wot i gone and dun on my furst 'oliday (eurotour!)

[TheManWithThe...]

Evening all!
After reading through James1988's write up of his first eurotour, i decided i needed to do one of my own trip from september.

From deciding that i wanted to make the trip, i had always wanted to do as little planning as possible so i could literally go wherever i wanted, whenever i wanted, depending on how i felt or what the weather was like.

The plan was to spend 3 weeks touring and camping solo, covering around 3-4000 miles mainly around Germany, Austria and Northern Italy on my ER5...however...2 weeks before i was due to depart, there was a slight hiccup
https://i.imgur.com/LWHmEwK.jpg
Whilst swapping the front tyre for some fresh rubber, the bottom of the fork leg fell off! It literally fell off, so i think there had been a fracture for quite some time that was being held on only by the bolt.

So, the trip was now in peril, as there were no replacement forks to be found online or at local breakers... aside from cancelling the trip, there was only one thing that could be done...
I went out and bought another bike!
https://i.imgur.com/rEW7FbZ.jpg
So a week before the trip, this 2000 reg ex-police st1100 became mine. Not the usual bike for a 21 year old to want, but i was and still am chuffed to bits with it.


So a week later i load the bike up and watch my planned departure time pass as i've been an idiot and ordered my travel card too late, so i was sat hoping it would be delivered that day. Fortunately it was, and only an hour later than planned, i was off, and a few hours after that, arrived to a quiet and damp Folkestone terminal.
https://i.imgur.com/qMNYQ1U.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tUy45dW.jpg

I had a nice little ride around the pas de calais, avoiding motorways and not really knowing where i was or where i was heading, before finding a camp site for the night just outside of Saint Omer.

Matt's camping tip #1) Upon arrival at a camp site, take a moment and just listen. Any noise from roads/heavy industry is likely to continue through the night.
As it turns out, my hastily chosen camp site was only a few hundred meters from a cereal factory, which continued making cereal through the night.
Matt's camping tip #2) Earplugs are useful for more than just wearing when riding.

Day 2 took me north into Belgium and the to Holland. Again, i avoided motorways so i could see more of the countryside and little towns etc.

Just outside of Ypres, i came across a set of commonwealth military cemeteries in a town called Brandhoek.
https://i.imgur.com/t4NGvBB.jpg
This cemetery was made up of 974 graves, predominantly of British, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand soldiers.
It was one of 3 sites, each of similar size, which the cemetery consisted of. It was my first time visiting such a place, and doing so made all of the numbers of casualties suddenly become real... for each of these graves was a man who would never see his family again, and for each of them, a family who would never see their son, husband or brother again. I'm not ashamed to say, it bought a tear or two to my eye.

The weather was lovely, so i was happy just trundling along on small roads for the rest of the day, stopping to occasionally look at something interesting.
https://i.imgur.com/cnV6Zjc.jpg

What i never got used to was seeing youths riding mopeds on the pavement. I'm used to seeing it at home, but they usually are being pursued by the rozzers or being tutted at by the granny they've just nearly knocked over.

Later in the day i made it into Antwerp, and got considerably lost. I managed to enlist the help of a Dutch man on an old goldwing who agreed to show me the way out of the city and into Holland where i eventually found a campsite.

They had a tv, which i spent my evening infront of watching football, with an old Dutch chap trying to speak to me. For the record, i speak very little German, and no Dutch, so the conversation wasn't exactly thrilling.

TO BE CONTINUED
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MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[almostthere]

One of the saddest things about those war graves is the age of the soldiers the majority were so young it when they died, really does bring a tear to the eye
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Beer, It's the reason I get up every afternoon
www.mfairco.uk

[TheManWithThe...]

Day 3 was mainly a slog along some very straight, very flat and very boring Dutch roads, so very few photos were taken (and all but one have have gone missing from my phone)
https://i.imgur.com/lQPVW0qh.jpg

Later that day i crossed into Germany and made it to the City of Essen.
If anyone is thinking of visiting, don't bother. It's a pretty grim place.
The mining museum was alright, and i found a steakhouse that did an awesome schnitzel, but other than that, i wish i hadn't bothered.

