Silk Route Trip 2005 - Azerbaijan

When a mosque has two minaretts then the mosque is a Royal Mosque. A prince or a member of the royal family ordered the mosque to be built. Most mosques have only one minaret.

A cozy table for two, just sit and enjoy your tea. I liked apple tea best. It is called Alma Chai. Delicious !




Old buildings but the most modern telecommunication equipment and TV reception. Baku is a modern town.


You can buy all kinds of 'Antiques' here. Of course, they have carpets, too. All Azerbaijanees will tell you that their carpets are the best.

A large city, a modern city, an Oil city. Never mind that the country itself is poor, Baku is rich. The buildings, the roads, the cars all spell Oil Rich.



5/16/05 Mon Sheki, Azerbaijan rain
We started off in the rain and it kept raining all day. The rain makes the roads treacherous. A river, because of the heavy rain, spilled over its side and we had to ride alongside it and thru water for miles. Sometimes the water was a foot deep. Crossing the border into Azerbaijan was time consuming but ok. People were friendly and Azerbaijan, again, is a real change from Georgia. It seems quieter. Trees cover the roads and it makes riding serene, despite the rain. The main roads are fine, a bit like Russia. Not as many cars as in Georgia. Here I see a lot of horses, sheep, cows and goats being herded. It takes extra attention when riding thru those herds of animals. The area, so far, in AZ is pretty flat with lots of agriculture but not intense utilization of soil like in Germany, for example. Certainly it’s not as neat as in Germany. Still it has its own charm and feels very comfortable even so it looks ‘wild’. The rivers, too, run wild; very wide rivers with lots of channels and rocky (pebbles) areas in between the river-lets; with dirty water but natural looking. We went thru towns that were not huge. Yes a little Russian looking but not really.
Our overnight stay was again in a caravansary. Very unique! All caravansaries were ‘free’ for one night. There was one every 25 miles or so on the silk route. Taxes were charged at the border but for that all caravans had ‘free’ boarding for the camels and the crew. The Inn Keepers were supervised by Sultan appointed Ministers. An Inn Keeper needed a good reputation to keep his job. Caravans were so important that it was of the outmost important to keep caravans happy.



5/17/05 Tue Baku, AZ overcast, rain, fog
Riding was easy but the fog made us slow down to 1st gear and less than 20 miles/hr. We were crawling along rather then riding. I had to take off my goggles in order to see at all. It was very slow going.
Baku is all the way down the hill and now it’s the beginning of the desert. Goodbye green trees, bushes and grass. People are friendly enough albeit a bit on the Russian, suspicious side. My reading glasses broke; I do not have a spare pair. It’s a big mistake not to bring spares of what one needs. My goggles have reading sections in them so I can make due, still, how do I get new reading glasses?
Baku (Baki) all depends how you say it is a big city with confusing street layout. Baku is a business town, an oil town. A modern town full of cars and traffic lights, etc.
I have not heard anything about Turkmenistan; the next few days will be uncertainty for me. Turkmenistan is hanging over my head and I don’t like this feeling. Showing maps to people and asking for directions is of no use, they can not read. Or, they have never seen a map before. This is a very strange experience when people look at a map and you know they have no idea what that thing is. Forget explaining a GPS to them.


This memorial was errected for the benefit of all the people who died during the revolution to free Azerbaijan from the USSR regim.


5/18/05 Wed Baku, AZ Humid, hot
Today, we, again have a site seeing tour; a typical tour. Look at the city hall; look at the oldest mosque, etc. We see a nice view of the city from a hill; we see the cemetery of 200 fallen freedom fighters that died in the take over of AZ in 1989. They fought the Russians to get free and the cemetery is very clean and taken seriously. 8 million Azerbaijanis live in AZ but 40 million live in Iran. The borders are still a bit arbitrary and I wonder if in years to come they need to be aligned again to have all Azerbaijanis live in ONE country. Now everybody claims to be the best. People here claim to have the best carpets. I spoke to one Uzbek, he claims Uzbek carpets are the best. Kirill had a Coca Cola in Georgia and the people told him that this Coke is the best in the world. True Georgian Coca Cola! When Kirill asked why that is he was told that the water in Georgia is the BEST in the world. Everybody has to believe in something. These are the orphans I met.

I had a meeting today at 1 pm to get my passport back but now it’s 3.30 pm and I still don’t have my passport. It’s a ‘Manjana’ mentality here! The original visa for Uzbekistan should have been longer it would have avoided all this paper work. I had to ask this morning about my flight tomorrow. I still do not have an airline ticket; I still do not know where I am going. It’s total uncertainty! This is not a German running this paper work. It is also not good to have my kind of outlook on how this should have been handled. May I have your papers, please! What, no papers? Very, very stupid!
I seem to be stuck, can not even go back; I have no visa for Georgia or Turkey anymore.
Nice situation, right?

Silk Route Trip 2005 - Georgia

An odd shaped roof for this bathhouse. The waters inside smell like rotten eggs but are supposed to be good for you. I am not sure I like the sulphur smell, I imagine I smell like a rotten egg after I come out of the bath. Yuk !


This multicolored balcony was painted just for the visit of the American President, Mr. Bush. I shows how nice Georgia could be if it had the money.

Georgia is fiercely Christian, there are sign all over the place, like this cross leaning on a wall.

This is where you can buy cigarettes. Note the irons in front of the window, the trust to consumers does not go far. Everybody still seems a little afraid.

Small chapels like this are everywhere. This country is proud, proud of its beauty and its beliefs.

Odd looking grave stones. I always notice grave stones, they tell a lot about the way people think.

This is a park bench or a chair, I found the shape was of an ancient design, but it is still used today.

This, again, was painted in happy colors just for the visit of Mr. Bush. It costs Georgia a lot of money to put on this show for Mr. Bush's visit. Newspapers wrote that it was too much money spend on foolish things.
This is the housing I saw, behind the freshly painted houses for Mr. Bush's visit. I think this is the true Georgia.

The church has a lot of money and seems to relish showing it off inside the chapels and churches. Those Icons and pictures are priceless relics.

A view of Tbilisi, the Capital of Georgia.

I found this sign and liked it, it shows that the silk caravans passed thru here and that the people still respect the hard work these men did years ago.

I tried to speak to this woman but she turned out to be a witch. All she wanted is money. Money. Money.

5/12/05 Thu Batumi, Georgia sunny
We began with a short ride to the border and a very confusing check out on the Turkish side. 4 stops and waiting in line. First the passport control, then the Police Registry (you will pay your traffic ticket here if you can not prove you already paid it), then the check point of ‘nothing to declare (you did not buy antiques, did you?) and lastly a final check just in case something has been forgotten or omitted. It took about 3 hours to get out of
Turkey. The Ottoman Empire ran on paper work and it is still there.
How was the entry into Georgia? We had help; because Kirill was there, also a guy named Nick. The guide girl is named Maya. Just sign a piece of paper after they look at your passport and off we go for the ride to Batumi. I see potholes, missing man-hole covers, dilapidated housing, and desperation with just a little sign of hope. Women wearing odd shoes, nutty clothing and back to techno music. Does this sound like Russia? It sure feels like Russia! In the afternoon we visited an old Roman fort. I did not listen to the drone of the guide. It bores me to hear facts and numbers and I forget them instantly anyway. Dinner is a surprisingly nice restaurant. Mercedes Benz, BMW etc parked outside. Obviously there is money in Georgia but you would not know it looking at the city. You would never know it by looking at the old woman selling sunflower seeds or home-made, jarred pickles. No middle class, either rich or poor! How are the roads? Horrible!


5/13/05 Fri Tbilisi, Georgia sunny
I was afraid of the roads, seeing all the potholes in Batumi and on the outskirts of town.
I started with a flat tire this morning. But it was a false alarm. Only the valve was stuck with dirt and some air escaped. Helge waited for me ready to help. Luckily it was just dirt that got into the valve stem, causing air to escape. So I rode with Helge today. He is a good rider. He is quick, decisive and sure of himself. It is a pleasure riding with him. Another false alarm was the bad road. Once out of town the streets are in good shape. Just inside each town I met potholes, grooves and animals of all kinds in the streets. Not only dogs but goats, sheep, pigs, cows and horses, too. At one point we had a police escort that worked as a relay. When one Police car left another Police car took over to guide us thru towns. We flew thru towns! At speed of up to 85 miles/hr. Screaming sirens, air horns, flashing lights. Not easy riding on our part. Remember the potholes, etc? We were very lucky, nothing went wrong. The weather starts to heat up; from now on I have to dress in lighter cloth.


