Europe - 9 Countries in 10 Days (From England to the Alps and Back)

[Krime]

Hello GTAM! While working in London England for 4 months last year, I had 10 vacation days set aside for September. There were two options, 1) fly back home to Toronto or 2) Have my girlfriend join me in London, rent my dream bike and ride it through Europe two up. The choice was clear - we'd meet in London and set out on what would be the most beautiful and inspirational ride I'd ever been on! All said and done we tallied up that we had passed through 9 countries in the 10 days on the road - and yes, this was after cutting down some of our original ambitions (thanks to pre-trip fellow ADV rider wisdom).

The route took us from England - across France (including the D-Day beaches and Chablis) - Swiss Alps (too many mountain passes to count!) - Italy (including the Stelvio Pass) - Liechtenstein (unintentionally) - Germany (Lake Constance and the Black Forest) - Luxembourg - Belgium (the Ardennes Forest) and back. Approx. 3,250km after all said and done.

Here's some previews from the trip:

And here we are:

Megan (Day 1 - ferry to France) and yours truly / Erik (Day 5 - Stelvio Pass, Italy)


It all starts here:

After taking the train from London to Bournemouth we walked with luggage in hand to the rental location in the suburbs of Bournemouth - no IMTBike here! The adrenaline kicked in when I saw the bike waiting in the driveway.

We rode to the nearby Orchid hotel - we had a good hunch that at 39 euro it would be by far our cheapest stay of the entire trip. We started prepping the gear (helmet cam, Sena headsets, GPS, etc) before starting our first day on the road early the next morning.

 

[Krime]

Day 1: Bournemouth, England to Chablis, France

Up at 5am to catch our ferry to France. It's pitch black and raining out (but it's England so no surprise). Trying to attach 3 fully loaded cases to the bike in the complete dark... for the first time... is not easy. We left the hotel late but the GPS guided us through the confusing winding roads and got us to the ferry port on time.

Tying down the bikes.

It was all good until the boat hit the open water of the English Channel. This was my technique for keeping my food down - look straight to the horizon and try to ignore the smell of breakfast sausage grease coming from the kitchen vents.

We met two other riders on the ferry (on an Aprilia and Ducati) and planned to ride through the D-day beaches to Caen with them. After arriving at the port in Cherbourg France and realizing we had over 500km to cover in one day, we had to go our own way soon after hitting the road.

Arriving at Omaha Beach just as the sun came out.

Eerie scene to see the bunkers embedded in the cliffside and the anti-aircraft guns along the beach.

The Omaha Beach memorial monument.

More rain along the narrow roads towards Caen.

Arriving in Caen for a late lunch.

From Caen, we jumped on the toll highways to cover as much ground as we could. Avoiding Paris we still managed to get stuck in traffic along the nearby highways. Legal lane splitting was a dream, although a bit dicey at times with the extended luggage on both sides.

The camaraderie among riders in France was pretty awesome. I noticed riders kept sticking their right foot out as they passed by... soon clueing in that it's how they acknowledge other riders. You'll see a few riders doing this in my ride video below.

Once the traffic opened up the highways went on and on for hours. The sun had set a good while ago, and less and less cars were coming in the opposite direction. I looked down at the gas and found the bike was consuming way more than it was estimating... It's 10pm with 35 inaccurate miles showing till empty and we were in the middle of the French country side! GPS directed us off the main highway into what turned out to be an old abandoned station... We got back on the highway and juuuuuust made it to an open station to fill up before we were empty. A great way to start the trip!

We arrived at our hotel in Chablis at around 11 that night.

A video of the day's ride:

[video=vimeo;61390603]http://vimeo.com/61390603[/video]

http://vimeo.com/61390603 - a backup if the video isn't embedding properly.

 

[Lightcycle]

Wow! Great pictures!

 

[Krime]

Wow! Great pictures!

Thank you! Unfortunate about how the size scales down in these forums though.

BTW, don't know if you recall but I reached out to you before leaving for London about 8 months ago on advice about shipping my bike versus renting, etc. This is where I settled, renting the GS for 10 days... no way I could have had a bike for my entire 4 month stay in England... there would've been no place to park!

Enjoying watching your epic adventure as well... some great photos!

 

[zeromod]

No video bud!

 

[Jayv]

Did you use Bournemouth motor hire for the bike rental?

I visited the d-days beaches many years ago when I was at school. I would still like to go back, because I didn't fully appreciate the history back then.

 

[Krime]

No video bud!

Thanks for the heads up, that's weird... it's showing up on my end but I'll add the HTML links as well as a backup.

Anyone else not seeing the embedded video?

 

[Krime]

Did you use Bournemouth motor hire for the bike rental?

I visited the d-days beaches many years ago when I was at school. I would still like to go back, because I didn't fully appreciate the history back then.

