CKC2401 - Kings and Castles
Vienna, a city with a long and interesting history. Emperors and kings have influenced the layout and buildings in a magnificant and classy way. Stephens church with a great view, Cafe Demel ( Best Apfelstrudel in the World!), Schonbrunn palace, and great lunch at Plachutta! Also riding on the subway was a nice experiance.
The day has come that our tour can finally start! With nice weather, the blue Danube and great roads we are off! Leaving Austria and entering the Czech Republic. The lunch stop, with the best garlic soup ever, provided us with a breath taking view on the Danuberiver and the serounding mountains.
The highlite of the day was definitely Cesce Krumlov. A medieval town that has a good reason to be on the Unesco world heritage list. Walking through the cobbled streets feels like you have gone back in time 500 years. Coffee on the river full of trout, and a good place to buy souvenirs. Drove further through the bohemian forest and safely arrived in beautiful Prague!
Our first rest day. Because that is in Prague the whole group wants to go into this beautifull city. Lots of history, beautiful buildings, good food and wonderful weather. Our 1st stop is at the famous astronomical clock. 700 years old and it still functions. The clock indicates, among other things, the position of the sun and moon. We didn't take any pictures at the Jewish cemetery, but believe me, it was very impressive. After a delicious coffee on the Moldau River we walked to St. Vithus Cathedral. From here you have a beautiful view over Prague. And we enjoyed the delicious food by the river! Overlooking the Charles Bridge. Walking across it, it feels like you are in the Games and Thrones. In the afternoon we drank a delicious Czech beer on the central square and did some shopping
Back onto the bikes today. We started the day under a blue sky and perfect riding conditions. Off we went to the wonderful town of Melnik, where we stopped in an inconspicuous little cafe with a fantastic selection of cake and ice creams. Of course our group couldn't say no to these temptations. After a quick wonder on the old square we went through the rolling hills of the hinterland towards our lunch stop in Jetrichovice. To every bodies surprise, Jan expected us with the van and dished out a scrumptious picnic feast. There was something for every liking and we managed to clear it out nicely. With full bellies, we started onto the second part of our trip. Now, the road took us towards the Czech-German border. where the countryside changed to woodland dominated by strange looking sandstone formations. This area is known as the "Elbsandsteingebierge" wich is part of the bigger "Sächische Schweiz". So far we were able to avoid any bigger downpours, but Karma did turn on us, just before our highlight of the day - The Bastei Bridge - the heavens opened up and you could hardly see ahead of you! Wet but our spirit unbroken, we made it to the attraction and luckily the rain slowly subsided, so we got plenty of photo opportunities. Our last leg took us via the Autobahn to Dresden, which gave us the chance to open up the throttle a bit to see what the bikes can do, of course all within the legal speed limits! A fantastic day came to an end in a cozy restaurant right in the old town, the Pulverturm. We enjoyed a variety of local cuisine.
How exciting it is to visit this beautiful city. Dresden is known for its Baroque buildings. Many were rebuilt in the old style after the devastating bombing during the war. We visit the Hofkirche, Frauenkirche, the Brühlsche Terrasse (a boardwalk along the river Elbe) and Dresden Castle. Today the weather gods weren't quiet on our side, but our spirit was unbroken and we made the most of the rainy day. While we visited the Frauenkirche, we became aware that the Berlin Philharmonic is playing there tonight and to our surprise they still had a very small number of cards available. Franzi jumped on it and organised a night out for the group members that wanted to attend. What a treat we had!
With beautiful weather in prospect we leave beautiful Dresden and drive to Gorlitz. A city that's in both Germany and Poland. And the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Then for the first time in Poland! Winding roads, dense forests and views on the Giant Mountains. Our lunch spot is just as beautifully located, and the food is good! A stop in the middle of the ski area of the Giant Mountains brings us to a 45 meter high lookout tower. A beautiful contraction, made of wood from Austria! Wonderful to arrive at the hotel at the end of such a driving day and have a nice swim, go into the sauna and enjoy a drink at the bar
Today we had a long and beautiful riding day through the Sudeten Mountain range. Leaving the Spa Town of Lazne Belohrad behind us we were heading on gentle scenic roads to Nove Mesto for our 1st coffee stop. From here is was only a short ride into the neighboring little village with a true hidden gem - their medieval wooden church. It was carefully decorate with hand painted murals from to to floor, you wouldn't know were to look first. For our lunch stop we went further into the mountains, where the scenery changed to dense forest and high slopes. Which of course meant more corners and lots of fun. Our destination was a rustic hiker's inn with typical Polish cuisine. A meeting point for all lover's of the great outdoors, the place was buzzing with hikers, cyclists and riders. The afternoon continued on stunning roads through the green and lush country side - always chased by a big heavy rain cloud which we luckily could outrun. Happy but tired we reached our hotel, where Jan as a surprise had prepared a boot beer for us to celebrate the adventure of today's riding.
