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Alex in motion

A journal of curiousity & travel
October 15, 2016

European Motorcycle Trip – Day 14 to 21

Day 14 & 15

I first visited Tuscany by car about ten years ago. It was a crappy car, with poor handling and awful acceleration, and the sweeping curves of the Tuscan roads taunted me. They knew I wanted to carve them as quickly as possible, while admiring the breathtaking valleys and surrounding vineyards. At point one, three super-sport motorcycles flashed past, their riders leaning hard into each turn. I couldn’t contain my frustration, and promised myself I would return one day by motorcycle.

Fast forward to today, and there I was, touring the exact same roads by motorcycle. Promised kept!

Weronika and I stayed at a splendid villa only a few kilometers from the place I stayed during my last visit, and a rush of memories flooded my mind. There was mama’s restaurant, where I tasted the best pasta of my life. Over there was the exact spot I made the promise to myself all those years ago. All around were the heart-stirring views of endless vineyards. (Tuscany is one of those magical places that you almost cannot believe is real) And over there was San Gimignano, famous for its medieval architecture and dozen towers.

While my stomach had calmed down, Weronika’s started misbehaving, and we had to relax in a garden for a few hours before entering the town. When she mustered enough strength to stand, we slowly made our way into the main square, to have lunch and of course, gelato.

It was here that I first sampled porchetta, a pork sandwich that was so tasty it didn’t need any condiments (In fact, when I had asked for mustard, the merchant yelled, “NO MUSTARD!” He was right, it was perfect without it) Obviously I tasted it again, and it was even more delectable than I remembered.

Day 16

I was never really inspired to visit Pisa, since the leaning tower was a tourist destination for a really dumb reason: poor engineering. For those that don’t know, the tilt is caused by inadequate foundation, as it was erected on grounds that were too soft on one side.

However, since we were passing right by it, we decided to stop over for a few pictures. No, we didn’t take the the corny, “Look! I’m holding up the tower” type of pictures. However it was interesting to take pictures of people taking those kinds of pictures.

Day 17

Many celebrities have summer homes around Lake Como in northern Italy, and it was easy to see why; a spectacular dark blue lake surrounded by deep green mountains. (side comment: I need to find new words for “stunning” and “breath-taking”, since Italy is pushing the limits of my thesaurus).

Our chosen route meandered right next to the lake, and we just had to stop several times to admire the views and deeply breath the crisp clean air. Does anyone have a spare million euros lying around, so I can buy a home here?

Day 18

The most exciting and dangerous portion of the entire trip was traversing the Italian mountains into Switzerland. At one time, the Stelvio Pass was awarded as the “greatest driving road in the world” by Top Gear, a famous British television series about cars. The pass was actually one of three we conquered over two days, and was mostly composed of 180 degree turns. Some turns were actually more than 180 degrees, and the sharp inclines and declines made it difficult to see oncoming traffic.

Adding to the fact I was holding a GoPro in one hand and the motorcycle’s massive weight didn’t inspire confidence, and it was a hair raising experience. Weronika and I had to take many breaks to catch our breath and to high five each other, exclaiming, “We’re still alive!”

It was definitely the craziest road I’ve ever been on, and although I’m very happy to have visited, I must admit I don’t have any desire to return.

Day 19

Once in Switzerland, the differences from Italy were obvious:

  • The roads were much better paved
  • The mountains were more spectacular, the villages more rustic and the houses more refined
  • The temperature dropped noticeably
  • The prices for our targeted hotels more than doubled

Despite the raw natural beauty, we didn’t linger in the country.

Day 20

Lichtenstein was another new country for me. It’s the 6th smallest country in the world, squished between Switzerland and a bunch of mountains.

Our stop was for a quick lunch to sample he local cuisine, and to visit one of my clients. He was happy to show us around and give us a brief history lesson. Although a sleepy country, it’s the 3rd largest GDP per person in the world, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world. Thus the quality of life is extremely high, if you like mountains and snow, of course.

Since it was a very cloudy day, and the visit was short, I didn’t take any pictures.

Day 21

On the way back to Poland, we passed through Germany. There is not much to say since the 1.75 days were spent mostly on the highway, with a short stopover to rest our weary heads. Germany’s autobahn are famous because they are wonderfully paved and occasionally have no speed limits. There were quite a few Porsches, BMWs and Ferraris blow past me while cruising at 140km/h.

