Ann (my wife) and I are interested in doing a bucket list tour of Europe next year, hopefully through the Alps. The problem is the price. Looks like a $14,000 trip (includes airfare) for the two of us (two bikes because she rides, yay) on Edelweiss tours. Anybody have any plans or PLEASE recommend a good tour that doesn't break the bank if possible. The Alps is where we want to travel. Somewhere between the Moto-Charlie tours (mostly fast, sportbike pace) and Edelweiss tours (mostly slow deit de de pace) would be great.Thanks,
Lew
ULEWZ: Below is the Narrative of an AZ Beemers Alps Ride that Uri and I organized, unfortunately our pics are no longer on PicasaWeb.
You can save money by renting your bikes from Stefan Knopf of Motorrad Reisen located in Kircheim, Deutschland; just south of Heidelberg.
https://www.knopftours.com/Web-Site/Hello.html You can take the train from the Frankfurt airport to within 300 meters of Stefan's shop/house.
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Alps Riders Group Completes Kick-*** Euro Trip by BeemerGuy- Uri Schumm and BeemerDonS - Don Stanley
On May 18, 2007 five AZ Beemers took off on a long-anticipated motorcycle trip through southern Germany and the Alps. Don Stanley (Beemerdons) was the guiding force in planning this adventure, laying out the route, selecting mountain passes and ultimately being the ride leader. Uri Schumm (Beemerguy) located and reserved rooms in hotels, communicated with the BMW rental company and acted as translator in the German speaking areas. Sylvia Schumm (Beemergal,) Bob Flanders and Dave Cooley completed our little gang adding their company and good humor. We had a blast!
In this report I’ll share our trip story with you, what we saw, the people we met, the food we ate and a bit about my personal reconnecting with family. Please be sure to look at the pictures at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/beemerguyRT/europemay2007pictures[/url]. Click on “Slide Show” and join us on our incredible journey.
Following my narrative be sure to read Beemerdons’ report on Don's Alps Pass Bagging 101 - Do It Yourself (DIY)! Learn all about planning such a trip, routes, maps, motorcycle rental, planning for weather contingencies and anticipating challenges on the road. You’ll find his report to be a treasure trove of information.
After we completed an Edelweiss tour of Andalucia Province in Spain in February, 2006 Don and I started talking about organizing our own trip to Europe. Don suggested the Alps with their challenging passes and incredible beauty. I was easily convinced. In January, 2007 we planned the dates, May 18 through 28, reserved our bikes from Knopf Motorrad Reisen in Heidelberg, Germany, and bought our airline tickets from
www.expedia.com. The five members of our Alps Riders Group (ARG) e mailed and spoke on the phone often. We also had a couple of planning meetings. Before long we were on our way!
Fourteen and a half hours of air travel time plus a nine hour time change, followed by a couple of hours of train travel to Heidelberg added up to a very long day. We were welcomed by Stefan Knopf with the first of many delicious German beers on this trip. Stefan has been renting BMWs to overseas ridersfor 15 years. He has four kids ages 5 through 12 and runs the business out of his home. Tragically, Stefan lost his wife to cancer on December 15, 2006. He also has some guest rooms that he rents out. Stefan’s children help in a modest way with this part of the business.
Stefan took us over to his shop/bike storage where we met our motorcycles. Don, Sylvia and I rode R1150RTs. Bob rode an R1100RT. Dave’s bike was an R1150GS. All had about 30,000 to 40,000 kilometers on their clocks. The bikes including saddle bags and top cases, were well tuned. Mine had brand new tires. We had absolutely no trouble with our equipment throughout a journey that really tested the motorcycles.
We spent the night at the 157 year old Zum Baeren Hotel where we had dinner, and fell into bed after 31 hours of being awake. Our hotel fee included a buffet breakfast. Then we took off for Augsburg, the ancestral home of my mother’s family. We can trace our genealogy back to 1754. My forebears were winemakers in the area for many generations. On this trip we made a determined commitment to avoid high speed Autobahns and Autostradas whenever possible. The thrill of riding at speeds well in excess of 100 MPH soon wears thin, not to mention the scenery is little more than blur.
