Day 2 - Zebrugge to Oberbruch (near Baden-Baden in Black Forest)

The general consensus today was to head south through France. I asked the lass at info desk on ferry what she'd do in my shoes - ride down through France or Germany? She said she actually wouldn't be daft enough to go anywhere this week on a bike, but given the choice she'd have to take France. Jon is pinging regular forecasts over which pretty much said the same.

Weather actually looked good outside but it was only half past four or something ridiculous when they woke us with the morning campers ding dong.

This mornings breakfast was just as awesome as last nights tea. I love the P&O buffet, although they've got rid of rollmop herring at breakfast so points docked for that.

P&O have finally got their act together with strapping bikes down too. They give you ratchet straps now. Previously, all bikers had to fight over little off-cuts of blue rope. I'd foolishly brought my own ratchet strap and was constantly remindeded by my co pilot how many more shoes she could have fitted in the space if I hadn't bothered.

Set off on motorway past Brussels and the weather picked up. By Luxembourg it was 26 degrees and crystal clear ahead.

Got chatting to a Brit couple when we stopped for fuel. They were heading down to Florence and like us just chasing the sun to start with. 3 weeks cruising in a rather nice white 3 series convertible. A convertible with a private reg too, so they instantly failed two out of three man rules (the third, to those uninitiated with life's man rules, being no Facebook). Three sound rules for all men to live their life by. To be fair, the woman was driving so they were prob just nice 'burds wheels'.

Anyway, I offered them a fiver to carry all my luggage and my pillion for me. I didn't really care where they took my pillion, but I'd have liked my luggage dumping at a nice campsite. Strangely, they accepted.

We checked in with some friends, the Tigers, who were camping further down in France and they were having rain. By the time we reached Metz we both happily agreed to keep heading on through the Black Forest.  We kept on motorway and péage until we could take no more then peeled off onto some lovely scenic twisties for the last hour. I'll double-check this when the maps are to hand but I think we came off at Sarre-Union and went east on the D912 and D29. Nice roads. A bit of a chew on near Sarre-Union but it all flows nicely once you're on the right road.

Ended the day crossing over the Rhine into Germany on the Rheinmünster ferry and stopping at Adam Campingplatz just over the water. It's the same one I stopped at last time I was here and still quite faultless. The nice lass on reception only charged us for one tent so €18 all in.

We had a proper filthy tea. Fried up some merguez sausage and stuffed them into bread buns with big slices of brie. This was all washed down with wine bottle sized German beers that were in the supermarket chiller for €2 a pop. The lables looked a bit home brew but they were excellent. We picked up a small selection. The unfiltered wheat beer defo nailed the dark one (dunkel).

Went for a swim in the lake. Actually, I got ankle deep but it was bloody freezing so turned straight back round. Spent the night sat by lake supping cold beer watching other idiots swimming.

Not a bad run today. That's four countries and two ferries in one day. Tomorrow we wake up in the beautiful Black Forest near one of the best biking roads Europe has to offer. We're hoping to ride through the Black Forest and meet up with the Tigers down in France. Steve has the bbq primed and some wildebeest ready. Catherine's hoping to eat lots more cheese, after a month or two of avoiding all dairy. Obviously I'll post pics if she has any funny reactions.

352 miles

'Nuf said

We're back!

Bit of an unscheduled void in the touring calendar last year but we're back on form this year!

Heading out on the Zebrugge ferry  tonight for a bit of a play around Europe. Most of it's under 6' of water so dunno where we're heading yet. No worries though, Deano is on the case back at mission control. Forecast and recommendations due to be wired over shortly. The south of France is looking good at the mo.

Anyway, wish you were all here etc etc...

45 miles

Last day in Munich

Holiday snaps. You've either got it or you aint...

We ate in Weisses Brauhaus last night. We were told it's usually full of locals eating weißwurst breakfasts so it's probably good. I was spoiled for choice. Should I go for the veal diaphram (kalbskron), the pigs lungs tripe and sweetbread (voressen) or the veal spleen sausage (kalberne milzwurst)?

I settled for pork knuckle again and Catherine went for roast pork. Both were awesome but I'm not sure the pork knuckle beat the Hofbrauhaus offering. It is a really nice beer hall though. Full of locals and very few tourists. Our waitress looked like a big German Germaine Greer. She was lovely. Also liked the fact that service is included in prices (check the smallprint!), and you can pay a few euros more or less and they'll give you bigger or smaller portions. I can't imagine that you'd ever want bigger portions.

