Tiger Tracks (European Ride) – UK – Alps – Balkans

[BigMark]

The Night Before the Morning After

Emma has taken the reigns and took on the responsibility of packing the essentials, a direct testament to my past failures undertaking the same task.  Apparently two pairs of pants and a toothbrush doesn't meet the requirements of a multi week trip!
Looking on the plus side it is I that sits here annoying the cat and writing our very first update while Emma is downstairs with the bike convinced we are forgetting some miscellaneous essential.
We are only packing for three days, the plan is to do laundry this often even if in a Hotel bath tub. Emma has been shopping and has brought a whole bunch of outdoor terrain clothing which is for hiking, easily washable and quick drying. A great idea for such a trip! Although none of it is particularly fashionable, it is very practical "Well done Emma".  This bright idea has saved us a mass of space and we can get all we need inside the stock panniers and a tank bag which contains just paperwork and a camera for easy access.

We are going to be staying in Hotels, Pensions, B&B or whatever we can find for what we think is a reasonable budget of £100 per night in the EU and £60 per night outside of the EU (that's for both of us and including breakfast).
Daily expenditure is really difficult to work out but I have put an average limit of £75 per day spending money and £20 per day fuel. (again for the both of us)
We now after 50 days of grief have a green card issued with our new insurance company "Group Armour" who for £30 issue a Green Card  for pretty much everywhere in Europe. This should see us through the borders and more importantly cover us if something goes sour.  The only unknown we have not considered is the rumour of over excited Border Guards & Police who we hear sometimes charge a tourist fee for imaginary violations and non-existent paperwork discrepancies. I doubt that is true though!

Looks to me like there is just about enough time left in the day to sip back on a cold beer,  Charge up the camera batteries, dust off the compass and make a quick call informing mother in law she needs to feed & water the furry scratching thing each day until we get back.

Big day tomorrow! We have the ferry booked for the crack of noon, so it's time to close the lid on this thing and hit the sack.

I know photos are expected with every Ride Report post and they will be numerous. For this post it was a toss-up between the Cat and the Mother-In-Law . I am playing it safe so here is the cat...

[BigMark]

18th September Chapter 2.  En route

The next two days are more about getting somewhere than exploring so bare with me! We are awake, bike is fully loaded and fuelled, the sun is shining and we are ready to go.



I had my Datatool alarm removed as I don't have enough trust in it's reliability to take a chance and that's a good enough reason for me.  I have reverted back to the Old technology security system.




We Planned on making it at least half way to Switzerland today. No route in mind just straight A-B. With a belly full of Porridge and a strong coffee we hit the road and leave our Village Of Goudhurst behind.








Goudhurst (Home) to The Channel Tunnel is a straight forward bumble through the weald of Kent which is nice, yet very crowded. Along the A262 through to Tenterden and then along the A28 to Ashford where we join the M20 for the last 15 minutes of England and then just follow the road markings




When we reach the Chunnel (as it's known) The first customs/border check point of the trip always helps the holiday feeling sink in. No problems here of course, it's all fairly civilised and we are not even asked to remove our helmets, just waved through with a smile.  



The Chunnel was as expected, A long train with cars on it, bikes at the very back!








 If you get stopped at the French side it is worth knowing that  "We are the scouting party for the English invasion" is not the best response when asked "why did you cross the channel today"

 "Bon Voyage" The next 2 hours went like this; SLAB-SLAB-SLAB- (Tap on the shoulder) – "Yes Dear"- "Get of the bloody highway!"  I followed my orders and left on the very next slip road where Emma explained with conviction that this was NOT an Iron Butt ride and as such the Highway is now off limits unless absolutely essential. Emma consulted the map and pointed at a spot that looked relatively out in the sticks and off we trundled.

The French sure do look after the roundabouts.



We stopped for lunch and for 5 euros we got plenty of road food and had lunch with the French Politician Camille Desmoulin in Guise.






More French Flat Roads As The Sun went down it was time to find a Hotel





As luck would have it we stumbled across the best hotel room money can buy!  A Formule 1 in Battencourt-La-Feree.  £30.00



It was dark and chilly by the time we arrived and we found that it was not just us  suffering this Hotel. Other bikers on their way back home after a few days in the Swiss Alps where they reported it was chucking it down with rain. Hopefully by the time we get there it will have rained itself dry.



 in one of these places gets you a Room with two planks of wood vaguely resembling a bed, an en suite sink and two coat hangers.  For anyone travelling on a tight budget these places are clean, tidy, quiet and uncomfortable. There is of course a Shower & Toilet  facility down the hall on each floor which is again clean & very plastic.




 We retired to our 5 star room and still had some left over Brie, bread and crisps for an equally 5 star Dinner, so we finished that and then nothing more to do than shower and sleep.

[BigMark]

We woke early this morning intent on getting  to Somewhere scenic – Lake Thun looked like a good location close to the mountain passes, so we headed in that direction. We stopped almost as soon as we left at a local patisserie to gather breakfast and left with a pastry with something in the middle, not much in the middle but something like mashed monkey which is clearly an expensive delicacy as it was very carefully used..



A little further down the road  at around Lunch time we happened across a promising looking sign..



Pulling in we discovered we were not the only British Bikers here.. (Dam Brits get everywhere)



This group was being led by Petar, Originally from Serbia now has his own tour company "Ridewithus"



I was hungry and liked the sound of the American Style Baguette but when it arrived I found it less appealing. (not sure what is American about this to be honest) I expected Bacon and stuff!  



