Day 30 - 15 July 2018 - Heidelberg, Germany to Home

We didn't have to eat breakfast until 8:30am, so we got to sleep in a bit. Just before 10am Christopher, Stefan's son, showed up to take us to the airport in the family Mercedes. It was a great one hour drive north to Frankfurt with him and we enjoyed some solid conversation. At the airport we found the Condor counter which has a check in for just US Bound flights. I inquired if there was room on the direct Seattle flight and learned it was oversold. The agent seemed to indicate that we should be able to get on the Anchorage flight, but he was pretty non-committal.

We cleared both immigration and security and went out to the area where Condor flights generally depart from (no specific gate was listed as we were so early for a 3pm departure). Flights to Vancouver, Seattle, and Minneapolis were in the process of check in. Condor uses a method of scanning your boarding card to gain you entry into a holding area. From there you are bused to the tarmac and your airplane. I inquired whether it appeared we might make the Anchorage flight and the gate agent indicated 'probably'. So we waited another hour and finally another agent called us up and gave us our boarding passes without so much of a look at our passports. Angela got a middle seat in row 12 and I was put in a window seat on the right side of row 34.  On the tarmac, they used both front and rear doors to board the aircraft.

The flight left on time and headed out on a route that took us east of England. Condor is sort of a budget airline so there were no free snacks and little in-flight service. We were served a light lunch which was rather blah. In Economy there are only 2 movies and 2 TV shows for the video offering unless one wants to pay 8€ for a pass to view a 'premium' title movie. I scanned the list and decided it wasn't worth it. So I finished my UBoat 505 capture book (the same UBoat that is on display at the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry and I have crawled through it).

Also I updated my blog while listening to music from their audio collection (which was pretty decent).

When we approached the Greenland coast, we were treated with wonderful views of a bleak landscape. There was a rush of passengers to the right side of the airplane to snap photographs. Tilt!

We landed on time, our luggage was first off the carousel, and we very quickly cleared immigration and customs (fastest ever international clearing!). It was then a long walk to the south terminal where we checked in for our Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle which was scheduled to depart 2.5 hours later at 6pm.

After clearing security (gotta love TSA Precheck), we purchased a couple large sodas at McD's and relaxed for a bit before heading out to our gate.

The flight left promptly at 6pm and I ended up sleeping through most of it as by now my body was thinking it was 3am. After arriving in Seattle, we gathered our luggage and caught a cab home. And just like that our first 2018 European adventure was over. Now to get back in the swing of things at home for a bit. 

Day 28 - 13 July 2018 - Cesky Krumlov, CZ Republic to Heidelberg, Germany

Today was planned to be another 330 mile ride to get us back to our home base in Germany at Knopf Tours in Heidelberg. After another wonderful breakfast and loading the bike and Czeching out from the R-Penzion, we headed out of Cesky Krumlov past the Castle and on to the nice two lane roads of the Czech Republic. We made a fuel stop to try to use up some of our Czech currency. The road parallels the border with Germany but finally cuts through the mountains to a remote and unmanned border crossing. With the advent of the EU, there are no border checkpoints between member countries.  

Once we were on German roads again, our pace picket up substantially as the German roads are superior to anything we experienced in the other two countries. Since we were "heading for the barn", a fast pace was now preferred over the meandering pace of much of the past month. Near Passau, Germany, we turned north and rode the A6 freeway until we encountered the worst traffic mess of the whole trip. It took us 2 hours to go just a few kilometers. Finally I had enough, and made our way to an exit and changed the GPS settings to avoid interstate type roads. That worked for a while until we encountered another road closure due to an accident and a required unsigned detour. The remainder of the ride we spent on little back country roads and in one little village the road was blocked, but we snaked our way past the barriers and connected up with our route on the other side. Nothing like having a GS for a little sand and gravel fun.

There were a few rain showers in Germany but in Heidelberg, it was very warm (80f plus). We fortunately were assigned a main floor room in the BMW suite, and we unloaded the bike for the last time this trip, cooled off with showers, and then walked into town for a little Doner Teller dinner at the local Doner shop. Those are very popular here in Germany and fairly nutritious. Another traveler, Norman, from BC was here and we chatted about our rides. It's really encouraging to meet other like-minded travelers and share our stories. He had been 8 weeks to the north into Scandanavia and to Moscow and St. Petersburg.  

And so ended our trip at just under 3,000 miles for the month. Tomorrow, we need to ride about 24 miles to the local BMW dealer and get an oil filter so I can change the oil. I'll also wash the bike and prepare bluetooth intercoms, and they were fabulous. They lasted the entire day and were quite clear. Previously we used very inexpensive bluetooth intercoms, but the sound quality suffered. The bike ran perfect and we averaged around 41mpg. While we camped for the first 4 nights, the weather turned cold and wet, so we didn't camp the rest of the trip. We think that for future trips that we'll forego camping as it's just not that much more expensive to stay in pensions or bed & breakfasts. It'll sharply reduce the bulk of what we are carrying. We'll likely continue our routine of riding for a day and then staying at a location for a minimum of 2 nights to allow for some sightseeing. If a location is worthy, we can extend our stay. I can't say enough good about motorcycling around Europe. We hope to be able to do it for at least a few more years.

