Day 11 - Zakopane to Bratislava

 Dosy Bollix is the expression Grizzly uses. He and me both. Walking back from breakfast this morning, we noticed a shiny silver door in the wall. Yes, the bloody hotel had a lift after all! We'd only walked past it 3 times before! That definitely puts them top of the leaderboard.

Following on last night's dinner, breakfast was a large and plentiful spread. I really would recommend this hotel to anyone looking to stay in Zakopane.

Hitting the road, we only had a few miles to get to our first fuel stop of the day, and last in Poland. Not long after, we made our only POI stop, the border with Slovakia. We took some photos of the sign, Tatra mountains in the background and went on our way. We were by no means the only ones to do so.

Ginny at the Polish - Slovak Border

Our next stop was a coffee at our preferred establishment. I'm not sure how long we had been riding but as the temperature was in the mid 20s again, we were both ready for a rest. The place was packed, and strangely, there were lots of young lads and girls, dressed to the nines, looking like they had either come from an end of term prom party, or were going to one later. Our next fuel stop was 75 miles away, our one and only fuel stop in Slovakia. I don't pay much heed to the prices but it was easier for Grizzly to compare with home, given Slovakia use the €uro. We had a short rest at the re-fuelling, Grizzly was feeling it a bit, with the temperature climbing ever higher. It was another 75 miles  to our second coffee stop, once again at McDs. A cold drink, an ice cream sundae and aircon was a welcome respite from the heat. We can't grumble though, 11 dry riding days on the trot!

The last stint of about 40 miles, took us about an hour to cover and we arrived at our hotel at about 17:40. That's probably the latest we have arrived at a hotel to date but to be expected, as this was the longest journey.

With no restaurant at the hotel, the hotel receptionist recommended the Slovak Pub, for food and of course the amber liquid. It was a bit of a walk away and Grizzly was having none of that, so we ended up getting a cab both ways. The pub itself was OK, not too expensive but nothing special. The beer was very reasonably priced. 😉

Our Home Make, this was called!

Tomorrow, in contrast to today, we only have about 45 miles to go to Vienna. I've suggested a lie in but Grizzly's idea of a lie in, is getting up at 06:05 instead of 06:00! We can't check in till 15:00, so my plan is, to pay a visit to the Flying Saucer, a structure at the end of the bridge over the Danube (I'll leave you to guess how it gets its name) and maybe walk over the bridge to have a look around the old town. In all honesty though, I can't see Grizzly being up for that, in which case we'll either have to ride extremely slowly or find something else to stop at along the way.We'll see.

I've now covered about 1,750 miles since I left home. With a sightseeing day in Vienna on Sunday, there should be time to give Ginny another clean. You would not believe the number of flies, etc, they have in Slovakia, though a good proportion are now on my screen!

Oh, nearly forgot. Today I saw a huge eagle like bird fly up with what looked like a mouse in its beak, Then, I had a mouse or something run across the road in front of me. Later, in one town, there was a stork nesting on top of a lamp post or something. Not quite the wild boar, wolves or bears we were hoping for in the Tatras but still interesting.

Till tomorrow then.

Day 10 - Oswiecim to Zakopane

 It had rained pretty hard overnight. Typical after I gave Ginny a clean during her maintenance session! Anyway, it was dry this morning and stayed that way all day.  We have been really lucky on our riding days. I've now covered 1,450 dry miles. Long may it continue.

Back on the road again. Our first stop, just 90 minutes away, was the Wieliczka Salt Mine. We had an English speaking tour booked for 11:00. God this tour guide is good! We arrived around 10:00 and made our way to the queuing spot. At around 10:30 the queue started to move. I suspected we were too early and sure enough we were asked to wait. One guy presented his tickets for 10:30 but was turned away, he'd booked for tomorrow! 😏 We were now at the front of the queue for 11:00 though. 😉

After a brief introduction, we were led down 55 flights (385 steps) of stairs. Over the entire tour, we would climb up or down 720 steps and get to a maximum depth of 130 metres. There are tunnels everywhere, supported by tons and tons of timber. It's all very impressive. Dotted around the trail are various caverns, many with carvings from salt, or scenes of how things would have been, like where the horses were stabled. Occasionally we would break out from the tunnels into these massive caverns but there are also a chapel, a church and ballroom. Almost everything is made from salt, even massive chandeliers! It's very hard to describe, you really need to see it for yourselves to appreciate it. I was surprised to learn that the statues, etc, were carved by miners themselves and not artists. Remarkable given the quality.

