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!
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
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!
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!
Monday, 12 May 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, 11 May 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, 10 May 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, 10 June 2007
Rust and electrics
Little post, since no trips at the moment. Stripped the bike a week ago and tried to sort out some rusty patches and the electrics. Here's the bike all naked...
And another....
And here it is with its clothes back on and the pannier with the stickers from the Tatras trip...
Off to the Lakes in a few weeks on the push bike (Thorn Nomad) to do a few days cycling and camping. And then off to Scotland on the Pan for a few days camping and noodling around the highlands. Not a bad life!!!
And another....
And here it is with its clothes back on and the pannier with the stickers from the Tatras trip...
Off to the Lakes in a few weeks on the push bike (Thorn Nomad) to do a few days cycling and camping. And then off to Scotland on the Pan for a few days camping and noodling around the highlands. Not a bad life!!!
Saturday, 19 May 2007
The long trip home
The long bad Friday
This was written last night...
Today was a mistake, from start to finish. I'd toyed with the idea of going straight home from Prague or of going back to Austria and coming back via the Alps. Somehow I decided that going to Amsterdam for a night, via Northern Germany, would be a good idea as it would mean I'd done a loop (of sorts). But the drive was terrible. I left Toni at 08:30 this morning and rode Over 900km through crappy traffic, dead ends (the GPS didn't know that some roads haven't yet been built), along brick-lined tracks, over a river on a ferry, and into the hell the is Amsterdam. I can't even remember why I thought this would be a good idea.
The river crossing!!!
(The silly GPS said 1.6 km to Ferry, which I presumed was a German town or village. But it actually was a ferry across a small river. The roads to and from the river were bascially dirt tracks with some bricks thrown on top. First gear all the way in the searing heat.. so BMW... if you're reading this, lend me a GS1200 Adventure for my next trip!).
It turns out that there was a national holiday on Thursday (in Holland, possibly around Europe), and subsequently every man and his dog is in Amsterdam for a long weekend. The only accommodation I could find was business class in a 5* hotel (the Hotel de L'Europe) in the center. The doorman walked up to me to ask me to move my bike, and then offered to help me out when I showed him my reservation. This place was so posh even the maids were scowling at me, although I was covered in sweat and wearing the same clothes I'd been wearing for the previous 3 weeks ;-)
This all sounds quite neat, but it goes completely against the essence of the trip. The adventure should be about discovery, and while there's nothing wrong with luxury it needs to be in the correct context. I've been to Amsterdam a few times before and it's great in the right context. In the same way that a stag do wouldn't really work in a quiet mountain hotel on the Polish/Czech border, a bike trip doesn't work by taking in Amsterdam.
But anyways, it was a good endurance day - it took around eleven and a half hours to get there, plus another hour to sort the hotel - very tiring!
Tomorrow I plan to eat breakfast, pack the bike, and go home - the place I wish I'd been tonight. It's a long ride but is split with the ferry crossing, and I can't wait. Then I'll have Sunday off to clean the bike and recuperate, and then I can start planning the next trip, sans Amsterdam!
The ride home!
I'm back in Droitwich, England :-)
Today was another long slog but was made easy by knowing that I didn't have to find accommodation and prepare a trip for tomorrow. The day started with a buzz on the door - the maid was letting me know my copy of the Times was hanging in a bag on my door - but it's not the same when someone delivers to paper to you. I eat breakfast, packed the bike and set off - the GPS programmed for Calais.
Here's me this morning...
And as a comparison, here's me three weeks ago in Germany...
The beard has grown and, I think, I look a little more tired. On the way to Calais I decided to try the Eurotunnel, having not been on it with the bike. And so it was that 40 minutes after leaving France I was back in England. It took me roughly 8 hours to get from the hotel in Amsterdam to home - not a bad day's work.
On the Eurotunnel train...
Final thoughts
Around 5 or 6 days or go I was asking Toni whether she'd fancy doing a longer trip - around the world, or to Africa or Russia or ex-Yugoslavia or Sweden/Norway. But it then occurred to me, and this may seem obvious, that to do such a trip requires a particular sort of desire. On Horizons Unlimited, amongst other traveler's web sites, you can read about people who work for a few years and then quit work, sell the house and car and dog, buy a couple of bikes and set off to travel the world. One or two years later, when they get back, they get jobs and a house and another dog and start saving and planning for the next trip. I don't believe that seeing the world is the primary objective. Rather, I think that traveling itself is the goal. Most people can take a nice holiday here and there and see many nice places, drink good wine, meet friendly people and experience difference cultures. But if that was all that was required for fulfillment then why not use a car, which will take more belongings, or do more 1-2 week holidays flying from place to place. No - I believe that traveling by motorcycle lies at the heart of the motivation. The particular destinations allow the traveler to set his objectives from day to day, to set goals to achieve and places to see. But on a motorcycle the journey is the adventure. There isn't really a final destination (in terms of a town, city or country).