Yep that's the one! D-day beaches were amazing, just wish we had more time to see the whole lot of them - and not just the one.

 

[Krime]

Day 2: Chablis, France to Pontarlier, France (Bordering Switzerland)

We wake up to another rainy day, and start the morning exploring Chablis - a town famous for its wine.

Megan had arranged for a winery tour with La Roche that morning.

A historic building now owned by La Roche winery.

Inside - A massive 13th century wine press.

Inside the cellars

Passing through a small village on our way to Dijon.

Looking up at the Collegiale-Notre-Dame (church) while stopped at an intersection in Dole.

More heavy rain as we stopped by a river flowing alongside the road. By this point we were realizing our rain gear wasn't holding up all that well - the jacket covers were letting some water in, the boot covers were leaking and our 'waterproof' gloves were soaked through.

A common sight... Using McDonalds free wifi to find a hotel for the night.

Arriving at the outskirts of Pontarlier close to the border of Switzerland, we checked into a Campanile for the night. From what we saw of Pontarlier that night it was more of an industrial looking town - super flat and not much for tourists. In fact, finding a close by restaurant beyond the McDonald's was near impossible. There was one open that night, along a highway a good 20 minutes walk from our hotel...

Nothing like hearty American food when in France!

We finish up our French fajitas and the hardest rainfall you can imagine starts up. After getting wet on the road earlier, we had changed into our only set of dry clothes before heading out to dinner. Not looking forward to starting of the next day in wet clothes, we needed to get home dry! After a failed attempt at ordering a cab, our server (refusing any kind of compensation) drove us back to our hotel. We gave him a nice tip in event that this happened.

Day 2 riding video:
The country roads in France were lined by a row of trees on both sides, for miles and miles - you definitely don't want to get into a tank slapper on these roads!

[video=vimeo;61400761]http://vimeo.com/61400761[/video]

http://vimeo.com/61400761 - a backup if the video isn't embedding properly.

 

[crankcall]

Re: Day 2: Chablis, France to Pontarlier, France (Bordering Switzerland)

Well done

 

[Pearlzzzzz!]

Re: Day 2: Chablis, France to Pontarlier, France (Bordering Switzerland)

Thanx for bringing us to another continent, and flavour of photo's. These are the big FAT dreams some of us can only dream.
I've been to Britain twice and never thought about picking up a bike in Bournemouth. I did discover welks.

Wine in France (Tequila in Mexico) I like how all this culture is associated with bike jetting.

 

[Krime]

Re: Day 2: Chablis, France to Pontarlier, France (Bordering Switzerland)

Thanks for the kind words.

Thanx for bringing us to another continent, and flavour of photo's. These are the big FAT dreams some of us can only dream.
I've been to Britain twice and never thought about picking up a bike in Bournemouth. I did discover welks.

Wine in France (Tequila in Mexico) I like how all this culture is associated with bike jetting.

My pleasure! Glad you're enjoying it.

 

[Krime]

Day 3: Pontarlier, France to Meiringen, Switzerland

The third day straight of rain! Despite this, waking up I was stoked... we'd be heading into the Alps.

A late start to the morning at 9:30am means were almost last to leave... the heavy weather makes it far too easy to sleep in later than planned.

Roadside stop.

Low lying clouds wrap the hills.

The lake of Neuchatel in the distance.

Arriving at a restaurant in Neauchatel we second guessed if we were actually in Switzerland or still France. When we saw the prices on the menu we got the clarity we needed... Switzerland it was.

Docks at Neuchatel.

Riding along the Swiss Countryside.

I was spoiled with the heated grips... Megan on the other hand wasn't so lucky. A brief stop to warm up.

The rugged Swiss mountains I'd seen in so many pictures over the years were within view for the first time.

Loving the picturesque scenery... rich green grass with snow tipped mountains above.

The rain would keep going strong as we travelled through the town of Interlaken (what we'd learn was Switzerland's #1 tourist destination). We'd planned to get through a mountain pass or two still today, but with the miserable weather, wet clothing, and poor scene visibility - with the Alps being the most anticipated part of our trip - we decided to end the day sooner and dry up at a hotel.

As we stop in town, a kind old British man walking by sees the bike with UK plates and chats up a storm. He's been visiting the alps for the last 50 years. Our original plan was to take Sustenpass the next day, but he insisted on Grimsel to Furka instead. With 50 years knowledge of the Alps it was an easy change of plans - Grimsel to Furka it would be.

Arriving at the hotel in Meiringen (no surprise - the birthplace of meringue) just outside of Interlaken, we had our first dinner at a regular hour.

Tomorrow would be the much anticipated ride through the Alps to Italy... only the conditions wouldn't be quite like we'd expected!