Salt Sign

Salt Carvings

The Church

I have no idea how far we walked but there's a short break after an hour or so, where you can go to toilet, have a drink or buy some salt products, at 110 metres underground, so there is some respite. Even when you think the tour has ended, getting to the lift to bring you back to the surface takes about 10 minutes. The scale of the place is hard to comprehend, as this was just a small portion we visited. We were on the tourist route but there is another, the Miner's route, which takes 6 hours to complete and goes much deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels.

The tour lasted about 90 odd minutes, which meant it was lunchtime, when we emerged into the sunshine. We had some of our snacks from yesterday's visit to the supermarket and then hit the road again. We had a a little over 60 miles to get to the hotel. As this meant we would arrive before check-in time, we decided to make a stop at McDs for coffee and ice cream.

We got to our hotel in Zakopane about 16:20. It seems this is quite a tourist resort, based as it is on the edge of the Tatra mountains, so ideal for walking, mountain biking, etc in summer and obviously, skiing in winter. I must say it looks a very nice town and the same must be said for out hotel. Another very clean, very smart and well spec'd place. Let down only by having no lift.

When I booked, I recieved an email saying I could claim 10% off in the restaurant, so there was no question where we were eating. We again went for traditional Polish dishes. For example, I went for Oscypek, smoked sheeps milk cheese, which seems to be made exclusively in the Tatra region. Both our meals, both courses, were excellent in, quality, quantity and presentation, yet the cost, even without the 10% was well worth it. Up there with the best meals we've ever had on tour. I couldn't grumble, 2 courses, 2 beers, for under £19.

I think it is fair to say, we have really enjoyed our time in Poland and I for one would consider coming back.

Tomorrow though, we have a short hop, before crossing the border into Slovakia, where we shall head almost to the western edge and the capital, Bratislava. It promises to be a long day, of nearly 300 miles but the forecast looks good again, so should be an enjoyable ride. No POI stops, just fuel and coffee. Check back to see how we got on.

 

Day 9 - Auschwitz

We were booked on a 9:30 tour. Given that the new entrance to the site is about a 20 minute walk away, we breakfasted early and were out the door by 8:50. There's airport style security at the entrance and just like the airport, everything has to go through, so belts had to come off. Luckily, the extra weight we have undoubtedly put on this past week, helped keep our bottom coverings in place.

We had tickets with our tour time on but it wasn't made clear that you need to get a little sticker with your tour language and time on too, only when I asked a young lady how we would know where to go, did we find out. There was a huge number of people wanting an English tour, so there were two running at the same time, to accommodate. We had a lady guide, who was mic'd up and we had headsets, which made it lot easier to hear her and meant she didn't have to shout. She led us round Auschwitz I camp for about 90 minutes, feeding us facts continuously. She didn't have any water with her, so fair play to her.

Most people have seen photos or heard about things in the camp but viewing them first hand, certainly brings things into a very sharp focus and will leave a lasting impression. It is without doubt a very emotional visit. We were shown a short film at the beginning, the most striking comment in it being, that we would spend more time at the camp on our tour, than most of the arrivals did. Wham! If that doesn't get you thinking......

With the first camp tour completed, we boarded a bendy bus to Birkenau, Camp II. Now Grizzly and I had already visited yesterday, as you know, and this proved to be a spot on decision, as not only do you not get as much time to take photos with the guide but it also rained, which isn't great for cameras. Just ask Grizzly.

As the rain came down, we sheltered under that famous arch, where that single railway line leads into the camp, whilst I dug out two ponchos. It took us a while to get them on but proved a smart move on the part of the tour organiser, i.e. me, to pack them in my day bag. They are by no means making a fashion statement, as you can see but they do a decent job of keeping you dry.

Ssh! Don't tell 'em back home!