Took a steady stroll around Munich today. Hit a couple of beer stops that we hadn't tried before.
Grabbed some weißbier and currywurst in the Augustiner Bierhalle for a late lunch. Prob my favourite beer so far. The currywurst really hit the spot too.

Caught the midday performance at the Glockenspiel. It's the huge performing musical clock in the Rathaus clock tower. Dancers and jousters spin around 3 times a day. It's worth catching if you're passing by but don't go outta your way.

We also climbed the tower at St Peters church. Cracking views from the top but it's a long windy narrow climb to the top. Once you're up there you can see as far as the Alps.

Stopped by Asamkirche on the way past. A few people popping in so we followed. It's spectacular. It's a small but ornate church constructed in 16th century by a chap as the final resting place for him and his brother. Definitely worth a look.

Spent the rest of the afternoon leisurely strolling and drinking.

Collected our luggage from the hotel and took the S8 subway train to the airport. Bought a one day group travel ticket for less than €20 earlier today. It's cheapest way to get to airport plus we can use it during the day to get around. Airport journey is just over half an hour.

We're at airport now. Flight delayed by 40 mins so far. We might struggle to get back tonight but fingers crossed. The last train from airport to York is 00:48 so best case scenario is home for about 3.15am. Worst case is a night at Manchester airport.

It's the law...

Not an optical illusion. The beer really is as big as Catherine...

Dachau

Ate at Hofbrauhaus again last night. Looked at a restaurant that our bike tour guide recommended but it was a bit steep for our liking so we returned to ol' faithful.

Food was excellent again. We split goulash and pork knuckle then moved on for beers elsewhere. Town was heaving. Far busier now we're into the weekend. Lots more Brits and it started looking a bit fighty at closing time which was a shame. There was a few beer casualties throwing up outside too. Mainly girls, which really isn't a good look.

We ended the night with a stroll by the river to a late night kiosk for a cheeky take out. You're not supposed to drink by the kiosks but everyone does and nobody bats an eyelid. They're really cool places to meet.
Breakfast this morning at the hotel was superb. They even had rollmops, which I had after my cereal and omelette and cooked breakfast. That should set me up for day.

Took a train out to Dachau to visit the concentration camp. Bought a one day train ticket for €12.80. That covered us both (up to 5 people actually) and was also valid for the bus from Dachau train station to the camp. The entire journey only takes about half an hour.

As you'd expect, Dachau concentration camp is incredibly sobering and thought provoking. It really needs a full day to take it all in. We had a good half day and saw enough. The museum, bunker and crematorium are the key areas to visit. There's a huge amount of info to absorb in the museum and a lot of it isn't pretty so be prepared.

The camp is free to enter. Germany will never forget what happened and they don't hide the facts. We learned on our bike tour yesterday that German culture is massively against racism. Kids learn right and wrong from the start and they find racism extremely intolerable.

We left the camp and headed back into town. We jumped off the train at the main station and walked up to Kunstbau to visit a Kraftwerk show. Tonight is the annual night of museums in Munich. I think they're all open all night. Kraftwerk have launched a new installation today so we popped along. Fiver each to get in, or we could have bought a night pass for all museums for €15. It was pretty cool. Huge 3D video projections that play along to their music. We lounged on the floor and stuck around for an hour or so.

Back at hotel now. Catherine grabbing a quick shower before we head back into town. We've had our fill of culture today and now it's beer o'clock!
 

Munich by bike

Arrived safe n sound in Munich. Only found out once we arrived that the seats on the train from Prague lay completely flat so we could of had a proper nap on board. Got one of the S-bahn trains from main station straight to the city centre Holiday Inn. There's a lift from the station straight to the hotel lobby which is really convenient. The Bayern-Bohmen Ticket covered the journey. It's valid on all S (suburban) trains and R (regional) trains. It's not valid on the U (underground) trains though.

Lass on reception was lovely. Really friendly and helpful. Even remembered Catherines name and greeted her later that evening as Miss Lea which was a nice touch.

Walked into town. It was absolutely heaving but just like we remembered. It's still full of beautiful girls elegantly gliding around on push bikes. That's how I always remembered it anyway.

Grabbed food and beer at Hofbrauhaus. I nearly snapped my wrist again lifting my maß stein of beer! Best remember I'm not fully recovered yet. I know the Hofbrauhaus is a tourist trap, but it's a right laugh.

