Visit to Bremen Germany

I was undecided where to go next after leaving the Netherlands. I had considered heading further north into Denmark and spending some time riding  around this Scandinavian country, from where I was in the Netherlands It would be a couple days ride to Copenhagen. I have to  be back in Frankfurt in a weeks time to get the motorcycle ready for shipment back over to Canada. So rather then spend a few hurried days travelling to Demark, I instead headed over to Bremen Germany, a 4-5 hour ride away from where I was in the Netherlands.  Some local Germans I had met at my hotel in Beekenberg and told me that if I was to visit the northern parts of Germany that I should visit Hamburg or Bremen. Bremen is renowned as being one of the cultural centers in Germany. It is home to dozens of historical galleries and museums. It is a fairly large city located on the banks of the Weser River.

I really enjoyed my visit to Bremen. The town has over 1200 years of history behind it. Bremen sits on the Weser river, a historically important route for transportation and commerce  in Northern Germany. The city is another mecca for cyclists. The city is known as being a very walkable connected city. There are parks all over the place. They have over 800 kms of cycle paths throughout the city. My favorite part of the city is along the Weser river that cuts through the heart of the city. It is just a very liveable urban landscape. Very pleasant city.

Nice hotel I stayed at in center of Bremen

Walking around center of downtown Bremen

Interesting shot of art sculpture in atrium of building

I just found this an interesting photo of truck and building

Some of the interesting buildings to be seen in Bremen

Glockenspeil House

 

 

Paula Modershon – Becker  Museum

 

Area in center of Bremen

Some of the Guild houses in main maket square

 

Statue of Roland the Protector

Kids playing in main plaza

View of Bremen Cathedral in Market Square

 

Deuth  Bank Building

Doomshof town square in Bremen

Stroll through park in center of Bremen

 

 

Cycling in the the Netherlands

I crossed over the border between Germany and the Netherlands a few hours ago, and still have not sighted a single windmill, tulips  or even  one Dutch person wearing wooden clogs. What I have seen a lot of, are people on bicycles. The Dutch  are obsessed about their bicycles. Not surprisingly I suppose for a county as flat and low lying as The Netherlands, it is an ideal  place to cycle in.

There are people on bicycles everywhere you go. Young, old, people in business suits, hard core cyclists. Dutch children probably lean to ride a bike before they even learn to walk.

Since I am in The Netherlands I have decided to spend some time cycling around the Netherlands. I have booked a stay at a hotel calling itself a forest retreat outside of Beekenberg.

The hotel is in the middle of a pine forest. There are numerous cycling trails throughout the area.

I rented a bicycle from the hotel for a few days of cycling in the woods. This is the first time in years since I last rode a bicycle. Very relaxing riding through some of the trails in the forest.

Many people seem to favor these classic style townie bikes

I cycled into Beekenberg from my hotel some 5-6 kms away.

 

A photo of an old antique car in parking lot of my hotel near Beekenberg. There were  5 or 6 vintage cars at hotel. Later found out that there was a vintage car rally going on in one of the neighbouring towns

Side view of 1934 Citroen TA (Traction Avant)

Front view of 1934 Citroen TA (Traction Avant)

From Beekenberg, I headed up north towards the coastal area of the Netherlands. The terrain becomes ever flatter the further north you go. I booked a room at a a hotel ( the only hotel) in the village of Kloosterburen. The northern area around here is sparsely populated, mostly little rural farming communities. The hotel that I found my self staying at was a monastery  for many years, it later than became a religious hospice for the elderly, and at some time after that, it was put into use as a rehap centre for drug addiction, before finally being sold and converted into a hotel.

The hotel is strangely decorated with religious paintings and photos, with what I can only call objects of the absurd, bizarre sculptures and paintings, new age crystals. If Stephen King had a spent a night here, I am sure that he would have been inspired to write some macabre horror story about he place. Lets just say that it was an interesting place to spend a few nights.

Again I took the opportunity to do some more cycling. The roads are very flat around here making for easy cycling.  I went and did a comfortable 40 km ride. Many of the little rural villages in these parts are spread out 3 or 4 kms apart, so you can ride from one village to the next, stop for a break, have a beer and continue on.

All the roads around here , have dedicated lanes for cyclist. Again I am noticing that many of the people I have seen are riding e-bikes.