We visited a couple of areas we hadn't gone to yesterday but we did so much more besides on our own. I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting, to do what we did. Book the free tickets for Birkenau, as well as a guided tour and you will have time to take all the photos you want. With our guide, we did get to see the remains of crematorium 2, which encompasses the 'shower' room, and one of the stone huts, of the earliest part of the camp. Not sure I heard correctly but I think each hut held 1000 people, sleeping on 3 levels of bunks, the bottom bunk being the floor, and with 6 people in each bunk. Not bunks like we know, of course.

With that, the tour was over and we were left to reflect on what we'd seen and heard. It is difficult, nay impossible, to comprehend what those people went through. It begs the question, who were the lucky ones?

We got the bendy bus back to Camp I and walked back to the hotel, via the supermarket next door, to get some lunch, which left an afternoon free. I did some maintenance checks on Ginny, Grizzly had a nap.

For dinner, we ate at the same place. The menu is a bit limited so rather than a starter, this time we had dessert.

Chocolate Suffle

 Today ends our war theme, for the time being. Tomorrow the mood will lighten somewhat, as we head underground in a salt mine. Our overnight stop is in Zakopane, on the edge of the Tatra Mountains. Apparently the area has deer, wild boar, wolves and even bears. Just so long as no lady bears come searching for Grizzly! She wants me Woody! 😁

Dobranoc

 

Day 8 - Wroclaw to Oswiecim

 Before I recall today's events, I have to add something to yesterday, that I forgot to mention. How you may ask, when I tell you, that just after we left the restaurant, a young blonde lady came up to Grizzly and asked him if he would like to go to a strip club. He declined, saying he was too old! He omitted to add, and he'd be in bed snoring by 9pm! 😂

The rain that came down hard last night was all gone by this morning. We made short work of getting out of Wroclaw and were soon bowling along nicely, if at times somewhat slowly. That's the result of avoiding motorways I'm afraid. Takes longer but is far more interesting. Interesting, like having a pheasant run out in front of me, or seeing a stork at the side of the road! 

Our first stop was for fuel, the second, a coffee break at the golden arches. We only had about 140 miles to do today, so we weren't rushing. I had booked us tickets for the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, for after 4pm. Before then access is by guided tour only, afterwards self guided and free. I wanted to make sure we had time to take photos, which may not be possible during the guided tour we have booked for tomorrow. We were over an hour early, so went to see some cattle trucks, another memorial, and then went to the hotel to check in.

Cattle trucks used to transport the deportees

Checked in we rode back up the road. Surpisingly, in a huge car park they do not cater for motorcycles, so the few there were, were parked on pavements. We did the same. There was a cursory glance at our tickets and we were through that famous arch, well beside it actually, and inside the camp. The site, for those that haven't been is huge, staggeringly so. There are many barracks still standing and you can go in to some. An information board in one says it was a converted stable meant for 51 horses. It housed 400 inmates! We took plenty of photos, and covered most of the site, so tomorrow, at Birkenau at least, we can concentrate on the guide.

Similar, to the Mohne Dam, I had a strange feeling, as we walked alongside the railway tracks and onto the platform, we were walking in dead men's shoes and it just didn't feel quite right. It goes without saying, it's an emotional place.

Stopping at the visitor centre, Grizzly wanted some sort of souvenir (he bought the BBC Auschwitz DVD), I found these in the shop. Now, am I the only one who wouldn't want one of these on their fridge? Oh look, I have the full set of German Death Camp magnets!!

It's a NO from me.

Back at the hotel, we went through the usual routine, so you know how this ends, with food and beer. My starter, a soup (2 courses in Poland remember?), was similar to last night but presented in a quite unusual way. I just had to take a picture to share with you.

Old Style Polish Soup

Tomorrow, as I mentioned, we have a guided tour around both Auschwitz I & II camps. Up until a month ago, the entrance to camp I was just across the road from the hotel but they have opened a new visitor centre, which is now a 20 minute walk away around the far side of the site, so we'll have to leave a bit earlier than originally planned.

That's all for now.

Day 7 - Prague to Wroclaw

 No POIs today, just riding. Yet another beautiful day, 25 degrees when we finally left, having had to extricate the bikes from their parking spot, after some clown in a van had almost blocked them in.

As Ginny burst into life, I noticed her mileage showed bang on 30,000. The observant among you, will know that means, I had travelled exactly 1,000 miles from Eurotunnel to Prague.

