Venezia...

I pulled off the A4 at dusk 40 EUR poorer than when I left Milan.  The toll roads in Italy are crazy expensive.  It looks like I'll have another 30 EUR still to pay before I get to Croatia.  Add to that the $8 per gallon in fuel and this will end up being an expensive side trip.  I thought paying 110 EUR per night for a hotel in Milan was expensive but it may end up being cheaper than riding and camping.  Oh well - at least I visited Venice and will ride through a sliver Slovenia and get to see a little bit of Croatia. 

So I didn't run into George and Amal in Venice but I did see Matt Damon and his wife zip under a bridge I was on in a water taxi.  I would never have noticed if it weren't for the people on an adjacent restaurant patio screaming MATT, MATT, MATT.  Supposedly there were a whole slew of celebs around for the wedding but I only saw Matt and his wife.  

Venice is a pretty crazy city - it took me several hours to figure out how to navigate it.  You are pretty much walled in 90% of the time and are constantly hitting "canal jail" - when you choose an alleyway that just dead ends into a canal with the only choice to retrace your route backwards.  Occasionally the street opens up to huge courtyards with beautiful historic buildings, statues and restaurant patios.  To say Venice is a unique city would be a ridiculous understatement.  I'm glad I went to check it out.  I only stayed until midday as I had a 300+ km ride to Croatia ahead of me - although I did get on the early bus and got there before 7am.  I even had to wait for a cafe to open to get my first espresso doppio of the day.  The campground was only 4 km from Venice with busses running every 15 minutes from a stop just down the street - very convenient.  I had another espresso and a slice of delicious pizza for lunch before heading back to the campground to get the bike and got the road.

Some random pics from my morning in Venice...

New Shoes...

I After an espresso doppio pre-breakfast and cappuccino + apricot croissant + custard filled donut breakfast I paused for a couple of hours before a margherita pizza lunch.  The food is really good in Italy.  I would have capped off lunch with a Gelato since there was a stand right next to the lunch spot, but I had a 2:30 appointment to get new tires on the bike.  The set currently on the bike has over 17,000 km so it's time.  This will make the third set of tires for the trip - and the last. 

I am sitting here now at the shop and it's 3pm and still don't have my bike in the bay for service - a little disappointing as I raced across town to arrive right on time. 

I am riding to Venice right after I get the new tires and it's going to be at least a 3 hour ride - and I don't want to arrive in the dark.  I will explore Venice on Saturday as I have a campground picked out only 10 minutes from the city.  After spending the morning in Venice my plan is to ride through a piece of Slovania and into Croatia - then 500 km back to Milan to rejoin Ken and Marybeth Sunday afternoon.  Sounds all good on paper - we will see how it goes.  Ok, good - 3:10 and the bike just went on the lift.  I may be able to keep my planned schedule...

French shoes (Michelin's) put on a German bike by an Italian tech. 

Milan, Italy...

This morning while Ken went to the airport to pick up Marybeth, I got an early 7:30am start exploring Milan.  The hotel is about a 45 minute walk to the city center with lots of cafes along the route.  I think I was drunk on espresso by 9:30.  Double espressos average about only .80 EUR so I tried several along the way - did I mention I like coffee?

I had to pass through what I imagine is the main park in Milan.  There is a huge castle that dates back to the 13 century at the end near the city centre.  I walked around checking it ou - I may go back later to visit the museum which you had to pay to see.  The downtown area is a mix of tourist sights and commercial business - also lots of cafes, restaurants and shops.  I stopped for a delicious olive baguette, fruit pastry and of course another espresso doppio.  Later I found a gelato stand and had a pistachio - delicious!  All before 10:30am!  I would say I could go into a food coma in Italy if it weren't for the espresso to keep the motor humming.

I walked back to the hotel and met Ken and Marybeth for lunch.  We then walked back through the Park and into downtown Milan - second time for me in a just half a day.  This time there were crowds of tourists flooding the streets.  I'm glad I got to see it earlier with less crowds.

