3rd-5th May
We arrived in Berlin after a couple of hours stopover in Doha, Qatar, an amazing city with a superb new airport, we were flying Qatar, and had a good flight with good service. The cool weather was a bit of a shock to the system, but we were over the heat for a while. A walking tour of Potsdan filled in a day, very interesting, lots of history here. We had walked the 3.5 kms to the Brandenburg Gate, where the tour started from, then did the tour, then walked back to the hotel after, the legs and feet had had enough for the day, where are those bikes! Even walking, with the temperature at 12 degrees, we were cold all day.
We arrived in Berlin after a couple of hours stopover in Doha, Qatar, an amazing city with a superb new airport, we were flying Qatar, and had a good flight with good service. The cool weather was a bit of a shock to the system, but we were over the heat for a while. A walking tour of Potsdan filled in a day, very interesting, lots of history here. We had walked the 3.5 kms to the Brandenburg Gate, where the tour started from, then did the tour, then walked back to the hotel after, the legs and feet had had enough for the day, where are those bikes! Even walking, with the temperature at 12 degrees, we were cold all day.
The bridge from the movie "Bridge of Spies", near Potsdam
This dude had the meanest stare I've ever seen, I think he hates everybody!
The kings had some pretty gnarly houses back in the day, this is Sans Souci, near Potsdam
A very comfortable bus trip the next day to Zwickau, to be met by Denis and Nads, then on to Neumark to Stefan and Simone's place, it was really good to catch up with them again.
6th-13th
Got to the bikes at last, and was very surprised that they both started up at the touch of the button, after being left for over six months over the winter with the battery still connected. I gave them a service, while Denis, Stefan, and Marco did a great job fabricating a new bracket for my bash plate, thanks guys! The following day we did a walking tour of nearby Dresden with Stefan, interesting city, lots to see.
6th-13th
Got to the bikes at last, and was very surprised that they both started up at the touch of the button, after being left for over six months over the winter with the battery still connected. I gave them a service, while Denis, Stefan, and Marco did a great job fabricating a new bracket for my bash plate, thanks guys! The following day we did a walking tour of nearby Dresden with Stefan, interesting city, lots to see.
Stefan and I on the banks of the river Elbe, in Dresden
This was originally a painting, now redone in tiles, shows all the rulers of the area in sequence
Over the next few days I did some other bits and pieces on the bikes, including fitting heated grips. Lyn had been talking to a lady on the internet named Julia, about crossing into Poland from Germany without passports, and it turns out they were going to Poland on friday, and did we want to go with them? Their plan was to ride to a biker meeting held every year in memory of "Izi", a Polish adventure rider who died a few years ago in Khazakstan, with the money raised going to Izi's family. It all depended on when our green cards arrived, and they turned up on Thursday, so the plan was set. We did a test ride to Chemnitz looking for a tank bag for Lyn, but couldn't find what we wanted, so went without one. Friday dawned cold and cloudy, and looked like rain. Typical, it had been dry since we arrived. At 8.30, Julia, her partner Hans, and Travis, an american guy staying with them, turned up, all riding Africa Twins. They had a route picked out through narrow twisty back roads, so we just followed their lead. It was cold but dry until lunchtime, then we copped the rain. Fuel is cheaper in Poland, so we filled up after crossing the border, and got some local currency (Zloty) at an ATM, before arriving at the castle and setting up the tent.
With Stefan and Simone, just before we headed off. Thanks guys, your hospitality and help was amazing.
