Best of Europe (BOE2204)
"Good Morning! Ladies and Gentlemen, the reason for this meeting is ... ". No, no, no - we are on vacation: This is the first of the everyday morning briefings at 8:30. Our first riding day leads us from Erding to beautyful Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Ready to take off! Please start your engines ... The Moment we left Erding, the rain set in. And it was literally pouring down on us. Many roads tin the region of hops growing region Hallertau and famous Altmültal where blocked due to the danger of flooding. So we made our way through roadblockings and raindrops to Heidelberg - with warming coffeestops and a lunchstop with delicoius Fleischpflanzerl to Heidelberg. At lunch with Tim, Randy, Dennis and Fleischpflanzerl - the bavarian style burgers with potato/cucumber salad - mmmmmhhhmmm:-) Dennis and Brad: always good for a joke! Beautyful Rothenburg: Dustin in his element. I guess, he produced tons of pixels with taking pictures and videos during the whole tour. He is a superb photographer and we would love to have some of his pics in the blog. In the late afternoon at Rothenburg, the sun showed up again - and was since than our companion the whole tour long. Rothenburg is a JEWEL ... ... isn't it????
Here we are in the bright sunshine ... ... doing the Morning Briefing "Rothenburg to Heidelberg" ... Are you ready for another splendid day? Yep - Randy is!!! Heidelberg - the terrace of our Hotel, with an amazing panoramic view over the Heidelberg-region.
The beasts crawling out of the hole :-))) Lunchstop in the middle of Nowhere, Schwarzwald, Germany ... and we enjoyed a Grandma style "Schweizer Wurstsalat". Bienvenue a France!!!! Crossing the Rhine at the Rhine-Lock near Marckolsheim/Alsace, France. You reach France and immediately you get this special french feeling - mild air, alleys, less stress, no Autobahn ... Randy and Steve know what I mean. Jim feels the same ...:-))) Ready for Dinner in the breathtaking beautyful city-center of Ribeauville. Delicious food ... ... more delicious food ... ... and a good drink make people smile: TG Mike, Dustin, Bradley and TG Felix ... ... Steve, Shelley, Jon and Natalie, Randy, Mary Ellen and Jim ... ... and Linda and Norman (front), Kathy and Tim (rear). Good NIght, Ribeauville! The god news is: We stay here for another day!!!!
Restday Ribeauville: Linda, Norman, Kathy and Tim decided to explore Ribeauville and its surroundings and enjoyed a wonderful day without motorcycles. Alle others came with the TGs to ride a relaxed round. First Stop: The impressive Castle "Haute Koenigsbourg", near Ribeauville. Enjoy the following pics ... Undertree Chat at the "Haute Koenigsbourg": TG Mike, Jon, Randy, Mary Ellen, Natalie, "Reporter" Dustin and Dennis. Visiting the Vosgese Mountains and the remainings of the cruel "one step forward - one step back"-frontline auf WW1. Back to Ribeauville ... and a heartwarming last evening in the scenic old city-center. Walking down the main road. Dennis, Mary Ellen.
Time to say "Au revoir!" (Good bye!) to Ribeauville and France, cross the River Rhine once mor and head into german Schwarzwald again. Picnic near Göschweiler. Relaxing, isn't it? The whole group: Steve & Shelley, Tim & Kathy, Jon & Natalie, Norman & Linda, James & Mary Ellen, Brad, Dustin, Dennis, TG Mike and TG Felix At famous "Hexenlochmühle" (Witches-Hole-Mill) in the heart of Hochschwarzwald. Here they produce the most beautyful "Koockoo Watches You" (wrote this especially for you, Natalie :-))) and we all had a huge piece of mouthwatering Schwarzwälder-Kirschtorte, the culinary cherrycake-speciality. Leaving "Hexenlochmühle" and via woodlands and narrow roads with nice sweeping curves, we reached Switzerland and the Rheinfall/Rhinefalls at Schaffhausen. What a wonderful day!
Dustin getting ready for day by kneeing down to miss no waypoint of the route ... ... while Dennis practises some Yoga ... Meanwhile Kathy does the real important things ... ... and the guys are talking and talking:-))) At the shores of Lake Constance/Rhine: Picturesque Rheinbrücke Diessenhofen. The Border between Germany and Switzerland: Diessenhofen/Germany and i(in the picture) Stein a. Rhein/Switzerland.
Dustin starting off! Mary Ellen. Natalie. Jon, Kathy & Steve. Linda in her element! (with husband Norman and Mary Ellen). Bradley - always in a good mood! Bavarian King Ludwigs II. fairytale Castle Linderhof. The Gardens of Schloss Linderhof. And back to Plansee - not for a swim, but for a Edelweiss-Picnic! After the Picnic we visited the amazing Kloster Ettal/Ettal Monastery, with its bright and light bavarian baroque church. The Church of Ettal-Monatsery from the outside and ... ... and from the inside - with holy ... LINDA?!?! From Ettal through the countryside via Aying our route brought us back then, to where alle began. Together we had a real unique farewell-dinner and happy emotional moments. It has been a true true honour to have you all on our Tour - we enjoyed every minute of the Best Of Europe - Experience with you! Thank you!!! Big Hug to you all, your TGs, Mike & Felix