Kings and Castle CKC2302

Andrew and Treavor joined us for the guided City Tour in Vienna. We started at the War Museum (Herresgeschichtliches Museum) which showed us the History of Wars of the Habsburg Empire. From there we passed the Belvedere Palace and went into the city center to the famous Cafe / Hotel Sacher. There, of course, we had a Sacher cake. Freshly strengthened, we visited St. Stephen's Cathedral and went, past the opera, to the Naschmarkt. And what do 3 men snack on when it is warm and they are on foot? Exactly, a nice cool beer. The long walk and the cool blonde made us feel a little tired, so we were happy to have a short break in our hotel rooms before continuing to the briefing where we got to meet the rest of the participants. Andrew und Treavor begleiten uns zur Stadtführung. Den Start machten wir im Herresgeschichtlichen Museum, dass uns die Geschichte der Kriege des Habsburger Reichs näher brachten. Von dort ging es, vorbei am Schloss Belvedere, in die Innenstadt zum berühmten Cafe / Hotel Sacher. Dort gab es selbstverständlich eine Sachertorte. Frisch gestärkt besichtigten wir den Stephansdom und begaben uns, vorbei an der Oper, zum Naschmarkt. Und was naschen 3 Männer, wenn es warm ist und sie zu Fuße unterwegs sind? Genau, ein schönes kühles Bier. Der lange Fußweg und das kühle Blonde sorgten für eine leichte Müdigkeit, so dass wir uns über eine kurze Pause in unseren Hotelzimmern freuten, bevor es weiter zum Briefing ging, wo wir den Rest der Teilnehmer kennenlernen durften.

Finally the time has come and we start the engines. For a Saturday we had relatively little traffic and were able to leave the center and the city of Vienna behind us relatively quickly. Passing rolling hills and beautiful sunflower fields, we reached the Danube and our first photo stop: the ruins of Dürnstein Castle. This gained notoriety as this is where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned after returning from his crusade in the Holy Land. Only by paying a very high ransom was he allowed to return to England, much to the chagrin of his brother John, who already saw himself as heir to the English throne. Every Robin Hood fan knows the story. Shortly after, our group crossed the Danube, not ordinarily on a bridge, but on a romantic ferry. Passing many castles and castle ruins (at the end of the day Jenny counted a little over 25 of them), we led our steeds to Maria Taferl. From up there you can enjoy a fabulous view of the Danube and the beautiful surrounding countryside. That's what they thought two other motorcyclists, who gave themselves the yes-word in the dreamlike church, accompanied by dozens of other riders. Over narrow and lonely country roads we reached the border to the Czech Republic. There you can still admire remains of the former border fortifications, which divided Europe for over 40 years as if with an iron curtain. Again and again I got to hear from our guests how beautiful, but also how clean it is everywhere here. We quickly reached the medieval Bohemian city of Budweis, world famous for its tasty beer. Here we stayed at the Hotel Budweis, right on the edge of the historic old town.

Sightseeing and riding    In the best weather we start to Krumlov, the second most visited city in the Czech Republic. World Heritage and and beautiful with all the beautiful cottages. You could stroll forever.     But the Bohemian Forest is also waiting for us to be "experienced".

We discover Prague       There are many things you can do on a rest day. Sleep in, visit a historical city like Prague or ride a motorbike. Today it's Prague's turn. Prague is not for nothing one of the most visited cities in Europe. Sights are encountered at every turn. From our hotel it is only a stone's throw to Wenceslas Square, named after one of the first Catholic kings of Bohemia. From there we first went to the Vltava River to see and photograph the Charles Bridge and the castle from a distance. A short time later we were already on the same bridge, which can be walked only as a pedestrian. To get an even better view of the action, some of us climbed the gate at the beginning of the bridge. The bridge took us into the Old Town and up to Prague Castle.  From up there, the were allowed to view the magnificent view, the changing of the guard and the many historic buildings. The stairs down held an Edelweiss secret tip, one of the oldest inns in the city, open continuously since 1375.  If these walls could talk. We fortified ourselves with food and home-brewed beer and made our way to our next sight, Prague City Hall and its Town Hall Clock. This clock offers so many special features that it's best to check out Wikipedia to learn more about this masterpiece. Finally, we drifted through the historic alleys, which happened to spit us out at the Pilsner Urquell Museum. It didn't take much persuasion to enjoy the cool water here. From there it was then again only a stone's throw to our hotel.