Should be 33, by time I'm home

Within minutes of leaving, we had our first separation, when Grizzly got caught by traffic lights, and then his Garmin took him a different route than Tomtom. Our first stop, for fuel, was only 6 miles away, so we were soon re-united. This was our one and only fuel stop in Czechia.

Despite masses of effort in the route planning/creation, to ensure Tomtom and Garmin follow the same route, there are still differences. Feck alone knows why. One thing they do agree on though, is that at one point today, there is no road coming from the left. Both wrong. We sped through a give way junction, before we realised!!! Luckily it was a quiet road and there was no traffic coming from the left, otherwise things could have got interesting.

As we are now getting used to these, we arrived at what appeared to be a road closure. Here we go again, I thought. Grizzly's Garmin though, indicated there was a route through the roadworks. As Tomtom doesn't give me that information, I suggested Grizzly lead the way. We only had about 6km to go to our first coffee stop.

Now, this is where Grizzly becomes a totally different animal, Jeykell and Hyde, one might say. When following, he drops back from me, is slow through corners and seems unable to accelerate out of a roundabout faster than a tortoise. Soon as he leads though, he guns it away from lights/roundabouts, steams into bends and it is then me who ends up dropping back. He laughs when I mention it but it's fact. Go figure.

We stopped at Lidl and sat at a nearby picnic bench, whilst Grizzly topped up his carbs. The going was good, sunny, reasonably warm, as we climbed into the hills/mountains and on to our next stop. Another coffee stop, more food for Grizzly (where does he put it all?) but in the most wonderful setting, surrounded by pine trees and alongside a river. 

A lovely setting for a coffee stop

Continuing, we only went a few kilometres more before we crossed the border back into Poland, at which there seemed to be a large thriving holiday resort. They may even ski there in winter, I expect.

AS we neared Wroclaw we hit some serious traffic and some equally serious temperatures. As I said before, we have been blessed to have had all dry riding time but the temperatures are just a tad too high for riding in comfort. It was 32 degrees as we pulled into the hotel car park!

The hotel, The Europeum, is easily the best we have stayed in this week. Very posh, clean, large room and beautiful bathroom. There's just one thing that has let it down, the lift is broken, and we are on the 2nd floor. Oxygen please! Grizzly got his bag carried up by some strapping young man but still we have to mark it down.

Wroclaw, city of dwarfs is perfect for Grizzly. Dwarf, leprechaun, what's the difference? It is called that, because, sited all around the city, are over 1000 little brass dwarves or gnomes. I have an app on the phone which shows you the location of each on and lets you tick them off when you have visited them. We managed to chalk off 34 on our excursion to the main square, for dinner. We even found one on a bike, which does look remarkably like Grizzly! 😂

Tell me it doesn't look like Grizzly

Wroclaw isn;t all about dwarves though, the main square has some very nice architecture.

Miejskie Centrum Zarzadzania Kryzysowego

We tried some proper Polish grub tonight and as the other night, 2 courses, because it's so cheap to eat out in Poland.

Starter

Main

We are in Poland for the next 3 nights. Tomorrow, we travel to Oswiecim. The weather has broken this evening, so tomorrow could be our first riding day in waterproofs. Fingers crossed it's not though.

Day 6 - Zagan to Prague

 Weather was fine again, though once again not blistering hot early on. Today has been a day of road works and missed turns.

We'd barely started when we came to a road out of Zagan that was closed off. That took a while to navigate around. Once we found the way out, the going was good. Roads varied in quality from really smooth, to bumpy cobbles. First stop was for fuel, our first encounter of a pump priced in Zlotys. Second stop, was for a coffee break, though we didn't actually buy anything, just took a break. We had plenty of time to get to our next destination, Terezin, in Czechia. We left Poland, briefly re-entered Germany, then shortly after crossed into Czechia. Almost immediately, there were lots of bikers everywhere. We barely stopped waving. We easily saw more in the few hours in Czechia, than we had on the whole of the rest of the tour. With arrived at Terezin with about 50 minutes to kill before our tour. Seeking refreshment and a loo, we went to the Motor Museum next door. A sign on the counter said cash only. We'd not taken out any Czech crowns but luckily I had 146 from a previous trip, which just got us a coffee, a coke and a bottle of water.

