Back Home!

We're safely back home! Our last view of the Continent was the port of Boulogne, at 10.00 this morning.



Arrived back in Dover, also at 10.00 & enjoyed the scenic M roads (!!) back home. Arrived to a scene of chaos in the garden which I'll tell you about tomorrow ( told you I was addicted to this blog!) and a pile of post which was considerably smaller than I'd anticipated after 6 weeks. Even so most of it has gone in the bin.



The only two important things were a tax demand, which I could do without and confirmation of our next holiday booking! Mother-in-law is getting a bit too elderly to holiday on her own so we're all off to the Red Sea in November. She enjoys just sitting in the sun & LB & I are hoping for a fairly active holiday with snorkelling, desert outings etc. If we have internet access there you'll be able to read all about it here!

Anyway we're home, fed up, slightly p*ssed, to drown our sorrows, but already reviewing the choices for the next road trip. Where to go? There's such a lot of interesting options!

I must say, if any of you are thinking of riding beyond the usual France Germany Italy Alps & Spain - do it! Time can be an issue with the longer distances but really it only takes 2-3 days down the motorways to get across the old iron curtain, not much longer than the south of Spain or Italy. Prices are much cheaper once you're there and standards are similar to the west in most places, it's just that little bit more interesting and different.

Finally ( for this trip at least) many thanks to those of you who posted comments on our blog, or who tried and failed!! Although it's great being away it was also important to us both to keep in touch with friends at home. We'd hate to be totally isolated - we're not that sort of adventurer! While neither of us would claim to be great writers, we hope the blog has amused and informed you and perhaps kindled a desire for travel. It's great!!!!

Elvie

Last night on the road.

We're now in Calais, overnighting prior to an early morning ferry home and feeling rather sorry for ourselves. Six weeks sounded a long time before we set off but now we want more. There's the Balkans, the Baltic, Scandinavia, Non EU eastern Europe and more to explore. Will we have the time and fitness to do it in the future? I hope so. We're gypsies at heart and love being on the road without too many plans but staying where we fancy and moving on at will. The roads and scenery have been fantastic. We've met some great people on this trip and hope we can keep in touch with at least some of them.

Anyway, we've had our last meal on the continent & are looking forward to the M25 & M4 tomorrow! The blog will continue as we've got rather addicted to writing it!

Elvie

Manx Bikers + a Yorkshireman!

Met you guys while staying at the Etap in Chemnitz for the MotoGP. Enjoyed your company & the sit on the Ducati though sorry I didn't catch all your names! Have a safe journey home & get in touch if you're ever in S. Wales.

Elvie

Race Day at the Sachsenring

Up bright and early to get to the bike park, and disappointed to discover it was drizzling with rain! It didn't really stop until after the last race of the day. The racing wasn't that exciting, spoiled by the rain, but it was an enjoyable day, with good company, both German & British either side of us. Stoner won the MotoGP but the highlight was Scott Redding coming 8th and Bradley 4th in the 125 race.



I've included a few photos taken yesterday.



You do get some strange people! However everyone seemed to be having a good time. LB

The Sachsenring.

Well unfortunately this is the last weekend of our trip, but this is a least partly made up for by being able to watch the Moto GP. We found our way to the track fairly easily using Mr Zumo, and parked the bikes for a small fee in a garage about 100 yards from the main entrance. We were also able to leave our kit safely locked up.



There was a party atmosphere, with large crowds for a Friday, and many food and retail stalls. Much more than I've seen anywhere else, and the types of food were very varied.

Our stand is close to the entrance for once, and we have a great view, with a giant TV screen opposite us. Race day should be good.

On the way back to the hotel I was pulled over by the police, as you can see from the photo. Elvie thought it was all very amusing, as she wasn't made to produce her documents. The young man spoke good English, but made the mistake of asking the purpose of my trip! By the time I'd only got half way through the lists of countries visited, I could see he regretted the question.



And now we are safely back at the Etap. There were a bunch of bikers from the Isle of Man sitting outside, drinking a beer and relaxing. They have recommended a restaurant in town, so tonight a taxi is in order. LB

Bog on the Blog

I chose the title with care. The alternative of Blog on the Bog could have been misleading! We've been staying in the highest town in Germany, Oberwiesenthal, which is the first town we entered on leaving the Czech Republic. The town seems to have it's own micro-climate, and the clouds are low over the mountains, giving rise to heavy showers. It's also several degrees colder due to the village being so high up.

