Day one.
Not much to report here, I made my way from home to the ferry port at Harwich for the overnight sailing to the Hook of Holland.
Day two
Well after breakfast I made my way down to the bike to get ready to really start my holiday.
The first port of call was to where Holland, Germany, and Belgium all meet up, and also to the highest point in Holland ( This is where the Dutch go skiing in the winter Ha Ha )
It has a tower which you can go up to get a better view of the surrounding area, it only cost 4 Euro’s so it’s hardly going to break the bank, and it was well worth it when you get to the top, the bonus was I went up in the lift. I think I spent about an hour or so walking around and having a chinwag with other people. From there I made my way to my first hotel http://www.hotel-finkenberg.de/ the only problem was, for the life of me I couldn’t find it. I’d put it in the sat nav, but no matter what I did this hotel just wasn’t there. So Google maps to the rescue, I punched in where I wanted to go, and it found it first time. When I looked at the location that I’d put in the sat nav, it was in the middle of a cow field. God only knows how I managed to do that, but I did. This hotel was great, it’s a motorcycle friendly hotel, and my bike was undercover all the time I was there. In the evening I had a meal there and it was really tasty. I was practising my tourist German, and was surprising myself just how much I knew. It helped that the lady spoke perfect English, but I wanted to carry on in German. Together we made ourselves understood. I then took a walk around the area, and it has lots of old buildings which just ooze character. There’s also a large lake that you can walk around and just chill out. It was a perfect end to a perfect day. Time for bed.
Day Three
Well today I decided to do a loop north east from my hotel, which took me towards Bonn, I went into Bonn, but I’m not much into cities so I made my way out into the countryside. The German countryside for me is just stunning, that combined with perfect roads, that invariably have fantastic sweeping bends, made for a great ride. All good fun as we all know. On the way back I came across the Nürburgring, so I thought I’d have a go round it. Well I completed 4 laps of the circuit and they said that it was the fastest they’d ever seen a motorcycle go round, they even gave me a Certificate of Dreaming to prove it… No you guessed it, I never went round. There were a lot of sporty looking cars that were belting around it, you could hear them coming, then going in a flash. From there I made my way back to the hotel, I’d been out all day, and the weather was just brilliant too, which is always a bonus. Did 151 miles.
Day Four
Well the ride today was going to take me into Luxembourg for most of the day. The roads in Luxembourg are on par with those in Germany, and as yesterday, was spent winging my way through bend after bend after bend. I think I spent more time banked over, than upright. What a total joy, and again to do it in perfect weather too. I did cross into Belgium, and I did contemplate going to see the America war memorial at Bastogne, but I’d been before, and I was having so much fun on the bends, that I just wanted to carry on. I’m thinking of doing Bastogne again next year, so I’d be able to give it the respect that it deserves, rather than just a flying visit. Well it was back to the hotel for another great meal, and to pack up ready for my trip to Glemseck.
Day Five
Well after a great breakfast off I trundled to my next hotel https://www.schloss-höfingen.com/ Well another great ride to the hotel, I managed to clock up 225 miles via some spectacular scenery again today. Upon getting there the owner said I could park on the pavement right next to the hotel entrance. This hotel had bags of character, and you had an all you can eat dinner for 15 Euros, which I didn’t think was too bad, so I decided to demolish as much as I could, that included all drinks, and afters too. Well I managed it OK.
Back in the room to sort out what’s coming with me to Glemseck. Then off to bed.
Day Six
Well after filling up with rolls, bacon, and lots of other goodies it was off to Glemseck It’s only about 5 miles away, so it didn’t take too long to get there. The weather was looking good too, but there was a warning that things might get interesting in the afternoon. Rain gear packed and carried, and off I went on the walk about that is Glemseck. Bikes of all shapes and sizes and colours too. It always amazes me the imagination that people have to customise their bikes in the way that they do. Well after spending a long time walking around I decided to have a sit down under some trees, and the sky looked rather black too. Then all hell broke loose, the rain came down in bucket loads, and it didn’t stop for at least 40 mins or so. Fortunately being under a tree I was shielded from most of it, but I did put my wetsuit on to ensure I wasn’t walking around like a wet chamois leather afterwoods. Well when the monsoon stopped Here’s a link to all the bike pictures I took https://1drv.ms/u/s!AmrbwTK9NX3xg8R62L4uiqPCNDhWPQ?e=ZvoTp8 I didn’t think that it was as busy as the previous 3 times I’d been before, maybe it was something to do with the economic climate that we’re all in at the moment. Anyway, after another great day, I’m off back to the hotel to pack for my trip south tomorrow .
Day Seven
Heading to Ulm this morning, now as some of you will know this is where Erwin Rommel was forced to commit suicde in order to save his family. So I decided to see the exact spot where he committed suicide. Then afterwards go and see his grave, then the house he lived in. The ride there was great again, I’d made a conscious decision to avoid all motorways, they invariably get blocked up, as the Germans do like their speed which can result in carnage on the motorways. The access to the suicde area is blocked off, so you can get a car down there, oh the joys of being on a bike, no problem there then. Down the country lane till you come to see the place on your right. Then it’s off to his resting place, then to the house. When I got to the house, it was shut, but then I read the sign saying that it was open in 35 min’s Result or what. Well a very nice lady turned up and took me on a tour of the house, it’s a very expensive tour 3 euros Wow.
It’s not an extensive tour, but it goes through the various owners from when it was first built up to its arguably most famous occupant Rommel. They said that the house doesn’t get many visitors anymore. After about an hour or so I made my way to the next hotel which was the best hotel I stayed in, out of the whole trip Hotel This hotel cost £53 a night including breakfast. The room was out of this world, as was the view from the balcony. I thought I’d been put in the Kings suite.
