The hills are alive with the sound of..........my Panzer
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:41 pmHi Guys,
Time for my anual break from caring for AJ, so I'm taking a few weeks to tour Austria and Northern Italy. Heading for the Alps that I have not done before, and the Dolomites that were recommended to me two years ago by a German biker couple.
I,m writing this while sipping a cool beer outside a small cafe with rooms, looking accross the valey admiring the South Tyrol scenery. This is my third night, but the first chance to post on the forum, as there is wifi. There was supposed to be internet available at the posh B&B last night at Oberamergau in S. Germany, but the signal was so weak, I could not connect. Of course I am boasting about it being a four star establishment because I only paid a fraction of the full rate. Looking like a poor farmer, has it's benefits.
To pick up from the very beginning. I was making good time for the Shuttle at Folkestone, before I hit a closed section of the M25 at Leatherhead. The BMW sat nav found a route round the lanes, but I still lost about 40 minutes. Thank goodness it was not a ferry I was catching. I must say Eurotunnel are very flexible whenever you are early or late.
So from leaving home, I did about 480 miles through Belgium and Germany until I came to Trittenheim on the Mosel. I thought this was the town I stayed at two years ago, but after driving around, it didn't look that familiar. Of course, it's very unlike me to get places muddled or make any kind of mistake
. I chose one of a number of wine producers who offer B&B as well.
Yesterday I did about 330 miles riding in a SE direction, using a combination of autobahn and delightful B roads, as well as incorporating a section of my favourite B500 S of Baden Baden, finding a new way of avoiding the city itself. I think the 70 kph/ 40 mph signs have been erected since two years ago, not that any of the bikers take a blind bit of notice.
There were showers en route to Oberamergau, and today when I set off there was low cloud. As far as I understood the younger but just as curvy German Carol Kirkwood, I should head South today for any better weather. OK, I tell a lie, I just went by the weather symbols.
So after a brief stroll round Garmische- Partenkirken, I cut through Austria to the S Tyrol in Italy. This is my first time proper in Austria. I reached the boarder two years ago after doing the Stelvio Pass, but re-traced my steps to head for the Swiss boarder instead. What really strikes me about the Passes today is the amount of traffic compared to last year in Spain and Portugal which were deserted. On the roads that go through the numerous towns on the lower slopes, traffic is nose to tail. Italian bikers ignore the no-overtaking lines.
This afternoon, I did the SS44 Passo del Rombo, N of Merano. It was sunny and warm, 24 degrees, in that town, but as I reached the 2500m summit, the temperature had dropped to 2C, and the rain had turned to sleet/snow. It was not my intention of paying the quite steep toll to get back into Austria, so I gladly turned round and found these digs in the first little town back on the Italian side.
I think the weather for the weekend is closing in ( from what I understand, you have had better weather back home ). If it's not too bad tomorrow, I may well head East to Cortina ( strange they should name a place after a car ) and the start of the Dolomites ( there again, you would think the mountains were slightly older than the Triumph I used to have.)
That's it for now folks.
Regards,
Chris
Time for my anual break from caring for AJ, so I'm taking a few weeks to tour Austria and Northern Italy. Heading for the Alps that I have not done before, and the Dolomites that were recommended to me two years ago by a German biker couple.
I,m writing this while sipping a cool beer outside a small cafe with rooms, looking accross the valey admiring the South Tyrol scenery. This is my third night, but the first chance to post on the forum, as there is wifi. There was supposed to be internet available at the posh B&B last night at Oberamergau in S. Germany, but the signal was so weak, I could not connect. Of course I am boasting about it being a four star establishment because I only paid a fraction of the full rate. Looking like a poor farmer, has it's benefits.
To pick up from the very beginning. I was making good time for the Shuttle at Folkestone, before I hit a closed section of the M25 at Leatherhead. The BMW sat nav found a route round the lanes, but I still lost about 40 minutes. Thank goodness it was not a ferry I was catching. I must say Eurotunnel are very flexible whenever you are early or late.
So from leaving home, I did about 480 miles through Belgium and Germany until I came to Trittenheim on the Mosel. I thought this was the town I stayed at two years ago, but after driving around, it didn't look that familiar. Of course, it's very unlike me to get places muddled or make any kind of mistake
. I chose one of a number of wine producers who offer B&B as well.Yesterday I did about 330 miles riding in a SE direction, using a combination of autobahn and delightful B roads, as well as incorporating a section of my favourite B500 S of Baden Baden, finding a new way of avoiding the city itself. I think the 70 kph/ 40 mph signs have been erected since two years ago, not that any of the bikers take a blind bit of notice.
There were showers en route to Oberamergau, and today when I set off there was low cloud. As far as I understood the younger but just as curvy German Carol Kirkwood, I should head South today for any better weather. OK, I tell a lie, I just went by the weather symbols.
So after a brief stroll round Garmische- Partenkirken, I cut through Austria to the S Tyrol in Italy. This is my first time proper in Austria. I reached the boarder two years ago after doing the Stelvio Pass, but re-traced my steps to head for the Swiss boarder instead. What really strikes me about the Passes today is the amount of traffic compared to last year in Spain and Portugal which were deserted. On the roads that go through the numerous towns on the lower slopes, traffic is nose to tail. Italian bikers ignore the no-overtaking lines.
This afternoon, I did the SS44 Passo del Rombo, N of Merano. It was sunny and warm, 24 degrees, in that town, but as I reached the 2500m summit, the temperature had dropped to 2C, and the rain had turned to sleet/snow. It was not my intention of paying the quite steep toll to get back into Austria, so I gladly turned round and found these digs in the first little town back on the Italian side.
I think the weather for the weekend is closing in ( from what I understand, you have had better weather back home ). If it's not too bad tomorrow, I may well head East to Cortina ( strange they should name a place after a car ) and the start of the Dolomites ( there again, you would think the mountains were slightly older than the Triumph I used to have.)
That's it for now folks.
Regards,
Chris
... usually me running around after you...and getting you out of a fix... 
