Sweepers Heaven Eifel Mountains CGX2502
Once the motorcycles were ready and everything was set for the obligatory welcome briefing, we were able to welcome our guests from the United States. Accompanying us on this tour are: Rebecca and Patrick from Colorado, Buzz from New Mexico, Barb, Steve, and Chris from Colorado, Louis from Nevada, and our “special guest” Charlie from Florida. Special guest? Yes, you read that right, Charlie is very special because he is celebrating an anniversary on this tour. An incredible 40 tours!!! with Edelweiss Bike Travel. A loyal guest for many years, traveling around the globe with Edelweiss. Of course, this must be duly honored, so we present him with a gift before we even set off on the first miles. Congratulations Charlie, all the best and we hope you have many more tours.
From Bad Kreuznach, we set off into the beautiful Rhine Valley and enjoy the first few kilometers to get used to our new motorcycles. We ride through small, dreamy villages along the river. Some of us tried to count the castles towering above the Rhine on the right and left as we rode, but after a while we gave up. There were too many. To keep things interesting, we crossed the Rhine by ferry at St. Goar and made a short detour to higher ground to take in the view of the river. Then we continued upriver towards Koblenz. Once there, a visit to the Kaiser Monument at the „German Corner“ was of course a must. Thousands of people had the same idea, so after a short stop we quickly moved on to escape the crowds. In the afternoon, we left the riverside road again and again to enjoy a few bends. The final stop of the day was a drive through the Eifel to the Nürburgring, where there was a lot going on today. With racing in progress, there was a lot of traffic around the ring. But everyone arrived at the hotel with a smile and is now looking forward to dinner right next to the race track.
We set off at the same time as the race started at the Nürburgring. It was still a little chilly, but already dry with the prospect of great riding weather, so we hit the road. We made our first stop in Ahrweiler at the market square. A hot chocolate or café latte in the already warming sun was very welcome. We continued on to a viewpoint above the Ahr-Valley, where we enjoyed impressive views of the valley. Bad Muenstereifel, a small and very beautiful town from the 13th century, was our choice for lunch. Some chose food “to go” from a food truck, while others took a short walk through the town and visited a restaurant for lunch. We all enjoyed this stop in glorious weather. On the way to Aachen, we made a short stop at the “Biker-Ranch” to recharge our batteries for the last few kilometers. Once we arrived in Aachen, we used the time before dinner to explore the city and its sights.
Today's stage takes us from Aachen to Bouillon in Belgium. Looking out of the window early in the morning, it didn't look too good. Rain, wet roads, not a patch of blue sky. Was this going to be the first rainy day? Fortunately not! Just as we set off, the sky cleared and the sun peeked out from time to time. First, we cycled a few kilometers through the Netherlands to the famous Drielandenpunt (three-country point) where, as the name suggests, three countries meet. The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. Then we continued straight on to Belgium, where we wanted to head for the observation tower at the Gileppe Dam for a coffee break. Unfortunately, we had to make a small detour due to roadworks, and so we more or less accidentally passed the largest American military cemetery in Belgium. Of course, we stopped here and visited this memorial. It was an emotional moment for many in the group. After that, we went to the aforementioned coffee stop and then to the race track in Spa-Francorchamps. Here we were able to admire a few classic cars that had done their laps on the track. Afterwards, a visit to the racing museum was a must, of course. The afternoon was then dominated by winding Ardennes roads, and so we all arrived in Bouillon on the Semois in the evening with smiles on our faces.
Today we left an hour later and everyone enjoyed it. The weather forecast was promising, so we set off toward the southeast, looking forward to the day ahead. The plan was to take a route from Belgium via France back to Belgium and then on to Luxembourg. Three countries in one day! For our obligatory coffee break, we chose the famous castle in Sedan. It is the largest castle in Europe, but it houses a small, rustic coffee shop. In addition to coffee, we were able to enjoy a short tour with great views. Continuing on our route, we arrived at the beer museum in Stenay around noon. Since it was lunchtime, we took the opportunity to enjoy a delicious lunch at the adjoining brewery and restaurant. This was followed by a short photo and information stop at the French Maginot Line. Shortly before our destination, we stopped at Orval Abbey to take a tour and soak up the peace and quiet there. A great day of riding in perfect weather came to an end all too quickly. During dinner together, we discussed our experiences and our tour guide Tom pointed out our options for the next day's rest day.
Luxembourg – one of the smallest countries in Europe. From north to south, it measures just over 80 km, and from west to east, it measures even less at 55 km. So you could easily travel around the country in a day. And that's almost what we did. Although today was supposed to be a rest day, four brave riders set out with a guide to explore the country. The whole country in one day, so to speak. A little bit of everything. A few castles, the Sauer River, and of course Vianden with its magnificent 10th-century castle. Lots of small roads and plenty of curves. Sometimes we were even alone on the road, with no oncoming traffic and excellent road surfaces – what more could you want? The rest of the group explored the city or went shopping. Everyone used the day to relax in their own way. Tomorrow we'll be heading towards the final stretch and we're already excited to see how it continues...
In the footsteps of World War I. That's how you could describe today's trip. Today, we took a closer look at a very dark chapter in history. On the way to Nancy, we drove past the battlefield of Verdun and visited the museum and memorial. It's unimaginable what must have happened here in 1917. Hundreds of thousands were sent to their deaths for a few meters of frontline advancement. Cruel. The highlight after this depressing scene was the picnic that Ron had prepared for us. Thank you very much for that. Refreshed, we drove through sleepy little villages towards Nancy in the afternoon. The weather was perfect today. Bright blue skies and temperatures above 75 degrees. Fantastic.
With the prospect of the longest day of riding ahead of us, we set off in perfect weather. Leaving the busy town of Nancy during rush hour was a very special experience. But we quickly left the city behind us and looked forward to our first stop for morning coffee. We continued on to the Vosges mountains, where we “collected” one summit after another. This included the highest point of our tour, the Champ de Feu at 1,099 meters. Before lunch on the Col du Donon pass, we stopped at the Camp du Struthof memorial. It was an impressive and moving stop. The boat lift in Saint-Louis/Arzviller was the highlight of our afternoon. An impressive feat of engineering from the 1960s. After another entertaining 80 km, we reached our hotel for the night, where wonderful views and a sumptuous dinner waited for us.
Suddenly, it was the last day of our tour. After a delicious breakfast accompanied by a spectacular sunrise, we listened to the final briefing about what the day would bring. We followed the “Route du Vin” and after a few kilometers reached the border crossing into Germany. Castles and palaces, and again and again we plunged into the Palatinate Forest. On the last day, we naturally stopped at a castle and wanted to visit it. A 5-minute walk :-) and we were already at the ruins of Gräfenstein Castle. The climb to the tower was rewarded with a spectacular panoramic view. Then we continued on to the famous biker meeting place Johanniskreuz. Here, some of us wanted to eat an original bratwurst once again. Refreshed, we continued through the Palatinate Forest and along the vineyards where the winegrowers were already busy harvesting. Then another highlight during our lunch break: Ron had a great picnic full of local specialties waiting for us. Thank you very much, chef, for the great food! The afternoon was rather relaxed, and we arrived happy and content at our tour hotel in Bad Kreuznach, where it all began. Thank you very much, dear participants, for the great time. It was a pleasure to accompany you and to share this adventure with you. We hope to see you again soon and wish you all the best and safe travels.