My heart is fit to pop with the amount of salt I've consumed over the last few days. Everything in Prague is loaded with it. Bavaria is much the same. The pretzels are covered in salt rocks, although I found out later that the locals scrape these off before eating. Ordered weißwurst, and ate it the proper way. It's not pretty but it's the correct thing to do. We left after food and tried a couple of different bars.

Woke up this morning to glorious sunshine. It's a bit nippy but lovely and fresh. Decided to take a bike tour with Mike's Bike Tours. Pinched some free coffees from the O2 store on Marienplatz while we waited for our guide. It's the iPhone 4 launch today so the free drinks and refreshments aren't a permanent feature. It's worth noting that their free WiFi is, and it reaches outside the store 24 hours a day (we heard there's also free WiFi in Hard Rock Cafe but I can't stomach that place).

It was a really small group - just three American girls and us. Our guide, Tony, was awesome. A very well travelled and entertaining American now living in Munich. The tour lasted about 4 hours which included a quick break for lunch in the park. Worth every penny of €24 and thoroughly recommended if you're in town. Munich is a beautiful city and very bike friendly. This is definitely the best way to see it. I reckon we picked up far more in a few hours than we could have if we'd just grabbed a guidebook.

As well as the sights and history, we picked up some top tips for beer, food and other things to try while we're here. Silly stuff, like which church tower gives the best views and what time of day you should try climbing it.

Catherine also tried, but failed, to pinch her bike after falling in love with it. I hope Santa feels flush this year because she's obsessed.

As tour customers, we now get discounted bike hire and free internet access while we're in Munich. We might actually use both of those before we leave.

Back in hotel room at mo for a quick wash and brush up but we're heading back into town soon.

Dunno what the plans are but they will no doubt include lots of beer and meat. We're actually still in time for happy hour cocktails but apparently they're banned after last nights silly late session in Prague.
 

Dobre jitro!

Any hopes of getting away on the bike this year were lost on the IOM after my little Evel Knievel incident. However I finally lost the crutches and the cast last week so a short break was definitely do-able.

Spoke to Catherine and she was well up for a trip. Providing she didn't have to organise anything, obviously.

We looked at flight options and both Prague and Munich got the green light. Flights out to Prague and back from Munich fitted perfectly and there's a cheap train between the two so connections are easy.

Neither of us had been to Prague before. Heard lots of good things about it though. Reassuringly, we were told it's easy to avoid the stags and hens too. We were also told its expensive, which it really isn't. Although after three nights we still couldn't get to grips with the currency so it's easy to see where the confusion would be. Beer works out about £1.50 a pint. But the numbers involved are really big so you think you're paying loads. Sometimes we'd pick up a tab for hundreds of Czech Crown (Kc). After much scratching of heads we'd work it out and realise we probably hit about a tenner each for a good fill of beer and food. A few years ago the exchange rate was double what it is today and beer was half the price, but it's still not an expensive destination.

Tipping is never assumed but always appreciated. Drop a couple of extra nuggets and all is good. 5 - 10%, or just round up to the nearest 10 or 20 Kc. They've adopted that annoying German tradition though - if you say thank you when settling a tab they keep all the change. It caught us out once and then we wised up. Either say nothing or tell them how much you'd like to pay in total when handing over cash.

As expected, there's some excellent Czech beer out here. Food is typically basic but tasty. We lived on goulash, dumplings and cabbage pancakes, which were all lovely. It's defo no place for vegetarians though. You can also get foie gras or white veal for a few quid if that floats your boat. I wasn't tempted. Surprisingly, neither was our resident press trip free-loader who thinks nothing of eating the likes of dolphin, swan and seal on her little gastronomic work trips abroad.

Public transport is fast, reliable, clean and cheap. They have a completely integrated transport system. You buy a time restricted ticket (30 mins, 90 mins, 1 day, 3 days) and use it as much as you want on bus, tram, train and/or tube. Tickets are valid from the moment you validate them - usually as you get on your tram or bus, or as you pass through a ticket barrier. There's very few ticket checks but nobody abuses the system because its so cheap.

Yesterday we had a pretty full on day. We visited the National Memorial to the victims of Post-Heydrich Terror. It tells the story of WW2 German occupation and how the (now) Czech Republic entered the war and the lead up to, and brutal aftermath of, the assassination of Heydrich by British trained Czech paratroopers. A little bit of history and culture before lunch.

We then went straight to the Staropramen brewery for a few early afternoon beers. It's a great bar and the staff were awesome. The beer doesn't get any fresher.

This was the start of an impromptu all day session which took us through a choice selection of local bars and jazz clubs and finally ended about 3.30am in a swanky cocktail bar burning the last of our Czech currency on some mighty fine cocktails.