Our destination today is Krakow, Poland's 2nd largest city. A city with a long history and hundreds of churches. But before we get there we drive with the sun in our faces through forests, over mountains and have coffee in a ski resort. A photo at the Polish border is of course also part of it. Franzi prepared a delicious lunch for us, with a view over grain fields and the Zbiornik Goczalkowicki lake. With a bit of luck we drive around rain showers and arrive safely back at our hotel.
Today was a rest day for the group. One part decided to go on an organised tour to Ausschwitz, a somber reminder what mankind is capable of. In a different sense this is also true for the other destination the second part of the group went to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Both tours finished in the early afternoon so everybody had time to explore the Old Town of Krakow afterwards.
Our first stop of the dat is at an old wooden church. As its sunday, there is a service being held and we can enjpy the singingof the priests. During our coffee stop the road is blocked off by police because there is a Polish cycling race, just for us. We even manage to get some bidons from the riders. The highlite of the day is Castle Oravsky! From towers, a lowering bridge, swoards, prinses and princesses: it has it all!
Today had everything to offer and more. We didn't fall short on memories made. There were fantastic roads, wonderful folk art, we also survived a torrential down poor and an angry Slovak waitress. We started off under a blue sky with some clouds floating across. Our first stop was the picturesque village of Čičmany, which features some lovely old wooden houses, richly decorated with folkloric ornaments. The local shop had some exquisite needlework on sale, which some of the group took home as a souvenir. Winding roads took us from here over the border to Bojnický zámok, an impressive medieval castle in Slovakia. After a refreshing coffee stop and some scrumptious homemade cake we took off to Banská Štiavnica. Another gem on the road that was able to preserve many of it's old buildings. For lunch we went into a quirky bohemian cafe that unfortunately had a kitchen hand that would not except mistakes have been made while taking our order. Nevertheless, the group stayed in high spirit and we went on towards Budapest. Here the skies opened up as there was no tomorrow, the group managed to circumnavigate a small washout on the road and we found shelter at a bus stop to change cloths and put rain gear on. The rest of the ride was a breeze and we rolled into Budapest along the Danube river, where we were greeted by the magnificent parliament building on the pest side and the castle district on the Buda side. The evening concluded at a fantastic fish restaurant in the neighborhood where we swapped stories from today.
Today we visited the beautiful City of Budapest. We went up with the funicular to the Buda Castle and enjoyed the views from the Fishermen Bastion. On gentle slopes we made our way to the Danube river to marvel at the impressive site of the Hungarian National Parlament building. From her we took the Margaret Bridge over the river and onto the Pest side. We enjoyed a lovely lunch with Hungarian Gulash and homemade lemonade. Our last stop was the St. Stephen's Basilica, where our path parted. A small group continued to the main market hall to checkout the local deli choices.
Last but not least, the final leg of our Kings & Castle tour! Budapest greeted us with a sunny day and busy streets. Finding our way out of this lively city was an adventure in itself. But once on the open country side again, we had a chance to have some last twisties before we went into cruising territory. Our first stop was Esztergom with it's impressive cathedral. By chance we discovered that they had opened a new cafe with a panorama view inside. On our way there we were also able to admire the main church. Our Lunch stop was in the beautiful town of Győr. Tasty food and quick service, what do you need more. Back on our bikes we cruised towards the Austrian-Hungarian border under a sunny sky. There we had a ice cream break at the site of the The Pan-European Picnic memorial park. Interesting and refreshing at the same time. Now came the hard part the last stretch of riding the adopted and loved motorcycles. At the hotel they were handed back into the care of Edelweiss and everyone rushed into the hotel to get ready for a lovely farewell dinner, where we shared stories, laughter and memories of the past 2 weeks. What a wonderful journey it was.