5/14/05 Sat Tbilisi/Georgia sunny
I shipped some paper work home to the U.S. via the Georgian Post Office. Old maps I no longer need, etc. The postage was 31.30 Lari or about ($18.-). Expensive if you consider that some pension income here is only 30 Lari a month. I had a haircut today for 6 Lari.
We had a city tour (churches, old castle, and post office) in the morning. So many Kings, Queens and numbers, so many names nobody can pronounce and dates nobody can remember. And the guide Maya droned on! Yes, Maya (23) speaks English but she is like alcohol, she puts me to sleep. The same happened in the afternoon when we visited the National Treasury Museum of Georgia. Our people just walked out on the museum guides. 326BC, 66AD, 54AD, 332BC, etc, etc. And all we saw were chards of pots and cooking or living utensils. Not my favorite activity, taking tours. We heard about uprisings in Uzbekistan but we are told it is far away from where we are going. Still we are told that MIR will register us with the U.S. State Dept.
For dinner we had a folk dance performance. Two guys showed us how explosive Georgian dance is. Like Cossacks, very agile and fierce, including the use of knifes.
Each dinner so far was exactly the same food. Even so we ate in different restaurants all the time, the food was the same. Bread and cheese, cheese covered bread, like a pizza but no tomato sauce. Assorted cooked vegetables in a sushi form. Eggplant, spinach and?
Pork, animal innards (heart, lung and?) casserole and for dessert fruit. Taste is ok but for 4 days now exactly the same food.
I bought an Icon like picture for $ 200. - Gerissa French will send it to me once she gets to Chicago.



5/15/05 Sun Tbilisi, Georgia sunny after last nights rain
Today was a day to explore the town on our own. I had a long, slow breakfast and then Shirlee and Frank and I took Mini bus # 35 to?? We got lost! After some time we backtracked via taxi and found the Sunday flea market. Here we saw Tbilisi, the real Tbilisi without the tourists. Used clothing stores, used shoe stores, etc. All were in very, very poor condition. Georgia is poor. I read in the Newspaper (English Version) that the decision to go “cold turkey” and adopt a ‘free’ economy might have been a mistake. The local English Newspaper writes that Georgia should have changed ‘gradually’, like China did. The corrupt system allowed just a very few people to get rich in 1991. But even they, not knowing how a ‘free’ society functions, lost their business and squandered their new found “wealth”.
The flea market sold everything; from “Art” to circuit boards to x-rated videos. Some stuff old and seemingly useless to me. I mean who needs radio tubes? Yet here is the stuff we in the U.S. consider trash. Whatever does NOT sell in the U.S. is for sale here. Georgia is a definite 3rd world country.
I spoke to a former German Teacher who has no job. His pension is 28 Lari a month ($16.-). He speaks English, too. He is 53 years old but he looks like 75 years old. Many old ladies sit on a chair in the middle of the side walk and sell sunflower seeds. There are so many of them one can not help them all. Georgia is a very sad country. I remember the Russian saying: “what to do? “
Nobody can read the writing the Georgians are so proud of. Why adopt this style of writing for the 21st Century? Proud, yes! Smart? ? ?
Words learned: Madaloba= thanks, Garmarjobo = Hi, Puri = bread

Silk Route Trip 2005 - Turkey

5/6/05 Bursa/Turkey Sunny
We took the ferry away from Istanbul and while still in town a taxi hit me on the left rear bag. I have a tiny yellow scratch but the cab had his plastic ripped off. The taxi deserved the damage for hitting me. I did not even stop, just rode on. What is the use of stopping? What can one do? The ferry ride took one hour but cut off 4 hours of intense city traffic. Crazy dog eat dog Turkish city traffic. It was a good choice. First stop was the town of Izbit, formerly known as Niacea, The Niacean Creed was written there in the year 324. It is amazing to think that some people came to this small town and wrote down what every Catholic has to believe.
They also decided what letter or what piece of paper became part of the bible. They decreed that Christ was the son of God, that Mary had a Virgin birth, etc.
I felt moved and angry by the audacity these people had then. Or was I angrier because people today still believe what they were told to believe so many years ago?
Just imagine the situation of a few men sitting around a table deciding what we all have to believe. I have to write about this some more at a later point.
Bursa, the first Ottoman Capital has a Kosa Han, a silk market. The building we visited was built in 1491 and is still in operation today as a silk headquarter. Now, that is amazing to me. I thought it would have bolts of silk etc, but no, it has shops that sell silk scarves, ties, dresses, etc. I did see some cocoons and some offices that I don’t know what they were for, but still, it’s a silk place. 500 years of selling silk in one place.
Our hotel was inside the botanical garden. I had a hard time finding it because it was so hidden in between gardens and flowers and trees; a nice place full of old charm and not too touristy. I like old places like that that have character and are full of small discoveries. I dislike sleek, modern, cold Hotels.



5/7/05 Safranbulo cloudy
We all got up early because the phone rang. Somebody messed up on wake up calls and that left us time to get ready. I used my time to plan today’s route and it worked like a charm. We were riding thru some wild country. The landscape is peculiar. It is not rolling hills but folded or creased. Even between the folds it is folded again or creased; very unique and interesting. I passed marble quarries, fine rocks, all kinds of different formations. It looked like a very ancient volcanic neighborhood. The roads are fine, some potholes and no white lines at all but very ridable. Just watch out for gravel in turns.
Safranbulo is an ancient town. The feeling is of an ancient way of life. I am like a kid in a candy store. I remembered when I was a kid and went to Holland the first time I thought all Dutch people wore wooden shoes and looked like a typical Dutch. Even later when I visited China I thought that more people would wear Mao suits. I was wrong; of course, China is jeans and t shirts. But here, in Turkey, in the villages, people wear beanies, funny pants, have beards and the women are covered up with scarves, burkas, etc. It is visibly a different experience. Safranbulo is a UNESCO town with tourists. Still, one gets the idea of ancient life in Turkey. Our hotel was a caravansary from 1645, a stage coach stop for camels on their way to Rome or other major ancient cities. The streets are rocks and very difficult to ride on. Parking is difficult as well. Everybody made it, though. The miles on the bike: 24812
I parked my bike inside the caravansary and rode the bike down some steps without thinking on how to get back up those steps later. Now I am wondering how I will get the bike up those stairs.

5/8/05 Uerguep/Turkey cold day, hail at end of day
It was a long riding day today. The first part led over a mountain and over logging roads. Everybody made it but it was difficult. We rode as individuals, too large a group would have been extremely dangerous. Of course no guard rails of any kind. It was scary and fun at the same time. Mostly scary, though. The town of Boyali on the road over the mountains had open market today and I saw only men at the market, maybe one or 2 women. Horses with cloth saddles were tied up to walls and posts and no car is in sight. A town time has forgotten. It was like 1840 or even earlier.
After this experience we hit a highway and made it to Uerguep just fine. Some construction introduced us to dirt riding. Not bad at all. Hotel Elkep in Uerguep is unique. The rooms are carved into the mountains. One sleeps literally in caves. My room, #204, even had a front porch carved out of the rock. We had a tea party on my porch after the ride to warm us up. To bed early today because I have to get up at 4.30 am for a hot air balloon ride.



5/9/05 Mon Uerguep sunny, cool
I had a hard time sleeping. I think because I had to get up at 4.30 am and did not want to oversleep. Rick Wenzel, Frank and I took our bikes; the others took the balloon ride. Sterling filmed us riding, chasing the balloon on bikes. Not knowing the area and not knowing which way the balloon will drift we lost them very soon. We rode like the devils even along cliffs and thru dunes etc. but we lost them, filming from the balloon or chasing a hot air balloon in hilly,
craggy country is difficult. It was a very rugged area and the only great rider that did not give up chasing the balloon was Rick. Frank and I had some off road practice but we gave up after a while, too dangerous.
After the early ride we went to a hidden city. Years ago, early Christians and others used these cities to hide in them when the area was attacked by enemy forces. People did not live in them full time but used the cities only in emergencies. Amazing what people do to survive and to live on.
Immediately after that we went to Goreme, an outdoor museum of early rock churches and monasteries. Small hand-hewn caves were shaped into churches. Columns were left standing; even so they had no structural significance. Walls were painted in the Byzantine style and this went on until the Iconoclast period. When people believed that depicting of living things is not right and the pictures were desecrated. The monasteries had living quarters carved out as well. Long tables for communal living and kitchen stoves, all were carved out of rock. Nothing was build, everything was carved.
At 9.00 pm we went to a Sufi service. Whirling Dervish is Sufi, a sect of Islam. The service was like a mass and very solemn. Prayer, song and dance (whirling) was part of the ceremony. It was totally foreign and interesting to look at. Yet, I could not mentally connect with anything that was said, shown or danced. I was truly a foreigner from a far away land without any understanding of what is going on.




