i'm in the planning for a european trip by motorbike for next year or the year after.. i have a dutch girlfriend who is going to be my sidekick... ought to be and awesome time of discovery and adventure... no timeframe has yet been set for the length of the journey...
asking your thoughts on the following countries and route..
The Netherlands
Germany
Denmark
Germany
Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Austria
Hungary
Croatia
Bosina (possibly)
Slovenia
Italy
France
Andorra
Spain
Portugal
Luxembourg
Belgium
what are you experiences in those countries and dislikes? what are must see things? pictures?
i cant wait!
everything dies baby, thats a fact..
maybe everything that dies one day comes back..
put your make up on and your hair up pretty..
and meet me tonight in Atlantic city..
Looks great, Switzerland is a must and I’d strongly recommend Austria and southern Germany.
I went from England , through to France , Portugal, Spain , Andorra , then UK route. Me and my brother both on TDM 850's back in the early 90's.
Had the time of our lives , found most folks were helpful , especially as you we're on bikes. Can be very expensive so do your homework first and make sure you have a decent tool kit , oil etc, first aid etc. Apart from a few punctures we did fine and we thrashed the bikes everyday.
TDM's are the perfect bike , cruise well , love bumpy roads and still good on the dirt. Also load up well , amazed by how much we carried.
Only warning is similar to whats going on now O/S. Watch your speed EVERYWHERE you go. Fines are big and the cops love tourists. Different laws apply in different places so check up prior. Never , ever leave the bikes alone , never know what could get planted on them!
You'll have the time of your life's for sure , lucky bugger
Dan:thumb
"If i had to explain you wouldnt understand"
The Lower Class
.
Don't forget the Best European bike ride of them all....!!!!
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/chapter1.html
Now THAT would be something to tell your kids about....
Just make sure you HAVE kids Before you leave, coz you won't be having ANY when you get back...!!!! hehehehehe...
Chernobyl "dead zone" Motorbike ride......:puke
I hate to admit it, but man, I think you're right....
If you are going to all those countries you will need a few years just to look at the main attractions!
Recomend Germany (south) no speed limits on the auto bahn!, Switzerland, Austria, Italy.
that looks a great route. You have to get the England, Scotland, Ireland and wales in there too. What about a ferry back from santander (sp) northern spain, i think to portmouth.
There is also a bridge linking denmark to sweden which I kind of think would be cool to drive over. BUt then I like ferries and bridges obviously ;-)
http://www.arup.com/europe/project.cfm?pageid=179WANTED kombi drivers side rear corner for a early bay! found after six years lol
WANTED engine lid for early kombi 71
Sounds great!!
Something I've always dreamed of, but decided to do Oz in the kombi instead.
Why not look into buying a new bike over there and bring it home afterwards!
As the others said, do your research and have a ball.
thanks for the replies dubbers....
did'nt know about the bridge from denmark into sweden... must be a monster! may possibly add denmark to the trip maybe then....
by the sounds of it switzerland is the place to be, as with austria.... goin there already but might have to go to switzerland after italy then back into france...
autobahn doesnt appeal to me too much as i've had my share of 200+ on my bike often enough... the buzz isnt the same anymore...
the bike trip will be done whilst im in the UK on a working visa so i will be travelling through the UK before or after the event anyway... i really want to go see orkney and shetland islands!
hav'nt come to any conclusions on bike type yet... just thinking of a late model cruiser with low k's and good pannier systems...
what parts of your trip were the best dannyboy? is it worth going through Andorra? i've heard its got great mountainous scenery and thats about it..
any regrets? how long did you go for?
yeah i've seen that sight WA baja, mad isnt it! i'd love to do it but seeing as though the dutch girl riding pillion is kind of a love interest im not sure about the risk! hahaha... would love to do it though and witness such a surreal world....
i've gotta start working a second job soon to fund all this fun.... anyone in brisbane need a casual after hours forklift driver!?
everything dies baby, thats a fact..
maybe everything that dies one day comes back..
put your make up on and your hair up pretty..
and meet me tonight in Atlantic city..
hey dude
a coupla years ago we did holland - germany - austria - germany- holland in a VW sheran and it was an excellent trip!! hungary is sweet place (my mum is hungarian) i highly recommend visiting thre if you are into history type of stuff the best thing will be all of the places you are visiting are in the euro by the time you go so no visa's are needed!! i might join you on your journey for a while and might have a dutch girlfriend aswell (old man is dutch aswell he would be proud of me :kiss) i have heard alot about sweden aswell being lovely place to visit!! just abit cold!! (lots of good VW's there too!!!!)
cheers
rhys
it aint just cool its aircool'd
Definetely include Austria and Switzerland, there is no other place on earth like them (mountains etc).