Holland or Netherlands

One of my first conversation with someone in The Netherlands  was about what their country was called. I always thought that both names, Holland/Netherlands were interchangeable for the country. Not so I was told, there are twelve provinces in the Netherlands, one is called North Holland and another is called South Holland. These Hollands are part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. So calling the Netherlands Holland would be like someone calling Ontario Canada, even if some people in Toronto think and say that.

I may come back one day and do a cycling tour.

View of my hotel in Kloosterburen. Formerly an monastery.

 

Hotel in Kloosterburen

View of one of the hallways in hotel. Hotel filled with strange cultist objects and religious iconography

 

Main street in town of Kloosterburen in the Netherlands

Along main street in town of Kloosterburen in the Netherlands

Clock tower in Kloosterburen in the Netherlands

Another view along street in  town of Kloosterburen in the Netherlands

Out in the countryside around Kloosterburen. Old windmills being replaced with modern windmills.

Riding into Kloosterburn

Out in the countryside around Kloosterburen.

Out in the countryside around Kloosterburen

Bike parked at my hotel in Kloostrerburen

My accommodation at hotel in Kloosterburen

View outside my hotel room. Full moon tonight

Yes !! I finally found an old fashion Dutch windmill

Another view of the windmill

 

 

 

 

Exploring the Rhine Valley – Germany

I have been to Germany a number of times in the past, before but have never have had the occasion  to visit the Rhineland area of Germany. So after leaving Stuttgart, I have plotted a route to take me into the heart of the Rhineland.

This is  not the first time I have I traveller to the Rhine River. On a visit to Switzerland some years ago, I travelled to the headwaters of the Rhine River from were it first starts out in Switzerland. From its primary source in south-eastern Switzerland, the Rhine River flows  north through the Rhineland and the Netherlands eventually discharging into the North Sea, a distance of over 1200 kilometers.

Going as far back as the times of the Romans, the Rhine and Danube Rivers marked the frontier boundaries of the Roman Empire in Europe. The Rhine severed as a trade route and means of communication across the hinterland regions of the Roman Empire. The Romans developed numerous forts and signal stations along the Rhine, and kept fleets of ships based along the river to maintain control over their frontier territories. Over the years many I important  commercial towns were established on the banks of the Rhine River.

I was told by some local Germans that I met in Stuttgart that if I was interested in spending some time visiting the Rhineland I should visit the resort town of Boppard which is situated right on the Rhine River. Its a tourist town,  mostly frequented by local Germans. Boppard is situated on one of the more notable sections of the Rhine River, along the Rhine Gorge, where the Rhine River is channel through a series of narrow valleys. This area with its unique physical geography, has been declared a UNESCO Heritage site.

I spent a couple days in Boppard. A very intersting little town. Lots of tourist facilities. Many of the cruise ship companies offer crusies down the Rhine River on these long and narrow barges and some of the companies make stopovers in Boppard.

I was surprised at the level of traffic on the Rhine. From my viewpoint along the riverbank in Boppard, there seemed to be at least a couple of cargo or passenger barges passing by at any one time.

The town was full of tourists when i was there, many semed to be here on a cycling holiday. One thing I observed about many of the cyclists who were here, is that many were riding these new ebikes.

Boppard… An interesting place to visit!!

Video of my ride along the Rhine River between Boppard and Koblenz in Germany.

View of my hotel in Boppard. Situated in a forest reserve.

 

Walking around backstreets in downtown Boppard

Along backstreets of Boppard

Market area in centre of Boppard Germany

In main market area of Boppard

In the main market square in Boppard Germany

Numerous restaurants in center of Boppard

Street scene in Boppard

Passing cruise boat along Rhine River near Boppard

Many of the cruise ship companies have their own private docks setup in Boppard

View of the boardwalk along the Rhine River in Boppard

There are numerous medieval buildings in Boppard. It has a long storied history

Passing cargo vessel along Rhine River. There is a lot ship traffic going up and down the Rhine River.

Another view of boardwalk in Boppard along Rhine River.

There several parks and gardens along the boardwalk. Very nice.

Another passing cargo barge

View of town of Boppard Germany

The Rhine River near Boppard passes through a gorge.

Many ornate building around Boppard

There are many outstanding private homes in Boppard.