5/10/05 Tue Amasya sunny
Today we left late, 9 am and the first stop was the Hittite capital of?
Now just ruins but still very impressive considering it was built 1300 before Christ. A long tunnel in the wall still held up over all these centuries. I don’t know much about the Hittites but it must have been a great power. The Hittites ruled for over 600 years.

We arrived in Amasya late. I got lost trying to find a short cut. I had to take the long way around and use the Highway. I rode with Jay Yanick and Jim Russell. On the map it showed a route and a short cut. We asked people in the villages for a way but they have never seen a map and I don’t even know if they can read or understood what we wanted. A strange experience talking to people that just don’t get it; no matter how many ways we to try to say it.
Amasya is known today for one of the places in Turkey where the Crown Prince could learn how to rule. He was sent here to be educated and had his own small “Kingdom”.
He had total control over this small area and the town of Amasya. Then, once his father, the Sultan or Pasha, died he took over his job in Istanbul. He, hopefully, had collected lots of experiences running a State and now applied it to the greater Empire. Is it a good system? Can we adopt it for today’s State men?
The region around Amasya is known for apples. The river Yesilirmark is the 2nd longest river in Turkey and runs thru the town of Amasya. Very fast currents and some bridges are still from Roman times and are still used today. Geography was invented in Amasya.



5/11/05 Wed Trabzon sunny, some rain
I am not knowledgeable enough in history to appreciate Turkey fully. I stopped at Suemela to see the famous monastery “Meryemana”. Why is it famous? I never heard of it!
It sure is a feat to the human spirit to build a whole monastery way up on a steep cliff. Everything, I mean every nail, every chair, every pot had to be hauled on foot up the mountain, up the cliff! It is a precarious location for a monastery; a strange place for humans to live. Like a swallow building a nest on a wall, so was this monastery built on a cliff.
Then there is the town of Trabzon, the ancient ‘Trapezus’. What is it know for? My time in each town is too short to explore everything and learn about all the details. I ride from 8 am to 6 pm, looking, searching for the right road, the right town, the right way. Meanwhile, some roads are great, some have potholes over and over and some roads are not even paved; just graded in some spots. Other spots are full of grooves, up and down hills with hairpin curves. 2000 meter passes over mount Tersun. This is hardly a time to think about History. Just surviving these roads is a full time job. I brought along a book in case I’m bored. I did not even read one word of this book. Traffic in these ancient towns is survival, too. Way too many cars for these roads! Modern life needs modern roads. Can one blend the old with the new? How about parking? Parking seems impossible! Garages; where do you put them in those ancient places like Trapezus? This is a very hectic place especially after 10 hours of riding. I long for tranquility! Yes, this is a mental trip. Three people in our group received speeding tickets. Did they speed? NO! But you go ahead and argue with a Turkish Policeman in Turkish, of course! Good Luck!

Silk Route Trip 2005 - Istanbul

4/27/05 Wed Malkara, Turkey Great riding weather
I tried to say good bye to the proprietor in New Kapala but nobody was around when I left the Hotel at 8 am. Breakfast was on the road and consisted of Nescafe and cookies. I thought I would find a nice coffee shop and have a slow leisurely Breakfast but no such luck. That helped my timing and I got to the border around noon and had to buy a visa for Turkey. Turkey demanded ($20.--) payable in U.S. Dollars. Dollars? Why Dollars? I had Turkish money but no, they demanded Dollars. Then they checked my ‘Green Card’ and I found Stefan had Turkey crossed off. Back I go, to get a Turkish Green Card for 13 Euro. Stefan charged $ 50 good for only a month; Turkish Green Card is valid for a full year. Go figure. I was glad or lucky to have all these currencies on me. I needed Dollars, Euro and TRL just to cross one border. .
On the Turkish side of the border I met an Australian couple in their late 20th on a Honda bike that came by way of India, Pakistan and Iran. They were on their way to London. I would have talked more with them but he wanted ‘free’ stuff and I did not like his ‘begging’. From Greece to Turkey it’s an economic down hill. People are very friendly. Right away, when entering Turkey I noticed and saw minarets. This is the first time I am in an Islamic country and I am curious. What is this religion all about, are the people different? I did not want to just ride toward Istanbul; I wanted to see Turkey my way in a smaller town, the way I like to see a country. On the map the town of Malkara looked good and I took the exit for this town. Not that small of a town and after some looking I found a small hotel in a neighborhood I liked. It’s a Turkish hotel, not an International Hotel. When I entered the place I rang a bell sitting on the counter. I had to ring again and finally a young man arrived in his PJ’s looking sleepy. He spoke some English. He is the only one that runs the place along with his mom and normally people don’t come that early to check in. So he sleeps because he is up all night running the hotel. Sorry about his PJ’s etc, and yes, he has a room. After he gave me the keys he pointed to the stairs. I walked up the stairs and ended up in the kitchen above the Reception. An elderly woman looked at me a bit scared while looking at my riding outfit and shook her head.
No, Sir, not these stairs, the other stairs, please!
I heard the young men yell from downstairs. Whew, I thought I had to sleep in the Kitchen again. I left the woman with a smile and finally found my room on the 4th floor. This hotel is a walk up, but just fine with me. It is a local place. The bathroom is clean, it has hot water in the shower and the bed linens are washed. What else do I need? After this check in I just walked around the neighborhood looking around.
I sat at a fountain and a guy came by and said his name is Sharif and bought me a ‘chai’ (Tea) after which he just left. I will never see him again. Just because I was a foreigner (guest) in his town, I guess.
The town Malkara is not too large. About he size of Paterson, NJ? It is comprehensible for me as the first Turkish city. There are a lot of minarets in this city. At 5 pm the Muezzin called and the stores emptied out. Not fast mind you but I noticed it. I had chai (tea) and it costs 400 lira ($-.30). The chai is served in a small glass cup with 2 lumps of sugar. It is nice to just sit, have tea and people watch. Closer to dinner time I walked the town looking for a place to eat but I settled for Doenner until I can figure out how eating works in Turkey. By the way, the hotel “Torkey’ costs 20 TRL ($15). After my exploration walk, my tea, my dinner and some sight seeing on my own I went back to the room on the 4th floor and since it’s a walk up it showed me clearly I am out of shape. Still have difficulty figuring out the currency but I believe it’s”
New money Old money
$1 = 1.35 TRL $1=1350 TRL when is it old, when is it new money?

This county is so new to me, the system and idiosyncrasies so different that I have to really learn a lot. I remember that Turkey was the center of the Ottoman Empire and that this empire lasted for over 600 years. Was all this due to a different religion or are the people different? Lot’s to learn. I fall asleep with those thoughts going thru my head.




4/28/05 Thu Istanbul rain, cool
Turkey is building a new Highway towards the Greek border. The old road, while the new one is being built, is neglected. Holes are just fixed, worn areas just patched. The road is, in some places, difficult to ride and not easy especially on a motor cycle. It reminds me again of Russian roads. I just plod on towards Istanbul, careful, steady, watching the road, looking for and avoiding obstacles. After a while the road got easier and I followed the waypoint 011 on the GPS. It did lead me to a motorcycle shop but not…… to BMW. The shop I found sold Suzuki and Vespas and had no repair facility. I thought I could have my bike fixed here, get rid of that annoying ABS situation and also to get new tires, have them check why my bike stalls sometimes, etc. But now, what do I do? Where do I go from here? This place can not fix my bike.
I programmed the GPS for the hotel called the “Blue House” and the GPS lead me right to it. It’s a nice Hotel but for $ 90 a night it should be. The hotel looks nice, friendly colors in the lobby, situated perfectly in the center of activities but without parking facilities. Where do I park my bike? They tell me I can park in front of the door but this place looks way to busy for me to park my bike. Is there no other way? I rode around the block looking for an alternative when Jim, a carpet guy, talks to me. He asked if I needed help and I was suspicious. I almost drove away because why would he want to help? But he pointed me to a hotel near by that might have room for me and my bike and would be cheaper. Well, it was full, sold out, but I found a Turkish Hotel just 2 blocks away for 20 TRL ($15) a night. I can eat and park my bike for the difference between the cost of the Blue House Hotel and my new place the ‘Pansiyon Ilknur”. The location of either Hotel is right in the center of the tourist activity. It’s a pleasant place to be, with parks, benches and lots and lots of people. Every shoe shine boy, card seller, water man or carpet seller, etc. wants to sell you something. They all speak English well enough and want to pull you into their store. I leaned later that that was the objective of Jim, the carpet guy, who sent me to the less expensive hotel, too. I noticed in general that the prices have increased 4 fold. I am glad I stopped in Malkara to see Turkish life without the tourists. I wonder if the sellers get tired of hustling the people or if they believe that it’s the only way to make a living. To me it’s a turn off. The “hotel” Iknor is run by an old Turkish couple. His English is pretty good; I don’t know where he learned it. The street in front of the house is being paved with pavers. During the day it’s noisy but the workers quit at 7 pm so it is quiet at night. And since work starts at 8 am I have no problem with the noise level. Basically it’s quiet and a good choice if all you want is to sleep in a place like I do. Just overlook the Turkish bathroom and some of the dirt on the carpet and the general dilapidated condition of the building, just overlook it and all is just fine. What do you want from a place for $15. - A night! The bathroom is used by all the people in the Pansiyon. If you want to take a shower you have to ask the owner of the place to put on the hot water heater, first. Then you can use the hand held shower to spray your body (water flying everywhere) and please do not worry if anything gets wet, like the toilet, the sink or even the toilet paper. It will dry. It is NOT dirty, mind you; just so patched together and arranged in such crazy detail that it defies description. The caulking is thick and pure white around the old cream colored door. The tiles are green, the fixtures chrome and the accessories any color of the rainbow. NO color co-ordination at all, just whatever was cheapest is being used. Paint is peeling but it adds character, right? The toilet is clean but the handle for the flush is a string that you have to pull. There is a plastic bucket next to it with water in it. Is that bucket of water used to add to the toilet to flush better? Or is it for emergency use, in case the water does not replenish? Or is it to wash one’s hand (the left hand) after one used the bathroom? I have no idea, but it looks important and is being used by others, but since I have no idea I just look at it and think about it. The place I am in reminds me of places I slept in when I was a teenager and the other guests are younger and travel with just a nap sack in the way the old hippies used to travel. I am not alone here, yet the place is not crowded. My room has 3 beds in it, clean linens but the linen has holes here and there. I sleep just fine, holes or not. I have a key for the room and I am expected to make my own bed and keep it tidy. No problem.
I found a parking place for the bike but still have to go in the morning and arrange for the rate for 5 days. How do I talk to people about rates if they only speak Turkish and nothing else? Yet it is expected to ‘Handel’ about a price, that much I learned already. To just buy and pay is no fun anyhow unless it is for a cup of tea or some bread. The call from the minaret can be heard at 9.45 pm and it is time to go to sleep.