Day 27 - 12 July 2018 - Cesky Krumlov, CZ Republic

After waiting for a couple of weeks, we were glad to be back in Cesky Krumlov to be able to visit the famous castle and tour the medieval village. We tried to get tickets online for the castle tours but were unsuccessful so we decided to take our chances by purchasing them at the ticket office. So after a continental breakfast in the Penzion, we walked into town to the main ticket office where were told that we had to purchase them at the Castle ticket office. Off we went to hike up the hill into the castle to the ticket office where we learned that there was no problem getting an English Language ticket. We booked a 10AM - Tour 1 (Earliest owners), 11:30AM (Later Owners), and 1PM (Baroque Theatre). The first two tours were very small groups of less than 10 or so and that worked out really well. Unfortunately we could take no photos inside the castle on the tours, but I can highly recommend the tours. Also worth noting is that there is a mighty impressive collection of ornate porcelain heating stoves that we have ever seen in Europe. This reflects mightily on the conservation effort for this castle. We were also able to walk across the closed in bridge above the Roman style open bridge that we had walked over the night before. In the Baroque theater tour, it was impressive so see how elaborate the theatre was constructed in the mid 1800's to have all sorts of movable sets all powered by ropes and pulleys and operated below the stage floor. The theater was restored in the early 2000's and Baroque performances are performed here. On the tour we met a couple from Philadelphia who were doing a car tour in the Czech Republic.

After the formal tours were over, we hiked up the hill to the lavish and well manicured garden and then to the revolving theatre where the audience is rotated 360 degrees. We then walked back through the castle and did some shopping before walking through the village once again and back to our Penzion to drop off our purchases and take a little break. It was then time to walk back into town to find some dinner. The restaurant I wanted to eat at was closed so we went across the street to the Mill Restaurant located at the former mill and they had BBQ ribs on their menu which is what I wanted from the other restaurant. It was fun to eat there, feed the fish table scraps, and watch the rafters come floating down the river. I should mention that we tried to book a rafting trip, but they had none with a guide and I didn't want to do this without one on an unfamiliar river with no prior experience river rafting.

After dinner we wandered the streets some more and found some local dessert trdelink which is a cylindrical pastry baked over open heat and then stuffed with ice cream and whipped cream. It was so good, so sweet, so rich and so bad for us. We then walked back to our Penzion where we spent the rest of the evening and watched the sunset and the illuminated castle come into view. 

Cesky Krumlov is a another "don't miss" castle. While we really adored Malbork and its great self guided tour, this one is special because it has not only been preserved and conserved on the outside, but much of the interior is as it was used. Even the Nazi's preserved it and it was never subjected to bombing or artillery shelling.  

This would be our last day of formal touring this trip. Tomorrow, we head for Heidelberg where we store our bike and I'll prepare it for its long winter nap before we return and ride it on some new adventure. It's another 330 mile day ride.

Day 26 - 11 July 2018 - Wroclaw, PL to Cesky Krumlov, CZ Republic

After loading the bike in a light drizzle that eventually stopped before we left, we left Wroclaw in some pretty heavy traffic and used some ring roads to skirt riding through the city center. It was much nicer riding once we got out in the countryside. Traffic was pretty heavy and soon we reached the Czech Republic border.  

The roads were small and we found an ATM in a little town so we could refuel the bike and have money for food, tours, and lodging. We then encountered a couple of construction delays, but nothing like those we found in Poland. Following a brief rest stop for a little picnic lunch and after passing through some more charming hill country roads, we encountered some light drizzle. That drizzle stopped and then it started again. So we stopped and I put on rain gear. Not a half mile further, it began to rain intensely so I was glad to have that rain gear on. The rain persisted for another hour and a half. Fortunately we were riding most of that on a motorway.  

As we approached Ceske Budejovice, the traffic got very heavy, but once we were free of that it was only about 6-8 miles of farm roads to reach Cesky Krumlov. The Garmin Montana GPS navigated us directly to our lodging at the R-Penzion which is located on a hillside facing the castle complex. We were warmly greeted by our host at 5pm and shown to our cute little room one story above the ground floor.  Interestingly the GPS initially projected a 3 pm arrival, but 2 hours were lost due to road construction, heavy traffic, and gas or other rest breaks.

After checking in we headed for the old town, found a couple of dams for my Dam Tour Album and ate dinner at the Jelenka restaurant which didn't honor its 10% discount ticket the hotel provided us. But it wasn't a big deal as it was only worth a couple bucks. Afterwards we hiked up the steep hill to the bridge that connects one hill with the castle. There is a roadway that passes under and through the castle but it is primarily a pedestrian thoroughfare. We wandered our way through the medieval village taking pictures in the wonderful lighting conditions before walking back to our Pension and retiring for the evening. This is going to be an interesting village and castle to explore.