Again, no pictures.

Day 22

Poland is considered to have depressing weather, with dark clouds concealing the sun most of the year. So it was humourous to see the change from open skies to dark clouds within a 1 km of the Polish border. How do the clouds know where to gather?!

Since the road quality was significantly reduced and the randomness of driver’s increased, we were not able to travel as fast.

Final thoughts

Overall, the trip was incredible.

Weronika was the perfect travel companion, as we never argued, and even supported each other while sick.

While the motorcycle was heavy, it was well suited for this type of long distance trip. There were certain moments I wished for my own motorcycle, especially during the curvier parts, but it would have been too stressful while off-roading.

Except for one day of hard rain, and two half-days of light drizzle, the weather was perfect. Sunshine and warm weather has a positive impact to your state of well-being.

I love motorcycle riding, and am very happy to have experienced this. It will encourage me to take even longer trips in the future, something I didn’t think interested me.

Here was our exact route:

 

October 5, 2016

European Motorcycle Trip – Day 9 to 13

Day 9 & 10

Many years ago, the following stunning picture of Lake Bled in Slovenia surfaced in my news feed.

I had three initial thoughts:

  1. Wow! That’s beyond gorgeous
  2. I must see this place in person one day
  3. That island would make a kick-ass hangout during the zombie apocalypse

Weronika and I arrived at the nearby bed & breakfast in the late afternoon, and promptly skipped down to the lake. Yes, I skipped like an enthusiastic child going to kindergarten. It was serene by the water’s edge, but already too dark to properly capture the views. Except for the illuminated castle, located on a hill next to the lake, everything else was quite dark already.

My schoolboy excitement continued throughout dinner, as I’ve never had Slovenian food before. In fact, I’ve never been to this country or even met a person from Slovenia before.

After dinner we headed to another famous restaurant by the water and sampled a local cream cake that was hundreds of years old. The recipe was old, not the cake itself. Of course, why have one cake when you can have three!

Early the next morning, I joined Weronika for a run. Until today, she had been waking up early and enjoying the surroundings while I grabbed another 45 minutes of sleep. Today however, I felt compelled to join her and we raced around the 6.5km circumference of the lake (Yes, I won!). I did my best to capture the moment with all five senses, as it was simply a perfect morning.

A few hours later, we jumped into a wooden boat and made our way to the island. Weronika enjoyed being a princess and sipped on a latte while I diligently rowed. A light sweat might have appeared.

Bled island is home to a pilgrimage church and several buildings that now cater to tourists. We savoured another hundred year old cake in the shop, before plunging into the cool, crystal clear waters for a swim.

It was obvious we needed to spend more than a single day here, and the extra day really allowed us to soak up more of this magical place. We even had time to visit a popular gorge and waterfalls.

Day 11

Slovenia didn’t stop to impress on the following day, and Lake Bohinj would have been another lovely place to stop for a few days. Sadly, we had a schedule to keep and had to leave after snapping a few priceless pictures.

The Slovenia mountains were crazy awesome, in terms of narrow roads; although bi-directional, at times they were barely wide enough for one way traffic. Countless blind turns, usually timed with a car coming from the other direction, made me glad to be on a slim motorcycle instead of a car. Lots of intense GoPro footage was captured.

Later that afternoon, as we slipped into Italy, Weronika became extremely content, and started yelling “Pasta! Cappuccino! Espresso!” and all things Italian through her motorcycle helmet.

Day 12

Coated with a light rain, the romantic city of Venice didn’t disappoint. We only spent a few hours wandering the streets, bridges and canals, but part of my heart remained there. I had heard the place is much more commercial today and is over-hyped, so my expectations were low. Perhaps that’s why I enjoyed it so much.

By the way, why does the food and coffee taste SO much better in Italy? What have they figured out that the rest of us are still trying to resolve? Seriously, the tomatoes on the caprese salad were to die for, and the pasta was cooked perfectly “al dante”. All this from a regular looking restaurant in a cute city square surrounded by countless competitors. I don’t normally take pictures of food, but that divine lunch demanded it.

After marching through the narrow streets, we returned to the parking lot by water bus, providing a wonderful perspective of the Grand Canal.

Day 13

I had never heard of San Marino before, and didn’t know it was a country. It’s actually the 5th smallest country of the world, completely surrounded by Italy, and located mostly on a mountain range with extensive views of the area.

