europe

DOVER - CALAIS FERRY	In September 2000 shortly after receiving my new GS and a couple of days after my first 600 mile service we set off from Plymouth England on a Central European tour. This was my first bike adventure, read about it and the lessons we learnt: ENGLAND DOVER FERRY CROSSING 13 SEPT 00 We Set of from Plymouth at 7pm and headed direct to Dover a distance of some 280 miles. We got as far as Taunton, only 60 miles into the journey where we had to repack the bike. Monika had set of with a rucksack full to the brim and it was clear after only short distance that this was going to be to heavy and uncomfortable. It took another 30 minutes to repack and then we were on our way. * Lesson 1: practice with bike fully loaded before setting off. Arrived at Dover ferry port at 1 AM and embarked the ferry at 2 AM, destination Calais. *Lesson 2: Try not break your normal sleep pattern. Arrived in Calais about 6 AM and pushed on for Belgium. Got word that the French where intent on blocking the roads with lorries due to fuel strike
CAMPING - THE FIRST 24 HOUR GARAGE INSIDE BELGIUM	BELGIUM CAMPING 14 SEPT 00 After a two hour drive on the coastal road in the rain, ice and fog we finally arrived in Belgium. We were soaked, tired and hungry. We stopped at the first 24 hour service station got breakfast and set up camp. After four hours sleep we set of for Liege near the German Border.
READY FOR BRUSSELS AND THE LORRY STRIKE	BELGIUM 14 SEPT 00 By the time we entered Brussels the Belgium lorry drivers had also entered the fuel strike and had completely blocked the ring road around the city. We were lucky as we where able to lane split and where only delayed by two hours. We drove continuously through Germanys only stopping for fuel, rather large sausages and a onboard fire. We had canvas bags strapped over the tank which came loose as we travelled and it was not long before the bottom of one bag dropped on to the exhaust and caught fire, causing burn holes to our tent and sleeping bags. Looking back it must have looked really funny a GS blasting down the autobahn with flames shooting from the front of the bike. Fortunately for us, when I eventually noticed we were only 300 meters from a service station and as luck would have it, the damage was minimum and after yet another repack and one less canvas bag we continued south toward the Czech republic.
THE CZECH - GERMAN BORDER	CZECH BORDER 15 SEPT 00 We arrived at the German / Czech border at about midnight, we had now been travelling for 30 hours with only a four hour sleep , the border crossing was a formality and we headed for Prague via Plzen. It was now bitterly cold and as we entered the border town of Plzen we were amazed to see a huge amount of Prostitutes lining the streets touting for business from passing long distant lorry drivers. These women where almost naked and it most have been zero degrees centigrade. The sight of this upset Monika as she had never experienced anything like this and did not expect to see this in her own country. We eventually arrived in Prague at about 2 am where I thought we where only 30 minutes from our first stopover. I was now getting very tired and was in need of a decent nights sleep and can you imagine the horror when I was informed by my good wife that BRNO our planned stop was a further 120 miles south of Prague. We decided to press on and we eventually arrived in BRNO at 4am. I was now overtired and all I want now was to unwind with a good pint of Czech beer. Believe it or not if you want a beer at 4am in the Czech republic you don't have to go far to get one. Apparently the Czechs are famed for the volume of beer they consume per head per year. After a few beers we got to bed at 6 am.
MOUNTAIN REGION BESKYDY - THERE IS SOME MAGNIFICENT RIDING THROUGH THE BESKYDY MOUNTAIN REGION AND IT HAS TO BE THE CHEAPEST PLACE IN EUROPE.	CZECH - ROZNOV After a few days and a good few beers with Monika's dad we headed to our Guest house located east side of the Czech republic only 30 minutes from the Slovak border. ROZNOV POD RADHOSTOM is a beautiful town. This scenic town is famed for its open museum, spas, and outdoor sports and recreational activities, in fact its the second biggest tourist attraction after Prague and happens to have the cheapest beer in Europe and for me the best pint in the world. At only 10 pence pint its not hard to see why I shall retire there after my RWT. This was the first chance that I had to take my bike of road. I headed into the BESKYDY mountains and spent a few days riding the SKI tracks and Fire trials. This was perfect experience for me, great fun AND INCREDIBLE RIDING.