4/29/05 Fri Istanbul Heavy rain
I woke up at 5 am because the caller from the minaret called for prayer. But I went back to sleep until 7.30 am. It rained! What to do on a Fri (Islamic Sun) when it rains? I put on my rain gear and walked down to the Bospherous. People were taking the ferries up and down and across. I had tea with “Lueftie”, the Parking Garage attendant. I paid him for 5 days. I paid 10 TRL a day. He said he could not do better. My bike is there 24 hours a day I can not get a cheaper price. It’s ok, people come for 6 hours and he charges them 10 TRL, so I can see his reasoning. I try to teach him a few words in English. He tries but he has no talent. Because of the rain I went to the museum. There are lots of Statues, tone vases, knick-knacks from as early as 3000 years ago. One has to be a scholar to be interested. The layout of the museum is the old, classical one. Rooms full of collected stuff. Even excavations from Troy, yet it seems useless ‘stuff’ to me. A good day to be inside and the museum is heated and it’s dry. In the afternoon I met Jay at the Blue House. He is on the road since 2/27/05 and traveled alone so far to circumnavigate the globe in the Northern Hemisphere. We had dinner at Doh-Doy (food-food) and talked the night away. No, not really, 9.30Pm, when the crier from the minaret called, was when I stopped into the pension ‘Ilknur”.



4/30/05 Sat Istanbul cloudy but no rain
I had breakfast with Lueftie, Emra and another guy and taught Lueftie to say:” Good Morning, Sir.” As exchange I had a cup of tea and some bread. I also learned the following: Bir Elma Chai, Lueffen (one apple tea, please)
And if you want the bill in a restaurant you yell: “Hetchup, lueffen”
I think I learn more then Lueftie and every bit I learn help’s me in Turkey.
At 9.30 am Jay and I took our bike and waited for Kaz (Kasim). He was 30 minutes late and we left at 10.30 to see Kasim’s friend Olkan, who can repair bikes, change tires, oils, adjust valves, fix normal stuff.
Olkan Sezdin
Bastan Sok. No-14
Resitpasa-Enurgan
0212-229-4079
0212-229-4081 Cell: GSM 053 233 240 85
I marked his location on the GPS as N 41 07.221 E 029 02.771
Kasim, our guide, took Jay and me to BMW to see the place and BMW had a free lunch but not just for us. After coming back to the Blue House Hotel Jay learned that Dean and Gerissa French had arrived, too. We had dinner with them at Doh-Doy’s, a good place.
Words in Turkish I learned to so far: (spelling might not be correct)
Elma=Apple, Lampa=Light, Kapala=closed, Lastic=tire, Jawash=slow



5/1/05 Sun Istanbul Rain
Bought 3 breads but Luetfues was not there. What to do with 3 breads? I ate 2 breads by noon and gave the other to the proprietor. At 10 am met more people at the Blue House. Rick, Laura, John and David Ow had arrived. We sat around the breakfast table and I listened mostly to their chatter. The wind of importance blew across our table. I left at 11.30 am to bet some fresh air. Walked, walked, walked and just watched Turkish life. I observed “Modern” girls with their boyfriends and ‘traditional’ girls looking shyly at those couples, wishing they were the modern girl. The traditional girls reminded me of Jewish, Orthodox girls. Long, over the knee, even down to their ankle dresses. They were covered up as much as possible. Their scarves covered all, only revealing just their faces, which sometimes had a long nose and pimply skin showing. Nothing more showed. A modern girl could cover up her blemishes with Make up and Hairstyle but these plain girls? It is a real challenge for them to look attractive to the modern mind. Dinner was at Doy-Doy again, this time with 8 people. I need to change Restaurants, Kebab is getting to me. Everybody talked about how beaten up their bodies felt. Time lag is severe. I feel for the people that will arrive tomorrow and then get right into the rhythm of the program. I fell into the rhythm of Turkish life. Up at 7.30 am or 8 am, bread and cheese for breakfast, light lunch and bigger dinner. I did not loose weight even so I walk a lot. Hopefully build up stamina because of all this walking. I noticed birds flying around the minarets at night, white birds circling around and around the mosque. The birds are lit up from below and show up as pure white from the lights covering the buildings.



5/2/05 Mon Istanbul Sunny
The plan today is to pick up my bike at 3 pm today. Well the bike is fixed and runs much better. No more stalling, No more ABS failure. Glad this was done.
The shop was small but the guy knew what he was doing and I feel much better now.
Traffic in Istanbul is very dense and every inch is fought for. The 41 Liter bags are too wide. Jay behind me said I had only fractions of an inch sometimes between the cars and my bike. I must be very careful in dense traffic and in lane splitting and riding between objects. Found the Hotel again, thanks to GPS. GPS is really a great invention. Most of the day was spend with getting the bike, watching them fix it, etc. Dinner was in a fancy Seafood place. Good but the bill was 55 TRL ($45). Way too much for a meal. I did not have lunch today and since my Restaurant/Accommodations budget is in the black I am ok with spending the money. John LaChapelle found the Restaurant. Good place, just too expensive for my travel needs. Repair bill for Olkan’s work 500 TRL ($325). All oils were changed, new spark plugs, oil filter, air filter, gas filter, mounting of tires, adjusting valves, fixing ABS, new alternator belt. It was a complete service.
In addition I paid Kasm $ 326 for new Tourance tires (front and rear tire)
This is an expensive day in Istanbul.



5/3/05 Istanbul sunny day
Today was spent waiting for all to arrive. Everybody is here! Sure, some forgot important papers, keys etc, but that is normal in a group. While most just chatted, I walked the Grand Bazaar. The Bazaar started in 1461 and is still very much alive. Huge, clean and very old; a must see for anybody. Nice place to visit.
Last night I became a movie star. Films were made in the carpet store of ONUR on Mimar Mehmet Aga Cod. No 13/15. Gerissa French bought a silk carpet for $ 3620. - A really nice carpet and the best one in the store. Starting price was $ 4800. - A great example in carpet making and color and style. This silk carpet was hand-woven and hand-stitched. If she would not have bought it I was tempted to buy it myself.
At the Great Bazaar I almost bought 2 old prayer rugs. Starting price was $1050. - I got it down to $ 600. - But……. all of a sudden I got this creepy feeling and I left. I still think I did the right thing by just walking away. Was the carpet seller upset? Sure! But it was my money.
I noticed that group living is very different from solo existence, time for me to start learning again.



