Triumph Tiger Season Opener 09 - Lionheart Mansion - Germany

[GatorTiger]

The leader went out the gate and turned to the left. But only to stop after about 200 ft. He fumbled with his GPS and turned around, only to pull over again after a view feet. Darn ole GPS!! <hehehehe>

Eventually he got his directions right and led us here:



It was still somewhat cold (as you can see), but the weather was exactly to my liking! The view from this observation point was as well:



Our Group was small, so there we didn't fill up the place



but we had fun in the sun



The peace and quiet was about to change....

[GatorTiger]

I bet the view is even sweater form up there:



Again: fun in the sun:



Again: it was still cold:



Good thing they were selling coffee up there:

[GatorTiger]

Like I said, the quiet didn't last long... A sight presented itself that would only see in the US at a Tiger-Ride-In!!! The next one is coming up soon!!! (More info here)

In came a slightly larger group





















Tired of Tigers yet??? How about this one:

[GatorTiger]

The parking lot was filling up fast with people and machines:



Everybody was enjoying the show:



Try to get that colorful sight from, well, any other brand:



Shweeeeeeeet lineup!!!

[oxnsox]

Great....  and the 1050 Outfit is fantastic....

[HappyMan]

Love the panoramic photo!

[GatorTiger]

When the hands get cold, the gloves get warmed...  :lol:

[GatorTiger]

Temps were on the incline... The itching in the right hand was getting stronger... Time to go!! While the latecomers were settling in our little group got back on the bikes and left. Our leader/guide had his GPS under control now and we didn't have to change directions at all!  :D

After backtracking the way we came just a tad bit we were back on our planned route... And off we went! No stopping or sight seeing! Just riding! I only had my big SLR with me, so pictures during the riding part were not possible. I need to get me something small and mountable for future rides. Some of my best pics were taken at 70 mph on the highways!

The roads in this area remind me a lot of the smokies of northern Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Twisty, scenic, fast! But with one MAJOR difference: LOTS OF TRAFFIC!!! Many of them local farmers with their tractors and the accompanying mud on the roads! One has to be on one's toes all the time to NOT be roadkill because you slid into a truck because of some mud on the road. The numerous cars do the rest. It becomes apparent that Germany is much more densely populated than the US is.
But don't get me wrong:it was still GREAT fun! I was able to get some representative pics later...

After some time of curves after curves we needed some body-fuel. Since warm tea is best for you on warm days, since it adjusts the body temp accordingly, we figured on a cool day some ice cream will do just that! So we pulled into a parking lot of a little town along the way for some of this:



Some people in the group came up to me and asked, me if I was burning old tires and oil in my bike... It was not blowing steam (like steamers do sometimes...), but rather smelling funny. (A couple of weeks later I had to clean my carbs because a too-tight choke cable was keeping the mix too rich, gonking up the jets, causing bad pickup and all).

First things first though: ice cream!!!  8)

In typical German fashion we too a few tables and lined them up, thus rearranging half or the patio:



After all the furniture was moved around it was time to choose:





"Do they have the Holger-Special? I don't see it yet..."



Did I mention that it was somewhat chilly that day?



Things got pretty quiet after the ice cream was delivered





And good ice cream it was!!!!

[GatorTiger]

The sun was going slowly. The temps were dropping quiet a bit. So despite the fact that we were nice and comfy at the ice cafe drinking our cappuccini and eating the sweet stuff we headed back to the mansion. As we were pulling in we could smell the kitchen prepping dinner. Pure torture!!

After parking my bike I headed to the room to drop off my gear and freshen up. I wanted to be in jeans when I went to check out some of the new bikes that had arrived during the day.

There were a couple of black roadies from close to where I grew up:



Having a dirt(y) bike myself and although I like the 1050s some of the stuff they come with doesn't hit my traditional cord! Bling definitely got into the Tiger scene!



But to each their own!!! That's what makes it exciting and colorful! Maybe this does it, too:



We were not the only group that gave the mansion some business that weekend. There was a bunch of beamer-sidecars-rigs as well. Interesting to say the least!!! They do make for nice photo shoot, though!



This last picture gives you an idea how the front of the mansion is set up. See that tall green tree-ish thing behind the flag pole? Rather close to the building itself. The next pic is taken using stitching of multiple pics from that tree-ish thing...



Quite a different view of/on things... Like this one:



Now THAT'S a solution for when you have two many kids to take them ON the bike...

Dinner wasn't ready yet, but the smell was driving me mad! I was hungry!! So I headed into town to get some pics of things similar to what I saw today and couldn'T take pics of...

[GatorTiger]

The town of Lauenförde is not very big. Maybe half a mile from the mansion was a bridge over the river Weser. The whole area was antique looking. Lot's of tutor style homes, old farm houses. Very nice flavor!!!



