Make Hay While The Sun Shines

[Pie man]

Or so the saying goes. Well this year has been a shite year so far, woes you don't need to hear, and leaving me with not many options for travel. So, I had a break, a week to myself. Last Friday I headed off to the Chunnel and headed down to my first overnight stop in Nancy, big miles covered on Day 1. 623 miles to be exact. I took the A26 toll to Reims then headed off on the smaller roads. 

I had booked the Revhotel in Nancy, set back from the main road, and located close to the centre, it was quiet, it also has its very own secure underground parking for the bike. Rooms was small but OK for me, nice and clean with a good shower. A short walk to the centre for a nice cold pint of Guinness.  

[Pie man]

The following morning, up early and in for breakfast, croissant and coffee, made a ham & cheese roll for later . 

Packed up and set off for fuel, within a couple of minutes I'm staring at the automated payment system at the Total Station. This way of paying for fuel is in abundance in Europe. A cool morning 15c, but a couple of obligatory wrong turns to get out of the town sets the mood for the rest of the day. I follow the D424 and cross the Rhine at Marckolsheim then picking up a small section of the B500.

I soon made my way to the L112 and the L191 and the infamous Hegaublick, a place where many German Bikers gather, along with the Polizei who were stopping bikes. 

The View from the Cafe/Restaurant Hegaublick, Just about see the Swiss Alps looking towards the Rheinfalls. 

Then the dreaded Umleitung. This was the first big mistake, I was on nice smaller roads with flowing sweeping bends then one hell of a detour down the side of Lake Constance on the B33. Great Views of the Swiss mountain range, but traffic was horrendous, I played the ignorant Englishman and filtered past the traffic, to be fair many many cars moved over.

I meander my way towards Nesselwang

then arriving at Hopfen am See for the night. 

 

[Pie man]

I know several high alpine passes are still closed, so I decide to stay here for a couple of days and meander around the Zugspitze, Alpspitze and lower Austrian and Bavarian Passes. 

My Hotel is positioned on the edge of Lake Hopfensee and my room is facing the lake. 

I meet a couple of Danish riders who have travelled down with their bikes on a trailer, the owner of the hotel kindly agreed to keep their trailer and car on his property while they head off to Italy for a week. Little did they now at the time, many high passes were closed, so we sat at breakfast looking at routes they could take, they wanted to go to the Guzzi Factory. The owner of Hotel Geiger was a friendly chap who told us to put the bikes under the covered area, next to his van, it had a chain stretching from wall to wall to stop cars parking in there. 

I head out for a ride over the Hahntennjoch pass and Oetzal Strabe to the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum at the Timmelsjoch, the museum and toll station are closed and although you could ride through, which many bikes did, they never got any further than the large barrier that was across the road and reports of Snow as deep as 8 meters and it would take the evacuation team another week or possible two to make it passible. I head back over the Hahntennjoch. I purchased an Austrian Vignette for 4.60 euros just in case it was needed. I arrive back at the hotel and go for a walk along the waterfront. You can just make out a property on top of the mountain range. 

Does anyone know why they have the large wooden pole and what looks like coat of arms attached

 

[Gerontious]

Its a Maypole. a big tradition in Germany but especially in Bavaria. part of a big festival that goes on for quite a time in May at the start of spring. turning their backs on the hardships of winter sort of thing. The Maypole stays up.. though I believe there is a law that dictates it must be replaced every 5 years.

The hoop is I think where they attach ribbons when they perform a dance around it... wonderfully pagan. and probably a sight to behold as they will all be ratarsed on the special beer thats brewed for the festival.. them Germans dont need much of an excuse for a beer fuelled party!!

 

every village has its own coat of arms. that's a big thing in Germany too.

 

Some places don't have a pole.. but an actual tree that is 'dressed' for the occasion.

 

I love the Algau region. one of my favourite parts of southern Germany.

 

The building you can see might be the Ostlerhutte. and if it is then this is the view from there taken when it was less cloudy looking towards your lake. towards the  the centre of the image with the larger Forggensee to its rear.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2024 by Gerontious

[Pie man]

I concur the area & roads around here are something else. 

 

 

The following morning, my two Danish friends were due to set off for Italy, however; a slight delay, the weather had changed dramatically that evening, all within an hour. 

 

I say goodbye to the Danish Riders as they head off for Italy. I have a lazy morning mooching about for an hour, allowing the weather to clear up a little, although hanging clouds made it difficult to see any mountain views. But I did see this tourist hot spot. 