Not our best idea mind. The alarm went off just a couple of hours later so we could get up early and catch our train to Munich.

We're currently sat on the 9.10 from Prague to Munich, about to cross the border. The train takes 6 hours but goes direct to and from the centre of both cities. It's a far better option than flying. We bought a ticket to Pilsner along with a Bayern-Bohmen Ticket earlier in the week. You get them both from the German DB ticket office at Prague station. They're located in the main ticket office, in a room to the left. They'll sell you both in one transaction. It cost about 40 quid (1122 Kc) for both of us but the Bayern-Bohmen Ticket covers up to 5 people for unlimited travel in Bavaria for 24 hours.

We're sat in a cabin with a woman from Ghana whose son Christian asked at the station if we'd watch over her for the journey and make sure she arrives in Munich ok. No idea why he asked us - we're both still completely boozed up from last night. Catherine can hardly stand, although she's just perked up after managing to stomach her first coffee of the day.

She's been pretty good this trip. She's only lost some maps and a few notes of advice from Neil so far. A charge she is still strenuously denying. Pens keep going missing too but usually turn up again eventually.

The only planning she did for this trip was a fully documented itinerary of which outfit she was wearing on which day. But that's better than nothing so don't knock it.

We're both really looking forward to Munich. It's gonna be more expensive than Prague but at least we'll be able to work out the currency so we'll happily pay a bit more for an easy life. The hotel has a pool so perhaps a quick lounge in the pool then a nap before hitting the beer halls.

Prague was awesome and thoroughly recommended. It's a stunning city, full of wonderful buildings, endless statues and cool little bars. It's probably starting on a downward turn though. It's kinda sad to see Irish bars, Starbucks and Hard Rock Cafes popping up but they're in the main tourist parts which can easily be avoided. Even in the tourists parts, you can usually duck down a side street and find a cool little smoky bar full of locals. We didn't see any stag parties or unruly British behaviour. Pick-pockets can be a problem, as with any major tourist city, but just watch your back and you'll be fine. We had no bother at all. The Czechs also have a good grasp of English. Certainly better than my attempts at Czech. I think going out of season helps. We've missed the summer season and it's too early for the Christmas crowds.

Munich should be pretty quiet too. Oktoberfest finished a few weeks ago so everyone will have had their fill and the carnage will have finished. Maybe next year we'll be over for Oktoberfest.

Maybe next year I'll manage to stay on my bike too!

Exhibit A - Liquid lunch at the Staropramen brewery...

Exhibit B - Mid afternoon refreshments at Kolkovna Olympia...

Exhibit C - A few cheeky beers in the evening...

Exhibit D - The wrong side of midnight...

Exhibit E - 3.30am...

A short time later...

Job done! You should lose the Christmas decs though sis!
 

Goodbye or good buy?

After some negotiation, my insurance company finally gave an acceptable valuation for the bike yesterday. I then had a call this morning to discuss various things, one of which was the option to buyback.

Their salvage rate was 17%. I gave it serious consideration for a track bike but decided not to buy it back. It's just too much for a bike that might prove an expensive repair or potentially dangerous. It could of been split for parts if closer examination showed problems but I decided to let go.

I've never felt sentimental about a bike or car before so it's a bit of a shock to feel genuinely upset that we're parting company :-(
 

RIP Trumpet

Just had a call from my insurance company. It's no great surprise but my dear ol' bike is 'beyond economical repair'.

We spend many, many happy miles together. I went round Europe twice on it and had a complete blast. Overloaded with Ventura luggage it was awesome for one-up touring.

Nothing else out there really tickles my fancy. I've got the tractor for proper tours but the Trumpet really was the perfect road bike. The 675R looks tasty, but I'd like something else to compete and offer me a suitable change.

It's a black armband kinda day. If anyone wants me, I'll be in the garage staring at an empty space with a tear in my eyes...
 

Cankles

I had the cast taken off my leg today, which was a massive relief. I can't even begin to describe how amazing my first proper shower in two months feels! No more bagging up my leg before a shower then flossing between my toes with a wet wipe afterwards!

There was a grim build up of dead skin and hairs lurking beneath my dressings. It took several showers and a good scrub in a bucket of hot water to get rid of it all.

My ankle is massively swollen and my calf muscle has all but disappeared. In fact my cankle is just about the thickest part of my leg.

I've avoided 'ballerinas ankle' though and was given a really cool stormtrooper boot!