Our tour of the Small Fortress at Terezin took about an hour, with another Marek guiding us. His English wasn't as good as Zagan Marek but still the tour was interesting and informative. It's always shocking when you here the numbers of Jews who perished and today was no exception. The walk from the car park takes you alongside a cemetery, where many are laid to rest.

Inside the small fortress

Terezin Cemetery by the Small Fortress

  Back on the road, we should have had only an hour to get to Prague and we would have but for another road closure. We ended up driving quite a few extra miles trying to find a way to bypass the closure, some down to me, after missing a turning or two. In the end though we were on track again and made to our accomodation for the night, a Boatel, albeit about half an hour later than anticipated. Our cabin is one deck down, so the water level isn't that far below our windows. The boat is very plush from what we've seen up top but we had some issues with the cabin, mainly the aircon, which needed a man to come and fix. The cabin is tiny but not the smallest place we've stayed. We make do.

Freshened up, we made our way in the main square to take some pics of the Cathedral and the Astronomical Clock (astronomically overhyped clock), before taking a stroll to and on the Charles Bridge, More photos done, we found a table at the Beer Museum (a bar, not actually a museum, though there is a beer museum!) and had our usual grub and beers. Grizzly was on the Urquell pilsner, whilst I had a wheat beer and something call Lazy Bastard, a 6.7% IPA. Food wise, Grizzly had a cheeseburger and I some ribs,

The Astronomical Clock

It has been a whistlestop tour of Prague but another place Grizzly can add to his list of places he's been on his bike.

Tomorrow, we head back into Poland, destination Wroclaw. Till then.

Day 5 - Berlin to Zagan, Poland

What a difference a day makes. Having had the sightseeing day in Berlin ruined by the weather, today more than made up for it. Firstly it stayed dry all day, secondly the roads were brilliant to ride, thirdly we entered our 5th country in 5 days and lastly, we had the most fabulously interesting and informative tour, by Marek at Muzeum Obozow Jenieckich, in Zagan, Poland.

The Museum covers both these Stalags

None the wiser?

Stalag Luft 3, famous for the Great Escape

What we also learned today, was that Stalag Luft 3 was also the location of the Wooden Horse escape. Some of you may also remember the film that potrays that escape. Whilst the Wooden Horse escape is overshadowed by the Great Escape, it was a complete success, unlike the latter of the two.

The Wooden Horse

The day started gloomy and not quite as warm as we've been used to but by the time we'd completed our fuel and coffee stops and crossed into Poland, a first for both of us, the sun had made an appearance and the temperature had risen once more.

I had us booked in for a 14:00 English speaking tour. We arrived a little after 12:30, so looked around the museum, whilst we waited for Marek to appear. He was off on another tour.

We had barely begun our tour when we were joined by 4 guys from UK, taking part in a nearby rally event. It was supposed to be a 'private' tour but it seemed churlish to say they couldn't tag along. Minutes later, we picked up a stray German biker too. As long as we were happy to include them, Marek was happy to accept them. 

The first part of the tour took place outside the museum building, then moved inside, where Marek explaained the topography of the entire site and explained the sequence of events, pointing out on a model and aerial photographs, what happened where. That was part 1 complete. 

For Part 2, Marek drove us bikers, the UK chaps drove themselves, to the site where the Great Escape tunnel Harry was built. He pointed out where the tree line would have been and although there is a replica guard tower (built by the RAF), also where the foundations of the original tower are still to be found. It is quite easy to understand, seeing the exit of the tunnel in relation to the original tower, how things went so badly wrong on that night in March 1944. I don't recall the tower being that close in the film. It can't be much more than 30 feet!

Harry's exit point

Tom, Dick, Harry and Dudley

The line of the tunnel has been marked out and we were able to see the entry point to. Along the first few yards of the tunnel markings, are slabs engraved with the names of all the escapees, grouped by nationality and in 3 different colours. Green are the 3 men who succeeded in getting to freedom. Blue are those who were returned to camp and black are those 50, whom you may know, were executed by the Gestapo, on Hitler's orders. A little way up the road, there is a memorial to them all, which we visited after Marek had run us back to the museum, concluding a brilliant tour.