Day 4 was one of the best. I headed south towards one of the dams and reservoirs which was attacked by the dambusters. The weather started off with a drizzle but soon cleared up to glorious sunshine.
https://i.imgur.com/iq1JMmph.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/DjdXGHvh.jpg

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I passed this railway carriage twice as the next day i somehow inadvertently managed to start the day with a 50 mile loop back to where i had just camped.
https://i.imgur.com/PoxTs6Bh.jpg

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Day 6
I started off by heading to Frankfurt, which seemed to be quite a nice city.
https://i.imgur.com/CEPyPcyh.jpg
However, i realised i was heading in the wrong direction for one place i really wanted to visit.... this place was full of happiness and dreams.
https://i.imgur.com/mFWfYYSh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/J2bMp8eh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/A6AZFMAh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/83Jq7Egh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dWYrzueh.jpg
____________________
MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[TheManWithThe...]

[TheManWithThe...]

The next day started with a short ride over to Koblenz, and then following the Mossel valley south. Once again, not using my satnav means i don't actually know where i ended up, but sunshine and amazing scenery (and lots of vinyards) meant i didn't stop very often so not many photos were taken that day.

https://i.imgur.com/m81z4OCh.jpg

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The whole river was damed every 10-15 miles. The above and below photos are of the size of the dams, and the long white thing (mid right hand side on the top photo) in both photos is a leisure cruiser style boat passing through the locks.
https://i.imgur.com/3xpNI52h.jpg

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That night at the camp site's restaurant, i had sauerkraut, bratwurst and something which resembled haggis. It was also coincidently the same day i discovered i don't like sauerkraut.

https://i.imgur.com/PwzQlRRh.jpg

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Day 5: Mystery campsite location to Aachen via the B500 and Black Forest.
https://i.imgur.com/az2Zp8Eh.jpg

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Day 6: Aachen to Munchen/Munich.
First photos are of the lake which makes up the border between Germany and Lichtenstein. It was eerily beautiful with the boats on the lake just visible through the mist, but the photos don't do it justice.
https://i.imgur.com/uPBAzCx.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UGeM4DK.jpg

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The next photos are of the Dachau concentration camp in Munich. Whilst the camp had a relatively low death rate, prisoners were still brutally treated and often experimented on, which resulted in many prisoners taking their own lives to end the torment of not knowing their fate.
https://i.imgur.com/3zh92KW.jpg

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*Just in case it isn't obvious, the following were not taken in the concentration camp*
https://i.imgur.com/Wt0u8Cy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vP2Biau.jpg
____________________
MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[geordie1234]

Got my cbt next week but already planning my first trip abroad like this.... Looks great fun
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[TheManWithThe...]

It's a great bit of motivation to get some tests under your belt!

Nothing better than waking up day after day knowing you get to go and ride your bike around some amazing places.
____________________
MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[Mr.Stumpy]

What a fantastic trip great photos . Were off in April but moving to France . Dachau such a terrible place but looks rather nice . We had chills when we went to a small town The SS Panzer Division Das Reich, destroyed the French village of Oradour-sur- Glane it was a memorial and left as it was found .

On a brighter note what's your next trip?

[TheManWithThe...]

The town itself is quite pleasant...just a sleepy little suburb kind of place.
The camp today is a mere shadow of what it once was, with only the yard area seen on the right side of the model still existing. The two huts which are there today were rebuilt to show what conditions were like.

I've heard of Oradur-sur-Glane and what was done there. I've seen a few photos a friend took when he visited, and it seems like a far greater reminder of the horrors which took place during the years of the Reich than most museums.

I have a trip in the pipelines with a couple of friends for a visit to Auschwitz, and also a big trip in 2017 to reach Moscow and Chernobyl, but that is just a twinkle in our eyes currently.
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MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[TheManWithThe...]

The next day i left Dachau and headed East for Austria
https://i.imgur.com/sxgol5qh.jpg

On the way (again, not a clue where), by chance i came across a German war memorial garden, tucked away on a quiet residential road.
https://i.imgur.com/Kgo2lVNh.jpg
"The Dead Lie Here As A Reminder To The Living"
https://i.imgur.com/ICj4sw2h.jpg

The view which greeted me after crossing into Austria got me very excited for what i was to find over the next few days.
https://i.imgur.com/0cJbMAeh.jpg

When buying a Vignette for the motorway, i was asked why i had come East, rather than just going through Innsbruck from Munich like most bikers do. I Couldn't quite bring myself to tell him the real reason...