Day 25 - 10 July 2018 - Wroclaw, PL

Today we planned to do a 'free' walking tour of the Old Town. When they say free, it really means that at the end of the tour one donates what one thinks the tour is worth. So after fixing a little continental breakfast at our hotel, we walked to the market square to meet our guide. It turned out the market square in this town is a bit different in that the town hall is in the middle of the square and the "square" surrounds it. It took us a bit to find the meeting point at the statute of Fredro who was a famous comedian in history times. Simon, our guide, greeted our group of about 20 in a light rain. The group was very international with participants from England, Belgium, USA, Germany, Holland, and Poland. He led us on an interesting tour through the OLD City and over to Cathedral Island. When the tour was over he noted that he was doing two other tours that day and the 2pm walking tour to the Jewish quarter & WWII history. So we decided to take it, and began to make our way back to the meeting point. Along the way we re-visited the central market and found a little bakery and decided to purchase some pastries. And that's where the story got interesting.

As I stepped up to the counter to order our items, the male clerk said "Alaska, are you from Alaska?". He was referring to my Alaska Airlines hat that I typically wear. I said "No, we're from Seattle." He proceeded then to recount the fortunes and misfortunes of the Seattle SuperSonics including their move to Oklahoma City. It was another powerful statement of both how small the world is and the impact that the team had on the world.

Back at the meeting point a smaller group gathered for the 2pm tour, and off we went. Fortunately the rain had stopped and this walking tour was completed in the dry. At the end of this tour, Simon, our guide, recommended going to Floor 8 of a local shopping center to get a rooftop view of the city which we did. The view there was terrific. We made our way back to the market square photographing all the little gnomes (an eclectic symbol of the city) we could. Near our hotel we found a Taco bar and enjoyed a Mexican meal which was actually quite good. After that dinner, we walked across a nearby pedestrian bridge and toured Malt Island (named after the Malting plants that were here up to the 1970's when they were blown up. We ended our day watching the France-Belgium World Cup game in which France won 1-0.

Tomorrow is another big travel day as we make our way down to Cesky Krumlov Castle in the Czech Republic. We weren't able to visit this castle on our trip north, so we're fitting it in our trip south to Heidelberg.    

Day 24 - 09 July 2018 -Malbork to Wroclaw, PL

For the second time this trip, no rain was forecasted for this travel day. We left around 10am expecting to be into Wroclaw (350 miles south) by around 4pm. However, we encountered a lot of road construction and several unsigned detours that caused me to figure out a way around them. There was lots of truck traffic and idiotic drivers who tried to pass on the right and crowd in. Much of our riding time was spent on the 5 road and portions of it weren't even on the GPS because they are new. I would guess that the road construction we've seen in Poland will go on for 10 years or more. While it is underway, all the traffic is routed through little two lane roads and small towns and villages. We took a lunch break about half way and then pressed on.

Arriving in Wroclaw around 7pm, we found our little hotel (Wroclaw City Apartments) easily and the parking as well. While they are on the second floor with no elevator, it was really cheap at around $34/night. After cooling off with showers, we walked to Old Town and found a Sushii restaurant for some late dinner. It was fascinating to watch the sushii chef who was Polish and not Japanese. We also found a dam for the Dam Tour thread that I post to and a little dwarf (apparently there are many of those to discover here).

Tomorrow we have planned a walking tour of the old town with a guide, so we'll learn more about this interesting town.

Day 23 - 08 July 2018 -Touring Malbork Castle

After breakfast we walked the 1,000 meters to the ticket booth for the castle and for $29.50 Polish Lot (about $8US) for a senior rate we purchased an entry ticket which included a GPS enabled audio guide. That guide was fabulous and helped throughout the day. The Malbork Castle is the largest castle in the world measured by either land area or number of bricks. I'll not describe going through the castle, but I will say that if there is one castle in the world to see, it's this one. The preservation and conservation work is fabulous, the audio guide is so very helpful. We even had lunch in an inside restaurant and that was excellent. Following our visit to the castle, we took a little tour train around the castle and the nearby city and small dinosaur theme park. The cobblestone street and lack of suspension on the trolly cars probably loosed every kidneystone I have or ever thought of having!

For dinner we had chicken wings and salad at Pappa's and it was very good. This was a stop I really appreciated making despite it being a bit out of the way. Due to time constraints, we had to cut out riding up to Denmark, but all that we have seen in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and Lithuania has been so nice.

Tomorrow will be another long 300 mile ride down to Wroclaw, Poland. I had originally planned two nights in Malbork and then 3 nights in Cesky Krumlov, but it would have been a 600 plus mile riding day between Malbork and Cesky Krumlov. So we conferred and decided to ride 300 miles to Wroclaw, spend two nights (one sightseeing day in the old city); and then ride 300 more miles to Cesky Krumlov and spend two nights there with one full day for seeing the castle there. I can't emphasize enough that 300 miles of riding in Europe is a lot of riding especially in Poland with all of the road construction and unsigned detours.