The Hotel Deutcher Kaiser, is right on the market square, has a secure garage, and the manager offered us a good discount for being bikers.

We've done the tourist type things of wandering round looking at the shops, and also taken a chair lift up to the top of the mountain. I've included a photograph taken as we came down.

We've also had a great ride on the bikes. Elvie had read of a volcanic bog in one of the guide books, so we set off to find it. The ride there was via main roads and unremarkable, but coming back we trusted in Mr Zumo to take us cross country using minor roads, and he came up trumps. We had an exhilarating 2 hours riding back to the hotel, some on bigger roads with long sweeping bends, and some on smaller roads, with picture book villages and long wooded sections. It was one of the rides of the trip!

As for the bog, well frankly it was a little disappointing. The water level had fallen, and there were only a few places where the gas bubbled to the surface, but it did give us some idea of what it would look like in it's full glory.

LB

Church of Bones, Kutna Hora

Fans of Long Way Round will remember this place. We made the short trip to Kutna Hora this morning. After visiting the chief of three cathedrals there, purely to find out where the ossuary was we arrived about lunchtime. It really is rather bizarre. The church was the cemetery chapel associated with one of the cathedrals. After a plague and thousands of burials ( 30,000 in one year!!!) the bones were dug up to make the cemetery smaller. After being stored in various places they were artistically arranged as now seen. Most are in four large pyramid stacks of femurs and skulls, but there are also candelabras, urns & chandeliers. Here's a coat of arms made out of most of the bones of the body.



Afterwards while having a soft drink a family of Danish bikers turned up. Dad Sven, with wife and daughter on two bikes, had a chat then bumped into two British lads Lance & Matthew on a real adventure.



They're part of a group, though travelling independently, to Mongolia! although a lot of their group are in 4x4's they're doing it in 2 Nissan Micras!!!!!! We wish them well. The organisation they're travelling with is charityrallies.org. Haven't looked at it yet myself but have put in the link for you all, hope it works.

Again, don't know where we'll be tomorrow or if we'll have internet access but will be back on line as soon as we can

Elvie

Hello Czech Republic

Didn't want to strain ourselves so only rode about 200 miles, half of which was on motorway. I like Poland, it's actually a very western country, clean and well kept, and the food we had there was exceptionally good. One thing we won't miss is the traffic which is horrendous. Fortunately today is Sunday, & like Sundays used to be at home. The roads were empty! So after a pleasant ride we arrived in the Czech Republic & found a hotel in the old town square of Hradec Kralove. Here's the view from the window.


We've had a walk around and a great meal with wine for about £25 in total. while there a procession of vintage cars went passed with horns blaring which was fun.


Now settling down and catching up with communications! Are moving on again tomorrow so will post whenever we can get on line again

Elvie

Au Revoir Poland & New Friends

Had a quiet last day in Krakow, a sign that it's time to move on. The day before, on the campsite, we had briefly said hello to a Canadian couple who had shipped their bikes to Europe and were spending 3 months travelling. Then when setting off to catch the bus we bumped into a British couple trying to find the bus stop so showed them the way. Last night, in the rain, they all turned up at our cabin clutching beer and wine so we had a nice get-together and a natter. It reminded me of college days, in a small room, with visitors sat on the beds surrounded by our clutter!


On the left as you look at the photo are bikers Ross and Maria and on the right, motorcaravanners and sailors Jack and Angela. All four are experienced travellers. Jack and Angela have sailed all around the Baltic and Med in their yacht and have now bought a motorhome, as well, to visit the places in between. They seem to spend hardly any time at home. Ross impressed when he mentioned he'd ridden from Canada to Brazil. It made our so called big trip look rather small but has given us a taste for more travelling and exploration.

Anyway we said our farewells and left Poland this morning.