Our route of choice this day was the Romantische Strasse, a two lane Landstrasse (highway) that winds through towns, villages and farms, many dating back to the middle ages. In some places the houses on either side of the road leave only two really narrow lanes. Frequently during our ride south our noses were graced with the smells of barnyard animals and manure. The predominant color of this route was green. With ample rain, this part of Germany is lush with forests and verdant fields. Each little town has its landmark church. We rode past old forts and castles, stopping for a beer at the well preserved town of Noerdlingen where several of us visited a church built before Columbus’ discovery of the new world. Be sure to check out the pictures at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/beemerguyRT/europemay2007pictures[/url] .
Don and I had been tracking the weather on the Internet for weeks leading up to our trip. The forecast was for rain most of the time. We felt lucky to have sunny and clear weather on this day. We were prepared for any eventuality, having brought along, rain gear, lots of long johns, sweaters and heavy socks. By early afternoon we made it to Augsburg, the second oldest city in Germany, dating back to the year 15 A.D. We stayed at the Ibis, one of a chain of hotels, similar to our Days Inn. From there we went to a beer garden with my cousin Miriam and her husband Friedhelm. There we enjoyed the traditional Augburg dishes of Weisswurst, Leberkaese with potato salad and of course beer.
My cousins took all of us on a walking tour of the old city, 75% of which had been destroyed by allied bombing during World War II. The Messerschmidt and BMW aircraft factories as well as other strategic targets were carpet bombed into oblivion. Many old structures survived. Others have been restored. For me getting to talk with my cousin whom I had previously met only twice many years ago, gave me a chance to reconnect with some of my family history. For once I did more listening than talking. The day ended with dinner at another beer garden. This outdoor meal featured veal and lamb dishes and the delicious German Pilsner brew.
The following morning Sylvia and I visited Miriam’s Dad, Grandpa Fritz, age 95. We last saw him in 1969 during our R69US tour of Europe. It was great chatting with him. We resumed our ride down the Romantische Strasse, met Bob, Dave and Don at Neuschwanstein Castle and headed into Austria. Our goal this day was to reach Merano Italy in the Tyrolean Alps. As we began to gain in elevation we hit some rain, nothing serious, but riding on two wheels on wet, curvy mountain roads requires real concentration. Entering Austria, we were pleased to see a drop in fuel prices. The super premium juice required by our bikes cost us anywhere from $6.00 to $8.00 a gallon. The best prices were in Austria. My guess is their taxes are lower.
The ride over the Fern Pass and up and down a number of Alpine mountains and valleys was great fun once the rain ceased. The route chosen by Don consisted of countless twisties with occasional switchbacks. Riding in first and second gear was de riguer. The occasional foray into third felt like freeway driving. Along the mountainsides were small villages and isolated farmsteads. Dairy cows and occasional herds of sheep grazed along the steep hillsides. Everything was green with snow-capped peaks above. At each turn I half expected Heidi’s grandpa to come out and greet us.
As we entered the Italian Alps we hit more serious rain. We donned our rain suits and trucked on. Finally at around 8:00 P.M. we made it to our hotel tired and hungry. A late start and some delay due to the rain were to blame. We went to a local restaurant where pizza (delicious!) and beer ended a long day.
Waking up the next morning to a view of an old vineyard with snow-capped mountains in the background was like falling into a picture postcard for me. You may see this view and more at the link above. Our best buffet breakfasts were served at the Eremita Einsiedler hotel in Merano, Italy. The staff there spoke German with a definite Italian lilt. The accommodations were very comfortable and the surrounding countryside was picturesque, characterized by vineyards and old castles. Dave, Bob and Don spent the day riding some passes while Sylvia and I toured the lovely historic town of Merano and partook of their delicious ice cream cones.
Our rooms at this hotel cost 77 Euros for a double, including breakfast buffet. At the exchange rate of $1.40 for a Euro this works out to about $108.00. Other rooms ranged from 55 Euros (no breakfast) in Augsburg to 122 Euros with breakfast at lake Como. Our US dollar did not buy much in Europe. Most meals were about $18.00 plus beverage and tip. Restaurants here do not serve water. They sell you overpriced bottled water. Ice as we consume it in Arizona is unheard of. Our request for ice raised many eyebrows. But as always the beer and in Merano, the Italian wine were excellent.