They even have a saloon!!



Following the road to the left brings you onto the bridge to Beverungen. In the states you would not even have left your subdivision, and here you're in the next town already! Different places!
Here is the bridge:



Looking back to where I came from just now I spotted this small one-family-home:



These are all houses that are being used as such! No museums, no nothing! Just living in a house  that was build when your great grandparents were filling up their diapers...

This the house on the right on the pic off the bridge further up. If you look closely you can see how crooked the beams are:





This is the other side of the tower from the other side of the picture... The annex up front is now the towns main bus station:



This door on the next pic is about 7 feet tall. Check out the wall you can see through the window on top... I would guess 4-5 feet thick. Pure stone...



The whole place was full of history. Some of the old homes had been lovingly renovated, but kept the look & feel of days gone by:



About the size of a three car garage in the US this is someones home here:



The whole tow is very charming indeed!!!



But enough of that... Dinner should be ready by now... Back to the mansion!!!!!

[GatorTiger]

My timing was a bit off. People were lining up already and some of the meat was gone. On the menu: Schweinshaxe (pig's leg)! Properly grilled with a nice (albeit fatty) crust. "Screw cholesterol!" I thought and asked the chef to load up my plate with a bit of meat and give me a small plate of crust on the side. Yummy! The it was off to the dumplings and some 'antipasti' (cream cheese filled hot peppers, julienne tomatoes and pickled mushrooms!). Top it all off with a nice brown sauce and a cold brew.... Oh baby!!!



The crust was already gone when I took that picture. So I guess it was my anti-antipasti... When the guys saw me eat it (well, crunch it would be the more appropriate term) they pretty much all jumped up to get some themselves. Had I not gotten as much as I did I would have 'looked into the tube' as they say here. S.O.L. would be the US term....

There was chewing and crunching going on... I think I went back three more times... Man, was it good!!

But the human body needs some help digesting all that fat. So one has to follow proper protocol for that:



It's not as easy as it looks:



Of course there are always some that don't use the proper tools!



The 'digestive' did help feel with the bloated feeling... Made room for some more of that cold, fermented, barley water... So the camera went to the room and me, myself, and I went to the bar...  

[GatorTiger]

Well, the brewskies help with the snoaring concert. Part two went down that night, ya know... This time I slept longer, though. to the effect that a few guys from my room hit the shower before me and didn't leave much hot water for me. I guess that's why they call it: you snooze, you loose!

After the pre-departure routine of packing up and having a hearty breakfast it was time to leave. The weather was not as cold, but the sky was overcast and once in a while it drizzled a bit. Not the preferred kind...

My group was going to hit the Autobahn and make good time going home. But even with the crappy weather I wanted to make it an Autobahn-free day. So I said my good-byes to the guys and hit the side roads...

Just north of Beverungen is a small town of Holzminden. We rode through it the day before and I like the look of it. Since it was on my way home I decided to get my pics in today. Just had to accept the weather I guess...

I parked the bike and walked to the shore of the river. Like everywhere in the entire area the past was always present:



Rails from an old railway for the local industry lead to the so called "Weser-Quay" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holzminden)



The bridge didn't look too old, but still had its charm

[HappyMan]

This has got to be my most favorite ride report.    
Have I mentioned yet today that I love Germany?

Deutschland ist der beste!

[GatorTiger]

I wanted to get shot of the riverfront and walked across the bridge. Just as I got to the other side the sun came through!



This little building is used as a youth hostel these days





Can you imagine a class trip to this thing? Awesome!! The rest of the riverfront is not too shabby, either!





See that big tutor style house on the left of the youth hostel up there? Here are some details..... Back then they used local materials to build houses: Wood, straw, mud... And stone! Sliced thin for your convenience and roof covering:



Of course back then they didn't have the advanced technology to cut beams perfectly straight and the whole thing looks out of whack, one could think:



But, although back then they didn't have much money, yet they could pay attention to detail... Back then... When was back then?



1662, baby!!! I guess technology back then looked into building buildings that last! Feeling some warm fuzzies I strolled back to my bike, and rode on...

[GatorTiger]

For some reason the weather kept the hole in the sky with the sun shining through in my position. Good deal!! I was enjoying the ride and the countryside. The tiger was running great and I was having a great time!!!

Then I came to the town of Polle. They have a castle ruin there: Burg Everstein! Built in the beginning of the 12. century!!! I pulled over and took a look...



They sure had a feel for great entrances, didn't they? However, I don't know what they were feeling when they created THIS back then:



I had to chuckle at the thought of this fresco being displayed publicly in the US....
It is an impressive structure, though!





Don't let the blue fool you!!! 2 mins later the sky was gray again!!