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| More Repairs & R&R | ||
| Sun April 19, 2015
Start Location: Herent, Belgium End of Day Location: Grafenwohr, Germany Lodging: Private Home Money Conversion: €1 = $1.07088 USD or $1 USD = €0.93367 Gas/Fuel: €1.43/l or $5.85 USD/gal! 95 Weather: Excellent riding day! Mostly light overcast, cold enough to wear electric vest Repositioning Day |
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| We’re up early. Krzys is riding back to London. H & I are scooting back to H’s home – due east just past Nuremberg, an easy 662 km (411 miles). | ||
There are several unique things about Germany Autobahns.
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| On the shake-down road trip to Belgium I had problems with my Jesse Saddlebags. Krzys said the right bag looked loose an swayed as I rode down the autobahn. We rode at 75-80 in the slow and center lane. Traffic was light (no trucks). Getting into Grafenwohr around 7PM. | ||
 This amazing Farm House has 2 floors and an attic. Yes there is a bell in the tower! |
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| Mon-Sat, April 20-25, 2015
The rest of the week is R&R. The time was my padding in case I found more serious mechanical problems, but everything seems good. Yesterday we rode back from Belgium shake-down ride, arriving at H’s house Grafenwöhr, Germany. It’s a very old farm house and I parked the Strompasours in the tractor stall. |
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 The Vstrompasorus in the tractor shed. Perfect for re-organization #4. Left a 10 lb box to be shipped home. |
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 Bent Jesse Frame. The thin horizontal strut should be straight left to right. This bend moved the bags back 1". Also main vertical Frame is bowed in. A hammer pounded everything straight. |
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| The big aluminum saddlebags were not mounting correctly. After further inspection, I could see the Jesse frame was all out-of-whack and all “catty whom-pus!” Everything was bent 1-inch backward. The bags locking mechanism no longer secured the saddlebag to the support. | ||
| I removed the entire frame and supports beat the small bars back into 90° angles. I bent the two main spars back to 90° angles. New bolts and nuts. After more pounding, filing, whacking, kicking – the saddlebags went back on without swaying. | ||
| Saturday, April 25 2015 | ||
| Today Martin Thomas, the Harley rider who went with us to Nordcapp stopped by to visit. He is healed and riding again. We discussed a possible USA visit next year. | ||
 Martin is in the back center. Hopefully he'll come visit the USA next year. |
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| Today Martin Thomas, the Harley rider who went with us to Nordcapp stopped by to visit. He is healed and riding again. We discussed a possible USA visit next year. | ||
| Sunday, April 26, 2015 | ||
| Start Location: Grafenwohr, Germany
End Location: Gyal, Hungary – South of Budapest Lodging: Galopp Major Total Distance: 764 km (475 miles) |
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| With goodbyes, I’m on the road at 7:30am. I’m riding to Istanbul, Turkey via Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece.
Today is an easy day of hammering down the autobahn with 2 border crossings – Austria & Hungary. |
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| While Germany’s autobahn is free, Austria and Hungary uses a vignette. A prepaid ticket/license to use the autobahns for set period – a weeks, a month or a year.
As I cross into Austria I purchase a 5€ vignette. I said I would be out of Austria by nightfall. The vignette was a decal that I stuck to my windshield. 10 km into Austria was a vignette check. If you didn’t have one visible, it was a big fine. |
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 Austrian Vignette on windshield. |
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| Today’s goal is to just get across Austria to Hungary. It’s mostly farms and rolling hillsides. I could be in Kansas! | ||
| No border hijinks entering Hungary. All they want is your autobahn vignette money – €7 for a 10 day vignette. It was just a receipt with my vehicle license number. There was no check.
I spent the night at the Galopp Major camp grounds in a hut. It was cheap – 9 900HUF (37€) |
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 The Hut with exclusive parking. |
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| Monday, April 27, 2015
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| Start Location: Gyal, Hungary – South of Budapest
End Location: Sibiu, Romania Lodging: Casa Baciu, Strada 9 Mai, Sibiu, Romania Total Distance: ~526 km (~327 miles) |
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| Autobahn from Gyal, Hungary to Mako (Romania border). At the Romania border I stopped at the Vignette booth and was happily told, no vignette for motorcycles! | ||
| As I approached the Romanian border, I saw two lanes – “EU” lane and “All Others” lane. I went down “All Others” and stopped at the guard. I presented my passport and vehicle registration and he and my papers inside the small guard shack. For some reason it took 20 minutes for the border guard to return my papers and wave me on. | ||
| As I approached Sibiu I could see the huge snow covered mountains range behind the city. | ||
 Would you trust this bank? The ATM outside worked great! Most ATM have an English option. |
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| Sibiu is the closest town to the northern entrance to the Transfăgărășan or DN7C. It the second-highest paved road Romania and has the reputation of being on the Top Ten road in the world. Unfortunately it is totally snowed in. | ||
| Tomorrow I’ll head to Bulgaria. | ||
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Finally heading to Istanbul12 comments to Finally heading to Istanbul |
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Motocycle uncle! Istanbul is one of my favorite cities! The autobahn sounds fun. Keep setting a great example for happiness on the open road!
Hope you had a chance for a Grafenwohr Hell beer. Had many of them when at the US Army range there back in the late 70′s. Thanks for sharing your trip, Dean.
Don’t you mean “Constantinople”?
That’s a ‘They Might Be Giants’ joke.
Dean, me and the group you met in Germany are headed from Virginia to Nova Scotia this summer. I’ll send some pictures.
-Troy
Hope that you are tasting local wines on your trip…..though obviously not while driving!!
Thanks for the update! Hopefully the 10 lb box headed home has a little chocolate stash???
Does you ATM have a chip Dean?
Sounds like you are having a GREAT time.
Take care,
Charlie
I don’t mind my insomnia now because I can now watch your trip.
Looks like a blast so far. Looks like your at the Prietenia Motel tonight?
Interesting about the trucks…. noticed that on a street view and was wondering why all the trucks were parked on the side.
Looking forward for more, have fun!
Yes. Prietenia Motel is a border truckers motel. These trucks are queued for the Bulgaria border crossing. I could’t get a hotel in town because of a 2-day Fireman’s Convention!
Thanks for the blog update and adventure fix. Eagerly looking forward to the next one! Journey on and safe travels.
If you have the time in Istanbul – go see Hagia Sophia or the Topkapi Museum – well worth the effort! Have a great trip!
Hay Buddy,
You are my Hero.. Have fun and keep safe.
Ray Blair