Leaving Heidelberg for Austria

A light mist is hanging in the air. Do I wear my rain suit? It is cold at 8 degrees C and the sky is overcast. The plan is not to use the Autobahn at all but get to the Austrian border near Salzburg using only the byways. I am good at reading maps, good at finding my way to the next town. I seem to have an instinct but I am not too proud to ask for directions when I feel I am lost. Speaking German helps, of course, but with so many dialects in Germany, I do not understand all that is said to me. I do not hear well, I wear ear plugs while riding. Over that I wear a full face helmet. Asking a Bavarian for directions, in a small town in Bavaria where everybody speaks in the Bavarian dialect is the same as not speaking German at all. Only when they point at a direction can I make out the correct way. The wind is picking up, it gets colder when riding.
Carol and I moved from small town to small town, always following the direction I had planned. The town names were long and we needed to start at Neckarsgemuend, then Mosbach, then Heilbronn, then Obersulm, Mainhardt, Gaildorf, Aalen, Elchingen, Neresheim, Ballmertzhofen, Schabingen and finally Dillingen where we needed to rest for the night. It is essential to write down the towns and their sequence on a piece of paper and follow this list. If you do not plan the route with the correct names you will get lost in Germany. There are no directional help signs like East or West over here. The roads are not necessarily numbered. It is best to know your next town and then move from one town to the next. Even that can be difficult since the signs often disappear or the names change to some smaller, lesser known destination. I have a GPS, old and with only a World Map as a base. My European GPS conked out on me, I had to rely on an old GPS but at least I can determine if I am going East or North, etc. The cloud cover is thick, no sign of the sun to find directions.
We stopped in Dillingen at a hotel that a gas station attendant recommended. The hotel Trumm (www.hotel-garni-trumm.de) worked out great for us. The breakfast was outstanding and the bikes were safe for the night. We were offered a garage for our bikes but opted to just throw the bike cover over each bike and park at the side of the hotel. Dillingen is a small town; crime did not seem to be an issue.
The next morning we were off again but the weather again was very cold. This time we put on our heated jackets. The warmth is wonderful. And to break our resolution, we took the Autobahn around Munich because to take the local roads thru Munich would have added an extra day to our trip. After finding the exit for Route 304 on the East Side of Munich, we exited again to take in the local flavor. Towns like Vaterstetten, Wasserburg, Traunreut and Freilassing flew by and we finally crossed the Austrian border in Salzburg. Again, do not take the Autobahn to cross into Austria, you will need an Austrian Vignette and why pay for something you will hardly use on a motorcycle?
Our intention was to stay in Salzburg but the city was big, busy and full of traffic, even on a Sunday. We rode thru Salzburg, the city Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in, and searched for road 158. The signage in Austria was not easy to follow. Either the signs were too small, or the colors (white and blue) blend in so much it is almost impossible to find your way. I felt wrong after some time and sure enough, I asked, had to turn around and finally found the exit out of Salzburg and we were on the right road, road 158, the road we needed to get started.
ADAC has motorcycle specific maps. Each map is marked with Motorcycle specific roads. The best twisties, the best rural, the best scenic routes are all laid out. We obtained such a map for the Steiermark, Kaernten, Friaul and Slowenien. These are the areas where we intended to ride. Our starting point was the town of Admont, near Liezen, Austria.
We found another hotel for the night in the town of Fuschl am See, East of Salzburg and the next day we started off following the map we received from ADAC. From Fuschl am See we took 158 East to Lietzen and it is still cold. No rain to speak of, just cold and windy. The wind or the gusts seemed to be trying to blow us off the bikes. Traffic was light but we needed to get used to the signage in Austria. In the country side the white and blue signs are ok, yet still difficult to see sometimes. Again it is best to write down the sequences of towns one needs to travel through. Terz, Frein, Muerzberg, Wegsteig, Sebergsattel, Seewiesen, Au etc. were on my little notepad.
I followed from one town to the next and the ride was pleasant. The roads ADAC picked here were not dramatic yet were gentle and a pleasure to ride. Yes, some twisties, some up and downs but nothing that will strain you. We rode all day, enjoying the country and delighting in the Alpine views all around us. The area for me was typically Germanic. Everything around us was neat, orderly and predictable.
Carol and I were glad we had our electric vests. I was wearing an undershirt, a long sleeved silk shirt, a shirt, a BMW wind stopper jacket, the electric jacket plugged in at full heat, the Gore Tex liner for my riding jacket and the riding jacket and I was just right. But I needed every layer that I had on. Carol was wearing merino wool long johns, the BMW wind stopper jacket, a fleece sweater; the electric jacket liner plugged in and dialed up to “toasty” and her Aerostich jacket. We both looked and felt like, the Michelin Man but were warm and comfortable. I tried riding without the rain pants but it was too cold. I needed the rain paints for wind protection even though it was not raining.
We were now off on our adventure in Austria, following the map ADAC gave us.