Elvie

Wieliczka Salt Mines

This picture probably isn't going to look brilliant as it's so small & a bit dark but try enlarging it. It's the "cathedral" in the salt mines, a brilliant place to visit! completely different to anything else we'd done before, it was a wonderful exposition of industry technology history and art! The mine started in the 1400's. One of the first tourists there was Copernicus at around the time Columbus was discovering America!!! It was quite awe inspiring to be treading in Copernicus' footsteps. There are nine levels to the mine but we only visited the top three down to 134m below ground. I forget the full depth but if the Eiffel Tower was placed at the bottom level it wouldn't reach the surface! Final fact before I get too boring - Tolkien visited here and was told about the dwarves the miners believed lived there & it's thought this gave him the inspiration for the Mines of Moria in lord of the Rings.

Afterwards, had a wander around the old town again, a super meal and then watched some street entertainment in the main square, including these amazing dancers.


Elvie

Auschwitz Birkenau

Auschwitz - You've all heard about it, know what happened there and I'm sure you'll recognise the scene above which is the entrance to Birkenau camp. The reality was very like what we've seen on the tv, the entrance gate at Auschwitz with "Arbeit Macht Frei" ( Work brings freedom), the brick blocks where prisoners slept the display cases with piles of shoes human hair and suitcases, the railway line at Birkenau where Jews and other transportees were off loaded from the cattle trucks.

What was it like to be there? Well strangely sanitised and not initially as upsetting as I had feared. The sun was shining,the grass was neatly mown and large groups of people were wandering around with guides. There was surprisingly little visible trace of the misery & degradation that had gone on there although we were told about it. What I found more disturbing was the video we saw on the coach on the way there, of the people and bodies after liberation. Then as the hours have passed since leaving and I have thought more about it I have felt more distressed and angry. The torture those people went through is unimaginable. The average life expectancy of the 25% not immediately sent to the gas chambers was less than six months for men and 3 months for women, death being due to starvation disease or execution. The cruelty of the SS is beyond belief. How anyone could conceive such a scheme and carry it through is beyond me. More apalling is the realisation that such things still happen in the world. I'm really lost for words & sick thinking about it. Just visit the place yourself if you ever have the chance.

Elvie

Krakow

We finally decided it was time to leave Slovakia after the weekend, and move on to Krakow in Poland. We have experienced some wonderful riding while in Slovakia, and the countryside is spectacular, but the wanderlust can't be denied, so on Tuesday 1st of July we made the short trip to Krakow.
The border crossing was like something out of the cold war, except the barrier was up. A long straight narrow stretch of road with checkpoints at either end! It didn't take too much imagination to see a military policeman with his hand up saying niet.
Having made the crossing it was immediately apparent that we had entered a new country. The overall appearance was of greater prosperity, both in the housing, and the number and type of car on the road. No more battered Skoda's, more silver grey VW's and quite a few Mercs and Audis. The road itself was full of traffic, and had lots of road works. Not a nice ride!
We eventually arrived at our destination, Camping Clepardia, and decided to treat ourselves to a camping bungalow, rather than put up the tent again. This is a picture of Chris sitting outside enjoying the evening sun, while on line catching up with emails.



This morning we decided to take the bus into the historic medieval town centre. We didn't realise that the ticket had to be bought before getting on the bus, so we had a free ride into town, all the while hoping a ticket inspector didn't get on. The main square in town is a honey pot for tourists, and we had a beer while watching the world go by. This chap offering free beer kept on passing by. Even though we couldn't see his face his walk suggested someone who wasn't having a good day. He was definitely trudging along in the hot sun



We then took a tour of the town by electric buggy, and it was a stark reminder of the recent history of the area. We visited the Jewish area, and saw the square where they were chosen for deportation to the concentration camps. The remembrance stone was erected as a reminder of the 60,000 Jews from Krakow who lost their lives in the holocaust. It was a quarter of the entire population of the city!



As a welcome reminder of the goodness in people we went past the factory owned by Oscar Schindler, where he employed and hid Jews, and saved many from deportation and extermination under the Nazis.

Tomorrow we have booked to visit Auschwitz. It's a place I've always intended seeing, and I have no doubt it will be a moving experience. LB

Sunday Rideout

It's Sunday and the sun is shining, so as all good bikers do we went for a ride. We picked a route that gave plenty of opportunity to see the countryside, but also took in a castle. The ride was superb, the views spectacular, and the roads spectacular. The road surfaces were very variable, and I was glad that the Gs1200, has pretty good suspension. The first photo tries to give an impression of the wonderful scenery. Wooded hillsides, and hay meadows everywhere.



