EP VI having concluded we had to make a decision. What to do next. We are discovering that we really don’t like the restrictions that planning ahead requires. So, the only plans we have are to be in Dublin, Ireland the first week in September. Where do we go from here? We decided that we would try to get reservations on the AutoZug. The AutoZug is a group of trains that run to and from numerous cities in Germany to various parts of Europe. What is unique about these trains is that you can take your vehicle with you. So, we will be making our way to Bordeaux, France to get those pictures we missed last time and the hop on the train heading for Frankfort, Germany.

Friday, July 13, 2001                                  Top Of Page

Today we bid farewell to new and old friends as this year’s EP VI came to an end. We chose to take the quick route north and find the cooler weather along the coast. We also did something stupid. We forgot that credit cards cannot be used on the Autoestrada. We did not have enough cash to pay our toll. Very embarrassing!

We found a place to stay in A Ver-o-mar, north of Porto. It was very nice to get back to the cooler weather. Our hotel was right on the beach and we found a nice Chinese restaurant for dinner.

Saturday, July 14, 2001                                Top Of Page

We woke to rain. We left the hotel in the rain. We rode in the rain all day. We did find some great motorcycle roads with beautiful scenery today (N206 north of Porto). Too bad the weather didn’t cooperate. This evening we found a Pousada in Braganca. The views from the hotel are spectacular. The weather did cooperate here. After we checked into the hotel the skies cleared and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset sipping wine in the hotel bar. At right was the view from our room, looking toward the Princess Tower.

Sunday, July 15, 2001           Top Of Page

We found blue skies and sunshine when we got up this morning and then rode on some great motorcycle roads from Braganca, Portugal to Leon, Spain.

Today gave us a glimpse at northern Spain away from the tourist areas on the coast. The difference between the flora and fauna in southern Spain is quite striking. The picture at left was taken while we were in the Sierra De La Cabrera Mountains looking north east towards Leon. We were in the mountains all morning, but in the afternoon we were on a high plain that was awash in corn fields.

Arriving in large cities is always nice to do on a Sunday. The traffic volume is slightly above nil and it makes getting into town and finding a hotel very simple. We think that Leon is a very nice town. Like many large cities in Spain Leon has a Parador Hotel that has been built in what was at one time a convent. The church and cloisters remain and Mass was conducted this evening. The hotel entry is in the center of the picture at right. The church and a museum are located in the same building to the right. In the foreground is a huge plaza - Plaza San Marcos. As can be seen in the picture, strolling about the town in the evening is a pastime that everyone in every city we have been in enjoys. It is interesting watching the ladies check each other in order to determine who is wearing what clothes from what store. The children are always dressed in their best outfits, at least until they are in their teens - then they seem to select their own clothes and the style changes dramatically.

When we arrived in town we wanted to find the plaza San Marcos and stopped the bikes in a pedestrianized area in one of the shopping areas. In less than 3 minutes we had made the acquaintance of 5 people from France. A couple on a motorcycle and three others who were on a pilgrimage walking the Santiago Trail. With the help of their map of the city we found the plaza and got the snap.

Tomorrow we head north to the Reserva Nacional de Mampod in the Cordillera Cantabrica. We saw these mountains from the north side when we were headed towards Portugal and wanted to see them up close and personal.

Monday, July 16, 2001                                 Top Of Page

After a wonderful breakfast, we walk into town to the post office to buy what we call a money order or postal order, to send our toll payment to Portugal.  First thing we learned was that it is called a giro in Spain. Second thing we learned was that we stopped all progress in the office with this request - it appears they don’t do them often, so it required all the effort from one clerk with occasional help from another, as the line behind us grew longer. The third thing we learned was that they don’t give us the giro to send - it gets sent to what we think is a central processing unit where the money then gets transferred. All very confusing, but we think we may have gotten the payment made (at least we hope so!).

Today was not a high-mileage day, but the miles we covered were beautiful. Coming out of Leon, the landscape is fairly flat and dotted with rural farms. Although we are on a plain, it is a high plain, about 3,000 feet in elevation. As we head north, we begin slowly climbing into some foothills with the road gently twisting with the contours of the land. The ever-changing scenery is absolutely spectacular. The sky is blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds, the trees are bright and deep greens, and there are large expanses of golden grasses, punctuated by fields of green corn. 