...it was because of this..
https://i.imgur.com/UxfA2lHh.jpg

I made my way over to the lakes around Salzburg, which were simply stunning. The roads around the mountains and forests surrounding the lakes were also just perfect for a leisurely cruise, with chocolatebox villages dotting the area.
Again, im not sure exactly which lake this was taken at, but it was beautiful.
https://i.imgur.com/oK5xdeCh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zObHV8Jh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CgmRpIbh.jpg

In i way, it was a sad day, because i was as East as i would be going. Apart from heading south to Italy, this was officially the turning point in the trip...i was on my way home.

https://i.imgur.com/QxlM1GSh.jpg

I made my way back into Germany because there was one place, or one feature of that place i really wanted to see whilst i was that far east.
*Hint* I'm in Birtchesgaden
https://i.imgur.com/YiXTNGAh.jpg

Can you tell what it is yet!?
https://i.imgur.com/GwWxw0jh.jpg
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MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[Mr.Stumpy]

Have you seen any of the Wildbad crew on you tube ? Well worth watching they do trips all over the place . I'll post a link if your interested

[chickenstrip]

[TheManWithThe...]

[chickenstrip]

[Copycat73]

[TheManWithThe...]

I knew about the problem of getting up there, but also thought they had started charging to actually go in now?

Whether right or wrong, that was the reason i didn't bother going up, but i may look into it for a future trip.
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MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[vysie]

just re read this post on the laptop and the pictures look amazing and looked an epic trip, really hope me and the other half get a chance to do a trip like this.
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Every day is a learning curve

[TheManWithThe...]

The campsite in Bertchesgaden was in a stunning place, nestled between two peaks. However, one thing i didn't plan for was how ridiculously cold it would get at night, and the night spent here was one of the worst. To make things worse, the camp bed i had bought ( https://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3407129.htm) was stupidly uncomfortable, and the combination of that and the cold made for awful nights, with the first hour of my ride the next morning spent with my left shoulder in cramps. Next time, i'll be taking either a thin roll mat, or an inflatable bed.

Despite this, i was excited to set off, as i was in for my first taste of real alpine roads that day...


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Passing Zell Am See...which wasn't too sore on the eyes

https://i.imgur.com/OVmsPAxh.jpg

And then, i reached it...

DER GEOßGLOCKNER
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ooh, selfie!
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It was fucking windy up there! I played a rather fun game of "chase the glove across the car park and catch it before it gets blown off the side of a mountain".

https://i.imgur.com/DlNP1tFh.jpg

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What a difference a mile makes! From glorious sunshine on one side, to clouds of cold misery and impending cliff-related doom!
https://i.imgur.com/r6It0Bsh.jpg

Despite the clouds, the way down was very fun. So much that once i reached the bottom, i turned around and made my way back up!

On the way down, i had noticed a BMW parked right on the edge of one of the hairpins, and i just thought, "typical BMW wanker", as i passed the car. It was only on the way back up that i noticed that it wasn't so much parked right on the edge of a hairpin, as crashed right on the edge of the hairpin. The big rock embedded into the bumper gave it away. I thought to myself "...typical BMW wanker" as i rode past.
https://i.imgur.com/Js7Znm9h.jpg


I was glad to find the weather was lovely again at the bottom, so i carried on trundling along on my merry way.
https://i.imgur.com/uw5e8sdh.jpg

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I eventually reached the town of Lienz, and after some time searching for a hotel which wasn't going to buttrape my wallet, i found a nice guesthouse called "Der Dolomitenhof" which was very nice, and also employed a rather cute waitress in their restaurant...you know...if that sells the place for you!
https://i.imgur.com/ZJbnIt1h.jpg[/i]

Also, the town has an "alpencoaster", which is basically a toboggan/rollercoaster thingy stuck on the side of a mountain. 10 of the finest euros gets you a trip up on the skii lift, and a ride down on the coaster. I was sceptical as to how good it was going to be, but i haven't been felt that close to imminent death in a long time! It was so fun that i had considered going back the next day for another go, as some old git was going slowly in front so i had to wait, but it was raining and i couldn't be arsed.
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MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[TheManWithThe...]