So yesterday we discovered our frien Margaret from Vail was also in Milan so we made plans to meet up that evening.  It was fun catching up with Margaret and meeting her friends.  We hung out in their neighborhood for a few hours and then found some Pizza to cap off the evening- good day in Milan!

Entrance to the park.

Milan Castle.

Cathedral.

The lucky bull.

Expensive shops here.

Hanging out with Margaret, Pam and Sandy.

Switzerland...

We got into Switzerland last night and found a nice campground next to a lake about 20 km outside Lucerne.  We rode down the eastern part of France from Strasbourg which was very rural and beautiful - even rode through a few vineyards.  This morning we rode through Lucerne.  I was looking forward to seeing Lucerne again after 33 years - it looks just like I remembered.  I remember when I was 16 and thinking that this must be the most beautiful city on earth.  Now after visiting again - it may well be.  This is the only specific place on this trip that I had visited before.  I made a point to come back because of the lasting impression it has had on me from so long ago.  We only had time to pass through as we had to be in Milan this evening but - I will visit Lucerne again someday soon.

Th ride through the Swiss Alps is indescribable - the mountains are that dramatic and beautiful.  It's hard to keep your eyes on the road - which is very necessary with all the hairpin turns.  We rode two major passes - the second down a cobblestone road built in the early 1800's.  Such a memorable experience to ride a motorcycle down through Switzerland.

We arrive into Milan around 5:30pm - as usual.  But this time coming into a major city at rush hour was relatively painless.  We didn't get stuck in any traffic jams and found the hotel easily.  Marybeth will be flying in tomorrow morning - Ken is pretty excited.  The hotel is very nice - way nicer than anything we have stayed I on the trip.  Soon after we settled in we made contact with Cristiano who we had met along with his wife Sabrina in  Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  We met up at a pub down the street from the hotel and enjoyed a few beers and pasta together.  Sabrina had some dental work done that morning so was unable to join.  We will see Cristiano again and hopefully Sabrina tomorrow evening.

Tomorrow Ken will head to the airport to meet Marybeth.  I will explore the Milan city centre in e morning and hopefully get some new tires on the bike later in the day.  After 10,000 miles on this set it is time for a change.  I may also have my rear shock looked at as it has begun to leak oil.  The pounding has finally taken its toll.  Not sure what I will do Friday and Saturday.  Marybeth is here until Monday so Ken has his deck full.  I may ride to Venice and Croatia on Friday and Saturday and return to Milano Sunday afternoon - or maybe head back to Switzerland and ride some more mountain passes.  I'll probably just check which way has the best weather forecast on Friday morning and just go - choices are good!

Just outside Lucerne.

Lucerne.

More Lucerne.

The old road.

One of the two passes we rode.

Top of the world.

20,000 Miles Traveled...

14,000 by motorbike, 4,200 by plane, 1,800 by ferry.  The odometer read 92,016 when we left.  When we look at the map of where we have been it looks like a lot of distance...

Strasbourg, France...

Today we rode to Stasbourg to meet up with my Dad and Sylvia.  The ride int France was through some pretty wine country in southern Germany.  Very steel vineyards going up the hillsides.  Wish I had stopped to take pictures.

Unfortunately we didn't meet up in Strasbourg - not sure what happened but we couldn't connect.  Their Rhine River cruise was to end there today and we were going to meet for lunch.  We waited a couple of hours but never heard word of their arrival.  I had no way of finding them outside email, text and phone and tried all three.  Maybe technical difficulties?  Bummer it would have been cool to meet up in France. 

Strasbourg and the surrounding countryside is very beautiful.  We passed a couple of castles as we headed south towards Switzerland.  We found a campground about 20 km outside  Lucerne, Switzerland.  I am excited to see Lucerne and the lake as this will be the only place on this side of the world that will be a repeat for me on the trip.  I visited Lucerne when I was 16 on a high school trip to Germany and Switzerland 33 years ago.  Will be cool to see if it is as I remember - it was the first real mountains I had ever experienced and the highlight of the trip for me.  