Some of the British escapees

Memorial to The 50.

Following the assassination of the 50 escapees, in contravention of the Geneva Convention, the allies issued a notice to all prisoners of war, to stop any further escape attempts and thus preventing another massacre. 

The Allies note to all POWs

With our visit complete, we made our way to our hotel, which, Marek had said, was a hospital during the war. Freshened up, it was time for the usual ritual, beer, food and more beer. Tonight we indulged ourselves, with a starter, as the two courses came to just £11 each. I suspect we may be paying more tomorrow night, as we travel to Prague. We have one stop planned for tomorrow, at Terezin in Czechia, site of a Jewish ghetto and concentration camp. More about that tomorrow though.

Day 4 - Berlin Sightseeing

 Just when we thought the game was won, Germany scored a late equaliser and then beat us on penalties!

2 dry riding days across Germany had lured us into that false sense of security, you only get before everything turns to poo! During the night, we had thunder and lighning and lots of rain. since then, it hasn't stopped raining, to varying degrees, effectively washing out our sightseeing day. I know we're in Germany but I didn't expect to get trench foot! My trainers are soaked. Wisely, we'd made the decision to put on our waterproof jackets, otherwise we'd not have made it to the corner of the road. So ist das leben!

The forecast didn't lie

Waterproofs on, we left the hotel around 9am, our first target being to buy our 24hr travel passes at the tram stop. Target missed, no ticket machine. The next stop didn't have one either but as it also had an underground station, we were able to buy them there. On the tram, what did they have? Yes, a bloody ticket machine!

We took the tram round to the Berlin Wall Memorial. We took a quick look outside but as the rain got harder, we dived into the visitor centre, where we could read all about the events of those dark days for the citizens trapped in East Germany. It's hard to read some of the stories, particularly those that ended in death but there was a heartwarming video of the day the gates were opened between East & West. Euphoric scenes.

Part of The Wall

Next stop, the Brandenberg Gate, via a tube ride. It was hammering down when we exited the station. We were quite sensibly dressed looking at some people, who had clearly not looked out of the window before leaving home. As we discovered very quickly, Berlin is hosting the World Games, so a large area around the monument was fenced off, which confused the issue when making for the next POI. 

The Brandenberg Gate

A short but increasingly wet walk away, sits the Holocaust Memorial, a memorial of different sized stone blocks, to the Jews murdered by the Nazis. The website says, "a place of contemplation, remembrance and warning". Sad to say, we couldn't get those vibes with the rain bouncing off the road. The weather really was dominating and ruining the day.

Holocaust Memorial

A couple of hundred metres down the road, is a car park. Not any old car park though. It sits on the site of Hitler's bunker, where on 30th April 1945, he and Eva, his wife, took their own lives. The Goebbels family also exited this world in the same fashion. There is really nothing to see here, except an information board. Still, somewhere that will always attract tourists.

By now we were soaked up to the ankles, so made our way to Postsdamer Platz and the mall there, where we saught out McDs for a refreshment. It seems the entire 2nd floor is a dedicated food hall and there certainly was no shortage of options available. Having rested our soaking feet, we decided to head to the last POI via the underground. Only problem being, there was some issue on the line, so plan B was invoked and we walked out into the rain again, heading for Checkpoint Charlie. On the way we passed a memorial to those murdered when the Nazis came to power, a building that was the headquarters for the flamboyant fat man, Herrman Goring and TRABI World, where it appears you can hire one, for a tour of the city. We weren't inclined to stop I'm afraid, the rain having brought our mood right down. A day earlier and we'd have been more receptive. Shame.

There was no let up in the weather by the time we arrived at Checkpoint Charlie. If anything it was getting harder. The plus side, yes, believe it or not, there was one, was that people weren't inclined to stand in front of the checkpoint to have their photos taken, with water streaming down their faces! Good for those of us not wanting a picture encumbered with bodies!

Checkpoint Charlie

We also managed to squeeze in a picture of me with our Dudley.

Woody, Dudley and Charlie

I wonder, is it by chance there is a McDs right by the US Army Checkpoint?

Photos done we made our way to the underground station and home, cutting short a largely miserable day.