So if was to travel further and longer why would I do it...? For the reasons mentioned above - because traveling is the adventure. It probably won't matter if I go to Scotland or more-Eastern Europe or Asia, etc. As long as there's a rough plan in place, a bike to take me, some good company, the possibility of an English newspaper, at least one beer per day, and plenty of fine, dry, smooth and twisty roads, I'll be up for it.
On that note, I'll say adieu, and leave you with my overall route map and travel stats.
Thanks for reading,
Jon.
This was written last night...
Today was a mistake, from start to finish. I'd toyed with the idea of going straight home from Prague or of going back to Austria and coming back via the Alps. Somehow I decided that going to Amsterdam for a night, via Northern Germany, would be a good idea as it would mean I'd done a loop (of sorts). But the drive was terrible. I left Toni at 08:30 this morning and rode Over 900km through crappy traffic, dead ends (the GPS didn't know that some roads haven't yet been built), along brick-lined tracks, over a river on a ferry, and into the hell the is Amsterdam. I can't even remember why I thought this would be a good idea.
The river crossing!!!
(The silly GPS said 1.6 km to Ferry, which I presumed was a German town or village. But it actually was a ferry across a small river. The roads to and from the river were bascially dirt tracks with some bricks thrown on top. First gear all the way in the searing heat.. so BMW... if you're reading this, lend me a GS1200 Adventure for my next trip!).
It turns out that there was a national holiday on Thursday (in Holland, possibly around Europe), and subsequently every man and his dog is in Amsterdam for a long weekend. The only accommodation I could find was business class in a 5* hotel (the Hotel de L'Europe) in the center. The doorman walked up to me to ask me to move my bike, and then offered to help me out when I showed him my reservation. This place was so posh even the maids were scowling at me, although I was covered in sweat and wearing the same clothes I'd been wearing for the previous 3 weeks ;-)
This all sounds quite neat, but it goes completely against the essence of the trip. The adventure should be about discovery, and while there's nothing wrong with luxury it needs to be in the correct context. I've been to Amsterdam a few times before and it's great in the right context. In the same way that a stag do wouldn't really work in a quiet mountain hotel on the Polish/Czech border, a bike trip doesn't work by taking in Amsterdam.
But anyways, it was a good endurance day - it took around eleven and a half hours to get there, plus another hour to sort the hotel - very tiring!
Tomorrow I plan to eat breakfast, pack the bike, and go home - the place I wish I'd been tonight. It's a long ride but is split with the ferry crossing, and I can't wait. Then I'll have Sunday off to clean the bike and recuperate, and then I can start planning the next trip, sans Amsterdam!
The ride home!
I'm back in Droitwich, England :-)
Today was another long slog but was made easy by knowing that I didn't have to find accommodation and prepare a trip for tomorrow. The day started with a buzz on the door - the maid was letting me know my copy of the Times was hanging in a bag on my door - but it's not the same when someone delivers to paper to you. I eat breakfast, packed the bike and set off - the GPS programmed for Calais.
Here's me this morning...
And as a comparison, here's me three weeks ago in Germany...
The beard has grown and, I think, I look a little more tired. On the way to Calais I decided to try the Eurotunnel, having not been on it with the bike. And so it was that 40 minutes after leaving France I was back in England. It took me roughly 8 hours to get from the hotel in Amsterdam to home - not a bad day's work.
On the Eurotunnel train...
Final thoughts
Around 5 or 6 days or go I was asking Toni whether she'd fancy doing a longer trip - around the world, or to Africa or Russia or ex-Yugoslavia or Sweden/Norway. But it then occurred to me, and this may seem obvious, that to do such a trip requires a particular sort of desire. On Horizons Unlimited, amongst other traveler's web sites, you can read about people who work for a few years and then quit work, sell the house and car and dog, buy a couple of bikes and set off to travel the world. One or two years later, when they get back, they get jobs and a house and another dog and start saving and planning for the next trip. I don't believe that seeing the world is the primary objective. Rather, I think that traveling itself is the goal. Most people can take a nice holiday here and there and see many nice places, drink good wine, meet friendly people and experience difference cultures. But if that was all that was required for fulfillment then why not use a car, which will take more belongings, or do more 1-2 week holidays flying from place to place. No - I believe that traveling by motorcycle lies at the heart of the motivation. The particular destinations allow the traveler to set his objectives from day to day, to set goals to achieve and places to see. But on a motorcycle the journey is the adventure. There isn't really a final destination (in terms of a town, city or country).