5/4/05 Istanbul clear, nice day
I had breakfast again with Lueftie. Emra could not eat; he needed a blood test today.
Today is bike pick up day. Jay and I did not have to do this I just had to find my block # on my bike for the Chinese paper work.
The block # is: 1 ZZ EB 0502 6095
Since all the men were picking up their bikes I chaperoned Gerissa French. We walked to the Fish Market, thru old Istanbul and she went into every store there is. Curious and inquisitive she learned a lot and asks many questions. We had tea in a backyard established in Byzantine times. A young carpet merchant taught us about the ins and outs of old carpets, how they are made and from which area they come, etc. It made us realize that even the buying of carpets is an art and that buying carpets and selling them is a ‘knowing’ game.
All bikes came thru customs just fine. Even the Rohberg’s, who forgot their title, got their machines. They had a color photocopy, both sides, which looked ‘real’. They told me they did not have to use it and that it was fairly easy to get the bikes thru customs. We all had dinner at the same expensive Fish Restaurant I talked about a few days ago. I have the feeling that our group is too large. I went to bed at 11 pm.



5/5/05 Istanbul clear, sunny day
I called Ronnie this morning, she is ok. Of course she misses me and I miss having her around but we are ok. The plan for today is ½ day of tours, then the rest of the day on our own. The tour this morning gave us an insight into Turkey, Islam and her people. The blue mosque is not blue and is an active mosque. Since Turks are mostly Sunni, but not that religious, we have access to the mosque. Kazim taught us the 5 pillars of Islam.

1 Allah is God and Mohammed is the prophet
2 5 prayers a day
3 keep Ramadan
4 once in your lifetime do the Hajj to Mecca
5 give alms to the poor (1/4% of your income)

2 or more minarets mean it’s a royal mosque. We saw the Haga Sofia (Sofia means wisdom in Greek) So Haga Sofia means ‘Divine Wisdom”
The name has nothing to do with a woman. Built in 523 to 527 AD and then again in 1436 it turned from a church to a mosque. Today it is a museum, not a mosque. Muslims many years ago obliterated the Byzantine pictures by just white washing over them. In doing so they preserved the underlying art and now one can go back and see how the decoration of the inside was 1500 years ago. The building has a huge inner space; 184 feet in height. Amazing for the time in which it was build.
I would say that by today’s standards the interior is way too much gold. Taste changes in time. In the afternoon I visited the old underground cistern. A left over from the old Sultan times and the walled city of Constantinople. One column has the upside down head of a medusa as a support. Even in old times trash was used to build and things were used where ever they could be used. The cistern was for emergency use only and held up to 6 months of water for a city of 250,000 at that time. A big space and it holds a lot of water. Today fish swim in the cistern and I am not sure if it is used as a water supply for Istanbul or not. It certainly could be, the water is very clean and usable. Since I am on my own and we are leaving Istanbul soon I took a look at the old Sultan Palace. The Ottoman Empire was great and around for a long time. The palace gives only a hint of the splendor in which the Royals lived. The Topkapi Sarayi (Palace) holds the Turkish Treasury. 84 carat, pear shaped diamond (the stone was found by a beggar in a trash pile who sold it for 2 spoons), gold, silver, pearls on every conceivable object. Spoons, mirrors, swords, candle sticks, everything. Almost every object used in a house or home, every utensil was covered in jewels and gold. So much so that it looks almost unreal. When one has so much money that even gold and pearls become ‘common’ is when you are wealthy.
In one section of the palace are relics of Mohammed, the prophet.
His tooth, some hair and his foot print. People came and were in awe.

Silk Route Trip 2005 - continued

4/23/05 Sat Modena, Italy cold, rain, snow, everything else
I am sitting in a Hotel in Modena, Italy looking back over today.
I left Kirchheim/Heidelberg at 9 AM and arrived in Modena/Italy at 6 PM. I had every kind of weather a traveler can expect in Europe, it is April and April is unpredictable. I can report that the Bike runs ok. It stalled again when coming off the Autobahn or the Autostrada and I needed to restart it, which is a real pain. I already said that it can also be dangerous because a fast get away, when I need it, in case of an emergency, is not guaranteed. I need to fix this!
In addition, the ABS lights come on, too. What is this now? If the ABS light stays on (blinks) the ABS is NOT engaged and I have only ‘normal’ braking power. NO ABS! I stopped the bike on the side of the road, held the ABS button down, but it still blinks like it’s turned off. I drove with the blinking ABS light on for an hour, then I pulled over, turned the bike off and restarted it and now all is well. I think this bike has Gremlins.

I learned to write down all the towns on the way in sequence of the way I want to travel. It helps, reading the directional signs, and makes it easier to find the way in Europe. I wrote down more towns then I needed but the basic Idea works great. A Vignette (toll sticker) for a full year in Switzerland is FR 40. – ($?) (expensive). Compare that with the cost of toll in the U.S. It costs $ 6. - to cross GW bridge just once. And after the GW comes the Triboro ($3), etc. The Verazano Bridge is $ 9.- and that adds up to more in a year. At least in Switzerland you pay once and that is it for the year. Too bad I could not re-sell the vignette after I used it but it sticks now on my windshield of the bike and it’s an expensive souvenir. I wish I could use it in Italy, too but no. Tolls are cool in Italy, just stick your credit card in a slot at the toll plaza, get the card back and a nice female voice says: “Gracie!” the bar rises and off you go. Some roads work like the NJ Turnpike, take your ticket and ride until you exit and then pay using the same procedures as described above. Italy has something like EZ Pass but I am just riding thru, I have to do it the old fashion way and pay each time. But at least I could pay without using local currency, without fumbling for coins in my pocket with my gloves on. And I could use any Visa card, even an American card. Once off the Autostrada it is a little nutty. Since there are no blatant American advertisements for a hotel I had to look around and ride slowly. This causes the other drivers to beep. You are too slow for us. Beep! Know your way! Beep! Get out of my way! Beep! Beep! What are you looking for? Beep! Off the Autostrada in Modena I found (saw) a Holiday Inn. That is the only Hotel I saw. One night stay is 90 Euro (expensive). But since it started to rain I just took it. Besides, where is the next hotel? How much will that Hotel cost me? Looking for it in the rain? After 9 hours of riding thru the Alps in freezing weather? I wore my undershirt, shirt, and windproof North Face jacket, Gortex liner in Motorcycle jacket, Motorcycle jacket and all zipped up and buttoned up. Neck warmer, heated grips, etc and still felt chilly. April is early in the Alps. I saw that some passes are still closed. The Highway in Switzerland is always clear of snow and well taken cared for. Well I made it to Italy and that is it for today. I will have some food in the Restaurant next door, it’s a self-serve place and I saw they have spaghetti and meatballs. Good enough and cheap enough, too.