As we enter the mountains, the hillsides become steeper and rockier as we follow the river valley. First the rocks appear granite-like, then as we begin climbing, more slate-like. As we climb higher and the gorges get steeper and more narrow, the rock almost looks volcanic, with large stones embedded in the rock. The picture at right shows the road winding through the gorge, with the rocks in the foreground being the ones with embedded stones. 

As we climb higher, we come to a small dam. Although it is small, we find it is holding a very large reservoir. At left is the lake at the dam, perfectly smooth and calm. After passing through a mountain top and around another, we find the main part of the lake, which made this portion look small. We stopped for a great lunch of salad and fish soup in the town of Riaño, then headed further up into the mountains. After another 35 kilometers, we arrived at the pass, Puerto de San Glorio, at 1609 meters. From here, the views to the north and south are spectacular, so we have to pull over for some photos (see Jim with the bikes at right). It appears that you are on top of the world, looking down on the mountains in the distance. Then we notice a sign for a viewpoint off a side road, so we take it. It is gravel, but very hard-packed so there is no problem. At the top we park to enjoy the views to the west.

From here the ride is an easy coast down, down, down the north side in the twisties. The road is in good condition as it has recently been paved, but there are no guard rails at the top. It appears that they are working on the installation further down the mountain, but for now, extra caution is advised on this narrow road.

We came into the town of Potes and as we stop at the intersection, Verna got off-balance on the incline and dropped her bike. No harm done, but we were impressed that 4 guys were at her side lifting up her bike within seconds, before she could get the engine turned off. Only a few scratches (thanks to the crash bars) and a broken turn signal. From here we headed to Fuente De, a small village at the end of the road up the valley. When we arrived, it was obvious why the road ends here - the valley ends in a huge semicircle of rock mountain. Our hotel is at the base of the mountain. The view from our room is the rock face, with its peak hidden by the clouds. Wow.

We park the bikes and find a K75 from Spain, a Harley from Germany, and a R1100 RT from France. So far we have only met the German couple. But we are looking for other scooter-trash as we stroll through the hotel.

Tuesday, July 17, 2001                                 Top Of Page

When we awoke, the sun was shining and the sky was blue and we could see the entire mountain face above - what a spectacular sight! Verna quickly ran out to capture the view before the weather decided to change. Luckily, it remained clear, so after breakfast, we packed up the bikes then walked over to the cable car to ride to the top. What an awesome view from up there - it was definitely worth the short wait in line. From the top, we got a great view of the Picos. We also noted many dirt and gravel roads - we may have to come back to practice on those at a later date. For more pictures, see our page on the Picos de Europa.

As we descended, we saw that the parking lot for the cable car was quickly filling up, more tour busses have arrived, and the line is now quite long. Good timing on our part! We hop on the bikes and head for the coast before the sun warms things up too much. The ride to the coast is equally as spectacular as the ride in as the road winds its way through the narrow gorges, then into wide valleys with breathtaking views. The road is in good condition with lots of twisties, but we find ourselves taking our time, not wanting to miss any of the views. This is definitely an area worth discovering. 

Once near the coast, we catch the Autovia and retrace our path eastward. But this time we opt for the Autopista as the N-road on the coast is clogged with summer visitors. We stopped in St. Jean de Luz to find a room, but none were to be had -- tourist season is in full swing. Jim makes some phone calls and finds a room in Pau - a little out of our way, but not too much. Another hour on the road and we arrive a bit weary, but dry as we have managed once again to outrun the rain. It seems that Pau rolls up the sidewalks sometime before 8pm as there was absolutely no traffic as we made our way through town. After checking in we head out for a short walk to stretch our muscles and just after we return to our cozy room, darkness descends and the rain begins to fall. 

Wednesday - Friday, July 18-20, 2001                  Top Of Page

Wednesday we head for Bordeaux with forecasts of rain. For the most part, we were able to dodge the worst of it. We even managed to arrive at the hotel with dry gear (there is something about the look you get when you walk in dripping wet from head to foot). We were looking forward to staying in one place for 3 days as we were beginning to get a bit weary of packing every day for the last week and a half. We spent the next few days relaxing, working on the web site, and wandering through town. See our page on Bordeaux for pictures and information.

