2 months, 8,000 miles, 13 countries. It didn't suck!
I have been meaning to do a ride report for 1.5 years now. But how the Hell do you do a trip report on a 2 month long, 8,000 mile vacation? It became too big an albatross that just never got done. So the heck with it. I am just going to post what I can, when I have the time. This ride report will be heavy on photos and light on commentary. Just so I can get something done. I took thousands of photos. I am having difficulty whittling them down so my apologies if they start to get boring.
Prelude: Back in 2008 my family did a vacation to Florence, Italy. I was there for 3 weeks. Well, one day I took the train to Milan where old FJRForum member teerex, or Stef, met me. He gave the local's tour of Milan, bought me lunch, cooked me dinner, and provided me a bed to sleep in. Then, that bastard had the outright audacity to have an extra moto for me to ride! Can you believe the gall of that SOB! Well, we spent the next day riding into the Swiss Alps. It was one of the best days of my life. It also planted a seed. Someday, I absolutely had to get back to Europe and spend some more time riding and exploring. A couple false starts went nowhere, but finally in 2019 with my SO Kelley's prodding, we made it happen.
So during June and July of 2019 we went BIG and spent a little over two months riding across Europe. Needless to say, it was epic!
Our story starts and ends in Heidelberg, Germany. This is the location of Stefan Knopf - http://www.knopftours.com/Web-Site/Hello.html. We used him for all logistics and support including shipping one of my FJR's to Germany, all the paperwork like moto insurance and health insurance, and stayed at his Moto BnB at the start and end of our trip. He also provided transportation to/from the Frankfurt airport about 45 minutes away. I HIGHLY recommend him if planning a riding trip to Europe. I can't say enough good things about him and couldn't be happier with the service and assistance he provided.
Our first day while recovering from jet lag we toured Heidelberg Castle since we were right there. We saw a lot of castles on our trip. This one was one of the best.
No smoking in the gun powder/muntions turret!!!
Not only is Heidelberg Castle home to a really big barrel of wine.....
But it is home to the world's biggest barrel of wine. Mmmmm...... wine.
That evening, Stefan Knopf had his annual shindig with live music and food that any and all are invited to attend. We lucked out! He also celebrated his wedding anniversary and gifted his wife a Mini Cooper. A REAL Mini Cooper. Of 1950s vintage I believe. Does that little car make me look fat?
Day 2 we took a nice day ride. The route followed the scenic Neckar river. It was a nice way to ease into riding on roads with signs you don't understand. Plus, there was a specific destination I wanted to check out. Now during last summer's Red Lodge Rendezvous I found out from Cav47 that my name is somewhat of a mystery to many other than my moniker of SkooterG. That surprised me, but being an international assassin and man of intrigue that was ok with me. Well, I'll let the cat out of the bag. Hi, my name is Greg Marbach and I am a motorcycleholic. So perhaps those of you out there that are astute can figure out why I wanted to head to this destination:
It was a quaint little town along the Neckar river. Since they named their town after me I expected some pomp and circumstance upon my arrival, but alas, there was absolutely *none* to be found. After shedding a few tears, we commenced exploring.....
Apparently, my lineage is that of fine beer swillers. I'm ok with that.
Interesting construction techniques back in the days of old.
Finally on day 3 we set out on our 2 month adventure. Moments before departure from Stefan Knopf's Moto heaven.
We got a late start. A theme that would follow us for the rest of trip. After a short blast on the Autobahn (Only hit 120 mph or so for a short stretch as it was relatively busy), our route took us through the Black Forest. Very scenic. Not a lot of photos so you will have to trust me on that.
After exiting the Black Forest in the southwest of Germany, our route had us briefly cross into Basel, Switzerland before entering France. Three countries in about 30 minutes! Our throw of the darts for the evening's lodging came up with the small town of Ferrette, France. One hotel in the tiny town in the French countryside and they had a room! And an outstanding restaurant. Kelley is a picky eater and they had no menu in English. So it took her a while to Google translate everything. It was well worth it! It ended up being a wonderful first day of our adventure.
The next day we again crossed briefly into Switzerland before re-entering France and following the French-Swiss border southwest towards Grenoble, France. Here's a photo from early in our travel. It was to be the start of great things!
I was told to avoid Paris by many folk due to the politeness of the inhabitants, but I can tell you riding through countryside in the south of France was a wonderful experience.
Gotta love a guy who loves classic cars. Even if it is a butt ugly one. Kind of reminds me of Mrs. Redfish - Loves a guy who is a classic, even if he is a butt ugly one......
NO! I know what it looks like. But she is NOT pooping in flower field in the countryside in the south of France. It just looks that way. Maybe becasue I told her to crouch down in the flowers for the photo. He he he.
My GPS routed me down this road. It's a LOT steeper than it looks. Being fully loaded I and 2-up, I was a bit nervous. But all went well. At least as far as you know.
There weren't too many bad things about this whole adventure. Euro prices of petrol was one of the few exceptions. That translates to 5.75 gallons for a total of just over $44 - or just over $8 per gallon! But the smiles to dollar conversion still was a favorable one.
My GPS routed me off the route I had planned. Or, I missed a turn. But that was a good thing as the new route took us right by this cool old castle ruins in the middle of nowhere.
I've killed enough time for today. Until the next time.......