POLAND BORDER NEXT STOP WARSAW	POLAND After a few days in ROZNOV we headed into Poland to see Warsaw and then east to Auschwitz Concentration Camp an experience that is best described as personal and deeply moving, we had a camara but neither of us wanted to take pictures, its something we cant explain. Our memories of this visit will stay with us for the rest of our lives. After a day in Poland we returned to ROZNOV.
HOTEL AEROPLAN - ROZNOV CZ	ROZNOV BEAUTIFUL TOWN IN EASTERN CZ
(SKI RESORT) - 5 STAR HOTEL AT THE PEAK OF RADAHOST MOUNTAIN ONLY £10 PER NIGHT (£20 DURING SKI SEASON) BESKYDY MOUNTAIN REGION	BESKYDY MOUNTAIN REGION Riding a GS in the Czech republic is simply brilliant fun, no shortage of off road tracks and thawed ski runs to explore and exploit. The petrol was about 20% cheaper than ENGLAND! CZECH REPUBLIC -
Czech / Slovakia Border.	SLOVAKIA After a four days of off road riding and a few good nights sleep we where ready to press on. Our route took us South through Slovakia via the beautiful TETRA MOUNTAINS towards Budapest Hungry. The ride yet again was perfect for the GS. Long twisty mountain roads and she handled it like a dream. We were amazed to see so many people practicing for the Winters Ski season. We must have seen nearly 50 people on the tarmac road on skis which had wheels. I know for sure as we almost hit a few of them.
SLOVAKIA	There was lots of military vehicles, I am not sure if these were left behind by the Russians but they were everywhere. Some 50 miles from the Hungarian border we learnt the hard way that they do not except Visa or MasterCard and we were low on fuel and did not have Hungarian currency. We slowed right down to conserve fuel and eventually arrived at the border town of KORMON.
HUNGARIAN / SLOVAK BORDER	HUNGARY - BORDER It took us only five hours hours to cross Slovakia and as we entered Hungary we noticed for the first time a real cultural change. It was like going back 30 years. There was very few modern houses and most of the vehicles where Russian/Czech made Ladas and Stradas. There was a strong throw back to the communist times as each lamp post was fitted with a speaker from where the communists used to broadcast their political propaganda. The police where everywhere and for the first time we felt uneasy. The locals I assume had not seen many modern bikes as every time we stopped people would come over and surround the bike, even the police took a liking too. It was hard to believe this was Europe and not some remote part of India. We crossed into Hungry and headed south East to Budapest arriving an hour later. For the first time I realised that my dream to travel around the world could become a reality. I was thoroughly enjoying this adventure, OK it is only Europe but for me this was my first real bike adventure and here I was in the historically beautiful city of Budapest. My point is, when you have a bike, the desire to travel to famous cities is so much more a possibility. I wouldn't have considered this journey if my only means of transport was by car.
OFFICIAL RESIDENCE OF THE HEAD OF STATE	BUDAPEST There are two parts to Budapest like most cities the old historic city and the new modernised which encompasses the old. We where pushed for time so we visited the famous landmarks which included the Houses of Parliament and had some famous Hungarian goulash. Refreshed and please with our journey so far, we headed out of town towards Austria.
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT - BUDAPEST	HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT BUDAPEST
HUNGARIAN GOULASH BUDAPEST	The drive to the Austrian border was an eventful one. Firstly the main road to Austria is popular with the local police who are hell bent on catching speeding drivers. I say this as there where speed traps every 20 miles. Fortunately for me being a law abiding citizen or should I say have a good eyes for distant brake lights, we where not caught breaking the speed limit. We arrived at a toll road booth at about 5pm only thirty miles short of the Austrian border where we where given the option to buy a day pass or a month pass and yet again they wouldn't except visa or Mastercard unless you purchased a month long toll pass.It took us another 15 minutes to get ripped off for a months toll pass before we eventually got on our way towards Austria.
AUSTRIA - BORDER
Houses of Parliament VIENNA	VIENNA AUSTRIA The run from the border to the city centre of Vienna was an easy one. This city is incredibly beautiful, it reminds me so much of Prague. Tea time in Vienna, which made us laugh as we had breakfast in Czech Republic, brunch in Slovakia, Dinner in Hungary and Supper in Austria. You couldn't achieve that on four wheels. There is so much to see and do in this city that a minimum stay of three days is required to get it all in. Again due to our tight schedule we caught all the sites and headed out of town to the beautiful Austrian town of Kammer next to Lake Attersee where we set up camp for the night.The following morning after breakfast and shower we loaded up the bike and the semi repaired the pannier box and headed west towards Innsbrook Austria. To drive in the part of Europe is a dream. The GS gobbled up every inch of road. The scenery was magnificent and it was at this point, that I promised to invest in a new camera. So many beautiful sites and such a naff camara.