After Lucerne we will cross the Alps and int Italy - should be an epic ride.  I hope the weather cooperates as we will cross 7000+ foot passes - pretty high up on this side of the pond this late in the year. 

Strasbourg pics...

Audi World Headquarters & Museum...

We left Munich on Monday morning and headed north.  We were hoping for nicer weather as it has rained for 4 straight days.  All the camping gear got put away wet - which I hate.  I don't mind so much sleeping in the tent when it's raining but setting up and breaking down wet sucks.  The rain has actually has been nice while sleeping as it helps drown out the screaming obnoxious Aussies that carry on until 6 am.  The ride to Audi was actually dry which was nice - but the air was quite cold.

The Audi museum was quite a bit different than BMW.  The BMW museum was very artsy in its architecture and displays.  Audi was a bit more toned down and reserved with the cars and motorcycles as the stars.  I think that's why I like Audi cars more than BMW - the refined quality without so much of the flash.  I'm sure most people would prefer the BMW museum over Audi - admittedly it was a better showcase.  I just like Audi cars better.  

Soon after we left and headed west towards Strasbourg, France the skies opened up again and we got soaked.  We pretty much rode in rain for 3 straights hours.  My hands were freezing - the handwarmers on my bike have not been working since Mingolia.  There has only been a handful of days that I have needed them since then - and today was one of them.

We were wet and the sun was beginning to set so we stopped in a small town called Schorndorf to find a hotel.  We found a cool little mom and pop place after passing on the first option into town.  The 90 EUR per night was a bit over our normal budget but we needed to stop and it probably wasn't going to get cheaper further west.  We has just paid over $8 per gallon for gas so knew Germany was not cheap.  Luckily our camp in Munich was only $56 each for 4 nights so we were doing ok since getting into Germany - plus the bikes had been parked for 3 days so no gas getting burned.

Tomorrow we will meet my dad and stepmom Sylvia for lunch in Strasbourg - they will be finishing a Rhine River cruise from Amsterdam there in the morning.  The weather is supposed to be nice.  I hope the forecast is right - I'm sick of being wet all the time.

Audi corporate headquarters.

Early production motorbikes.

One of the first moped bikes.

First full production motorbike.

The Quattro.

1990 Audi 200 - I had one in red.

The Inline 5 cylinder 20 Valve Turbo - possibly the best engine Audi ever produced.

A couple of present day RS's sitting out front - bad ass!

BMW Museum & Oktoberfest 2.0

This morning we visited the BMW museum in Munich.  Very cool exhibit to see for any fan of cars and motorbikes - and I am certainly in that category.  The reception area basically had every new model of BMW and MINI car and BMW motorcycle on display.  They also had a really cool demo of a guy riding a 800 GS  through the space doing 360's and bouncing up and down three flights of stairs - super badass!  The museum was the best part with almost every historical model of BMW motorcycle and car on display.  The written text and video dialogue were in both germs and English - which was nice for a change.  Most of the previous historical displays we visited in other countries were only in the native language.  We grabbed a snack in the M1 cafe just outside the entrance and made friends with two of the employees - Christina and Blair.  It was nice chatting with them while we enjoyed the white sausage, pretzels and beer.

We then moved on to day two at the Oktoberfest.  It seemed to be even more crowded than the day before.  After visiting a couple of beer gardens and getting rained on again we attempted to find a seat inside - no dice.  So hard to get a seat inside the tents.  After visiting several we finally managed to get a seat in a beer garden under a covered awning - almost as good as being inside.  We hit our three liter limit around 8pm and decided to call it a night.  We are heading out and riding to Strasbourg, France on Monday morning - preferably without a hangover.  

BMW corporate world headquarters.

First production bike.

One of my favs at the museum a 1985 3 series - first all wheel drive from BMW.

Another favorite - M car.

Christina & Blair at the M1 Cafe.

Crowded tent at Oktoberfest.

The promenade at Oktoberfest.