[alan29]

Going to Zell in the summer for a week. looks brilliant.

[Enduro Numpty]

[Supermoto_Fan]

This is what it means to ride a bike - You would not do this in a car (well, some people would..)

You discover and explore so much on a motorcycle.

Nice choice of bike, the ER5 would of been a drain on your trip
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Yamaha MT-09 - Triple powerrrr

[TheManWithThe...]

[TheManWithThe...]

The next day sucked dick.

I crossed into Italy, where the roads were all clogged with dicks in those stupid mini tractors going stupidly slow. I was hoping to reach the Stelvio pass that day, but by about 3 oclock i was frustrated and tired and damp, so i decided to call it a day and find myself a room for the night in a guest house, the driveway of which was very steep and very slippery, which made reversing backwards into the garage/basement/schnapps distillery very interesting to say the least.

https://i.imgur.com/GV6JXkdh.jpg

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https://i.imgur.com/SR9JNvYh.jpg

But the next day and Stelvio definitely made up for it!

I had been told about a small skiing town on the way called Solder, which was my first port of call, and my lord, it was stunning.

https://i.imgur.com/JubylVKh.jpg

The lake was probably a good 10 feet deep at a guess, but it was crystal clear, and you could see all the fish just chilling (no pun intended) at the bottom and swimming about.

https://i.imgur.com/jDhedPgh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/oPmL7MEh.jpg

*manly giggle*
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At the bottom of Stelvio i came across a little group of guys with classic cars with this gem in.
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https://i.imgur.com/Byw1ERvh.jpg

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I stopped on a corner to get a few snaps of the hairpins on the way down and suddenly heard there guys thundering down. It was pretty impressive to stay behind them for a few corners and see how much speed they carried around the hairpins!
https://i.imgur.com/ZkgZFPMh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/z72Kc5Ch.jpg

Towards the bottom of the pass i could hear my brakes squealing, so decided to stop and check they were ok....

MY FUCKING LORD THEY WERE HOT!

In the words of my mate, if you do stelvio right, your engine boils on the way up, and your brakes on the way down!

Eventually i found myself heading south on some miscellaneous and boring Italian road, so checked the satnav for routs which could be fun, and took a little detour to go exploring. I found myself a lovely narrow pass.
I swear, i have never seen so many god damn fiat pandas in my life! I'd say about 80% of cars in the little hamlets i passed through were fiat pandas.

https://i.imgur.com/5abQVfLh.jpg

That evening i found quite a nice camp site by a lake and had the best night sleep i had had in a long while (other than in hotels), as Italy south of the alps was pleasantly warm at night.

However, the next day was full of misery and shit and made me wish i had just turned around at the bottom of Stelvio and headed back to Austria.

I had planned on visiting the Moto Guzzi factory at Lake Como, so headed that way via a very rainy motorway. I reached the factory to find it wouldn't be open for tours for another hour, so i thought i'd go and find a camp site, set up for the night, and then go back for the museum. However, shit italian motorway junctions and tunnels combined with a tempermental satnav meant by the time i had found a camp site, which was shut, it was almost time for the museum to open, so i cut my losses and headed back to the factory.

https://i.imgur.com/t7Nebklh.jpg

It was alright, and it was interesting learning about the history...most of which i have forgotten, but i wouldn't bother making a special trip for it. However, the road following the shore of the lake was lovely. It would have been incredible if the weather was better, but hey...you can't win every time.

I headed north towards the alps again, and found myself a campsite by the side of a waterfall and did the fastest pitching of my tent i have ever done, as it was pissing it down.

https://i.imgur.com/RNJu7KVh.jpg

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Just walking through the nearby town looking for a restaurant when BAM! Tomato on a railing!
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https://i.imgur.com/E9wbdg9h.jpg

I was sad because this was officially the turning point in my trip, where i was heading home, but i was so happy to be heading back to Austria, and that i would get to do Stelvio again, but Italy and the pass was to give me one final kick in the backside as i fled back to bavaria...
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MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[chickenstrip]

This has been a timely report for me. Definitely giving me the itch to get off my sorry arse and do something similar this year, especially as I missed out on last year. Enjoying the write-up, glad you're taking the time to do it
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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