The alps, the alps!

Toni says: Wow! What an utterly incredible and amazing day we had yesterday. We talked over dinner last night an agreed that it feels like we've been through several time zones. We left Fussen in Germany about 10:30 yesterday morning and within 10 minutes we'd crossed the border into Austria. The plan was to travel to Lake Konstanz via a valley through the alps. This was a part of our journey that Jon was particulary looking forward to. "Don't worry!" he said, "this is going to be so cool and so much easier in the saddle than yesterday's trip." Famous last words!




Fussen town centre, looking up the the Alps.





Can you spot the excavators high up on the quarry!




Jon standing by the river Lech. Lech means milk (in several languages) and perfectly describes the opaque colour of the river.




Elbingenalp: amazing roads through the alps, as usual.




A handsome man stands by a bike in Austria :-)




Toni's excellent shot of a waterfall near Warth.






Jon's excellent shot of a biker on the way to Warth.








As we crept above 1,500m the snow was at road level. So Toni hopped off to have a quick snowball fight.







Avalanche risk, opposite the bike where we had lunch!




Little duck family about to emigrate to Switzerland.










Above pictures - on the ferry over to Switzerland. We drove all the way to Constance and found a hotel with a crappy Wifi - hence we're now in McDonaldns having breakfast on Sunday morning with no external poower - hence can't spell check or write more as only 2 mins of power left.

Off to Frieberg now - see you all later... love Jon and Toni :-)

Fussen - hooray!

Dinkelbuhl - one of the many beautiful towns on the romantic road - Toni got her Spargel (asparagus) fix here!





Coming into Fussen - magnificent!


Toni says: This morning we left the strange town that was Bad Konig! Our hotel must have had at least 20 rooms but it was run by an old couple who looked in their 70's. In, fact everyone in the town looked in their 70's and we counted a minimum of three retirement homes! But they were very sweet and the old man even struggled to carry our top box out to the car-park. (Although I think it was because we hadn't paid at that stage and maybe he though we might 'do a runner'!!!) The weather was kind to us today, despite another massive thunderstorm the night before which got us soaked walking back from the restaurant last night. But today was dry and the skies clear again and the roads relatively free of heavy traffic. In fact despite the occasional tractor it was just a perfect driving day! We decided that we would head to the 'Romantic Road', which was in our original plan. So our first waypoint was a town on that road called 'Dinkelsbuhl' (My idea 'cos I thought it sounded funny! Child!) We were so glad we had stuck to the plan! The town was wonderful. Very old medieval buildings and cobbled streets. There was a lovely little cafe and we treated ourselves to some lunch to give us some sustenance for the onward journey.

Jon says: A long driving day, 10am until around 6pm, with a few minor stops and 45 mins for lunch. But worth it for the roads, especially the last 20-30km towards Fussen as we approached the alps – the Pan once again in its element. Tomorrow we hope to head into the Alps and Austria, albeit briefly, and then back into German and Lake Constance. We may even visit Switzerland for half an hour for a spot of lunch – awesome!

Leaving Koblenz

Toni says: We still had not decided where we were going today. A local had told us that there was a chance of some thunder, so we were waiting to see the skies before deciding whether we were going for the slower scenic routes. (Bit of a misconception actually as even the motorways are fairly pretty roads!) Getting out onto the balcony from the hotel room the blue was again present so we counted ourselves lucky once more! We debated following the Rhine all the way south to Lake Constance on the German/Swiss/Austrian borders. And although that wasn't in our original plan, we decided to 'wing it' a bit and take the Rhine roads as far as the city of Mainz. We stopped for some lunch, boiling ourselves again in our bike gear sat outside a little cafe. We chatted then and decided to get out of the city and head for a forested area and a little town called Bad Kong - sorry, Bad Konig! Approximately 15 minutes later we were on the city ring road in the middle of the worst thunderstorm I have ever seen - let alone been out on a bike in!!! There was incredible lightening (apparently!) but for the most part, we couldn't see it as there was too much water running off our helmets. How Jon stopped the bike from aquaplaning down the road I shall never know! We were still heading for the little town and still in the pouring rain. I have a feeling it will take the rest of the night for the gear to dry out! Thank god it's still warm at least!

Jon says:

Sat: The chunnel is the functional alternative to the ferry, the latter inciting a sense of adventure that underground sea-train cannot (although LCD screens with fish and other sea life would be much better than windows into an otherwise blacked out tunnel). Bike doing very well though.

Sun: Motorways over to Monschau. Toni said the bike deserved a Belgian-flag sticker, but we were only there for 2 hours so it doesn't count. We have also found that the rear suspension has a small problem, mainly in that it doesn't work properly. Every time we corner fast, and/or go over a big bump, the centre stand seems to hit the ground and make a terrible scraping noise. (We've checked - the part we suspected is slowly being ground down to a shiny flat surface - hopefully there's enough metal to last another week or two).

Mon: The drive to the Nurburg ring, along the 258 from Monschau, rivals and probably betters the A82 through Scotland. I didn't want to do the ring itself, partly because of the suspension problems, but mainly because I've no experience driving fast on a circuit. Stopping to watch the bikes and cars confirmed my decision.

Tue: Driving the 258 to Koblenz was amazing. The variety of roads including hair-pins, sweeping meadows, fast bends and lush scenery made the first 7-800km worthwhile.

Wed: The Rhine cruise inspired us to change route and follow the river roads on Thursday.

Thur: beautiful roads along the Rhine. At various points we had: on our right trains, on the road other bikes, on the paths walkers and cyclists, and on the river barges full of coal and cruisers full of tourists. On the road to Bad Konig we had very heavy rain laying itself down over very dry roads - the surface water was deep and the bike's brakes lost all sense of purpose. A little courage and lots of perseverance got us though a rather close lightning storm - I ducked down leaving Toni as the main lightning conductor, better to have the pillion full of volts than the driver. We were obviously a bit bogged down with water and mist when we e missed the hotels around the main street and instead found the highest hotel in the town - bugger - built up a good appetite walking up and down a couple of times though.