Restaurant near my hotel

 

 

Stuttgart – Germany

I am headed this day to Stuttgart Germany. The route from Innsbruck Austria to Stuttgart will take me through windy sections of mountain roads through the Alps and to where eventually, the road connects up with the autobahn which connects with Stuttgard.
I was expecting to have an easy ride through the mountain sections of the route. When you are on a remote mountain road, the last thing that you are expecting to contend with is traffic congestion. There was so much traffic on the little mountain road along route 177, that progress was very slow. It took over an hour just to ride the few kilometers along the windy mountain road to the top of the mountain pass and then about half that time to make the descent to the other side. The mountain road had numerous hairpin turns along its course, and cars were lined up bumper to bumper along its entire length. It is hard enough driving in traffic like this in a car, it is doubly more difficult on a motorcycle when you are having to control the weight of a heavy motorcycle at slow speeds, and constantly having to squeeze the clutch and brake levers. Your hands get pretty tired.
I thought that once I was clear of the mountain roads and back on to the Autobahn that my progress would be better, but there were numerous stops and waits for construction all along the way to Stuttgart.
Stuttgart is one of the larger cities in Germany. People probably  recognize the name as many of the major car companies, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche have their headquarters centered in Stuttgart.
The Germans proudly proclaim that Stuttgard is the cradle of the automobile industry as Stuttgart was where the automobile manufacturing industry first got started.
I spent a couple of days in Stuttgart, I found a hotel not too far from the centre of town. Stuttgart is an eclectic mix of old historical building and new 21st century design.
Much of Stuttgart was destroyed during the war. I read somewhere that as much as 60% of the buildings located in the main parts  of Stuttgart were destroyed during the numerous bombing raids by the Allied forces. Over the span of WWII, over 140,000 bombs were dropped on Stuttgart. Some of the old historic building were rebuilt after the war, but much of what you see today in downtown Stuttgart is of more recent construction. I remember when I was travelling through Ireland, I was staying at a  B&B with a fellow from Stuttgart and he lamented that Stuttgart no longer had any historical character, as much of it had been destroyed during the war.
Regardless of that, I found it to be an interesting, vibrant city to visit. They have one of the longest pedestrian walkways in Germany. On the weekend that I was there, the downtown area was taken over for a local music and food festival. One thing I noted on my visit to Stuttgart is that the population of Stuttgart is not very Germanic looking. I did a little research on-line, 40% of the population of Stuttgart are immigrants, who have settled in Stuttgart seeking employment. The city certainly has a very diverse multi-cultural population.

They have a mega construction project going on, called Stuttgart21,. Its a railway and urban development project in the heart of downtown Stuttgart. they are upgrading the current railway infratstructure and moving the system underground. This is all being done in order to better intergrate their current railway system with the Trans-Europeran rail  network. Its a 6.5 billion Euro project. Its a big world class construction project.

They have a well developed underground subway system in Stuttgart, so it is easy to get around. Both Porsche and Mercedes have major car museums in Stuttgart, paying homage to their automotive history.

I liked Stuttgart, it was an interesting place to visit, lots to do and see. Be warned!!, the traffic congestion on the surrounding roads can be pretty horrible.

Lots of modern looking contemporary designed buildings in Stuttgart

Main train terminal

Hauptbahnhof train terminal

 

View  of new Mercedes-AMG GTS car. Out of my price range

Stuttgart Museum

 

 

Some more examples of moderm contemporary architecture

Walking along main pedestrian walkway in Stuttgart

Old clock tower in center of Stuttgart

Downtown Stuttgart taken over for Summer Fest

In the Schlossplatz plaza

 

View around Neues Schloss buildings

 

Summer Fest setup in Schlossplatz

 

 

Innsbruck – Austria

I am now in Innsbruck Austria. The immediate impression you get when you first enter Innsbruck is that this town is first and foremost an Alpine community. The town sits in a valley bookended on two sides by towering snow capped mountains. During the winter months, Innsbruck is mostly known as a skiing destination, but during the summer months its becomes a favorite place for cyclists, hikers and climbers and for tourists who want to take in the vibe of being in an alpine setting.
Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics back in 1964 and also in 1976. From my hotel room I can  look out my window and view the ski jumping facility.
Downtown Innsbruck is what you expect of any major tourist town, its a bit garish, again its looks like the folks from Disney were hired to design the Alpine looking buildings with their steep pitched roofs, turrets and  spires.
This seems to happen to many popular tourist destinations around the world, tourists have an expectation what a place should look like and over time, the town planners slowly transform the town to meet those expectations of further attracting more visitors to their town.
I was planning on only spending two days in Innsbruck,  two days is enough to take in all the sights of Innsbruck, but on the day I was set to leave, a violent weather system swept into Innsbruck, bringing in high winds and heavy rains. There was no way I was going to attempt riding a motorcycle across mountains roads in such weather, it would of  made for a long miserable day of travelling. I am in no rush, so I’ll spend anothet day in Innsbruck.