After a couple of hours trying to dry out, we went to our usual place for dinner. 😉 I didn't feel I could do a schnitzel two nights running,  in the same place, so opted for pizza instead, washed down, as usual, by some amber liquid. 

Tomorrow we head for our 5th country, Poland, hoping the weather will perk up again, and picking up our WW2 theme once more.

Till tomorrow. 

Day 3 - Osterode to Berlin

 Today was another great day of riding. For the third day in a row, the temperatures reached the 30s but today, we stayed away from the autobahns, which made for a much more enjoyable time. Billiard table smooth twisty A roads, threading their way through pine forest and open farmland, made for a most enjoyable time. 

Our first POI stop today was at Checkpoint Alpha, the Helmstedt/Marienborn border crossing between The West and Russian occupied Germany, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). I imagined it was just a few old buildings that you could photograph through a fence but, it turns out, it is quite a tourist attraction, with coach loads of people dropping by. There's a huge site, with many buildings and lots of information boards dotted around to explain what each building was and what went on there. It was very interesting and such a surpise to me. I had a fairly good look round but could easily have spent more time there than we did. 

A few miles up the road was our planned fuel/coffee stop. As it turned out, it was just coffee at McDs, as the petrol station didn't have any E10 Unleaded and we didn't like the price of the Super Unleaded, Grizzly had quite a few miles left in the tank, so we filled up further along, with the cheapest E10 we've had in Germany, €173.9 per litre. From there, it was full steam ahead for Berlin, with a quick stop at a Netto supermarket (sorry Elly), to get a snack and some water. The latter needed, as the temperature had gradually risen into the low 30s. This is the best weather the two of us have experienced in Germany and we're hoping it will continue, for another half day of riding on Saturday, before we enter Poland. The Netto car park unexpectedly threw up a sample of  GDR's finest engineering, as you can see from the photo below.

A real life Trabbi!

Early impressions of Berlin were favourable but it soon turned to shit. With about 5 miles to navigate to the hotel, on the other side of the city, we encountered road closure after road closure, diverting this way and that, sitting in queues of traffic moving nowhere fast. Ginny was showing the temperature at 34 degrees, so we were both hot and bothered. Finally we broke away from the traffic and made it to our hotel. Grizzly reckoned we probably spent 2 hours covering what should have been, the last 5 miles. How many more than that we ended up doing, I have no idea. It's just unfathomable how the authorities have allowed so manjy road closures on so many important arteries into and through city, at the height of summer.

Freshened up, dinner was taken 3 doors down from the hotel. We had a table on the pavement, allowing us to watch the locals go about their business, as we relaxed with Berliner Pils or Weisse Beer. To eat, we both had Weiner Schnitzel, my third in 3 days. I fecking love schnitzel!

We've now covered about 730 miles since Sittingbourne. Not bad for 3 days, eh?

We have no riding tomorrow, as we shall be sightseeing. Hopefully, the thunder and lightning going on as I write, will have stopped by the time we head out. More about our 'day off' tomorrow.

That's all for now.

Day 2 - Oberhausen to Osterode

 Day one finished with us having ticked off 4 of the 14 countries we shall vist, and having covered over 300 miles. Day 2 ended with us having completed over 530 miles, since we left Sittingbourne, most of them again today, motorway madness miles. That's the story for this part of the tour, basically, we plan to shift through Germany as fast as possible, hoping to avoid rain. It always rains in Germany for us!

The day started warm and bright again, though it was apparent that there had been rain overnight. That's fine by me. Dry during the day, wet when we are tucked up in bed.

Continuing the theme from yesterday, our first POI of the day was to visit the crash site of Flt Lt Hopgood's Lancaster, AJ-M. With a little help from Google maps and What3words, we found the memorial quite easily. Reading the information board, it was clear they had only just refurbished it for the 80th anniversary a month ago. Originally, the site had been maintained by a local gent. Then in 2010 the local council had taken up the care, with the latest update adding to the memorial with the info board and a stone surround to the wooden marker.

Memorial to Lancaster AJ-M

Just over 4 miles away, our next stop and the target for Hopgood's aircraft on that night in May 1943, the Mohne Dam. An impressive structure, regardless of its history. So calm and peaceful today, it is impossible to imagine what it was like on the night of the attack. I've watched the film numerous times, read several books but nothing could prepare me for the feeling I felt, standing in the centre of that dam looking in the direction those aircraft would have come from. I can't even explain it.