While you are in UK, I definetely reccomend (its not a bad day trip) go from either Edinburgh or Glasgow north past Loch Lomond, past Glen Coe etc and then up past Loch Ness and the ruins of Castle Urqhardt to Inverness then back down the motorway. The roads, especially past Loch Lomond and Loch Ness are just absolutely fantastic !
yep austria and hugary are must see's already and it looks like i'll add switzerland to the list..... will deffinitely see the scottish highlands and ireland whilst i'm over in england... nothing like a nice bike ride in the freezing rain!hahaha
hey rhys! the more dutch girls the better i reckon hahaha... i'll get a side kart hahaha..
everything dies baby, thats a fact..
maybe everything that dies one day comes back..
put your make up on and your hair up pretty..
and meet me tonight in Atlantic city..
~air fooled~ wrote:anyone in brisbane need a casual after hours forklift driver!?
If you have Pickles Auto Auctions there, try them.. They're usually looking for drivers...
Might have something to do with having battery acid dripping on your head when you're loading them on the racks..
😉 hehehehe... joke..
I hate to admit it, but man, I think you're right....
yer man bloody oath look oput for one for me in the mean time!! i just might follow yo behind in a kombi the more the merrier!!
cheers
rhys
it aint just cool its aircool'd
Mate
from the map it looks like you are planning a hell of a trip. For the Bosnia (BiH) bit my data is a bit old (I left there in 2001) but to me it looks like you are heading from Zagreb (Croatia) to Banja Luka (BiH), then down to Split (Croatia) on the coast then up the coast line to Italy. Is that about right? Not sure if you are looking at heading through Dubrovnik, or across the plains near Glamoc, but it looks like Split is a destination there.
The roads from Zagreb to BiH were great, multi laned concrete with asphalt overlay, very few pot holes and good road repairs. From the border to anywhere though, it was crap. It changed at the border to a single lanes, no edged road all the way to Banja Luka, and was quite dangerous even in a Land Rover. I used to do the drive Banja Luka - Zagreb about once a month, and Banja Luka - Split about twice a month (via Glamoc). Only once did Split - Sarajevo, but went Sarajevo - Banja Luka at least once a week.
From Banja Luka (capital of the Republika Srpska) to Sarajevo the roads were not too bad depending on which route you go. There was a back way over the mountains which was good in Summer but disaster in winter, and there was a main land route that was fun all year round.
From Banja Luka to Split or Sarajevo to Split the roads weren't too bad, there wasn't too much heavy fighting down that way as opposed to the north and the west of the country.
Me, I wouldn't recommend BiH as a tourist destination just yet. The roads aren't that great and the drivers all generally act as though they stole the cars (in most cases they probably are stolen german golfs etc). The country side in Slovenia and Croatia is almost as beautiful as any that I saw in BiH, and it was a hell of a lot safer in those countries than BiH even if I had a weapon with me.
Czech Rep, absolutely. Prague is a fairytale place and the countryside is great to drive through and just take it all in.
Only bad bit of my military tourism trip was I got taken off a train at gun point in Hungary as that mining screwup that released cyanide into a river had just happened and they changed the visa requirements for Australians as a result and I just turned up at the border without a visa to get to the zech Rep. Got a Czech Visa in Zagreb (lots of pleading) and caught the train through Austria instead 🙂.
If you really want to do the BiH part by bike let me know and I will see if I can find a new route map than the one I have (mine was new in 2001). It shows the safe SFOR routes from point to point in Bosnia, and the routes are marked by english spelling route markers (perfect in case you dont read Bosnian/Serb/Croatian etc).
Cheers
Penguin
'Ah, whatever................'
PS if you think that the Autobahn was not the place to go, keep off the Autostradas in Italy. The view from the side/back/B roads is much better, you meet more people and they are more likely to talk to you than just drive by at high speed.
'Ah, whatever................'