Saturday, July 21, 2001                                 Top Of Page

Today we packed up and headed for the train station about noon. There were a few cars in front of us, but as we were in the shade, it didn’t matter how long we waited. After getting our tickets checked, we then headed to the platform to wait in the hot sun. No sooner had we parked the bikes and a young Swedish couple came over to chat. Then the German and the Norwegian. So although we had to wait almost 2 hours to board, it went by quickly as we shared stories. 

Loading the bikes on the train is a different experience. The train cars are double-decker for the vehicles and the bikes go on the bottom, with a little over 5’ of clearance from the floor to the ceiling. Jim found this to be a challenge and almost made it through without banging his head. On our car, they had us take the bikes off the stands and sit on them while they tied them down, carefully compressing the shocks. At right is the train worker tying down Verna’s bike while Jim helps.

Once we got the bikes done (which took over an hour as we were last in line), we headed to the station to grab a bite of lunch and a drink before the train arrived. We found our tiny cabin and as Jim opened the door, there was a family of 3 facing us - the door between the cabins had been left open, making a larger space with a table in the middle. Jim immediately asked if they snored (the answer was ‘yes’) but we all agreed it was better with the door open for now. We had seen them earlier checking out the bikes as we were tying them down and they had recognized us. The young lad was about 15 and keen about bikes and computers, so he and Jim hit it off well. The family was from Norway and shared with us their experiences with staying at various places in Spain which we found quite interesting and helpful. They also shared their Rioja wine which was quite generous. 

The steward brought us a snack around 7 PM (bread, butter, cheese, fruit, cold cuts and drinks) which served us well since that was our normal dinner. He asked us if we had been traveling together (since, by that time, we were talking like old friends). He was very surprised to learn we met on the train. Then around 10, he came again to separate the cabins and set up our beds. We hit the sack early as we were to be awakened at 5:20 in the morning. 

Sunday - Monday, July 22-23, 2001                    Top Of Page

We were wide awake well before the steward’s call at 5:20. In fact, neither of us got much sleep at all. Perhaps this sleeping on the train takes some practice? We arrived in Neu Isenburg at 5:53 am and waited only about 10 minutes for the car with the vehicles to arrive. We each got on our bikes, the workers cut the line (hold on tight!) and we rode (carefully) off the car, leaning over and ducking our heads. Luckily we only had to ride through one car.

Now that we were here, packed and ready to go at 6:30, we had nowhere to go! So we headed north past Frankfurt to a small town we had stayed before, Bad Camberg. As we pulled up to the hotel, we find it closed, with no signs of life. Now what? We decided to head south to the next town to see if we could find something there. We were looking for a place near the train station so we could ride into Frankfurt on the train. Verna needed to find a doctor that spoke English, so we had planned to go to the American Consulate on Monday to see if they had a list of English-speaking doctors. (Nothing serious, just an annual exam, but these things become issues when you are on the road and cannot call your local doctor for an appointment).

We stopped at the next town, Idstein, found the train station and immediately spotted the hotel sign nearby. We parked, then went in to ask for a room. The owner immediately asked if we were on motorcycles, and when we said yes, stuck her head out the door to see them. “Ya Ya” she said as she handed us the key. We quickly unloaded, took showers, then went to bed! When we came back to life and appeared later that morning, we find that she and her husband are bikers too. She has an R1100GS and he has an R1100RS with EML sidecar. The hotel is Zur Ziegelhutte, Am Bahnhof 6, 65510 Idstein/Taunus, Germany (N50.21690 E8.25809); Phone: +49 (0) 61 26 7 02 77, Fax: +49 (0) 61 26 7 11 45.

We met a couple of women form Berlin staying in the apartments in front of the hotel who were interested in how we found the hotel; they knew the owners were bikers. One of the women rides an Africa Twin. They invited us to come see them in Berlin, so we may have a trip there in the near future.

