Harley Social

Well guys, sorry for taking so long to finish this but Christmas crept up on us and down here on the Southern bit of Africa the country closes down for a month; it was time to take my girls (the wife and the FLTK) on a holiday, but more of that later.

We left Zagreb on an overcast day after severe flooding nearly cut off our road out of the city, thankfully we made it over the bridge before the waters cut us off. The ride was pleasant enough through Slovenia where Mikey got to get another stamp in his Canadian passport, we didn’t because we were travelling on our European passports this time which meant we had free access without customs checks throughout this trip as all the countries are part of the EU.

The ride to Salzburg was 415km (256 miles) with the last 100km starting to take us through the mountainous scenery of Austria. This really was the start of the most beautiful scenery Europe has to offer. Anywhere in the Alps is unbelievable, whether in Austria, Italy, France or Switzerland (although the Shusten pass from Switzerland to Italy remains my personal favourite road in Europe).

 

We arrived at our hotel in Salzburg in time to chill out with some beers, and even managed to have a bite to eat at a cafe next door.

 

 

 

 

There is very little parking in Europe, and Salzburg is no different, but the manager allowed us to park our bikes on the sidewalk outside the main entrance to frame his doorway.

The next day we did the “tourist” bit and took a tourist bus around the sights visiting the Mirabell Palace and gardens where a lot of the scenes for “The sound of music” were filmed. This place is apparently very popular amongst Japanese for wedding ceremonies (why would anyone travel half way round the world to get married in a garden?). We also visited the Hellbrunn palace, the ancestral seat of the Austrian royal family. We saw only one Harley in Salzburg and only half a dozen bikes in total. Our rides got a lot of attention, probably due to the lack of bikes in town. 

 

 After this repose we moved on to Innsbruk in the heart of the Austrian Alps and the venue for the winter olympics back in the ’70′s (that’s the 1970′s for you youngsters).

 

 

 

This town was a lot more modern and did not have the history and culture of Salzburg (which was the birthplace of Mozart), however the 186km (115 mile) ride through the Alps past the Grossglockner glacier was worth every minute. We took this ride slowly travelling at about 90kph (55mph) to soak up the scenery and we stopped at a small roadside cafe for a lingering lunch. The day was sunny and warm and all was good with the world.

The Harley dealer in Innsbruk has closed down which was a disapointment so we trudged along to the Harley Bar Where Mikey and I were refused free Jack Daniels despite both of us being Tennessee squires – can you believe it? The upside was the view of the mountains regardless of where you were sitting in the bar.

After a quiet evening we left the next day for Nuremburg some 325km (200 miles) away via a detour through Munich to visit the Harley dealer. This was our first contact with German Bikers and what a different bunch they are compared to the other European countries we had visited. Whilst the staff (with the exception of one) at the “House of Flames” all seemed to have a carrot up their ass and a superior attitude, the one member of staff made us welcome, gave us coffee and answered our questions with enthusiasm. German bikers are passionate about their Harleys and without exception customised their rides. It is surprising at the amount of Harley riders in Germany and the extent of the customizing that is done to their bikes when you realise just how expensive Harleys and accessories are in that country. I was admiring a Harley 120″ motor that has just been released in Europe and was stunned to find out that Germans are expected to pay the equivalent of $11,000 for this piece of engineering excluding labour. We bought some t-shirts that cost up to $90 each.

 

 Arriving in Nuremburg we visited the local dealer and the ecstsasy continued when he showed us his 2010 street glide to which he had fitted 120″ motor, several cams and other bits to give him a staggering 160hp at the rear wheel.

 

 

To really make it different he had fitted digital gauges and had a custom paint job. He is prepared to sell it if you have $55,000 available which is not a bad price considering the price of parts in Germany.

We stayed overnight in a hotel that did not have a restaurant, so we ordered in from a Chinese takeaway. The food was so bad we filled up on beer so that we didn’t go to bed hungry.

And so back to Berlin, a ride of 426km (265 miles) that we covered in record time thanks to the Autobahns. There is no speed limit on these highways and we cruised between 140kph and 150kph (86 – 93mph) with an occasional spurt of 160kph (100mph) and had many cars passing us. The drivers are extremely considerate, and despite the speeds, made way for us to overtake slower vehicles. Germany is a true Biker country and we were made very welcome almost everywhere.

Berlin was as we left it 2 weeks earlier, wet, grey, drab and totally miserable. We dropped the bikes off at Classic Harley where they tried (in vain) to charge for “extras” like the cost of cleaning the bikes. For goodness sake, we are on tour from a foreign country, where the hell are we supposed to get our bikes cleaned, especially when it has rained for the most part of our trip? Europe does not have bike washes like the States.

We spent the next two days having a look at the recent history of this city with trips to Alexander Platz, the Tiergarten and Checkpoint Charlie. On our last day we decided to get a closer look at the Brandenburg gate and were disapointed not to be allowed within a mile of the place as it was the start point for the Berlin marathon being held later that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So off to the airport and a return to South Africa and farewell to Mikey till our next trip together. For me the high point of the trip was the ride through Austria and the low point was the ignorant attitude of the Slovaks. The best meal was probably in Prague in a small pizza joint and the best drink was the “Weissbier”, the German wheat beer that is a little cloudy and tastes like nectar. The most interesting sight was the cemetary chapel at Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic and the best bike was the street glide in Nuremburg Germany.