4/25/05 Mon Ancona/at Sea great riding weather
I figured that I would stay in Ancona and just wait in a Hotel near the ferry. I did not have to worry about room on the ferry tomorrow because I had a reservation via the internet. I even paid already via the internet and charged everything to my credit card. I had a print out with me of the confirmation, just in case it was needed. It turned out better than I thought. I was lucky and arrived in Ancona at about 11.45 am. I asked some Russian guys, hanging out near the ferry, to watch over my bike and went inside the terminal and asked if I could get on the ferry one day ahead of time. Lots of people were standing in line and it was very busy at the ticket counter but they had plenty of room, it’s a big, brand new ship and so I am going to Greece ahead of schedule. It helped to have this reservation print out because everything is computerized and they found me in their scheduling set up and just moved me one day ahead. I thanked the Russian guys for watching my bike, waved good bye to them and then waited in line, along with the other vehicles, to board. I can not believe how many cars and trucks fit into this ship. They are packing them in like sardines. For the drivers of the large trucks it is all a routine. For me it was interesting to watch and the time flew by. I was amazed that the truckers could back up their large rigs into the belly of the ferry with such an ease. I have trouble backing up with my little boat trailer, but they just backed up, trailer and all. Right into the darkness of the ship, into small places, right next to the other trucks already parked inside. Remember in Europe you have a lot of double, piggy back trucks and they are harder to back up then the American rigs. I was one of the last people to get on board because they fitted me in between the trucks and the wall of the ship. My bike looked real small inside the hull of this ferry. I used my own BMW straps to tie the bike down. Turned out later I did not need to have done that, the ride was real smooth. I am glad I had a seat reserved. Not because there is no room, but this ‘Air Seat’ section had one movie after another playing and the speakers were set on loud which is good for me. I noticed that a lot of people had a routine in traveling on this ferry. Most knew where to go, when to eat, what to do. Everything on board this brand new, Greek owned ship is set up like a cruise ship. Shops, Casinos, Discos, Bars, Coffee and Cake shops, you name it they have it. While I was walking around looking this ship over I was invited by a group of Russian truck drivers to join them. They were having a good old drunken time, right at the beginning of the trip. Food was all over the table top, beer in plastic cups, etc. They brought everything with them, bought nothing on board this ship; they obviously are making this ferry trip often and know the prices, know how to get around the expensive drinks. I sat down for a while but left because I have a hard time listening to drunks and their bantering. After a long trip of 14 hours the ship arrived in Igoumenitsa at 5.30 am Greek time and because I had a bike I was one of the first to leave the ship. Just at the crack of dawn. I just followed the LKW’s (Lastkraftwagen) and found myself out of town in the direction of Ionnina in no time. I am in Greece, the first time in my life in Greece. What a hilly trip! Left turns, right turns, up, down, never ending. The soil is very rocky and very poor yielding, except the bottom land of which there is almost none because of the hilly terrain and the mountains. Some Mountains still have a lot of snow on top. Spring just sprung, the trees are full of blossoms, and some of a lavender color I never saw before. Delightful!! Yes, I like Greece. I can feel it immediately, I like it.
This is a rugged, old area which has been farmed for over millennia. What is my first impression of Greece? I like it a lot.
It is still cold but I am dressed for it. I ride on and on until the afternoon. The temp is great at 24 C. At about 4 pm I am looking for a place to stay and I like the town of Kozani. It is not too large, has a hotel and looks friendly and has this old world charm. Not a great place, mind you, but it will do just fine for an overnight stay in a small town. The hotel in Alonaikia (Kozani) can give you a room for 40 Euro. The hotel is old fashioned and does not see a lot of travelers. It is a mix of friendliness and curiosity that greets me when I look at the people. Some old men ask me where I am from and when I tell them I am from America they just shake their head and walk on. Most ask me in German, I think it’s because they worked in Germany years ago and returned to Greece; living the good life.
I have trouble reading the signs. The Greek alphabet is not exactly like ours but some letters are the same. I wrote a list since I don’t have a book but can not type it here (my computer does not allow Greek lettering)
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A B r P
To read a road sign is difficult and needs a lot of time. Some of the letters look totally different. The C looks somewhat like an ‘r’ or the letter Y looks like a pitchfork. It is difficult finding the way while reading road signs and watching for traffic.
I learned the following in Greek so far:
Ef ferish to = thank you
Nerro = water
Pschomi= bread
Salatee= salad
So I can eat now and not starve. I went to a small restaurant in town that the hotel owner showed me. He actually walked me over to it, made sure I would not miss it. At the Restaurant I had exactly what you read above. A Greek Salad for dinner with bread. It was very good, I was hungry.
Walking around I noticed a lot of chairs are in use in Greece. Almost every place has chairs sitting in front of their door. There are a lot of coffee houses or tea places not all that busy but lots of them never the less. Do Greeks drink that much coffee?



4/26/05 Tue New Kapala, Greece nice weather Cool.
I tried to take the local roads but got lost (it is hard reading the signs) and took the real local, almost dirt roads to Sassaloniki. A big, huge town and not exactly great for what I like. I prefer more authentic Greek people in smaller towns. So I pressed on towards Kapala but even this town is too large for me. Buses, taxies, noise, etc. I looked at an old hotel but decided ‘no, not this town’. It is also very hard to park my bike inside a big city. In any case, smaller places appeal much more to me, I can understand the layout of the roads immediately and it just feels better to be in smaller towns when visiting by bike. Anyhow, now I am in NEW Kapala and it’s just right. The main street has shops of all kinds and the hotel is 2 blocks off the Ocean in a residential neighborhood. The proprietor is 70 years old and I’m the only guest in a 30 room hotel. The proprietor was 15 years in Germany and learned the trade of ‘Schlosser’ (metal worker). He has 2 sons (43 and 36) and worries because both of his children do NOT want the hotel. Both have their own life and the father (owner of the hotel) sits behind the reception desk and brutes of what to do with the hotel. He does not want to sell it; he wants to leave a legacy for future generations of himself. The old man’s German is good enough for me to understand even so he speaks with a Schwaebish accent. For dinner I had Sardines and bread at a local place. It was a small local hole in the wall and 6 Greek men were there drinking a lot of beer. 2 of them spoke some German. It was broken German but enough to get along. My name is Johann. It’s easier for Greeks to say then Hans. I was fed Ouzo and beer by those guys. They even offered me a Polish girl and showed me her picture. The music played and they all sang and had a great, old, drunken time. I bought each of them a bottle of beer and left them to their happiness. On the walk back to the Hotel I found an internet place and finally checked all my e mail and answered questions and wrote a quick note to Mike Paull. Then while walking back I saw the Hotel Proprietor sit next to a building supply store (his son’s) and in typical Greek fashion sat next to him on a chair and talked and watched people go by. It’s the week before Easter and old ladies walk by and go to church. He knows them all but disregards most of them. He nodded to just one or 2 women and in my mind I ask is it because it is not polite to say hello to women in general? Or is it because he is not liked or he knows they don’t like him? I did not ask him but still wonder today? What is the Greek way of greeting women? After he closed his sons shop for the night, around 7pm I left and I took a shower at the hotel and the water came out of a handheld faucet and I had to stand over the toilet seat in order to let the water drain off my body. The all tile floor had a drain in the middle of the room but it did not work. It reminded me of Russia. The Hotel is only about 20 years old, how could they build it like that? Is that why the sons don’t want the hotel? Or is it that this hotel does not belong in a residential neighborhood like this especially when it has hardly any guests. Anyhow, I liked this place, it was just right for me. I slept well and my bike was parked in front of the place, in the street, and was perfectly safe.

Silk Route Trip 2005

4/18/05 Flight to Munich was ok. Naturally I have some dreads of how the bike will be and if all will go well and if I find the BMW dealership starting off from the airport etc but let’s get there and we will see.


4/19/05 I had made arrangements to take the bus from the airport and that worked out great. I took the airport bus to the city and I am glad I did. The taxi would have been way too expensive. The airport is a good 1 hour from the city center. I spoke to the bus driver, who looked at me funny, seeing me travel with a motorcycle helmet as my luggage. Of course it helps a great deal when you speak the language. He was kind enough to pull over on the way to his final stop, he even helped me get a taxi and stuck me in this taxi, told the woman driver in Bavarian where I wanted to go and off I went to the BMW dealer “BWM Niederlassung” and checked out the used bike I bought and all seems ok. That is a great burden off my shoulders. I took a chance on this bike. I bought it sight unseen and it had 22566 miles on it when I bought it. So, it’s not a new bike and has been ridden thru Africa and been shipped around the world. This was not a bike that stood in somebody’s garage being pampered. The bike is set up close to what I will need but I have to add some things I feel are essential things. I can make due with the set up as it is but while I am in Germany it’s better if I do it here. The best place for adding things to my kind of bike is Touratech in the Black Forest region. I have an appointment with them in 2 days and will go there. Fred Meyers, of BMW Niederlassung, did a good job prepping or preserving this bike I just bought. To not just walk out without giving the dealer any business, I bought some spare parts; I immediately noticed they are a lot cheaper here then in the U.S. Miles on bike: 22566

4/20/05 Wed. Fred Meyers gave me the address of a Hotel right across the street from BMW Niederlassung and I slept there the first night. It is only a convenience Hotel, nothing special except that it is expensive. When I travel I like to find unique places, unique does not mean expensive to me. I like to find the local charm in a place and this hotel was just like many other hotels, a bit sleek and definitely not one to be remembered as ‘outstanding’. I picked up the bike across the street at BMW Niederlassung and left in cold and rain on my ride from Munich to Niedereschach. Niedereschach is the Corporate Headquarter of Touratech. A very small town in the Black Forest and a bit hard to find even with a map. Getting going from Munich I can say the Bike runs fine. Everything works, shifting, compression, handling is ok. It feels just like the bike I have at home. The saddle is a bit low for me but it is wider then what I am use to. Let’s see how it is after the Autobahn ride. For future references I need to remember to take the Exit “Villingen” off the Autobahn because it led to the next Road on the left towards the town of Dauchingen. It was real easy to find Dauchingen, the town with the Hotel. Niedereschach is so small it does not have a Hotel. So, Hans, remember, find Dauchingen, then you will find Niedereschach automatically. Dauchingen is about 6 Km away from Niedereschach. I booked a room in the “Schwarzwaelder Hof” in Dauchingen.
Yes, they have other hotels but this is the best one. Nice people operate this place and it is not too expensive and HAS the uniqueness I like in a place. The owners of the Hotel let me use their garage and I used their personal space to let my stuff dry. I was really wet from riding the stretch from Munich to here and it felt good to have a dry place to rest for the night. The food in the Restaurant in front of the Hotel, run by relatives of the Hotel owners, is very good. Yes, typical German food. I loved eating the fatty pork meat ‘Eintopf’ even so I usually don’t care for fatty meat. The service is great and friendly. The whole area of the Black Forest has a nice aire about it, a nice place to spend a vacation. Well, I did not come here for Vacations. I need to be at Touratech early tomorrow morning.


