Kings and Castles
So while Claudia prepared the bikes and the Welcomebriefing, me and Chuck went out for a city tour through Vienna. Of course you can´t get into detail within a couple of hours but we saw a lot, including the tombs of the Habsburg emperors and the famous Schönbrunn Castle. This was already a real Kings and Castles Day.
Our first Riding day lead us out of Vienna right across the Vienna Forest to the Tullnerfeld, the veggie-market of Austria. Riding through the famous Wachau valley we hat a great view to the castle of Dürnstein. Our lunchstopp high above the River Danube at Maria Taferl, a pilgrim site gave us the power for the upcoming afternoon ride. We arrived at Budweis quite on time. Well Budweis is famous for.........
The second day of our tour begins with a stop in Český Krumlov after just a 40-minute ride, but this little town is definitely worth a visit. With its fairy-tale medieval charm, it attracts two million visitors every year just like it did us. In the parking lot, I tell the group about the “wow” effect you experience when you leave the trees behind and catch sight of the tall, three-story arched bridge, and everyone agreed that it really is a “wow.” But we’re even more impressed as we stroll through the town and see this charming little town unfold before us, with the Vltava River winding its way through it. The ride continues into the Bohemian Forest on small, winding roads with almost no traffic. We have a blast riding on these hilly country roads before we hit heavy traffic at our next stop in Prague. Although we’re a group of 10 motorcycles, we made our way through the city very easily, where we finally take our first rest day.
Maurice Phil an me (Franz) went out for a ride. We solved the city-traffic and after a couple of curves we stopped at the Karlstein castle. It is impressive to get so close to history. The rest of the group set out to explore Prague. Martin and Roberto took the hop-on-hop-off bus, while the others went on a walking tour with me (Claudia) to the Royal Palace: We strolled through the “City of Towers,” past the Powder Tower into the Old Town to see the Astronomical Clock, crossed the Vltava River on Charles Bridge, and finally made our way to the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. Of course, we also had to try trdelnik, a pastry filled with ice cream that you can find on every corner in the Old Town.
Two big cities and beautiful landscape inbetween. The Saxonian Swiss with its unique rock formations and the view overlooking the Elbe-valley spectacular ! As spectacular as Claudias picnic! Thanks !!!!!
Group 1: Riding to Castle Weesenstein and to Glasshuette. I guess we had great riding in the afternoon. Wesenstein was the summer residence of the Vetting family and outstanding with its baroque gardens. Ad Glasshütte tells us of the time were manufacturers had their golden age. The road in the eastern Erzgebirge mountains are just fantastic, low traffic and well maintained in Germany as well as in Czech Republik. Group 2 We explored Dresden’s historic Old Town on foot. The tour focused on King Augustus “the Strong” and how he transformed the city into a breathtaking Baroque capital of art, architecture, and luxury. Many of the cultural landmarks we admire today were meticulously reconstructed after World War II.
Today is the longest day of driving on the trip: 340 km through three countries. We set off from Dresden and first drive along beautiful, winding roads through the forest before turning onto the highway to bypass the small villages and make up some time. In Görlitz, we make our first stop for coffee and a short walk across the town’s main square; after a quick stretch, we’re ready to hit the road again. We briefly cross the border into Poland and then return to the Czech Republic, where we ride into the mountains on small, winding roads a paradise for motorcyclists. We have lunch in the middle of nowhere in the woods by a lake to refuel for the final leg of the journey. And this is one of the most beautiful stretches of the day, winding around the highest mountain in the Czech Republic, Sněžka: The ski resort offers some fun curves, almost no traffic, and stunning scenery. Only the waitress at our last coffee stop needed a little help, so Claudia aka tour guide/waitress, stepped in to keep things running a bit more smoothly on this busy Saturday afternoon. We make a quick detour into Poland before arriving at our hotel in the Czech Republic, where we practice beer yoga -cheers!
Today’s route takes us from Lázně Bělohrad to Starý Jičín. Our first stop is Nové Město, where we can explore the historic town center and enjoy a coffee break. From there, we continue into the Eagle Mountains, where quiet roads wind along the border between the Czech Republic and Poland; here, we also visit a World War II bunker complex. Next, we descend into the Czech region of Moravia, where the road curves through endless wheat fields. Finally, the castle of Starý Jičín comes into view in the distance—nestled at its foot is our accommodation for the night.
After the last two long days of riding, we had a relaxing day ahead of us today with just 190 km to cover as we rode from the Czech Republic to Poland. Our tour participant, Roberto, wanted to make a stop in Bielsko-Biała, a city just 20 km south of our regular route. With our operation manager approval, we took this small detour to follow in the footsteps of Roberto’s ancestors. It was worth the stop as the city Centre surprised us with a beautiful unique church and a beautiful small square where we enjoyed our coffee. Just about 45 min ride later we reach Oświęcim (Auschwitz) but not for the visit for the concentration camp only for a picture, this got a bit complicated so we stayed on the bikes to do that. From here it was only 1.5 hours to our destination Krakow, as our hotel provided check in only from 3 pm we decided to do an extra stop for lunch. We found a nice forest grill in the woods with some typical polish sausage, to strengthen for the traffic at the city.
A group of six people took part in the guided tour of Auschwitz the darkest chapter in recent history. Four others visited another of Krakow’s main attractions, the Wieliczka Salt Mine, and descended about 600 steps to a depth of 130 meters below ground to see how mining used to take place in this massive mine. Today, the mine features several beautiful monuments, a breathtaking chapel, and an underground lake. What an experience! Back in the city, we met up with the rest of the group, who had been exploring the Old Town on their own. For dinner, we were all together again and enjoyed a very traditional dish: PIZZA!
It doesn’t always have to be the Alps—how about the High Tatras? Europe’s smallest high mountain range? For years, it has been an insider tip among motorcyclists, not just hikers and winter sports enthusiasts. Shortly after leaving Kraków, we head toward the Polish side of the High Tatras. Just before the famous Polish winter sports resort of Zakopane, we turn off towards Slovakia. Magnificent roads wind their way along the High Tatras—with very little traffic—making it a dream come true for any motorcyclist.
Today we have another great day of motorcycling on the agenda. We leave our beautiful castle and ride along some truly beautiful, winding roads in the Low Tatras. We stop for a wonderful coffee break in the old town of Kremnica. From there, we continue along winding, fun roads to Bohunice, where Franz is waiting for us with a picnic he’s prepared with great care. From there, we’ll soon cross the border into Hungary, where we’ll take a ferry across the Danube our final highlight of the day before arriving in Budapest.
Today it’s time to explore the Hungarian capital - Budapest, here we come! Since it’s rainy and cold, no one is riding a bike today; instead, everyone is joining our bus and city tour to see some of the city’s most important sights. Luckily, it stopped raining around noon, so we were able to enjoy the tour much more. We ate delicious local specialties and wrapped up the tour with a boat ride on the Danube.