Deane & Norm's Motorcycle Trip in
Northern & Eastern Europe and Scandinavia
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Deane & Norm's Motorcycle Trip in Northern & Eastern Europe and Scandinavia |
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June 27 - Heidelberg, Germany to Schweinfurt, Germany 236 Km (147 Miles) |
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Our morning was taken up by unpacking our clothes and motorcycle gear from our airline-type suitcases, and rearranging them into the bags provided on the motorcycles, and by the necessary paperwork to cover our rental. It takes quite a bit of space for our riding jackets and pants, and our rain coats and pants. We felt we had to cover any condition in our 5,000 mile ride with the possibility of rain, cold and wind, as well as hot weather. Then there was all of the motorcycle gear, from tools for any repair, to motorcycle covers for nights. So here we are, with our BMW motorcycles - Ready to Ride!!
On a fun note, our renter, Stefan Knopf, has an authorized repair facility, with most of his rental motorcycles being BMW's. We stayed in his Bed and Breakfast facility, and you can see that he is quite a fan of BMWs.
Germany requires anyone riding a motorcycle (or driving a car) to have two safety items. The first is to have a first aid kit, and the second is to have an orange or green reflecting vest which must be put on in case of an accident, for roadside recognition. In fact as we drove along today there were two cars sitting by the side of the road, damaged or having motor trouble, and two men in the florescent green reflecting vests working on one car. Our motorcycle renter, Stefan, provided each of us with acceptable first aid kits and reflective vests. Stefan also provided us with an insurance policy for roadside assistance, by the German equivalent of the American Automobile Association in the USA. Castles, Barges, Estates, and Yachts. After we finally got the paperwork done and motorcycles loaded, we took a road along the Nekar River, which flows through Heidelberg, and had beautiful scenery! This is a big river, and in a 60 mile or so stretch we saw four castles from bygone days, one with a tremendously high tower. These castles were built on very steep sides of the heavily forested and beautiful canyon through which the big river flowed. Then, to our surprise, very large barges were being pushed up the river by big tugs. Their path looked like a difficult fit, but they were making it through. Also, there were absolutely beautiful three or more story houses (or condos, or apartments) facing the river and sitting in the beautiful green forested sides to the river. Along the river there were big pleasure boats awaiting the weekends use by their owners. And last, but not least, there were the occasional white swan swimming in the river. All in all , one spectacular ride in a short distance. Traveling on an Autobahn was quite hairy, with this being the first time for Deane to ride it, and a repeat of Norm's driving it. The "normal" speeds were not bad, about 75 mph in the right lane of the 4-lane highway, but the scary thing was the drivers in the left lane were passing at maybe 20 mph higher speeds - like 90-95 mph! If driving in the left lane, you had better get out of the way, or get run over by the fast guys. When they come up on your tail, they expect you to get out of the way! We ended our first day being pretty tired, but happy to be on our way. |
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