One of the popular things to do in Innsbruck is to take the modern Nordkette cable car from the center of Innsbruck to the top of the mountain. It takes two separate cable cars to transit to the top of the mountain. It was a perfectly clear day, fantastic views of Innsbruck below.  At the top of the mountain tree s a cafe. Lots of trails for hiking. No chance to take any photos, my camera battery died. I will need to return another time. They charged 32 Euros to ride the cable car to the top of the mountain.  Travelling is not cheap.

Some photos from my stay in Innsbruck Austria.

View of Triumphal Arc

Walk along Maria Theresa Street in Innsbruck

Scenic view along the Inn River in Innsbruck

View along Inn River

Colorful buildings along Inn River in Innsbruck

Backside view of St James Cathedral

 

Outdoor book library

View of ornate Helblinghaus Baroque building

 

Walk along Maria Theresa Street

City Tower

Walk along Maria Theresa street

Tram in Innsbruck

In Search of Mountain Roads

I have been finding the weather in southern Italy a little too warm for my liking, so  I am headed north for the cooler climes of the Alps.

The last few days since I left Pompeii, have been “travel days”, no destination in mind, just riding  north in search of mountains. Along the way I stayed overnight in a couple of small Italian villages which were along my travel route.

The highway north passes through the regions of Umbria and Tuscany, I did not see much as I kept to the main Highway, stopping occasionally for gas and food.

I was considering spending a few days visiting Florence but was not able to find any suitable accommodations close to the old part of the city of Florence. Hotels, B&B or any sort of accommodations located near the old part of the Florence was priced out of my budget ($200-$300/night). There were a few places 10 – 15 kms away that I could have stayed at, but that would have meant having to ride the motorcycle into Florence to do any sightseeing. For those of you who have not been to Florence before, much of the old section of the city is closed to car traffic, and finding a place to park even at a distance from the historical parts of Florence is very problematic. So I am giving a pass to visiting Florence.

Here is what I missed out on!!

City of Florence Italy

After two or three days of riding the toll roads north, I finally was able to get off the expressway and on to some mountain roads.

I experience some of the best riding in Italy along section of Hwy SS45. Some of the best motorcycling roads in Italy are to be found in the upper regions of the Apennine mountains here.  The road between Torriglia -Gorreto – Bobbio is one of the most memorable  roads  I have have ever ridden. The road follows the course of a river that meanders through a series of river valleys below. Its a road of a million curves.

What motorcyclists like to see on a map! Squiggly lines

 

Video of My Ride along Hwy SS45

My hotel in Attiglianio  Italy

Around streets of Attiglianio

Around streets of Attiglianio Italy

Around streets of Attiglianio Italy

Around streets of Attiglianio

Heading North along Hwy A11

My hotel in Gorreto along Hwy SS45

I stayed overnight in this motorcycle friendly B&B. The place is a favorite hang-out for local motorcyclists looking to ride the mountain roads along Hwy SS45

Main plaza in village of Mori Italy

Hotel I stayed at in Mori

I found a good little Hotel to stay at in Mori. Its a Hotel-Bar-Restaurant. Very friendly English speaking staff who run the place. The place was great, located right in center of village, but as I soon found out, it was located right across the  plaza from a Church. The bell tower of the church was on same level as my hotel room. Every hour on the hour starting from 6:30 in the morning the church bells are rung. When the bells were being rung, it sounded like the bell tower was right in my hotel room. What a noise!! Its like this all over Italy in all  these little village town, you hear the constant clanging of the church bells. Make it stop!!

 

 

 

 

Wall mural in Mori Italy

Have not seen too many of these before! A Citroen 2 CV6 car  600cc  29hp

The 2cv was design back in 1934. The design team at Citroen were tasked  with developing  a cheap affordable car for the many rural people of France. The stated  design requirements was to “build a car that would enable four small farmers in clogs to transport 50 kg (110 lb) of farm goods to market at 50 km/h (31 mph),^[12] if necessary across muddy, unpaved roads. The car would use no more than 3 litres of fuel to travel 100 km (78 mpg)”

Every time I see one of these Citroen 2 CV cars I think back on this story about a French adventurer who got stranded in a Moroccan desert when he broke the frame and swing arm on his Citroen 2 CV. No problem, he took the Citroen apart and turned it into a 2 wheeled motorcycle.

Link to story about the French adventurer

French Adventurer and his Citroen 2CV