Preparation

Before we began this trip we needed to find a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. I searched every available search engine on the internet for flights from Toronto (YYZ) to Frankfurt (FRA). I found Transat Air the least expensive at $ 958.-/person but then I waited too long to book it and the price turned into $ 1080 - then into $ 1198.-/person. This is way too expensive for a round trip ticket. I found that Air India flies out of Newark, NJ (EWK) for a price of $ 640.-/person and we booked that. Naturally we had to drive to NJ but since my children live there we combined it with a visit.
When travelling, every aspect needs to be planned and costs need to be compared. Once we arrived in Frankfurt we had to get to Heidelberg. I learned from my last trips that a Lufthansa shuttle bus departs every hour between Frankfurt Airport and a Heidelberg Hotel and I booked 2 seats on that shuttle via the internet. The cost for a one way ticket to Heidelberg came to Euro 22.-/person. From the Hotel stop in Heidelberg we took a taxi to Stefan Knopf (www.knopftours.com) where our bikes are stored. Cost for the Taxi is Euro 12.-. While all this seems complicated it is in fact very easy and beats taking the trains, buses, or costly pick-ups by a limo-service. The next best thing would have been to ask Stefan to pick us up at the airport but Stefan is very busy now that the motorcycle season has started and I did not want to burden him with our arrival. Our travelling, flight, bus, taxi went without incident and was completed as planned. We had some worries that we could be stranded because of the volcano eruption over Iceland, but none of that happened to us. We arrived in Heidelberg without complications.
We told Stefan via an email that we would be arriving on May 13th and he had our bikes ready for us. The needed paper work was done by Stefan as well. Our bikes needed Insurance for the 2 months that we will be riding in Europe and ADAC, a German Insurance company similar to AAA in the U.S., issues short term Insurance for foreigners and for motorcycles as well. Stefan handles all the paper work and the charge for a 2 months Insurance was Euro $ 250 per bike. In addition, we paid Stefan Euro 300 per bike annually to store the bikes. Add to that a yearly Insurance for road side assistance, also written by ADAC for Euro 115 plus 2 nights at Stefan’s Bed and Breakfast of Euro 60 per night and the trip starts off with a major expense. I will need a new front tire soon but this expense will come later. Riding a motorcycle in Europe is not an inexpensive hobby.
While we stayed at Stefan’s B&B we met Ken and Rita O’Malley who are going to visit Northern Italy this year. Ken stores his BMW at Stefan’s, too. Over dinner the first night we exchanged some info and I like the way Ken travels. Ken books a Hostel via Hostelworld and stays in one location for a few days. From that location he takes day trips on his bike and Ken plans very well and knows what he wants to see while in Northern Italy. Yes, he is flexible but he knows his route, knows what makes his trips worthwhile. For meals, Ken and Rita buy food at the local food markets and they cook in a micro wave or in the hostel kitchen. It is like living at home in a foreign country. Rita is a good cook and she can whip something up from whatever she finds in a supermarket. She showed me how they manage the food purchases on our 2nd day at Stefan’s. I learned a lot just watching and listening to her.
In return I told them how to enter Switzerland without buying the expensive Vignette, the Toll Sticker one must buy in order to travel thru Switzerland. Do not enter Switzerland on a highway. Take the local, secondary roads when entering Switzerland. Do not travel on the Swiss Highway system. If you do not use the highway, then you do not need the vignette. Naturally, the Euro is not accepted in Switzerland and you should have local currency, the Swiss Franc. Information of the most basic sometimes adds to a well planned trip.
Staying at Stefan’s B&B one runs into other bikers. While I know Ken and Rita and have been at their house in Louisiana and I know they know their stuff. Yet, each time I meet them anew I learn something from them. I also met a new guy from Michigan. This guy, Fred, just retired from GM after 37 years of toil. Fred it new to the EU and he bought a Honda, well equipped on E-Bay, just for the trip thru the Alps. Yes Fred was a newbie for Europe but he too, told me new things. He had an I Pod and stored all his info on this device. He received internet and weather reports on this gizmo and Fred even bought 100 Mega bytes of Phone calls for emergency calls to the States, just in case. I use “Medjet Assist Plus” for emergency situations. I pay Medjet but hope I will never use them. I do not have a telephone while travelling in Europe. I find the use of a phone and the European numbering system too complicated. When I need to make a phone call I use Skype on my portable mini-computer. I use a HP laptop computer, small and compact, made for travelling. I need a Wi-Fi connection however, and there are not too many hot spots in the Balkans, the place we have targeted for our trip this year. Travelling is always an experience and each time I travel I learn new things, new ways to travel. Nobody has the right way and each time we travel we adapt to the new country, the new language, and the new surroundings.
I prepare, I compare notes with other travelers, I am always looking and trying new ways to see the world. Some things are expensive but others, when planned right, are not. No matter the expense, motorcycle riding is my hobby and I use all my abilities to plan well, eat and sleep well. I want to ride well, without drama and arrive and be safe. I prepare the best I can.