Rolling up into Faulensee, we come to the Hotel Jägerhof Hubertus which was offering a lake side view room for £105.00 which I had no quibbles paying based on the budget accommodation we had last night.



I asked which room was mine and it was the one with the dead animal hanging above the door.



But we did get our very own drinking trough.




The Hotel theme seemed to be dead animals.













While Emma got ready I checked out the Balcony view..





We went down to the lake to explore..





When I eventually dragged Emma from the Play Park we  decided on the restaurant with the best balcony over the lake.





There was some language barriers to overcome as neither of us know much in the way of useable German and it seemed the Restaurant workers had the same grasp of English. Good job the menu was in picture format.   We had three choices and from the photos I made it out to be

1) A Small Striped Poisonous looking fish.
2) A Buffalo.
3) A Tin of Olive Oil and some Rocks.




Surprisingly we went for the furry mammal and a Beer.  (Quite surprising how many languages I can order Beer in.)



When Dinner arrived Emma wasted no time getting stuck in! For an Eye watering 80 Swiss we made sure we ate it all, even the green stuff.





As the sun went down the Mozzies started their dinner and I was on the menu so we headed back to check on our  washing line.

[Bixxer Bob]

Lovin' the blow-by-blow approach Mark, keep it up! :lol:

[John Stenhouse]

Loving this too, keep us posted.

[jwray76]

Well now this makes sitting here at work even more depressing.

[BigMark]

Another nice early start today.

A Typical European Breakfast with a Massive Jug of Coffee.



A Last look from the Balcony "I think it will be a good day"



And Back on the Road again...
 




Leaving the lake behind us we headed toward the Susten Pass





Just one more Tunnel to go before the scenic bit...



Looking Back toward the Tunnel.



We took a whole bunch of Photos from the Top of the Pass.













Next Stop The Albulla Pass. This pass was very quiet and the roads are not very well maintained (More Adventure than Sports if you catch my mean)









The Top part was excellent, just rocks, how I imagine a lunar landscape...





From Here we made our way to a Town "SameDan" and stayed in the "Sport Hotel" which cost us £100. For the night.





Everything is expensive here and we wandered the town looking for a bargain bite but come up blanks and I settled for Fried Ravioli which to be fair was as dry and tasteless as it looks. Emma donated one of her Mushroom ravioli to add some moisture to my meal.

(The question was raised "Is it a Ravioli and as a plural some Raviolies?)



On the plus side, we did find this shop with the amusing name



Also we found Schindlers Lift!

[John Stenhouse]

Just a FYI no offence but, "Americain" is a type of sausage in France

[BigMark]

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Learn something new every day..

[chairhead]

Good stuff Mark,
ive also done the Susten pass,a stunning road that links up with a couple more like it,keep the pics coming

[NeilD]

excellent report - the 'dead things hotel' looks interesting!  :D

[KuzzinKenny]

Hey BigMark !! looks like yer havin a grrreat time !!

it all looks stunnin !!  

KK

[BigMark]

We woke up to thick fog this morning, So Had a leisurely breakfast (Typical European one)



 we waited until it looked like it was lifting before we packed the bike and hit the road.



It didn't last long, we had barely got 10 miles down the road when the world seemed a much brighter place.














Today we would visit the Stelvio. The weather was much colder today so the riding was slowed but the scenery and empty roads made it worth every shiver.









We didn't take too many photos on the way up as we were just 'enjoying the moment' but when we got to the top we took a whole bunch..









All of a sudden it felt like we had come a long way



Of course too much fun + too many corners + too much luggage = A fried rear brake... Luckily this corner come complete with emergency exit so we waited here for 20 min's whilst the brake cooled down.





The Stelvio is a nice road and worth a visit but I prefered the Susten and even more so the Albulla which offer more of an adventure feel than the very busy touristic setup of the Stelvio

We are still on avoid highway and as we bear down on the Dolomites the temperature is noticeably warmer.





Our first glimpse of the Dolomites







We found a nice view point along the road to Belunno and we took a whole bunch of photos..










The rest of the way to Belluno was boring and we got stuck in rush hour traffic. We did however find a shop and after we arrived at a Hotel and had the inevitable beer



It dawned on us that maybe we had purchased a little too much food

[BONANZA]

:D Absolutely brilliant Mark!! Stunning scenery and excellent shots. We need more please :)

[BigMark]

Today we will go to Croatia.. It meant some time on the international highway but we were keen on getting to Plitvicka National Park..

So today we just ride, then Ride some more.  We started on some big roads.



Then I got lost and  at this point I was saying "I don't think this is the International transit route between Italy and Croatia"



But this one was



The time passed quickly as I had long thought of seeing the Adriatic for the first time in my life and made a self-promise to take a dip...

Skirting round the top of Croatia I see a long awaited sight. Could it be..











But there would be no swimming today, today we just skim the top edge and head inland toward Plitvicka.





Just a short distance from the Park entrance there is Villa Katja which booked us in for two nights with breakfast..



From here there is a 20 min woodland walk to the lakes passing an all important village shop to avoid park prices (Budget travel)...
We just got a glimpse of the park from the top of a hill and decided to head back before it got too dark to enjoy the walk through the woods.



Just can't wait for tomorrow.