Since we were passing nearby that part of the world anyway, why not add another country to the list?! Lunch with coffee was all we afforded ourselves, mostly because I wanted to reach Tuscany by nightfall, and because my upset stomach was slowly us down (Weronika taught me a useful word that day, “kupa”).

Today was also the only day of heavy rain during the entire trip, which started in the early afternoon and lingered until we reached the villa in Chianti, well after dark. Between the pains in my stomach and the drenching rainfall, it clearly wasn’t our best day, but our spirits remained strong. I was pleasantly surprised we didn’t argue, since the conditions were ripe for a dispute. Thankfully, Weronika was patient and displayed great empathy.

 

 

October 5, 2016

European Motorcycle Trip – Day 5 to 8

Sorry for the delay in the series, but I had some severe back pain and it was affecting my mood. Apparently sitting for 3 weeks on a motorcycle and not stretching or doing any exercises is not good at my age :-/ After visiting a physiotherapist thrice and suffering as she pushed and pulled my sore muscles, I’m nearly near back to my cheerful self.

Day 5

Ever since the motorcycle dropped, a small amount of oil began to leak. Although I brought an extra bottle of motor oil, I was quite concerned after seeing the amount constantly leaking. There weren’t any motorcycle repair shops in the Croatian countryside, but I was find a small mechanic. After identifying the source of the leak, I applied some tissue paper and secured it with a zip-tie, which seemed to solve the issue. To be completely certain though, we decided to visit the BMW dealership in Zagreb.

After being the countryside and villages for 4 days, it was a little jarring to ride in a large city. Luckily we didn’t need to enter too far and the kind folks at the dealership were happy to help. They recommended three components be replaced, valued at over 1000 CAD, which was obviously out of the question, but said my MacGyvered job may suffice for a while. After discussing the matter over a free espresso, Weronika and I decided to just buy another bottle of motor oil and press on. The moto rental company had insurance for these kinds of things, so they could manage things after the trip.

Pushing on brought us quickly into the lush countryside again, and the next challenge was to navigate 18km of soft pebble roads. Keep in mind I was still getting used to the weight of the motorcycle and Weronika only had 3 months of riding experience. It felt like it took forever to traverse that distance, and our stress increased as night fell. Fortunately we were about to arrive at the hotel without an incident.

Day 6 & 7

As we traveled further south, the scenery changed from lush greens to desert mountains. The landscape in south Croatia is gorgeous and it was another beautiful day riding along winding roads, in valleys and beside vast fields of sunflowers. With all the wonderful routes to choose, it quickly became apparent that even with 21 days, we couldn’t do it all.

That evening, as we literally drove into the sunset, we stopped by the road to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables from some local merchants. This is something not found in North American, but is quite common in Poland and Croatia. The produce from these vendors is outstanding, and much less expensive than supermarkets.

That night’s destination was a resort camping ground near Zadar. Not only were there spaces for tents and camper vans, but you could rent apartments as well. All facilities were high-end, including common showers, bathrooms and laundry facilities, supermarket, ice cream parlour, small movie theatre, tourist shops, mini golf, rope park and a beach. This would be an excellent place for a family to bring their kids and stay for several weeks.

We decided to slow things to do and spend another day and night here, as camping was fun and our mind and bodies needed a break from the road. Between napping on the beach in the morning followed by a round of mini golf, margaritas after lunch and salsa in the evening, we thoroughly enjoyed the resort.

Day 8

11 years ago, I rented a Audi A3 and drove from Zagreb to Split along the Adriatic coast. It’s rated one of the best coastal drives in the world and it’s easy to see why; crystal blues waters of the Adriatic sea on one side and desert mountains on the other, with continuously curved and perfectly paved road between them. There were only a handful of motorcycles back then, but were dozens and dozens this time. Pounding the pavement by motorcycle was even better than the first time, and the experience brought back wonderful memories, as it was part of a holiday in which I travelled alone for 3 weeks. Back then, I thought THAT was courageous! It’s interesting to notice the more you push your comfort zone, the more you become comfortable with things you never thought possible. That trip was one of the most memorable moments of my life, and I’m still in touch with many of the people I met.

“As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.”
Robin S. Sharma

We attempted to travel from island to island as much as possible, but some of the ferry schedules didn’t cooperate. Alas, we only visited two islands, but enjoyed some delicious British fish and chips by the water that evening.

More to come…

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