I head over to Garmish, I would have liked to visit the Alpspitze/ Zugspitze, but low cloud. There is a cable car in the picture. Garmisch is too busy so I don't stop. 

I make my way back to the Hotel and head off out for a Pizza and a Beer. 

 

I prepare for the following morning, a long ride to Munster. 

[S-Westerly]

Envious AF

 

[Nick the wanderer]

Those chillis on that pizza look like they could be dangerous..

[Gerontious]

7 minutes ago, Nick the wanderer said:

Those chillis on that pizza look like they could be dangerous..

They look like pickled peppers (of Peter Pecker fame) sweet and sour with just a hint of heat and uttterly gorgeous if you like that sort of thing. I’ve been known to eat them straight out of the jar.

[Pie man]

57 minutes ago, Nick the wanderer said:

Those chillis on that pizza look like they could be dangerous..

As @Gerontious has noticed, they were Pickled Peppers. When I saw the pizza I thought at first they were chillies too. I must admit my German isn't great, thank goodness for google translate. I know this is being lazy, whereas my wife is quite well versed in the German Language. 

[curlylegend]

4 hours ago, Gerontious said:

They look like pickled peppers (of Peter Pecker fame) sweet and sour with just a hint of heat and uttterly gorgeous if you like that sort of thing. I’ve been known to eat them straight out of the jar.

Jings, you must have a sound set of tripes on you !  

Brittany in 1989 was experiencing a serious heatwave and my idiot friend suggested that if we tucked into a jar of pickled peppers we would sweat like rapists and be cooled down naturally. Well, it seemed like a good idea because I liked them anyway. But I'd never eaten half a jar of them straight from the jar, so didn't realise there could be consequences.

Well, we probably never really cooled down anyway but decided to stroll into the centre of Morlaix for a couple of drinks. We ended up in a rather elegant and popular cafe which was busy coping with a couple of busloads of Welsh grannies. We'd both sunk our first beer when at the same time we started feeling those ominous rumblings deep in our guts. There were still plenty of Toilettes a la Turq in Brittany at that time so the Cafe de la Grande Terrasse had probably been recommended to the Welsh grannies because it boasted a pair of cubicles with properly plumbed in seating arrangements. But because there was only two, there was a fair queue of the aforementioned Welsh grannies.  My friend and I both decided that our needs were definitely greater and much more urgent than theirs so we desperately elbowed the poor souls out of our way, muttering "Excusez moi, excusez moi, s'il vous plait" between clenched teeth. Fortunately we both managed to rapidly jettison what felt like quarter of our body weights in seconds avoiding a pair of clothing disasters. I remember one shrill voice exclaiming "Oh Myfanwy ! did you see those two ignorant French pigs barging in like that ? Well I've got my handbag ready for them when they come out ! ! "  and my pal whispering through the partition to me  " for F*ck's sake don't talk English when we go out or we'll be really for it !"

[Gerontious]

6 hours ago, curlylegend said:

Jings, you must have a sound set of tripes on you !  

I can be quite measured when it comes to pickles. Straight from the jar - but not an entire jar. Or more than a few. I know my limits.

 

my mantra has always been.

 

”If I say no - my fat will go. If I say yes - I will look a mess.”

 

I remember when colonic irrigation was the next big thing. The idea of DIY’ing it by overindulging a natural laxative is enough to put me right off my spam egg chips and spam. 

Edited June 3, 2024 by Gerontious
I mislaid an F thinking about breakfast. 6am and no po’s emptied.

[Nick the wanderer]

A slice of gherkin on my big mac is enough for me.. ooh and maybe a pickled onion at Christmas.

[RideWithStyles]

far to tame for my liking nick , unless your referring directly to the McD .

[Simon Davey]

What a fantastic read, along with some excellent photo's.

[Nick the wanderer]

6 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

far to tame for my liking nick , unless your referring directly to the McD .

I love a big Mac me. I can still remember leaving my village and going into the big city and having my first Mac, what a taste sensation it was at such a tender age. Even now I make sure l have at least one a year to keep the memory alive.

[S-Westerly]

Can't abide gherkins. My eastie beasties eat them by the bucket load. Do quite like a pickled onion though. 

[rennie]

We went up zugspitz on the train /cable car . Fantastic!

 

[Gerontious]

1 hour ago, rennie said:

We went up zugspitz on the train /cable car . Fantastic!

 

 

It had 60cm of snow dumped on it this weekend. they're in a big rush to clear it right now

[Pie man]

I have a good breakfast at Hotel Geiger, yet again smuggling two cheese and ham rolls back to my room, I pack up and check out

I set a route which takes me back past the cafe and along part of the Bavarian Alpine Route and back across the Rhine 

Passing this tiny little 3 wheel pickup, pootling along the road. 

