Europe on 2 wheels 2013 – overview

Europe on 2 wheels 2013 – overview

We like traveling by motorcycle to explore new countries and different roads. Leaving the tour groups behind we’re free to go where we want, when we want. We like the freedom. Maybe we’re changing though, maybe we’re just getting old or maybe our perspective has changed because this mode of travel is becoming more of an inconvenience for us than anything else. We will probably always ride motorcycles but most certainly not as a main mode of travel anymore.

Curtis in Krakow, Poland

Curtis in Krakow, Poland

Our trip turned out great, but it was not at all the trip we had planned. All due to the fact that we chose to ride motorcycles. Let me begin by showing you our planned route (CLICK HERE), as you can see we were to go South from Frankfurt to Switzerland, Italy and Slovenia. But, here’s what happened:

  • The time schedule for us landing in Frankfurt and picking up my rental motorcycle didn’t work well with Curtis’ schedule to go an hour south to Heidelberg to pick up his motorcycle from storage. Long story short, we decided to do our trip in reverse order. No big deal.
  • Curtis picks up his motorcycle and promptly crashes it. It’s still ride-able but unfortunately it landed on his leg in the crash. Luckily there were no broken bones just some major bruising and swelling. This prevented us from doing the hikes and canyoning we had planned for Switzerland.
  • Once in Prague, we looked at the forecast for the week ahead. Rain. Rain. Cold. And Rain. Normally this isn’t a big deal, but since our last Europe riding trip was extremely hot we didn’t pack enough warm riding gear this time. This is where our trip changed from riding, hiking and all around adventure to sightseeing. Which worked out since Curtis’ leg was sore for the entire trip.
  •  Suddenly with an open schedule and no research on other places, we decided to go further east and visit Poland. Words can’t describe how much I like the food in Poland. Anyone who knows me knows that I like food. Good food! I don’t eat meat so finding quality food can sometimes be a struggle. I was overjoyed in Poland simply because of the food.
  •  Once in Poland we decided to see Krakow, Warsaw and then we were planning to go east to Berlin and Amsterdam. We never made it to Amsterdam due to the cold and rainy weather, but Berlin was our favorite stop along the way!
Jill in Berlin, Germany

Jill in Berlin, Germany

Even though we won’t continue riding motorcycle as a main form of transportation when traveling, we still highly recommend that if you ride…do a really big trip at least once! It’s not ideal in our opinion but it’s definitely an experience worth having. If you’re riding as a single person or if there are two of you on the same motorcycle then that is much easier than the way we travel. Since there are two of us and we both ride our own motorcycles certain things become inconvenient and/or expensive. Gas in Europe is expensive, toll highways are expensive and finding a place to put your riding gear while you wander a town is a nuisance. As a couple, we would have benefited much more from either renting a car or using the train system (which is fantastic, by the way.)

Just a funny picture! Prague, Czech Republic

Just a funny picture!
Prague, Czech Republic

 

If you’re interested in renting a bike from Frankfurt: Allround Motorcycle Renting

If you’re interested in storing a bike in Heidelberg (an hour south of Frankfurt): Knopf Tours

Jill Patterson
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