So if was to travel further and longer why would I do it...? For the reasons mentioned above - because traveling is the adventure. It probably won't matter if I go to Scotland or more-Eastern Europe or Asia, etc. As long as there's a rough plan in place, a bike to take me, some good company, the possibility of an English newspaper, at least one beer per day, and plenty of fine, dry, smooth and twisty roads, I'll be up for it.
On that note, I'll say adieu, and leave you with my overall route map and travel stats.
Thanks for reading,
Jon.
- Total distance: 4,984 km (3,096 miles)
- Average speed: 92 kph (57 mph)
- Maximum speed: 168kph (104 mph) not too bad for for around 400kg of man and machine, and I wasn't trying to max it out!
- Hours spent in motion on the bike: 60.75.
Thursday, 17 May 2007
Our Last Day Together in Prague
Toni
Hi again! Well, this is our last day together in Prague and it feels very strange indeed! We got up (late!) this morning and had a leisurely breakfast. That was odd in itself because we had no running around to do - no packing up the panniers and running around the room to find where Jon had flung everything the night before, trying to make sure we hadn't left anything behind!!
So here it was, a whole day stretched out before us without a specific plan of action. Consequently today has felt weird! We had a few things we had thought about doing, such as a couple of tiny (sorry!!) gifts that I could manage to fit in my hand-luggage. Then Jon wanted to go and see the Prague Communist Museum. That was quite incredible. We were both still amazed that again we had glimpsed a life situation so far removed from our experiences that actually happened within our life time.
I am sitting here (with a beer, of course!) and writing this blog and although this seems perfectly natural to me now, we have begun to appreciate how very lucky we have been to undertake this trip. Compared to other travel stories that you may read about, this has been quite a small adventure to some, but for us it has been quite a big thing. Although we have had a plan of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see, we have also had the freedom to choose and change the plans as we saw fit. For the most part, we have started the day with an idea of where we were going, but never been certain where we will end up and how it will work out! That has been the greatest and most fabulous part of this journey.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this adventure, and I am sure that it will only lead to even bigger and better ones!! It has helped to have shared this with Jon, someone who is so laid back even when things get a little 'stressy' for me!! We have shared the experience of the journey together and I think we have both got so much out of it.
So, goodbye from me from 'Praha', and hope to see you all soon!! xxx
P.S Have a look at the following picture - I too can do an Iron- Butt!!! (1781 km.... !!!!)
Jon
The bike is parked about 3 meters from the entrance to the hotel. This is always one of my pre-occupations... where will be be able to leave the bike? But it generally seems to pan out ok - we haven't managed to drive it into the foyer of a hotel (yet) but we've come pretty close.
I've started reading a book on the history of the Gulag camps (Gulag, a History by Anne Applebaum) which won the Pulitzer prize in 2004 - already the introduction fills me with sadness. As Toni mentioned, we went to the Communist Museum in the centre a couple of hours ago and this also made me sad. I sat there wondering what I would have done if I'd found myself in Wenceslas square as the tanks and troops rolled in. I'd like to think that I'd have got out my camera and tried to document it... perhaps too passive a role, or perhaps too brave given the conditions. In my lifetime, in my country, I've never come close to anything like that - perhaps I never will...?
Tomorrow I'm going to drive to Amsterdam - this will be interesting for two reasons. First, it's around 900km (around 560 miles), and secondly I haven't found digs yet. On their own neither is a problem - but put together it will be another challenge as I'll be quite tired and shaky by the time I get there. (I sometimes get shaky after a long haul on the bike, probably due to the road/engine vibration, noise and fatigue). But then I'll give myself a day off on Saturday and hit the road for the return journey to Droitwich (another 750km, or 470 miles). The ferry will make a welcome break.
I think this trip has shown us both that we can be as resourceful as we want. The idea of just turning up in a foreign town (and country) without accommodation or local knowledge holds no fear for us (not that it really did, but it's easy to say something will be easy without having actually done it). Language barriers can be broken down with a smile and ample use of mime. For example, asking an Austrian shop keeper if he had any Austrian country stickers for my pannier involved me saying... "Haben Sie eine Schticker fur meine Motorrad mit Osteriech?" and miming the act of peeling back a sticker and placing it on my helmet, then trying to mime that it's not for my helmet but for my bike. After a couple of seconds he said, "Ja, hier, I think this is vot you are looking vor." As usual, even the people that haven't formally learnt English still speak it. It makes the English foreign language education policy look especially embarrassing.