Day 3 riding video:

[video=vimeo;61555414]http://vimeo.com/61555414[/video]

 

[Lightcycle]

don't know if you recall but I reached out to you before leaving for London about 8 months ago on advice about shipping my bike versus renting, etc. This is where I settled, renting the GS for 10 days... no way I could have had a bike for my entire 4 month stay in England... there would've been no place to park!

Yeah, they're really tight on space over there. And yes, I totally remember your PM!

Great choice of bike, BTW! :thumbup:

 

[Krime]

Great choice of bike, BTW! :thumbup:

First time on one, but I'm in love.

 

[Krime]

Day 4: The Alps - Meiringen, Switzerland to Bellano, Italy

Up at 7am... The much anticipate first day through the alps had arrived! Look out the window and it's cloudy... and wet... again. Go online and the weather report for Meiringen is showing a high of a mere 5 degrees for the day! We head downstairs for our breakfast, and the owner greets us with more bad news... the mountain passes had closed overnight due to snow! When I asked when they would reopen, her response was that they may not until next year! Just about the worst thing she could have said at that moment.

Time wasn't on our side - we needed to get to Italy for the night regardless, and our two current options were to take the main highway around the mountains or a train directly through them (both of which involved skipping the passes entirely). Neither appealed to us, so we choose to wait it out. about 3 and half hours later the owner gets word from a friend who owns a hotel on the Furka pass... the passes were just reopened!

We got our things together and hustled out the door for what would be one of the best days of riding I have ever had.

10:30am outside the hotel, ready to hit the Grimsel Pass.

Looking back at an approaching adventurer, heading through the clouds as we begin to climb the Grimsel pass.

Taken about 10 minutes after the last shot - Continuing the climb, the temperature drops to around freezing and the landscape turns white. This would explain the snowplow we'd just passed shortly before.

Visibility would drastically reduce as we continue the climb towards the summit. Wrapping another hairpin the bike slipped on ice for a split second (2:22 in video) - my heart dropped and ears peirced as Megan shrieked through the headset.

After riding over patches of icy snow - white-knuckled trying to keep the bike as straight and smooth on the throttle as possibile - we were relieved to reach the summit with the rubber side still down!

-4 degrees at the summit, we were joined by two cyclists who also needed to be in Italy for the night to catch their flight the next morning.

Finishing up the Grimsel pass as riders from Belgium look in the direction we came.

Starting the climb up the Furka Pass, looking back at Grimsel.

The view to the right... melting glacier water flows down the mountain. To get a sense of scale, notice the chalet in the top right corner.

Higher up Furka... travelers enjoying the view.

Further along, the clouds flowed across the road. Now towards the end of the pass, most of it prior was completely covered in a coat of stark white snow, but with no spot to pull over for pictures, the video would have to do!

Towards the end of Furka, the sky began to open up.

At the edge of the clouds.

Stopping again to take in the views... the sound of cowbells clanging in the wind would soon be replaced by the sweet sound of a supermotard tearing through the hairpins, leg out and all...

Onwards we go!

Julier Pass.

Houses in the Italian mountains on our way to Bellano for the night (near lake Como).

The temperature in Italy would now be close to 20 degrees! As we rode through the quiet winding streets of Bellano, nerves kicked in as we hadn't had the time to reserve a hotel for the night. We arrived at a dimly lit B&B (Villa Anita) at around 10pm... We knocked on the door a few times before anyone acknowledged. The grandmother (and owner) was surprised to see us and super thrilled to let us know she had one room left, just for us.

We spent the rest of the night by the one open pizzeria by the lake. Thanks to Megan's fluency in Italian, the owners loved us! We hung out with them and family friends until 1am.

Loaded up on wine and pizza we headed back for the deepest sleep of the trip. Next up in tomorrows itinerary would be Stelvio Pass - the road I'd dreamed about riding for the last 10 years.


Day 4 riding video:
Lots of additional mountain pass footage here that I didn't have the chance to capture on my camera. It's a bit of a longer one so grab a drink, get comfy and enjoy.

[video=vimeo;61632377]http://vimeo.com/61632377[/video]

 

[RockerGuy]

Re: Day 4: The Alps - Meiringen, Switzerland to Bellano, Italy

Very nice, subscribed

 

[Krime]

Day 5: The Alps - Bellano, Italy to Davos, Swtizerland

It's the fifth day and we wake up to sun for the first time on the trip!

The morning view during breakfast.

Leaving Villa Anita - our favourite stay so far.

We spent the morning visiting nearby Varenna - a beautiful spot the pizzeria owners had recommended the night before.

Waiting for lunch by the lake.

Visiting the beach in 20+ degree weather felt almost surreal coming from the freezing mountains of Switzerland the day before.

After filling the tank in Bormio, we start up the mountain towards Stelvio - looking back at the road as it wrapped along the mountainside.

