Eastern Europe motorcycle road trip. July 10th to Sept 24th 2010

It is a very long time since I last blogged and I regret that I tried too hard to make the entries like a book chapter which took a lot of time and eventually died out when I toured the USA 3 years ago.
I have embarked on another big road trip and this time will try to update in a more factual rather than opinionated fashion and try to stick to the facts rather than follow red herrings.

I have wanted to do a similar trip to the USA one ever since I came back from the States and decided that I would like to try to see some of the Eastern European Countries now that they are very largely open again to those of us in western Europe.   After 14 years and the US trip on a Harley Davidson, I recognised I had had enough and changed to BMW.  I have certainly not regretted this and have just had my third bike, this time new, three weeks ago. With the tyres just run in and 103 miles on the clock, I set off from home in North Yorkshire at 10.00 on the morning of Saturday 10th July. It's a bit of a problem to know what to pack. I have taken the bare minimum leaving the top box free as Ann is coming to join me for 2 weeks, but I have packed my camping stuff in a side bag and also Ann's helmet, riding suit and gloves extra, so when she has finished, with any luck I may have some space and be a bit lighter.
The trip to Dover was tedious as always but I arrived at 2.30 ready for the sailing at 3.30. I was incredibly lucky on the M2 about an hour out of Dover, when in the outside lane.  It seemed that the driver of the car, two ahead of me, either collapsed or fell asleep and veered into the centre barrier and then turned round.  I managed to shoot by up the middle lane and was 200 yards down the road really unable to stop to see if I should give help. Two other vehicles collided at the same time and I was so thankful that I had not been the filling in the sandwich.

Strasburg Cathedral

When I arrived in Calais, I set of for my brother's in JHQ, Rheindalen where I was going to spend the night.  It started to pour with rain in Belgium and I had to cover up, and in fact the spray and rain was so heavy that I stopped several times under bridges as I entered Germany because the locals were still insisting on travelling at 90mph +.   The second time in the day that I had been pleased to have the ABS system.   I arrived at JHQ at about 10.00pm, rather later than I had hoped but had a lovely evening with N and A and left there after lunch on Sunday.  I was heading for Almir and Sanja's apartment in Strasburg and arrived in the evening on  11th. It was lovely to see them again and their 3 year old daughter U, and new 7 month old son N.  Al and I went a walk in Strasburg on Monday especially in the old city. I had last been there with my Dad 3 years ago but had really forgotten most of it.

Strasburg

On the Tuesday, I left at 6.30 as  I was due to collect Ann from Stuttgard, about an hour and a half from Strasburg. The bike had also done about 900miles by this time and the BMW dealer at Stuttgard was kind eneough to slot me in for an 8.30 morning appointment for first check up and oil change for which I was most grateful.  A and S were also leaving that day for her mother's holiday home and their apartment in Zaostrog, Croatia and they asked us to go to stay with them when we had left Bosnia.

Lindau Harbour

I met Ann on Tuesday 13th and we left to set off towards Lindau on Lake Konstanz where we stayed for the night. Lovely evening strolling the island and the old town and managed to get hotel right in the centre of the old district.  The following morning we had

Lindau Old town hall

another wander about and then set off for Innsbruck. The weather was fine and we took several breaks. Ann had been to Innsbruck as a teenager with her parents but although she had good memories of the holiday could remember little of it.  We were delighted by the centre of Innsbruck. (even by a Macdonalds which had been inserted into an old original building with no changes except a a discreetsmall green "M" sign! Now why can't they do that everywhere?)  There was a very good school band on tour who played in the street there too.

Innsbruck

From Innsbruck we decided to ride the old Brenner pass which was quite fun except that one could not get off that to get on to the road down to Slovenia without coming back on the new Motorway Brenner!  So, anyway, by the time we had wasted a couple of hours experiencing them both and with numb bums, we finally managed to get on the road into Slovenia.  we took a by pass route to be able to ride the old Vrsic Pass which runs in a sort of U shape through the Soca valley to Kranska Gora.  This pass is phenomenal both to see and to ride. It is about 20 miles long altogether through the Julian Alps and must have about 60 serious hairpin bends on steep climbs.  This would be enough, but the ones on the north side of the pass into Kranska Gora are all cobbled!

Vrsic pass

Vrsic pass

  

At summit of Vrsic pass

Bled beach and lake

Church on island at Bled

From Kranska Gora we went to Bled and stopped for a meal at the lakeside.  It is a very pretty place and obviously a major inland holiday destination for locals.  However that does not detract from the beauty of the lake, the old chateau on the hill and the island church.  After dinner, we rode on further still, a long days riding but with a lot to see and remember. We were pleased to arrive late, at about 9.45, in Ljubliana and very lucky to get the last room at the Park Hotel, a vast old concrete Communist block hotel, but at least it was clean and a bed for the night.  It had been very hot all day and the rooms was likewise very hot and we sweated all night. ( The following morning I found what I thought was a TV remote but which was in fact a remote air conditioning control!)  Despite the fact that The Lonely Planet suggest some interesting excursions in and  around Ljubliana city centre, it was still very hot the following morning and so we decided to push on. Friday morning, 16th July and the final push to Bosnia.

NOTE:  I am fairly certain that, if you double click on pictures, you will see them full sized.  Doc.