a huge weight of water above which would crash down on us during the night. I was tempted to sleep with my waterproofs on but it was to hot so I took the risk - after all that I managed a good nights sleep and we set off for the French Alps with Annecy the first point. Annecy is on the end of Lake Annecy and is a most wonderful town bustling with energy. The proportion of stunning woman was amazing so much so that I got Wimbledon neck riding round looking for a parking space.
Annecy in all its splendour…

 

[AndyT]

I could very easily have stayed in Annecy for the next 3 weeks but we headed on a little and stayed the night in Albertville which is at the foot of the French Alps.
I was desperate for some batteries for my razor which had given up on me mid shave and stopped whilst clinging on to a bunch of my whiskers……a very painful and vocal shaver removal from face process followed and I went to the local Lidl for more batteries. My mates all mock me for using Lidl but I think its superb, 6 Mars bars for 1 euro29 a bargain. To annoy them more I also carried my batteries and Mars bars back in a large Lidl Carrier bag for all to see. The Hotel set menu was fairly limited however it included Frogs!!!!! The owner seemed genuinely surprised when all 5 of us squirmed on finding out this fact. Steak and chips was again the order of the day. I know when this is dodgy and I love it so that’s my stable meal when away.
The next morning we headed towards Courmayer in Italy on the South side of Mount Blanc and were treated to some spectacular views along the way. Over the high pass at Beaufort I couldn’t understand why this lorry (and others) were lugging trees up over the pass as there were thousands of trees going on the other side too….answers on a postcard please.

 

[AndyT]

We reached the edge of the Beaufortain region and just had to stop for a reality break as everywhere we looked the views were stunning and the skies were full of blue – heaven. Even then we still climbed higher and higher towards our goal of Courmayer and Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco as the Italians call it). After we reached the top of the pass it was down hill all the way once again. Check out the GPS route which was the same route that lorry carrying all the tree trunks would have been taking.

 

[AndyT]

We headed towards Courmayer and again started to climb up over the San Benadino pass, my stomach was in need of more food so we stopped at 8000 feet and had some Spag Boggs Al-Fresco, it makes working 9-5 so worthwhile as I’m sure we appreciate it that little bit more (even if I did eat it with all these Saga-louts… ;-) ).

 

[AndyT]

Nobody particularly wanted to go through the Mont Blanc tunnel so we headed along the valley and over the St Bernard pass into Switzerland and spent the night at Verbier. I have been skiing here before and it looks so different in the summer, it was however Baltic when the sun went down and my choice of shorts to walk round in soon became obviously a bad decision. The worst food of the holiday was served to us in Verbier with literally everything on the menu being “to difficult to prepare as Chef has done a runner”. Chef was actually pissed at the bar as we soon found out and it was the French waitress who was cooking all the food. I asked the waitress the best way to get to Zermatt to view the Mattahorn which she had actually never heard of so went over to ask the regulars and Chef came over to explain. He could hardly walk and 99.9% of his concentration was trying to stand still without falling over. He said he would draw me a map as it was difficult to explain. This was Chefs map….. He did 2 for me. The first to explain how to get to the bottom of the hill and the 2nd was a more detailed map….. I was cracking up with laughter as he was trying to be so serious. Thank goodness he didn’t cook for us that evening… who needs GPS when you have Chefs maps ;-)

The views from the hotel window were simply stunning, we had watched Para gliders sailing down the valley from the peaks above and sailing off into the distant valley.

 

[AndyT]

A Russian lad at the hotel told us that Zermatt is actually closed to traffic and the last 10km is by electric train only so we decided to give it a miss and head for Gstaad instead to see if Charles and Camilla were there. The ride to Gstaad was fantastic although the tappets on my bike were more like Hammerits and another oil check revealed the level was perfect. Obviously one had worked loose as the bike was fine when we set off. I wasn’t overly concerned as I would rather have a noisy tappet than one without enough clearance and not allowing the valves to close properly.
We parked up the bikes at the railway station in Gstaad and stopped for a coffee, Gstaad is a very lovely place but full of people wanting to be looked at yet nobody smiling. The waitress who served us really looked down at us in our bike gear and was in fact very rude. Oh how I wish I had my Lidl bag with me and some sandwiches to dunk in my coffee.

 

[AndyT]

Anyway, onwards through the Swiss countryside towards Interlaken. We met this little lot coming down the road and I decided it was best to switch off the engine to let them pass. They had the biggest cow bells on I have ever seen swinging them from side to side as they walked past. The road from Gstaad to Interlaken is fantastic and the smell of freshly cut grass filled the air. All the traditional Swiss chalet styled houses were swathed in flowers, all very nice indeed. The Swiss countryside really is nice which makes up for the towns which in all honesty are awful.

 

[AndyT]

I recon it must have reached 30 degrees that afternoon and we had a stop on the Shore of the lake near Interlaken with the Jungfrau as the back drop, very nice too. The peaks of these 3 mountains are all between 12 and 14 thousand feet a spectacular backdrop. I don’t think we should have been there as it was part of a tennis club and more than 1 person gave us a funny look. This young lady swam over and seemed so friendly until a very loud hissing emanated from her beak…run away I thought. It was only protecting her cygnets which were close by. I named her the McCann swan and we departed.