Don chose some challenging and picturesque passes for our route to Lake Como. By this time we were all accustomed to multiple twisties, ascending and descending hairpins and the occasional buzz of Euro-bikers flying past us. Don’t get me wrong. We usually rode as fast as conditions and our skills permitted. Speed limit signs (except in towns) we purely advisory for us. Just past the Italian town of Sondrio we came upon one of the aforementioned speedsters being removed by ambulance. The black skid marks in the road told us he had overestimated his skill. It was a sobering moment.
Our greatest challenge this day was meeting opposing trucks and buses in the hairpins. These behemoths often hogged 7/8 of the narrow road. We became accustomed to rolling on the throttle when rare passing opportunities presented themselves. Our BMWs never disappointed us. Until this trip I had considered AZ 191, the Devil’s Highway, fun and challenging. I now view this road in a new perspective, not really all that difficult. I look forward to riding it again soon. This was another satisfying day of mountain riding. Though we gobbled up the several hundred kilometers, the heat and finding ourselves stuck behind caravans of slow drivers were tiring. We were glad to arrive at Lake Como
The Park Hotel overlooking lake Como in Abbadia Lariana, Italy had the best room amenities of any place we stayed. It had air conditioning, and in contrast to the typically puny showers, this one allowed one to turn around without one’s butt bumping into the faucet handle and causing an instant ice shower. The staff here as elsewhere was accommodating and friendly. I made ample use of the Internet to check on the weather and touch base with home.
The day after our arrival at Como Dave, Don and Bob bagged some more mountain passes. By the time Sylvia and I met them at the Moto Guzzi factory just three kliks from our hotel they were bushed by the challenging riding and the heat. We were only able to tour the museum portion of Moto Guzzi where we saw several score of Guzzis designed for military, police, motocross, sidecar and even one ski bike! This one is pictured at: We would all have enjoyed a tour of the production facility. I was unsuccessful in persuading Bob to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Our departure for Austria the next morning was delayed by rain. We rode local highways to Austria with on and off showers, but not enough to impede us. Shortly after entering Switzerland we began to really climb the Alps. At one point we rode a series of about ten steeply ascending switchbacks. These roads as every other Swiss road we ran were the best we encountered with excellent road surfaces and bike friendly banking. The Swiss road signage was the clearest, very much in contrast to the muddled and confusing Italian directional signs.
At St. Moritz we finally hit sweater worthy temperatures. We lunched at a yacht club on the large lake there, and proceeded toward our Austrian destination. This day provided us with some of the most satisfying riding yet. Toward evening we entered Austria and ran into some heavy rain. At the town of Landeck we decided to call it quits some sixty kilometers shy of our destination. We ate and slept at the Schwartzer Adler (Black Eagle) Hotel. The customary great food, beer and a solid buffet breakfast fortified us for the next day’s riding. Don, Bob and Dave headed for the Black Forest in Germany. Sylvia and I opted to spend one more day with our Augsburg cousins.
After an evening enjoying a baroque concert at the historic St. Ulrich Church in Augsburg, Miriam prepared a hearty breakfast, and we were on our way. Once again we cruised up the Romantische Strasse, stopping to enjoy and take pictures of castles. At Creilsam we ate lunch and picked up the Autobahn toward Heidelberg. Some high speed riding in the rain brought us to Stefan’s house by about 3:00 in the afternoon. There we met our Alps Riders Group buddies enjoying our favorite beverage. They had arrived about fifteen minutes earlier via Autobahn from France. Their bikes were shiny and clean after being blasted by rain for two hours. Dave was drying his socks.
We spent the night at Stefan’s house, and took a minivan arranged by him to the Frankfurt airport the next morning. The American Airlines flight to Phoenix via Dallas Fort Worth was long and uneventful. This was quite in contrast to too short a vacation with many wonderful times to remember. Please contact me or Don with any comments or questions. If you’re interested in organizing a trip we’d be delighted to chat with you. Be sure to read Don’s tips below. If you haven’t yet seen the pictures of our adventure, now would be a perfect time to check them out at:
https://https://picasaweb.google.com/beemerguyRT/europemay2007pictures]