The castle at Krisna Horka was in a superb location, but inside was a little disappointing. One gruesome object was the mummiified remains of one of the early owner's wife. Apparently it happened naturally, but I can't understand why they then chose to put it on show!



After this a spot of lunch. vegetable soup, followed by stuffed pepper and boiled potatoes for 3 euros! The last couple of hours of riding took us up and down wooded slopes and through many villages. Several looked rather run down, and it was noticeable that the darker skinned Roman people always seemed to be in the poorer areas.
Even though the villages were poor, the local churches seemed to be fairly prosperous as can be sen from the photograph of the church below. LB

Lomnicky Stit & Spissky Hrad

Ok first a translation - L Stit is the peak we can't see from the campsite as it always covered by cloud. A hrad is a castle & we visited the one at Spiss.

Had an earlyish start & rode only about 5km to Stary Smolkovec where the cable car went up the mountain.



The top is at about eight & a half thousand feet but we chose to go only as far as the station 2/3 of the way up. Luckily while ther the cloud cleared so we could see the top .



We had planned to walk down but the path was very rough with big stones so difficult walking. We didn't want to risk a sprained ankle so had a walk around the lake at the top, a cold drink in the cafe then took the cable car back down. The views from the top were fantastic, a 180 degree panorama of the lowland plain and distant hills. The photos don't do it justice.



Back down we had a bite to eat and the set off for the castle at Spissky which we had failed to reach yesterday. this was visible from a couple of miles away and reminded us a little of Harlech in the way it was poised on a rocky outcrop.


We spent an hour or so there listening to the audio tour and admiring the views of typical Slovak countryside.



Then back to the campsite via Tesco again. There were a couple on a GS pitching their tent who we got chatting to ( as you do!) They're Slovakian & the first people we've met here who speak English. It was so nice to have a chat, adrink together, compare bikes & swap stories. They're hoping to ride from Kenya to Cape town next year which is really adventurous!

Anyway we're feeling happier here. Tesco's was a great discovery as we can self cater, the foods really cheap and the meat is so much tastier than home. We've also found a better toilet block on the campsite so I'm happier. There's still loads of insects but we get our own back by smoking them to death, or at least shoo them away. The countryside is wonderful and there's a lot of history and sites to visit so we've decided to stay a few more days. Watch this space!

Elvie

It had to be Friday!

We had a lie in this morning, and then decided to catch up on some clothes washing, and also blogging. By the time this was all done it was almost 14.00 so we decided to visit <>Spiss castle. Unfortunately Mr.Zumo wasn't in a good mood, and we ended up going in the wrong direction. The weather appeared to be closing in so we decided to get some food and head back. We called into the local Tesco and bought a few bits and pieces, and most importantly some BBQ charcoal. Back at the campsite we noticed water leaking from Elvie's bike. Closer inspection revealed that the top hose from the radiator had come loose. So off with the body work, and then replace the hose. Little water lost, but it did look like the bike had had a bit of an accident! See damp patch in photo.


Then on to more important matters. The BBQ. I decided after cooking the meal that I would put some green wood on the barbie to discourage insects. As you can see from the photo my first attempt wasn't entirely successful, however my technique did improve. Had a great meal, and now after washing up a quick fix on line and off to bed. LB

Dunajec Gorge

Remember Michael Palin in his latest programme about Europe when he rafted to Slovakia from Poland? Well, he cheated a bit! The Dunajec River forms the border between the two countries and you can take a raft from either side but each finishes in the country you start from. Also Palin had a raft to himself on an empty river. There were 17 of us on a wooden raft supposedly for 12 people! The river was full of other rafts and canoeists.



Anyway it was brilliant! The scenery of the limestone gorge was dramatic and although the commentary was in Slovak we were given a booklet with the information in English.



After a pleasant 2 hours on the river we disembarked and walked a short way to the bar for a soft drink then hired two pushbikes to take us the 9km on the riverside path back to the start.