 

[AndyT]

We headed over the border to Germany again back towards the Black Forrest which is just so nice. I stumbled (honest!!) across the B500 again and this hotel just north of Hochenscwand. It’s the Historic Gasthaus Rossle www.porten.de dating from 1767. I cannot recommend it enough - very cheap with superb rooms and great food. The rooms have antique furniture in and downstairs are other old artefacts from the Black Forrest. The owner keeps some old tractors there and I noticed a Porsche Diesel tractor amongst them. We offered £2000 for the tractor and were laughed off - worth a punt though.

 

[AndyT]

The next morning was yet another glorious day and we immediately went to rip up the tyres on the B500 riding all the way in to Baden Baden. I couldn’t believe how lucky we had been with the weather although the leaves were starting to fall so I wouldn’t advise leaving it any later in the year as leaves are very slippy. I was chasing a couple of new Fireblades who were quick on the straights but not so quick on the bends. I was slightly taken aback when we stopped at Baden Baden and they removed their helmets to reveal an older guy and his wife in there 60’s……!!!! Respect.

You can see from the top picture just how blessed we were with the weather. More sausages were eaten and more tyres ripped up.


We had planned to spend the night in the Mossel but spent to long in the Black Forrest so looked for digs around Kaiserslautern. The Hotel at the biker meeting place at Johanniskreuz wanted 250 Euro for 2 rooms which was far more than we had paid so far so we gave him a miss and eventually found a hotel in the town of Wolfstein. The hotel owner only had 2 beds but called a friend who owned a horse farm and we all stayed there. She drove us to the Hotel for food and drinks and picked us up again when we were legless and took us back to the farm. What a fantastic little town this is everyone so friendly. I asked them if they new of the Game Wolfenstein which is based on the Castle Wolfstein and nobody had heard of it. Maybe they didn’t want to be reminded of the Pigs dressed in SS uniforms. I will definitely go back to Wolfstein for sure. The Hotel is the Hotel Konigsberg and again is ridiculously cheap. It’s right in the centre of Wolfstein. I asked the owner to choose a local wine for us and this was without doubt the best wine of the holiday which amazed me as I have never had a nice German red wine before.

 

[AndyT]

It was now Sunday our penultimate day with the ferry leaving Monday at 6pm. We headed up to the Mossel Valley again and stopped off at a street party in a small village where there was a mini festival and lots and lots of wine tasting. Temptation was so much so we decided to go for a blast towards the Nurburgring again. This time it was classic car racing or “Old Timers” as they call them over there and we saw some truly wonderful old cars including this old 190SL Mercedes. The guy on the gate wanted 16Euro to see the last 30 mns so we declined and went to the area for public track days and had a brew there instead. I noticed out front they were selling little bikes for children and thought this was just fantastic but where can you use it. We stayed at the Hotel Weber at the Ring the same as I had done in June. It always seems to have space yet is right at the track. www.gasthaus-weber.de The final morning saw us heading along the 258 towards Aachen and on to Zeebrugge. True to form it absolutely chucked it down in Belgium and we got stuck in the Brussels bypass traffic. The ferry was bang on time and we were again treated to more Albanian Cabaret, same people and same songs - it’s a marvellous cure for amnesia.

The weather in Scotland was a big shock as it was a good 10 degrees lower than on the continent.. I was tempted to stop by John Clarks for them to check my Tappets which are really noisy now but just wanted to get home for a few days rest at work ;-) We had 12 nights away in all and it was great. I missed Ronno and Christine who were over there at the same time. I think next year I will spend less time on the bike and more seeing what’s over there as there are only so many roads you can blast down and meeting the locals is the best bit. Germany certainly is a favourite with myself as the people are so friendly and the place is so clean.

That’s all my travelling for this year, I need to think where to go next year. I actually still have to write up my trip to the Czech Republic in June which again was superb.

I can really recommend Germany for a great holiday.

Thanks for bearing with me and I hope you enjoyed it......

Have Fun

AndyT

 

[wessie]

Thanks for sharing.

The road from Beaufort to Bourg St M is one of my favourites in the Alps. It's 12 years since I did it, so I must return.

I like Germany too. As you say, friendly people with cheap food and accommodation. They do keep very quiet about their red wine. They don't produce very much and tend to keep it to themselves. Fokkers.

 

[Dusan]

Top marks!

Great write up, sounds like you had a great time, thanks for the write up and recommendations, nice to see where people have been, just in case... . .
It's good to dream, sometimes they come true, kind regards Dusan

 

[Deleted account rno]

Nice report and pics, Andy

Ah, the Johanniskreuz run ...We always do it mid week as there's less traffic on the road. Much less. Here's pic of the hotel car park last time I was there. Three bikes including mine. I bet there were a "few" more when you visited.

At one time, the road was closed to bikes at weekends as there were so many RTAs.

Can't think of Wolfstein but I'll need to check it out. Sounds good.

Oh, the red wine. Dornfelder? Lovely drop of stuff According to Christine, some of the German "Portugeser" wines are first class too.