Day 2

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We picked up the bikes today from the HD dealer in Munich. The guy I had been dealing with via email was there to help us get set up. As it was really raining pretty good when we arrived, he brought the bikes into the showroom to allow us to load our luggage in the dry area.
Off we went amid pouring rain and headed for the autobahn.
We had one dry spell on the way where we could pick up the speed, but most of the trip was in heavy rain.
The GPS was protected with a Ziploc bag, but by the time we got to Salzburg it was steamed up,we spent about an hour going the last 3 miles!We checked in at the hotel and then walked down town.
We found a "Stube" where we had a couple of brewskis, this is a very attractive city even allowing for the rain.
I found the hotel where I would bring Madame should we visit together.
Check out the Hotel Bristol in Salzburg.


I have to give Jeff full points on two counts:
1) He is the loudest snorer I have ever heard, I can hear him from the next room.
2) He is willing to test his little bit of knowledge of the German language at every turn, the people we have met have been very encouraging. Even tonight in the hotel where we had dinner, the waiter understood what Jeff meant when he said "Donkey Smell"

Tomorrow is a longer ride, we head from Salzburg to Emmersdorf, which is almost to Vienna.




What we did not realize was that we had a stowaway on board!
El Leopardo likes HD rides and decided to come along.
He was only discovered when I unpacked my bag in Munich, of course he has his passport with him so it was no big deal.






Jeff doesn't look too happy, but I think that it was just a bad picture.

Location:Salzburg

Arrived

We arrived in Munich at the airport at about 1:30 PM local time and the guy was there with a sign with my name and of course "Old Guys Rule"
We were at the hotel about 45 minutes later.
We walked downtown and visited the Hofbrauhaus, of course we had to have a beer.
When we came out it was pouring with rain.
We took the under ground train back to our hotel.

The forecast does not look too good for tomorrow.












Norm


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Location:Munich

FIRST DAY

The flight has been great so far, we are better than half way to Frankfurt and have met some wonderful people.
I asked the flight attendant to give Jeff his birthday cards, one from Barb and Leon and one from Anne and me, plus a small gift that I had for him. She was so stoked that it was actually his birthday that she came back later with champagne from the 1st class cabin and some other goodies.




We have drunk most of their Warsteiner,
Jeff has practiced his one German phrase "Zwei Bier Bitte" and has been praised by the crew with the compliment "Sehr Gute" and of course two beers.
We cannot wait to get to Frankfurt and try some different beer.
Yes Leon, we are still in the big aluminum tube.
Oh Oh, another beer just arrived.
More soon.
Beer that is...
Two hours to go, my plan to stay up late and get up early so that I would sleep on the plane did not seem to work so well.
I am now betting on what we will be offered for breakfast, omelet or omelet?

We are now in the airport in Frankfurt waiting for the flight to Munich, we should be leaving in about 40 minutes and it is only about a 50 minute flight.


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Location:ON THE PLANE

On the plane

In the limo then...
On the big silver bird ready to go.






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The trip begins!

We are at the airport checked in and ready to go.
First lunch in the Daily Grill and then a couple of beers after security and we should sleep to Frankfurt.




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Location:LAX

Less than one week to go!

One of our stops on the trip is Venice, next time this picture appears on the blog, Jeff and I will be standing in Piazza San Marco.

Check back soon for more updates.

Just over one week to go!

The route for our ride is shown below:

The stops are
Munich
Salzburg
Emmersdorf
Villach
Venice
Cortina D'Ampezzo
Bressanone
Innsbruck
Munich
Total miles apart from side trips is less than 1,000. No day is more than HB to Vegas, no 600 mile days like last year.

After due deliberation we have decided to try to go to Neuschwanstein on the second to last riding day.
That would mean riding from Bressanone to Fussen and then back to Innsbtuck.

Not a big deal really, about 190 miles total. So now it just depends upon the weather.

Mad King Ludwig

Today it is two weeks until the start of the trip.
I decided to try and fit a visit to Neuschwanstein into the last day of riding.
It means a bit of a detour from Innsbruck to Munich and a really early start (by European standards) around 9:00 AM.
We will decide nearer to the end of the trip depending upon weather and how much we are up to the visit.

During our first and last days we plan to visit the Hofbrauhaus and see my old buddy!



Watch the blog for more updates as the days pass.

Coming Soon

More craziness headed your way.
Follow our next adventure starting on August 29th.
Jeff and I head for Europe for the Harley rally in Faaker See, Austria.

Belgian beer on the way to the airport (Budweiser) then German beer for the rest of the trip!
What could be better?



   

 
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