Heading higher up, the temperate drops and we change into our rain gear for added wind protection.

Looking up at the climb ahead... ears popping constantly with the changing altitude.

Joining the many riders as we arrive at Stelvio Pass a short while later.

Another GS entering the summit - I've never seen so many GS's in one place before.

The Stelvio summit.

A short while down Stelvio we stop for the view.

15 minutes later still heading downhill - hairpin to hairpin - with no sight of the bottom in view.

Riders carving through the pass.

A look up at Stelvio towards the summit. We were heading back up the way we came, the sun was getting low and there was lots more riding still ahead. Hours seemed to go by like minutes on days like this.

Leaving Stelvio we hit the Umbrail pass, which was now back in Switzerland, just bordering Italy. This section was one of - if not THE - most fun road I've ever ridden (starting at 5:54 in the video below). Set in a beautiful Swiss landscape, these perfect twisties with changing elevations, went on for a good while. The only vehicles I passed in this section of the run was a pack of 8 oncoming GS 1200s.

From here we would ride many more mountain passes - each one completely different than the next. The sun was setting and before we knew it we'd be riding through the night into Davos - the temperature dropping well below freezing.

Yesterday and today had been the best two days of riding I'd ever had. We would be leaving the Alps the next morning as we headed for Germany. The days were going by too quickly - I wished I had more time to explore the Alps!


Day 5 riding video:
Another incredible ride through Stelvio pass and many other Italian and Swiss mountain passes!

[video=vimeo;61760993]http://vimeo.com/61760993[/video]

 

[Krime]

Day 6: Davos, Switzerland to St. Margen, Germany

Today we'd be leaving the Alps... this would be as far East as we would go - heading North West towards Germany.

Getting ready to leave Davos.

A group of riders heading in our direction towards Liechtenstein.

The vineyard alongside the road with the last of the Alps in the distance.

After passing through Liechtenstein and Austria, we'd arrive at Lake Constance Germany. The road along the lake is more of a highway than anything. Desperate to find a place for lunch, we take a random exit off the highway and end up at a dead end...

...which turns out to be a nice find.

Megan getting her shopping fix at the market.

Enjoying a fine German Pilsner while waiting for the schnitzel to arrive.

A slower pace than we were used to.

Entering Germany's black forest on our way to St. Margen for the night, we stumble upon Hegaublick - a cafe for riders.

Arriving at our stay for the night in the St. Margen countryside (just outside Freiburg).

We meet the three riders (above) who were also traveling from the UK, and had spent the last 3 days exploring the black forest. Tom on the GS had planned the trip. We'd share notes and GPS routes over dinner. Having no idea what roads to hit, his advice couldn't have come at a better time.

After spending a good portion of the night reviewing the German riding maps he'd loaned me, tomorrow's route was set - we'd head up through Wolfach and Baden Baden, across the tip of France and back into Germany for the night.


Day 6 riding video:

[video=vimeo;61935416]http://vimeo.com/61935416[/video]

 

[Krime]

Day 7: St. Margen, Germany to Saarbrucken, Germany

After a great stay at the family run Gasthaus Zum Kreuz in the German country side, we head out for a ride through the Black Forest.

A view of the rolling hills along the road.

Stopping in the dense forest, passing hundreds of cyclists along the way.

Arriving in Wolfach, Germany.

Wolfach, Germany - I'd run out of room on my video card at the wrong time and on the wrong day! It was Sunday, and there wasn't a store open.

Riders passing through this small beautiful town.

One of a few original Beetles seen in the German countryside.

The start of the best road we'd ride in the Black Forest, heading towards Ruhestein. It got pretty congested with a few slower cars and riders passing through at an aggressive pace.

Finishing up the great run.

Making a big bike look small.

Stopping by another rider off the main road...

…to take in the view.

Arriving in Baden-Baden.

Warm winter socks weren't needed in this weather.

An upscale town - busy with locals and tourists.

Another good German lunch.

More views of Baden-Baden.

We were originally hoping to visit the Mosel region, but time wasn't on our side so we'd have to skip it this time around. From here we'd head diagonally North West across the tip of France and then settle down in Saarbrucken Germany for the night… More of a commercial area, it definitely wasn't the most appealing place to stay in Germany - especially on this kind of trip. Lots of suits traveling on business at our hotel for the night… we definitely looked out of place. With that said, we did manage to find a nice patio to enjoy in the city centre later that night. Tomorrow we'd be heading Through Luxembourg on our way to Belgium.


Day 7 riding video:
A trip through the Black Forest. Unfortunately the majority of the video footage is only from the first hour and a half into the day… my memory card was at capacity soon after the ride began! In other words - this video doesn't do the Black Forest justice!

[video=vimeo;61973242]http://vimeo.com/61973242[/video]