INNSBRUCK AUSTRIA	INNSBRUCK Innsbruck is a city that I always wanted to see. I had seen it many times on TV during many Skiing championships and winter Olympics. It has so much history and the city centre is the same now as it always has been. Driving in the city was a little nerve racking as their main form of transport is by Tram and the last time I experience so many tram lines was in the Government dockyards where I used to regularly fall off my push bike after few beers to many on the submarine. So its not surprising that I was little over cautious whilst riding around Innsbruck. Be warned Innsbruck is expensive, £2.00 for a coffee and £5.00 for a sandwich. We spent a good few hours here and where sad to leave.
(My favourite picture of my GS overlooking Innsbruck)	INNSBRUCK On the way out heading for LIECHTENSTEIN we stopped on the highway (A dangerous thing to do) and Monika took this picture of Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains.

LIECHTENSTEIN - BORDER	LIECHTENSTEIN LIECHTENSTEIN I believe is the smallest country in Europe. Sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland and only 30 miles long. We arrived at the border and posed for the picture (right)
SWITZERLAND - BORDER ON THE BRIDGE WHICH SEPARATES LIECHTENSTEIN FROM SWITZERLAND	SWITZERLAND It was getting dark as we crossed into SWITZERLAND and there was a beautiful haze rising from the river as we crossed the bridge separating Switzerland from Liechtenstein we unsuccessfully tried to capture it on film (left). Monika suggested the haze could be from the sewage works, which killed for me, any romantic feelings I had when first crossing the bridge. We had heard from friends about a camp site located on the waters edge of Lake WALEN in the heart of Switzerland. Ever used the famous map called intuition ? We new the camp site name and we new it was next to the lake and that was all we knew and some how after passing numerous lakes we felt it was time to come off the main transit road and search out this campsite and believe it or not, the same exit lead us to Campsite Mure, this was Lake WALEN our destination for the evening.
LAKE WALEN SWITZERLAND	For the romantics amongst you this was the perfect setting after along day in the saddle. Put it this way if Monika is pregnant we shall name the baby "CAMP SITE MURE".
MONIKA Lake WALEN - Switzerland (Campsite Murg) 19 SEPT	The campsite was cheap only £7.00 per night and it had a bar which sold export German beer, you cant have it all ! We walked for miles around the lake until it was time to retire.
CAMPSITE MURE SWITZERLAND	After breakfast and a check of the bike we headed off to Paris via Zurich. This journey was taken during my PRE-GPS days and how we suffered. Some where between Zurich and Paris we took a wrong turn which took us south for 80 miles before we realised what we had done. We had added another 160 miles to our journey. Naturally this was Monika fault.
EIFFEL TOWER - PARIS FRANCE	PARIS - FRANCE The journey into Paris was during rush hour,8 lanes of traffic and only four lanes of road. We still managed to catch a few of the sights, unfortunately due to poor weather we where happy to head for home.
ARC DE TRIUMPH PARIS FRANCE	We shot through Paris a lot faster than Monika would have liked and believed it or not, this day was the first day that it actually rained during our whole trip away. We managed a lot of sites and even managed to circumnavigate the roundabout where the ARC DE TRIUMPH is erected and for those that have never driven around the the Arc de triumph its something like trying to paddle a canoe UP the Niagara falls.
MONIKA - EIFFEL TOWER PARIS FRANCE	GOING HOME After 10 days, 5600 miles and 12 countries we where heading home to England via the beautiful French port of Cannes. A thoroughly enjoyable trip. The bike handled like a dream the wife enjoyed herself and I had gained a taste for motor biking adventure. You should have seen the BMW Service engineers face when I took my bike in for its 6000 miles service only two weeks after the 600 mile service. LIVE THE DREAM

SCOTLAND	ENGLAND	FRANCE
BELGIUM	GERMAN	CZECH REPUBLIC
POLAND	CZECH REPUBLIC	SLOVAKIA
HUNGARY	AUSTRIA	GERMANY
AUSTRIA	LIECHTENSTEIN	SWITZERLAND
FRANCE	ENGLAND