So that's all for the joint trip folks... hopefully I'll post something tomorrow or on Saturday, and then a final entry on Sunday when I return to bonnie England.
Thanks for reading, take it easy,
Jon & Toni.
PS.. here's a couple of piccies from today...
Street life in Prague:
Toni performing the daily newspaper ritual:
Scene from the communist museum:
Hi again! Well, this is our last day together in Prague and it feels very strange indeed! We got up (late!) this morning and had a leisurely breakfast. That was odd in itself because we had no running around to do - no packing up the panniers and running around the room to find where Jon had flung everything the night before, trying to make sure we hadn't left anything behind!!
So here it was, a whole day stretched out before us without a specific plan of action. Consequently today has felt weird! We had a few things we had thought about doing, such as a couple of tiny (sorry!!) gifts that I could manage to fit in my hand-luggage. Then Jon wanted to go and see the Prague Communist Museum. That was quite incredible. We were both still amazed that again we had glimpsed a life situation so far removed from our experiences that actually happened within our life time.
I am sitting here (with a beer, of course!) and writing this blog and although this seems perfectly natural to me now, we have begun to appreciate how very lucky we have been to undertake this trip. Compared to other travel stories that you may read about, this has been quite a small adventure to some, but for us it has been quite a big thing. Although we have had a plan of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see, we have also had the freedom to choose and change the plans as we saw fit. For the most part, we have started the day with an idea of where we were going, but never been certain where we will end up and how it will work out! That has been the greatest and most fabulous part of this journey.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this adventure, and I am sure that it will only lead to even bigger and better ones!! It has helped to have shared this with Jon, someone who is so laid back even when things get a little 'stressy' for me!! We have shared the experience of the journey together and I think we have both got so much out of it.
So, goodbye from me from 'Praha', and hope to see you all soon!! xxx
P.S Have a look at the following picture - I too can do an Iron- Butt!!! (1781 km.... !!!!)
Jon
The bike is parked about 3 meters from the entrance to the hotel. This is always one of my pre-occupations... where will be be able to leave the bike? But it generally seems to pan out ok - we haven't managed to drive it into the foyer of a hotel (yet) but we've come pretty close.
I've started reading a book on the history of the Gulag camps (Gulag, a History by Anne Applebaum) which won the Pulitzer prize in 2004 - already the introduction fills me with sadness. As Toni mentioned, we went to the Communist Museum in the centre a couple of hours ago and this also made me sad. I sat there wondering what I would have done if I'd found myself in Wenceslas square as the tanks and troops rolled in. I'd like to think that I'd have got out my camera and tried to document it... perhaps too passive a role, or perhaps too brave given the conditions. In my lifetime, in my country, I've never come close to anything like that - perhaps I never will...?
Tomorrow I'm going to drive to Amsterdam - this will be interesting for two reasons. First, it's around 900km (around 560 miles), and secondly I haven't found digs yet. On their own neither is a problem - but put together it will be another challenge as I'll be quite tired and shaky by the time I get there. (I sometimes get shaky after a long haul on the bike, probably due to the road/engine vibration, noise and fatigue). But then I'll give myself a day off on Saturday and hit the road for the return journey to Droitwich (another 750km, or 470 miles). The ferry will make a welcome break.
I think this trip has shown us both that we can be as resourceful as we want. The idea of just turning up in a foreign town (and country) without accommodation or local knowledge holds no fear for us (not that it really did, but it's easy to say something will be easy without having actually done it). Language barriers can be broken down with a smile and ample use of mime. For example, asking an Austrian shop keeper if he had any Austrian country stickers for my pannier involved me saying... "Haben Sie eine Schticker fur meine Motorrad mit Osteriech?" and miming the act of peeling back a sticker and placing it on my helmet, then trying to mime that it's not for my helmet but for my bike. After a couple of seconds he said, "Ja, hier, I think this is vot you are looking vor." As usual, even the people that haven't formally learnt English still speak it. It makes the English foreign language education policy look especially embarrassing.
So that's all for the joint trip folks... hopefully I'll post something tomorrow or on Saturday, and then a final entry on Sunday when I return to bonnie England.
Thanks for reading, take it easy,
Jon & Toni.
PS.. here's a couple of piccies from today...
Street life in Prague:
Toni performing the daily newspaper ritual:
Scene from the communist museum:
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