[D'Espice]

Once upon a time there was this young lad who was about to go on a trip. The lad lived in Munich, Germany and his trip was about 2500km long and took nine days from departure to arrival. An average of less than 300km a day doesn't sound too much - yet the lad thought it was more than enough. Of course what one does not know is that the lad was going on his motorbike with a lot of other people

Anyways, I'm back. After last years trip to Italy we decided to tour Germany this year. I kinda liked the way Demonhood handled his "Roadtrip USA" thread and I'll be doing it very much like that. I have about 100 photos to share and will dispense most of them over the next few days. Now enough with the drivel and let's get going! The first and second day of my trip will be available shortly, stay tuned.

[d4nth3m4n]

I'm so there.

[Peter]

pics?

[wtf_reportar]

Originally posted by Peter:
pics?

stay tuned to the radio!

[D'Espice]

Day 1
Departure: Munich, Bavaria
Destination: Hof, Bavaria
Mileage: 420 km
Time on road: 8 hours

Abstract: The first day we went from Munich to Hof where we met another friend who joined us. It was pretty boring since there was nothing interesting on the way and we had quite some mileage that day. Therefore the only breaks we had from driving were short ones to either refuel the bikes or ourselves.
There's really not much to explain so just enjoy the pics



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We started in Munich at 10am, three of us: My girlfriend, my dad and myself.



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The green bike (Yamaha XJ900 Diversion, 89hp) is my dad's, the white one (Yamaha XJ600 51J, 72hp) is mine. My girlfriend's bike is not in that picture since she arrived late. She's driving a BMW R1150S, 84hp. Since it was sooooo boring I took some pictures while driving - one can only do that on the Autobahn.



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We were going about 140 km/h (~90 mph) on these pics so it was quite difficult to take these two.
First break right after we left the Autobahn in Regensburg, we did not see any Autobahn for the next eight days only country roads - most of them more like country lanes where you don't see any cars for hours but you have to pass dozens of tractors.


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Second break about two hours later, first pic where you can see both, my steady and her brand-new BMW.


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We then went straight to the Czech Republic to refuel since gas is a lot cheaper there but we didn't stop so I couldn't take any photos. The last two is us waiting for that friend from Hof to join us and guide us to his house.



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The friend's bike is like my dad's bike only blue. The huge building you can see on the first pic is a carpet factory that has been there for 250 years. It survived WW1 and 2 and even the Sovjets and communists in the former German Democratic Republic.

That was pretty much it for Day 1. I realize this seems awful boring and I can assure you, it was. I can also assure you that the next days will get more interesting, picture-wise and story-wise. Stay tuned, day 2 will be online soon.

[SimeyTheLimey]

This reminds me a bit of a cycling trip I took back in 86. I biked from Wuerzburg to Fuessen over about a 10 day period. We went entirely by back roads and stayed in camp sites. Very nice (except for a couple of mountains!).

[spatterson]

Ich vermisse Deutschland sehr

[D'Espice]

Day 2
Destination: Stollberg, Harz
Mileage: ~400 km
Time on road: 9.5 hours


Abstract: Since we had to meet up with the rest of our gang in Stollberg we once again did not stop at any landmarks. Once again the only breaks we had were for refueling and one longer break for dinner.


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The next morning, five bikes left for Stollberg. The fifth one being another friend who just joined to guide us for a day. Since he's been living in Hof all his life he knew his territory pretty damn well and we enjoyed following him on roads mankind was not meant to use
It was also hard to follow him sometimes since all of us except him had a lot of baggage and he was the one with the Yamaha XJ1200 - 131hp.





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We also finally had our first serpentines (any many to follow). Some of you may remember this:



Unfortunately this Grand Prix does not take place anymore - but the streets it was raced upon still do. It's the so-called "Rennsteig" and it's pretty much from mountain-top to mountain-top. For about 20 years now it has been accessible for everybody to have some fun and there's a nice little restaurant in the valley where we stopped for dinner.

We arrived in Stollberg, Harz around 8 pm that night. The rest of our gang who left Munich two days before we did already spent a night there. All in all nine bikes, ten people. That equals a lot of liquor at night!



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Oh and did I mention that our accomodation was superb? It was called "Haus Thyra", several vacation rentals. The ten of us occupied an entire house, just look how gorgeous it was.


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What I liked most about Stollberg was the fact that most houses looked like that. The city itself consisted of dozens of half-timbered houses some of which were more than 500 years old. Unfortunately I didn't get to take any more pictures in Stollberg - I was stupid enough to leave my camera in our rental.

[Gankdawg]

Awesome thread, thanks for the pics. Keep 'em coming.

[D'Espice]

Day 3
Destination: -
Mileage: ~220km
Time on road: 8 hours

Abstract: Day 3 was for touring the Harz area since it's one of Germany's most gorgeous areas with lots of mountains, forests, landmarks and more. But since it was our first day without our baggage we decided not to stop too often. And since my cam was in one of my cases stupid me left it there. I may get photos the others took in a few days and will post them here.



Day 4
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mileage: ~320km
Time on road: ~8 hours

Abstract: We left Stollberg that day and went to Berlin. Didn't stop at any landmarks but had to decide how to cross the river Elbe. We basically had two options: a bridge or the one we chose - enjoy the pics


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Still in the Harz area we had our first short break at what is a landmark for bikers. There were more bikes than one could imagine, it was a place to show off, to be all man (or woman) and to chat.


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I also noticed that day that there's a city in Germany called "Aschersleben" and they have the most funny licence plate numbers I have ever seen: ASL
Anyways, we just stayed for a few minutes, left the Harz area afterwards and had our next break at an awful boring straight road with no bends or serpentines whatsoever. It was so boring that our pillion rider fell asleep. You can see her on that photo, she's the brunette in the back.


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Few hours later we finally had to cross the river Elbe after following its course for some while. We found an old ferry that has been crossing the river for hundreds of years. Of course the ship itself was new yet the technique used was still the same: The ferries don't have an engine but use an anchored steel cable and the current to cross the river. It's a completely inaudible and very interesting techique, if you're ever in this area you should definitely check it out.



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From there we were just a few hours away from Berlin which I have never seen before. It's a huge city but compared to Munich it's butt-ugly.
Just take a look at these two photos, I really hated that city.



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It was a first impression tho, we left the next morning for Gruenberg (Zielona Gora), Poland. Maybe if I'd have to live there, I'd get used to it.

[turtle777]

Nice thread, D'Espice.
Keep it rolling!

-t