We leave beautiful Prague Dresden to the north and head first to Melnik, a beautiful medieval town.   We parked at the historic market square and headed to the church. In the basement of the religious building is an "ossuary" where there are skulls and bones of 10 - 15,000 people.   With a light shower on our backs, we mounted our iron steeds and headed down small side roads into the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. There Michaela awaited us with a sensational picnic.   We followed the "Czech" Elbe for a bit, which led us into Germany in the Free State of Saxony.   The side trip to the Bastei is an absolute must. From up here you have a breathtaking view of the Elbe valley, Königsstein Castle and the bizarre sandstone formations.   Unfortunately, heavy rain caught us from then on, so that we could not quite enjoy the arrival in Dresden as much as this beautiful city would have deserved.

An exciting day       We saw today what you can do in one day. We started with a great breakfast and the view of a shop for beautiful things  a motorcyclist so needs to shop. What a fun. Everyone found something, now we can rob curves. We change the border between Germany and the Czech Republic a few times. Small roads through the forests of the Ore Mountains, past a beautiful reservoir. Always look to the sky; no, the clouds don't catch us !  After 190 km of wonderful riding  fun, turn off the Mc and the sky opens up. lucky. tour guide change; and off to visit Dresden. The proximity of the hotel to the city center of Dresden and the fact that many sights are very close to each other, make this brilliant combination of excursion and sightseeing possible. Shortly after leaving the hotel we visited the Dresden Zwinger. We continued past the opera and the cathedral "Santissimae Trinitas" to the Taschenbergpalais, the impressive city palace. And of course, the Frauenkirche, which was rebuilt only after the reunification, could not be missed. It is almost unimaginable that Dresden was almost completely destroyed after the bombing in February 1945 and shines again in all its beauty.

Swabians are everywhere   Today we leave Dresden to drive through Poland and the Czech Republic. But first we fight our way through countless detours, but thanks to the curves it's even fun. We want to take a look at Görlitz, the easternmost city in Germany. We had a great encounter there. Peter, a Swabian ;-) moved here 30 years ago, speaks to us in the parking lot. And asks us if we want to see the inside of a Renaissance house. Sure, gladly - and he leads us into his living room. Gives us stories along the way and we were also allowed to take pictures. Bikers among themselves.   In the afternoon we curve through the beautiful Giant Mountains   Another perfect day   because we arrive at the hotel just before the rain

Und weiter ging es durch die Tschechische Republik und immer wieder auch kurz über die polnische Grenze.  Kaum befahrene Straßen , durch einsame Wälder und mystisch im Nebel gaben der heutigen Etappe einen unvergesslichen Eindruck. Und Abend in der mittelalterlichen Taverne des Hotels zu essen, sorgte für einen tollen  Abschluss eines abwechslungsreichen Tages. And on it went through the Czech Republic and again and again briefly over the Polish border.  Hardly traveled roads , through lonely forests and mystical in the fog gave today's stage an unforgettable impression. And evening to eat in the medieval tavern of the hotel provided a great end to a varied day.

At first we were on somewhat faster roads to quickly overcome the Indus region in the borderland to Poland. In Poland, we first drove on nice small roads until we reached our coffee stop in Pszczyna. At the beautiful market place we took a short break before we continued to Birkenau. Seeing the Auschwitz satellite camp was very depressing for all of us. It was unimaginable what people could do to other people. Visibly moved, we drove on to Krakow, our destination for today.

We are decent drivers       Another rest day...   you can sleep in or, because the guests asked nicely, sit on the motorbike early. So that you can reach the city of Kraków again at noon for a stroll. A nice encounter with the local police, but only to a general traffic stop and they ask you to drive carefully. Krakow is loved so we were happy to find a place for lunch

Today we went to and around the High Tatras. Europe's smallest high mountain range. It is the highest part of the Carpathians and belongs two-thirds to Slovakia and one-third to Poland. We made a stop at the Archangel Michael Church in Debno. The current church was built in 1490, the steeple was added in 1601 according to the inscription on the lintel[. From there, we entered Slovakia for lunch and continued on gorgeous roads along the High Tatras.

Rain is just water   With all confidence we start not to get any rain. But the weather gods didn't care today. We still visit the 200 year old painted wooden houses of Cicmay, rolling through an aromatic valley. Well, and then the floodgates opened. The rain stopped for one hour for the tour of Bojnice Castle. Doesn't help .... let's continue. But it was still really sunny as we approached Hungary. It was a disappointment when we made it to the ferry to cross the Danube on time to find that the ferry was broken. But a tour guide doesn't give up, I (Michaela) found another ferry dock and this one was available. The guests were happy   A little more traffic in Budapest and we reach our very nice hotel   where Michael is waiting for us with a boat beer as a reward. what an exciting day

the beauties of Buda & Pest To discover most of the beauties of Budapest, the excursion boat is the optimal choice. Among other things, the Freedom Monument, the Royal Palace, the Parliament Building and much, much more pass by. Afterwards we walked through the old town of Pest. In the evening we climbed some stairs up to the Fishermen's Bastion. All agreed, the ambience and the view from up here, are absolutely unique.