Ginny & Mohne Dam, German engineering at its finest!

Having done one, we had to do the other, the Eder Dam. What may be surprising to some, is the fact we had to ride 90 miles to reach the Eder. One could be forgiven for thinking they were close by each other. The Eder is a smaller dam and set in different terrain. As a tourist attraction, I'd say it and the immediate facilities were better than the Mohne. Neither though provided parking for motorcycles in their car parks, so we just left them where we felt like, closest to the dam. At Eder we came across a BMW GS, registered in British Columbia and shortly after, the gentleman riding it. Richard, is on a 6 year plan to ride around Europe. This is year 3. He explained he takes 2 months each year to ride around the continent, with his bike stored in Heidelberg the rest of the year. Like us, he was at the start of his trip, this time to Norway. A nice bloke. It was nice to share some time and stories with a kindred spirit.

The Eder Dam

Eder concluded the Dambusters part of our trip and we made our way to our fuel stop, only to find it unaccessible from the motorway, due to roadworks. We soon found another petrol station to fill up at though. We finally left the motorway when we were about 15 miles from our hotel in Osterode am Harz. It's a big hotel with lots of potential but there can only be about 5 others staying. Sad really, as it's quite nice, not quite so dated as last night but part from B&B and garaging, it offers nothing else. That meant we had to find somewhere to eat in town. The host recommended a place, so that's where we went. I had the schnitzel again. I do love schnitzel. Food was OK but the service was deadly slow. We waited ages for our drinks, then were on our second, before the food was finally delivered. Not though, before we had to move tables, as the heavens opened and there was a terrific downpour. It didn't last long though and the sun was out again for the walk home. Hopefully it will be dry again tomorrow, though 30 degrees is getting a bit tiresome. Mid 20s will suffice.

The town itself is like many in Germany, quaint, with lots of interesting timber framed buildings. They look great and always lend themselves to a photo or two.

In Osterode Old Town

Tomorrow we head for Berlin, most of the trip, I think, bypassing the motorways, so it should be a lot less fraught and more interesting. More tomorrow.

Day 1 - Blighty to Oberhausen, Germany

 Today was probably the best start to a tour we have had. Firstly, the weather was fine, so no need for waterproofs. Secondly, as we arrived at the check-in booth, Ginny landed perfectly on 29,000 miles covered.

Another Ginny milestone

Following that, the check-in offered us an earlier crossing, which actually left 3 minutes early, so gaining us 30+ minutes on the other side.

The weather was superb for the entire journey, albeit a boring motorway mile-munching one. If anything though, it was just a bit too warm, being in the 30s the whole way, The humidity was very high too, so we were sweating buckets by the time we arrived at the hotel. 

Phew! Scorchio!

Apart from the fuel and coffee stops, we only had one point of interest stop today, that at the Englischer Friedhof (a British War Cemetery) at Rheinberg. Here we were visiting 5 particular graves, those of Flt Lt Hopgood and 4 of his crew, from one of the aircraft of 617 Sqn, The Dambusters. Hopgood's aircraft crashed shortly after having unsuccessfully dropped its bomb on the Mohne dam. This is a theme you will see more of  tomorrow. The cemetery is some way from the crash site but I suppose Rheinberg must be the closest British cemetery to it, for them to be laid to rest there. There are many headstones, a large number being for air crew but all commemorating a young life lost. Hopgood himself, was just 21.

J V Hopgood, pilot of Lancaster AJ-M

We arrived at our hotel, Haus Union, Oberhausen, about 4pm. As is almost always the case, our room is practically the furthest from reception but on the plus side it overlooks the free car park, so we can see the bikes. Another bonus, it has a lovely beer garden, which we obviously had to avail ourselves of. The long hot day was, as hoped, topped off nicely with a schnitzel and wheat beer! 😉

Tomorrow we are heading for Osterode, a town on the edge of the Harz mountains, The area is quite popular with bikers I believe, so there may be an opportunity to have some fun, after we're done with the motorways. Before that though, we'll have a few 'themed' POI stops to make, You can read all about them tomorrow.