(No photos today - too wet!)

In Koblenz

Another wonderfully substantial and hearty German brekkie this morning - bread, cheese, meat and egg. We were ready to set off again. Bidding 'Auf Wiedersehen' to our friendly hosts, we left Monshau, bound for the city of Koblenz. I visited this city and Rhein region 20 years ago and I was curious and excited to be returning again. My first impression upon entering the city again was one of disappointment. It seemed to be tired looking, industrial and at least three times the size I remembered it. After the rural villages we've seen so far, it didn't compare favourably. However, it IS a city and growth and progress happens. It's not such a bad place. We found a hotel, quite easily and not far from the Moselle river and we took a stroll down to 'Die Deutches Eck', the point where the Moselle and the Rhein rivers meet. It's still fairly impressive! We are staying at The 'Kompforte Hotel' for two nights and hopefully we are off in the morning for a Rhein cruise down to St Goarshousen further down river for the day. Fingers crossed for another fabulous day's weather on our first full day off the bike!



Jesuitplatz in Koblenz - good spot for a beer.




Stolzenfels Castle as seen from the Rhine.




Our schiff, the Goethe, a paddleboat!!




Burg Katz ist geschlossen - boo hoo!

Still in Monschau

We like this place! So we've decided to stay another night. In my best German, I ask the proprietor if this will be at all possible. With a very perplexed look, he replied; ' Keine problem!' (No problem!).

After breakfast then we set off for the town of Nurburg - home of the famous 'Nurburgring'. After another sweltering journey there, (temperature today must have hit 30, not good at all in my new trousers!) we arrive at what only be described as the most unbelievably flash car-park I've ever seen! Not only were there the most bikes I've ever seen in one place, but Porsches, Lamborghinis and Lotuses - all crammed into a very small car-park. It was scary! Even if you have no interest whatsoever in motor sport, you could not fail to be amazed by the sight! The best part however turned out to be 2 miles up the road in a illegal parking spot on the edge of the forest. Hopping off the bike afforded us a fabulous view of the drivers speeding past on the track. We headed back to Monshau - considerably slower than some of the hundreds of bikes we saw on the roads that day!

Arriving back there, we found a fairly empty town. By the time we had showered and headed out again for dinner, there was barely anyone around in this ghost town! Maybe this was why the hotel owner was happy for us to stay another night - there was no-one else in the village!! After a delicious pizza, (German food is not entirely geared up for a vegetarian - thank god I eat fish - last night's trout with almonds was scrummy!) we wandered back to the hotel. Then at the really late 9pm we had to persuade the staff to sell us a final beer before they closed the bar - and the hotel for the night. We had to take cushions and glasses inside and then lock the front door after us!!! Everywhere was deserted and we were truly on our own!




Toni by the bike on the way to the Nurburgring.




Crazy bikes on the ring - can you see Jon on there??!!



Vogelsang - a disused Belgian military site we visitied on the way back from the ring - fabulous views.





Here we are again - coolio!

Monschau

(Words by Toni, pics by Jon).

This morning we left Dunkirk - today we must slog down the motorway to reach today's destination, Monschau. This is just across the Belgian border into Germany. We have visited this place before - every year it holds a wonderfully seasonal crisp and cold xmas market. However lovely in the snow I was looking forward to seeing it in the summer sunshine. It is just as pretty. Lucious green forests and woodland. The first hotel we stopped at was a bit of a concrete jungle so I thought it probably wouldn't be so expensive. Got that wrong. At 110 Euros per night for the ugly monstrosity on the outskirts of town we'd thought we'd try somewhere else. So we took the bike as far as we could go before the narrow and cobbled pedestrian area took over. We tried another but there was no room at the inn. On we went, ever hotter in the 30 degree heat (in our bike gear) until we tried another cafe/hotel - Der Eifeler Hof. Oh joy - they had a room! But oh no, the shower wasn't working, there were problems with the plumbing which meant we had to shower in a room on the floor above. But the room was only 20 Euros each per night, including breakfast, and the staff were friendly so we ate their that night. Delicious food. Today is a bank holiday weekend in Germany so it is very busy here. But even so the crowds were dissapearing and staff were closing cafes by 9pm.

Off on the adventure

(Words by Toni, pics by Jon)

After an early start of packing and repacking and changing our minds about taking the tent for what seemed like the millionth time we finally left the good old spa around 11:30. Our plan, so far, is to take the EuroTunnel from Folkestone to Calais, and drive to Dunkirk to stay there for the night. All good so far. We got to the hotel room (smelt more like a cabin actually) and immediately had a row over who was getting the top bunk. (Just kidding!) But it did only cost 35 Euros for the night. Like Jon said, it's actually quite satisfying to get exactly what you've paid for, without any pretensions. The only real hitch was that it was about 4km out of town - no problem we thought. It would be good to ignore the travel restaurent next door and walk to town and work up an appetite for dinner. I will enjoy moulesfrites even more. After trudging through a dreary industrial estate for nearly an hour the intrepid exploreres were foiled by a motorway bypass that was inpenitrable. Thus there voyage on foot thrawted they returned weary and hungry to their cabin. However, all was not lost - they got their dinner and a wonderful desert as their reward. Sadly at a price - Jon balked at the cost of the beer - £2.50 for a half. I'll leave you, dear reader, to imagine the price of the rest.

PS: left a vital piece of equipment at home - the travel adaptor. Without this, no computer or blogging, or phone charger. Make mental note to selves to buy one asap.