4/21/05 Thu Niedereschach Rain, cool
I have trouble sleeping at night; it must be the time change. I lie awake for hours just waiting for morning. Of course I fall asleep a few hours before it’s time to get up. I Overslept! Not really, I got up at 8am but it feels like it.
Being that close to my destination I got to Touratech at 9 AM but was the 2nd in line to get through the door. Touratech is a “slow” place. It is not operated like Corporations in the hectic U.S. Coming from the nutty New York area it is a real adjustment on my part to see people work like that. People are friendly but they have their own way. “Slow” opening at 9 AM and lunch is already at 12 noon. Lunch is from 12 to 2 PM. That was only 3 hours of work in the morning, 3 hours before lunch starts. Then they work from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. Again just 3 hours. 6 hours work total in a given day. It is very difficult for me to understand and to live with; coming from 24 hours stores in the U.S. I find it frustrating.
In addition I feel isolated waiting while they work on my bike. I’m sure they will do the job right but nobody “asks” anything. Nobody comes and tells me when the job will be done. It’s poor communication. I am used to being coddled by service people.
NO internet available for the waiting customer. It’s poor thinking! They have internet at every desk, why not have terminals for waiting customers?
Free coffee is good. Free Mineral water is good. Still, I like to be informed, like to “know”. I guess they are NOT set up for repair jobs and installations. Touratech is more of a shipping Headquarters. But only 6 hours a day of work? It boggles my mind that this can be so in an industrialized Nation like Germany. Don’t they have competition? Or are we in the U.S. nuts for working like we do and the Germans are doing it right?
I tried to call home during the 2 hour lunch break, no luck! I walked to Niedereschach, about 20 minutes down the hill from the Touratech office and tried 2 phone booths. No connections! Yes, Niedereschach is a small town. Lady on the “phone” (operator) could not help either, even so I explained everything in German to her. (Or maybe she was on her lunch break, too and did not want to think) No internet available in town as well! So it’s waiting, waiting! Waiting to call home, to find internet, to have bike set up, waiting!
Finally, at 4.30pm my bike is ready! New Ohlin’s shocks installed; a better luggage holder behind the rear seat and the catalytic converter removed. I am ready to go to China.




4/22/05 Fri Kirchheim Nice weather
What a glorious day! A great day to get back on the Autobahn and give this fixed machine of mine a trial run to Kirchheim. I said good bye to the folks in the Black Forest, gave the owner of the hotel, a BMW rider himself, stuff I found in the panniers (a cable to lock the bike, an extra lock, a net to hold stuff down, etc) and off I go. The ride was ok and I got to Frankfurt/Kirchheim without a hitch. No problem, great riding weather and the Bike ran fine except…….
After coming off the Autobahn, at a traffic light the engine stalled. Oh no! That should not happen and can be dangerous if and when power is needed in an emergency. What is wrong? The bike ran fine! Right away my mind runs wild! Questions shoot thru my head in rapid order and I want immediate answers. Do I have to adjust the fuel flow? Is it too lean, too rich? How will that affect my trip? My mind is like that, right away I want to know answers, and I want to know what I can do; just because the bike stalled at a traffic light. I did nothing! Waiting for it to happen again seems the best answer!
I knew Stefan Knopf would not be at home but I talked to him and he said I could use his shop when I would come to Kirchheim. I went to his house to check in to his B&B, say hello to his wife Petra, and then I went to Stefan’s’ shop. I added oil to the engine, learning in the process how much or how little oil this new bike needs. Every BMW bike ‘eats’ oil and I always carry some oil with me. I used the left over oil from last year’s trip I had stored at Stefan’s. I noticed that the bike did not need much oil but it needed some oil. Next I played mechanic and set up the bike with stuff I hopefully will NOT need on the trip. I tied spare clutch and brake handles to bike, bolted brake pads to license plate holder, pre-drilled holes for the Chinese license plate we will get and just checked every bold and nut. This is just a precaution and makes me feel better having checked over the bike, one screw at the time. Over the years I learned that things shake loose and while the bike runs ok, it is a good practice to always check for stuff on the bike. Are the tires ok? Look for things lodged in the treads! I visually just give it a quick check. Listen for rattles, pull and tug gently, look for things that might be loose, etc. It’s just like insurance and Stefan’s place was as good as any place. I do this check in parking lots; I don’t really need a mechanics shop like Stefan’s. Everything was ok, just….the bike stalled at the light, however, remember? While it still bugged me I pushed it aside in my mind and did nothing. Maybe it was because I removed the catalytic converter and the bike runs different now. I did not notice anything different, but who knows. Forget about it, Hans, it will be ok, you will find out what did it.
I went back to the B&B and I noticed no change in the town of Kirchheim, same town as last year. It is a small town and life goes on without any great upheaval for most of the decade. Behind Stefan’s B&B was an empty lot last year, now some new apartments are going up, but that is about it. I immediately get this ‘small time’ feeling when I am in Germany. Everyday is the same, nothing great happens. The people here like the status quo. I hate it! I could never go back and live in Germany. It bugs me to see ‘no changes’ and yet, it is nice to know it exists. Guess I am having flash backs from Oppum or from Uerdingen.
At Stefan’s I met Marcus from Chicago. He is waiting for his wife coming in on Monday. He came a few days earlier to pick up his bike, a brand new bike with “new” front end.
He tells me the story that last year with only 80 miles on his bike a 25 year old kid hit his front end. Marcus went down and was lucky; he only broke his right wrist and a finger.
His wife got bruises but nothing more serious. Now, this year, they want to finish last year’s trip. Plus, they want to see Carcarsonne, France. I gave him some hints about France, the way they eat lunch at 1 pm sharp, on how they eat breakfast, etc. He was thankful for my tips but he was also eager to go and find out for himself what France is all about. Marcus was THE Photographer who did the work for Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs. Marcus made a good living plus some extra, which he put away each year. With both catalogs going out of business and now digital photography taking hold, he closed his shop and is now selling his good, old, expensive Hasselblatt cameras on eBay. Nice guy, this Marcus fellow! We had dinner at night near the B&B and were joined by Petra, who has a build in baby sitter for her 4 kids now that her oldest daughter is 13 years old. Time flies when you look at children and see how fast they grow.

Centralia, PA

5/11/02 “Centralia” PA.
Centralia was build on the top of a mountain in PA, the whole mountains in the area are nothing but coal. Years ago a fire erupted at the dump of Centralia and the coal beneath the town caught fire and is now burning and burning. Of course folks tried to stop the fire. Water was poured over it by the truckloads. Fire hoses pumped water in for days. Nothing helped. The fire is still burning way below the ground level. All of this was for naught, all without results. The State of PA was at a loss. The Federal Government took over and finally decided to eliminate the town altogether and asked people to move. Tax payers paid for the move.
Many houses in town are eliminated now and were ripped down but the streets are still there. Traffic signs are still stopping traffic. Roads are still named. The cemetary is still in tact. Some fearless folks even live right on top of the fire.
The ground under your feet feels hot to the touch. I feels like you are standing in a frying pan. In mid winter, when snow falls all around, Centralia is clear of snow. The heat beneath the streets and grounds melts the snow. A strange sight one will not forget. The whole area is white with snow but this town is perfectly dry and without any snow. I wonder if tropical plants would grow there.
Some cave-ins occurred of course. There are sink holes here and there. Smoke pouring out of these holes. Some holes are small, some are as big as the house that fell into the deep. Some folks also did not want to move out and so you see a house here and there, occupied as if nothing happened. The place gave me the creeps; never know if and when the Street will collapse. After some time I high tailed it out of town. Weird Place, if you fall into one of those cave-ins, don’t blame me, I warned you. I did not even stick around for pictures.

Meetings of the minds

Daytona, Florida in March – Bike Rally
Hermit Island, Maine in May – The Down East Rally –
Huntsville, Alabama in May – The Rocket Rally (Chicken Rally)
Lake George, New York- Americade Rally
Crane, Missouri in June – Missouri Rally
Boise, Idaho in June – RA National Rally
Paonia, Colorado in July – Top of the Rockies
Essex Junction, Vermont in July – MOA National Rally

August… mental recovery on Cape Cod, or let’s call it family time or vacation.

Finger Lake Rally early September in Upstate New York.