Poppies along my route 

The roads widen out as I make my way to the vosges. I have a reservation at Hotel La Cigogne, located on the main street in Munster, it has a large garage at the rear for motorcycles. staff are very friendly and once I checked in and took my luggage up to the room, they opened the garage door, where I see another 6 Bikes, a mix of German and Italian and me, one Brit. 

My room is nice enough, nothing special but clean and basic. 

 

Munster is a sleepy town, not much going on and not many restaurants, when in this area I have usually stayed in Colmar, more touristy but I like the Alsace architecture, a blend of French and German influences.  I opt to eat at the hotel, I'm not a big red meat eater but I just fancied steak au poivre and a beer, I retreat back to my room, tired but sleep well. 

[Pie man]

The penultimate breakfast, not a great selection of meats and breads, poor to say the least. I opt for a croissant, jam and a yogurt. A couple of cups of coffee and I'm ready for the off. I pay my bill and mademoiselle opens to garage door with the remote, ahead of me are the Germans. I eventually leave and stop for fuel a few hundred yards up the road on the Rte de la Schlucht. Today its low cloud with light rain on and off. For those that know, the Rte de la Schlucht twists and turns and is a great road and route to Gerardmer and Epinal. I make my way to Bar le Duc, as I recall having a hot dog from a roadside van back in 2005, sadly I could find it this time 

The weather picks up a little but it doesn't last. I stop at a little shop, the owner was a small chap, the shop was a bit like Arkwright's. I opt for two cans of coke and a packet of crisp, he not speaking any English, me with pigeon French, he offers me a cup of coffee, a free cup, I'm grateful as it was starting to get cold. I sit outside while I drink my coffee before saying Merci, Monsieur et au revoir. 

 

 

As I'm coming out of the Vosges I see this fellow up there not got a clue where is came from or was going. 

I don't take many pictures now as the weather turns and the rains arrive, not heavy but enough to make you trap on. I arrive at my Hotel and Garage parking

I unload my luggage, check in and a quick shower and out for a walk. I don't think this place requires an intro. 

Being a Surveyor I take interest to the façade supported by the structural steelwork, the rest of the building has been demolished. I call at a shop for some supplies. I have a bite to eat before heading back to my Hotel. 

Tomorrow the long slog home. 

[Pie man]

My last entry of the tour. I hope it has been of interest to some of you, or at the very least an insight of other peoples travels and maybe something useful. 

 

I used the following Hotels. 

Hotel Revotel 41-43 Raymond Poincare. Nancy. Clean and with a secure private underground garage. 10min walk to the main square, plenty of restaurants and bars. 

Hotel Geiger Ulferstrabe 18 Hopfen am See. Fussen. A spa Hotel, great food and secure parking undercover. Restaurants and bars on the door step but quiet. 

Hotel Restaurant Cigogne 4 Place du marche Munster, nice, clean and simple, with a secure private garage. Centre of Town which was very quiet. 

Logis Hotel Au Tambour 60-63 Rue de Maneux Reims. Quiet location with Private secure garage, short walk to centre, nice clean rooms, simple again. 

 

au revoir  

 

[Simon Davey]

6 minutes ago, Pie man said:

My last entry of the tour. I hope it has been of interest to some of you, or at the very least an insight of other peoples travels and maybe something useful. 

 

I used the following Hotels. 

Hotel Revotel 41-43 Raymond Poincare. Nancy. Clean and with a secure private underground garage. 10min walk to the main square, plenty of restaurants and bars. 

Hotel Geiger Ulferstrabe 18 Hopfen am See. Fussen. A spa Hotel, great food and secure parking undercover. Restaurants and bars on the door step but quiet. 

Hotel Restaurant Cigogne 4 Place du marche Munster, nice, clean and simple, with a secure private garage. Centre of Town which was very quiet. 

Logis Hotel Au Tambour 60-63 Rue de Maneux Reims. Quiet location with Private secure garage, short walk to centre, nice clean rooms, simple again. 

 

au revoir  

 

 

Excellent stuff.

Would make a good "sticky" 

[curlylegend]

2 hours ago, Simon Davey said:

Would make a good "sticky" 

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "Sticky" please ?

[Simon Davey]

1 hour ago, curlylegend said:

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "Sticky" please ?

 

A post that stays at the top of the group, for reference. 

[Nick the wanderer]

Great snapshot of your trip, thanks.