HeyPenguin did you go to a place called Port O Roz northern coast
of the old Yugo - very pretty and great bike riding country lots bends on top cliffs overlooking the Adriatic - same most of the way south to split as i remember
Nope
never made it there. Would loved to have driven the dalmatian coast but the Croatians barely put up with us driving about with weapons at the best of times, so we didn't try to push the relationship. Went across form Dubrovnik to the coast and up to Split and thought it was great (and got a lot of RAF Chinook flights and saw a lot of the coast that way as well).
Its beautiful contry, just a shame that some of the folk can sometimes be unfriendly or that there are so many landmines left about the place.
'Ah, whatever................'
hey penguin you walkin talkin bible of a man you hahaha
thanks for the info! i havent actually planned exact route to be taken yet though! just in the preliminary stages of planning... once i do a route it wont be completely adhered to i hope... with time allowing i'd like to be as flexible as possible and see more out of the way places then the usual capitals and monuments... we will see...
yeah not real sure on BiH at all... havnt investigated what there is to see there yet... and i cant ride a motorbike one legged if i live after steppin on the mine 🙁 haha
probably shouldnt laugh..
would love to ride on a cliff top along the coast line of the adriatic.... ive always loved the mediteranean scenery... imagine the feeling of freedom and happiness when cruising on a bike with a loved one! would be awesome...
might have more questions for you down the track... thanks mate...
everything dies baby, thats a fact..
maybe everything that dies one day comes back..
put your make up on and your hair up pretty..
and meet me tonight in Atlantic city..
Thats cool mate
just thought as you asked I would let you know about the ploace. I did see a few tourists there when I left, but as I said, its still not quiet a place I would go or send anyone I knew.
You do realise that you will have to take a good digital and post pics for all us voyuers to watch your progress, don't you 😉
'Ah, whatever................'
which progress we talkin bout here mate😉😉 hahaha
thanks again penguin and all...
everything dies baby, thats a fact..
maybe everything that dies one day comes back..
put your make up on and your hair up pretty..
and meet me tonight in Atlantic city..
sounds like a trip of a lifetime!!!if i were you i would get a kombi if your planning a long trip as camping will be pretty hard in half of those countries(unless you can afford to stay in hotels every night$$$$$)or if you organise and book early enough ahead stay at international youth hostels or backpackers for little $$$(thats if your staying for 3-12 months).but the route that youve picked looks excellent,deffinatly see most of europe in one hit.portugal is a deffinate must see,great weather (warm)very nice people and great country plus lots of vws.ive already been to the netherlands twice in the last 8 weeks and it would have to be my fav country in europe(i could just about move there,amsterdam or harlem..)i would try to plan your trip for the summer as i wouldent want to imagine what it feels like riding a bike in winter overhere.if you like skiing deffinatly switzerland and if you were travelling solo id recomend poland czech and the netherlands(stunning women😉lol).
all in all you cant go wronge in europe theres not a country on that list that i can think of that i had a bad experience in( exept in andora where they sold me a brocken portable tv that they wouldent take back😠ive still got it..)sounds like a great plan though,im sure youll keep comming back after you finish your first trip as well:thumb...let us know when your comming up as you can stay in my apartment in germany while im back in brissi if you want...
trip of a life time! pfffft! trip of the millenia! hahahaha man i need some booze right now hahaha... nah it will be farkin awesome....my dutch girlfriend who is coming with thinks its nuts but thats the appeal no?! to sail where the wind blows!? planning the camping thus becomes a problem but we will see..
a kombi may very well come into play somwhere along the trip if the bike starts havin trouble or i get the shits with camping, but i do hope for most of the trip do be done on two wheels, of not all of it.... i was just thinking today how awesome the moment will be when we are cruising the clifftops beside the sea. being shadowed by a bronze adriatic sunset, hair wild in the wind with a nice (VA VA VA VOOM!) netherlands girl clinging to my waist....
i know what your talkin about KDF in reference to those women.... oohhhh yeah....my dutch girlfriend might not make the whole trip so we will see what happens eh? hahaha
yeah portugal and spain are biggies for me... always wanted to see that part of the world and have some spanish and german heritage.... (surname is german for 'oil seller') so it will be interesting and exciting!
i would love to run at pamplona one day...
i may just hit you up on that offer KDF! thankyou...
everything dies baby, thats a fact..
maybe everything that dies one day comes back..
put your make up on and your hair up pretty..
and meet me tonight in Atlantic city..