We had some more refreshments there before getting back on the motorbikes for the journey home. We had taken the scenic route to get there in the morning but decided to let the gps take us home by the quickest route. Ooops! Big mistake! It took us down 18km of the worst road we have ever ridden - huge potholes, lumps and bumps, and loads of gravel! We had to pick our way through the least bad bits of tarmac! It was quite a relief to get back to the campsite.

Today we're having a quiet time, reading, catching up on the net, washing our smalls etc! Further exploration is planned for tomorrow.

Elvie

Slovakia & camping

It was an epic ride on Wednesday to reach the high Tatras in Slovakia. We were on the road 7 hours to travel just 200 miles. It took over an hour to get out of Budapest, we had a few unplanned diversions and once in Slovakia the roads deteriorated considerably which slowed us down. The scenery is beautiful however with huge meadows, fields of ripening corn and wooded hills.

We'd found a nice looking campsite online and were pleased to let the gps take us straight there as we were both tired. We've booked in for 4 nights but unfortunately the site is pretty poor. It's huge, empty and most of the advertised facilities don't exist.



Fortunately the internet is available as advertised. a lot of the buildings are derelict, the washing facilities are basic to say the least and we're plagued by hover flies all day and midges in the evening! At least the grass is short, the pitch flat and we have the most magnificent view of the high Tatras. I'll get a better photo if the cloud clears from the top!

Yesterdays trip can have a post to itself.

Moving On

Another very hot ride this morning. I do not like going pillion at the best of times and found it most uncomfortable today. It was a great relief to both of us to reach the BMW dealers,pick up the 1200 and ride away individually, on our own bikes. We came back to the Bikercamp and booked a room B&B for the night. We've sorted the stuff we left here, unpacked my bike and repacked everything ready for the morning. Originally we had intended only spending a few days in Budapest then moving out of Hungary. This is our 11th night here but we have thoroughly enjoyed it all and have no regrets ( although the wallet is considerably lighter!)

We've picked a fairly simple route heading for Poprad in the Slovakian Tatra mountains for tomorrow. We much prefer the country to the towns and hopefully it will be cooler in the higher mountains. Will post again when we find our next internet access point. In the meantime keep up with the comments and I'll reply asap!

Elvie

Misckolz Tapolca Baths

Yesterday we went off on our own, to some cave baths. The route took us up a wide agricultural valley, which I have photos of (note the lack of traffic) and then wound up through narrow forest road over the mountain to the town.


No photos of the mountain road as one tree looks much like another but it was beautiful to ride through. The baths are based on a thermal spring with outdoor baths, indoor medicinal hot baths and, most fun, a complex of flooded tunnels through the caves.

The caves were natural although they had tiled or concreted the floors and walls of the pools for the sake of our feet and knees. It was nice but there were too many kids there to make proper swimming a possibility.

The ride home was very hot at 34C!

We rang BMW on our return and found the bike was ready so had an early night ready for the ride back to Budapest today.

Elvie

Szilvasvarad

After 3 days in web limbo we're back in communication! It's surprisingly frustrating to be unable to get on line but now we have returned to Budapest I can update our story. I'll do it spread over a couple of posts so easier to read and for me to upload.

From Eger we moved only about 40 mile to a rural village called Szilvasvarad where there is another biker's campsite & B&B, the Magyar Route 66. This was beautiful & kept in immaculate order by its owner, a dutch man, Leen (pronounced Lane). As well as the camping field there was a swimming pool, cave/bar and "kettle kitchen" as well as a separate house in which Ian and I were the only occupants.


The three campers there became good friends very quickly, Yuri (sorry if I have spelled that wrong) a Belgian, and a Dutch couple Jan & Jolande. We had a meal together in a nearby restaurant the first night, a train ride to a waterfall the next day


then a wonderful evening cooking together in the kettle kitchen. This was an outdoor structure with a witches cauldron hung over an open fire in a raised stone pit.



We took local advice and enjoyed ourselves immensely spending 3 hours cooking a proper Hungarian Goulash.



Of course it was hot & thirsty work so plenty of the local wine was required to help us complete the job! It was too hot to eat by the cauldron so had to sit outside the well stocked help yourself honesty bar!




Elvie