Oh, lot’s of stories to tell.
(Pigs don’t eat tomatoes is what I learned and still fight as being not true)
Lot’s of new people to meet.
(A whole set of Canadians)
Lot’s of info to collect and yet….
I am not a rally hound like some folks that go from one rally to another.
I tried, it is not me. I do not mind a few rallies a year to catch up on the latest or in meeting old friends again. But I believe I overdid it this year.
The small rallies are nicer than the big ones.
I do not need the rock and roll music (found I love Classical Music much more), the bands (most of them are not good and are just loud), the beer tents (I drink mostly water anyhow) or the sales seminars (thank you, I do not need another bag, foot pegs, clothing,) on how and what to pack (yes they have a seminar on that) how to see the world (with enough money you can hire anybody), etc.

A get together with like minded folks are all I am looking for. So give me the small rally, give me new experiences, and you can keep the beer tents.

I sure met great people during my travels, met great riders that can teach me a lot.

But…. I prefer to actually ride alone. I seem to hate to ride with others and seem to not like to conform. They need to stop for gas, so I have to stop?
They feel like coffee so we all stop? Does anybody need to do the bathroom detail?
I feel like taking a rest in an Air Conditioned place and just looking around but do not want to hold up everybody!
So I would ride on in order to keep up with the pack.
I need gas and they all have to wait for me? I should have gotten gas when everybody else did, I know! It’s conforming, thinking as a group that I don’t like. I like riding a motorcycle because I can be free, free to do as I please, go to places I want to go to.
Without conforming to the group, without doing what they want to do

In Utah, off route 24 I believe, is a short road that leads to Mexican Hat, a gravel road with hairpin curves and 16% declines, no guard rails, and no shade to speak off.
A big yellow signs warns you that this road ‘could’ be dangerous and is not for the faint hearted.

I did not take this route, I chickened out. I continued on the main road and all went well.
I know of 5 people that did take this shortcut and all went well too, but one rider did not like the gravel, the steep decline, the missing guard rails, etc.
Yet…. This rider went because of peer pressure, of keeping up with the pack. All went well like I said. Still when I ride alone I am only responsible for myself. No peer pressure. Would I have been with the group I would have ridden the road, too, just like the rider did who does not like gravel.

Back to the rallies:

Rallies are a phenomenon like the old Summer Meetings of by gone years.
The Sioux had a summer meeting to talk things over. All the tribes had them. All got together at a predetermined place and just talked; it’s as old as human history.
The trappers met the Natives to trade and vice versa.
I like that aspect of it. I do not like too much of it, though.
This year I definitely overdid the rally thing.

Next year…. I think I will try riding in countries I have not been.

God willing!

Crossing the Yangtze River, China

Sheep skin raft to cross the Yellow River in China.

We had 4 heavy people on the raft and it carried us accross the river without problems. Simple but very effective river crossing.

Unit of Time

Unit of Time

One gets some crazy ideas when on the road. The brain does something unique and sometimes these ideas or thoughts get stuck in the brain and like a broken record play over and over. Some songs are like that, too or simple tunes that are stuck in my head and I hum the same melody over and over and can not get rid of it. I caught myself humming Bach’s cantatas over and over; the little Fugue over and over. Even to the point that I was annoyed at myself but could not stop it. Riding along the road there is was, in my head and I was humming it and it created a mixed feeling of road, weather, noise and thought. Was that me? Was I the music, the noise, the road, the song in my head?
I remember vividly the ride along the panhandle of Oklahoma. The road is very flat, devoid of any features. No tree, no hill, no focus but the road I rode on. I was going about 75 miles an hour, the wind in my face and the drone of the motor in my ears. The little fugue stuck in my mind, over and over. Then… like a brain flash and for a moment I did not know if I was riding or if the road was sliding under me. I was stuck in time. Yes, I could hear, see, smell but so what? Nothing changed. I was sitting on a droning beast going to? Nothing changed! It was the same landscape no matter the speed. Time was sliding by UNDER me. I was not there, or I was there but the world around me was passing by. It is hard to put into words, this feeling of being in one place but not being with reality the way I thought about it before that point. Like I said, this feeling did not last long; it was a mere minute maybe. I can look back and remember it but I can not recreate it. I tried a few times, when on a trip, to recreate this feeling but it never happened since. What does happen to my head is that since that moment I sometimes dream about time. Yes, Time!
I ask myself what time is. What is a unit of time?
I can not find the answer. In my head I put myself in situations like a dark cave without any light at all. How would I know what time it is?
If I lived in this cave without light and could see nothing and talk to nobody and just existed what would time mean to me? Would I measure time by the growth of my hair? What would the unit of time be?
Would I measure time in between meals? What meals? If nobody is around me and feeds me, how would I live? I imagine that I would not need anything like food, drink or that my body would not age or is in need of anything. I am just there! How would I measure time?
I can not see anything except that I exist. I KNOW I exist, so what time is it? What is a Unit of Time?
I hear people say, that time flies! They mean it flows like a rapid river and nobody can stop it. Is this true? Can Time not be stopped? I know about the ideas of Einstein that time can be slowed down, but can it be stopped? Can the river of time be dammed? Like wind that blows, can it be stopped? If it can be stopped, what will happen? Is there an ANTI time?
Those are things that pop into my head and just like the song that is stuck in my head when I ride, Time is stuck in my head when I sleep.
What is a unit of time?
I can tell myself not to think about it but…..it pops into my head when I least expected.
Just like the stuff that seems to be stuck in my head when I ride and the strange experiences I have when I sit on my bike Time is with me.

I know of people that create math problems for themselves when they ride their bike. They just HAVE to solve them!
I wish I could solve what a unit of time is. I am stuck, it’s in my head and I can not get rid of it. It follows me in my dreams.
So, if you KNOW the answer, just tell me, it will help me out.
What is a unit of time?

A new life behind the curtain.

It’s reflective time now that winter has settled in and snow covers the ground. My bikes are waiting for clear roads without ice and danger.
If I had a smaller bike and the right tires I might dare to venture out despite the frost on the pumpkins. The way it stands, however, the LT with 850 Lbs is too heavy to hold up and actually dangerous to ride with the slick highway tires I have. There is nothing to do but wait for spring or some dry cold days with clear roads. Like I said, it’s reflective time.

On one of those sudden insight flashes I now know what has been bugging me for some time. I could not put a name to it but now I can.
For weeks, even months, I have watched people around me pursue their dreams as usual.
I watch when they buy a new car without getting excited about their new car.
I learn they have changed housing without being impressed with the new house they have bought.
A new camera does nothing to me.
I am not impressed with their ‘impressive’ different job.

Things bought by anybody are just those…things! A job is just a job and provides. Their life is ‘theirs’ to do as they please. I let them do their thing, buy what they want to buy and mainly watch what they do.
I am not impressed anymore.

The consumerism in America leaves me cold and unemotional. Ads still bombard me with what I should buy and what I should have in order to be ‘with it’ or ‘hip’. Yet, they have lost some of their impact.

I am not the man I used to be. Am I getting smarter?

Or have I, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, finally looked behind the curtain?
Remember how impressed she was when she finally came to Oz? She was even scared by the huge image of the almighty wizard. She just had to learn that behind the curtain is a guy pushing handles and pulling rods and pretending to be ‘all’ powerful and magical.
Well, I have found lately that those Oz wizards are all over the place. They are in stores and on advertisements and they want us to buy, buy. They want us to believe that they are all knowing and powerful.

Not only is that true with business but also when I ride my motorcycle.

I do not have to have the latest model in order to enjoy a good day’s ride.
I do not have to believe all the magazine stories about good trips.
I do not have to keep up with the good riders in front of me and then ‘over-ride’ my abilities.
I do not even have to travel to exotic places in order to ride my bike.

I also do not have to buy people Christmas presents, or even send those X-mas cards.
I am not saying humbug, because I like the traditions, but I do not HAVE to do anything just because someone pulls a lever or wants me to believe his or her way; or buy this or that.

I have a house, thank you. I do not need a better one.
I have a few motorcycles; I do not have to get the latest, newest or even biggest. I am fine with what I have.

I guess that once you look behind the curtain, once you get over the shock that there are people pulling the strings so that you ‘believe’. Once you understand that they are no wizards… you might even become content.

The deadliest place on earth - Taklamakan -

<-- The last oasis before Takla Makan

Swaying thru the desert

The King of Samarkand

Actual Kings, years ago, where young like this.
This is, could be, a picture from a Millenium ago.


What would you change ?

The colors ?
The People ?


The same bread is still baked today. The girls are still this pretty. Even the woman in the background still looks this old today. This is the Silk Road.

Choose your Bliss - Alma Ata

It is said that everybody who will come and put their hand into the book will be saved.




The ones that do this will be blessed with eternal bliss.
Unfortunately you have to go to Alma Ata to find the book.

Alma means 'Apple'
Ata means 'Place'

No, eating Apples will not be a substitute.

Plenty of food to be had in Central Asia

Plenty of food



Fresh Food



Everybody makes a living



An assortment of basics



Dried nuts and fruits