We spent Sunday relaxing and walking around town a bit. During breakfast on Monday morning, Gabi Scheibe (she and her husband Erdmann own the hotel) asked of our plans for the day and we explained our need to find a doctor. She offered to help and went off to ask her husband about English speaking doctors, to which he replied “All doctors in Germany speak English.” So there! She then proceeded to call her doctor and managed to get an appointment that morning! Wow! And, the office visit and exam was only DM26 or about $12 US.

That afternoon we spent some time with the Scheibe’s as they shared some local routes and various books listing accommodations for motorcyclists. We had been given one of these earlier, but we now learned about others. Coming from the States, we had never seen anything like these. 

Tuesday, July 24, 2001                                 Top Of Page

We headed out this morning, with fond farewells and a promise to return. We rode around the Taunus area, enjoying the roads and scenery, then decide after lunch we better start looking for a place to stay. In the small town of Glashütten, near the center of the Taunus region, we found a nice hotel to hang our hat for 3 days. We’ll use this as our home base while we explore the surrounding area.

Wednesday-Thursday, July 25-26, 2001

On Wednesday we rode around the Taunus area and enjoyed all of the beautiful scenery. See the Taunus page for more details.

Thursday we went to the Alteburg Market which is located a few kilometers east south east of Idstein. If we understand it correctly this is something that happens once a year. It was quite an experience. A large open air market with just about anything you can imagine available as well as numerous beer and food vendors. Oh, don’t forget the band that was belting out traditional German music. We found Erdmann Scheibe, the owner of the hotel we had stayed in on Sunday and Monday at his trailer selling beer and soft drinks. He had told us about the market while we were at his hotel. Thanks again Erdmann!

We spent about three hours at the market and purchased a new T shirt and wallet for Jim. We also discovered the BMW pictured at right. The data on the plate which contains the serial number and type of machine was so faded that all we could read was the serial number which was stamped into the metal plate. The serial number on the engine (310820) matched. Jim thinks it is an R27 but he’s guessing. Those of you who are conversant with serial numbers and models can send us e-mail to let us know if this is correct or not.

Friday-Sunday, July 27-29, 2001                        Top Of Page

On Friday we rode north to the Düsseldorf area and spent the week end with Andreas Luthardt and his wife Sabine Luthardt-Schäfle and their two dogs, Darwin and Finley. Being the animal lovers that we are it was really nice to be around the dogs. These two guys each have their own unique personality. They are both lovers and really are very active animals.

We met Andreas when we were in Orange, France in April attending the Touratech meeting. We have maintained contact through e-mail and at last we have been able to meet the rest of the family. Well, almost. Their son was in Greece while we were there - in fact his not being at home worked to our advantage. We were able to stay in his room.

We failed to get a picture of Andreas’s bike. He has a R1150GS (Mandarin color) that he has been doing upgrades to since we met. A nice machine! Andreas is the one who showed us an adapter that he had installed on his bike (when we were in Orange) that provides the capability for the use of jumper cables without removing the gas tank. Perhaps this doesn’t sound like much but when you have a bike with a 41 liter (10 gallons) tank, removing it when it is full is not an easy task.

Saturday afternoon we visited a coal mining museum. We spent Saturday night in Düsseldorf doing a bit of sight seeing and having dinner. We managed to visit on one of the warmest week ends of the year. Temperatures were in the low to mid 30’s and the restaurants and bars were crowed. We had a very nice dinner and then did a bit more sight seeing on the way home. Andreas - we cannot thank you enough for the air conditioner in the bed room!

On Sunday we took the train to Köln and visited the Dom and the Chocolate Museum. See the Düsseldorf Area page for more information about the coal mine, the Dom and the Chocolate Museum.

We have been trying to purchase a Read/Write CD-ROM for use with our computer. Every time we have been able to order it delivery has been a problem. We discovered that Andreas had been doing a bit of checking for us on Monday morning as we were preparing to depart and found that he could order the drive for us, which he did. Then he delivered it to us later in the week when we were in Aachen! We also were able to have our US Mail forwarded to Andreas’s house and we were able catch up with our mail - which we had not been able to do since May.

Andreas and Sabine - thank you very much for your kind hospitality. There is no way we will ever be able to repay you. Being able to spend time in your home was very special for us and we really appreciate it.

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