Sunday, December 28, 2008

Over The Pond – Part 9

The Ride Home.

Packed, fueled and layered up like the Michelin Man against the elements, we headed north on our first leg of the trip home. Our planned route north up the border of Switzerland and Liechtenstein into Germany would take us north of Bodensee then turn west towards Luxembourg, Belgium and eventually back to the Netherlands. Continuing heavy rain encouraged more fluid (pun intended) route planning.

After a couple of hours riding in the rain, we sought shelter and sustenance at a roadside diner somewhere near Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. There could not have been a more sodden pack of drowned rats than Gie, John, Wolfgang, Ad and myself. Fortunately the establishment was mostly empty and we were able to layer down and spread various and sundry dripping riding gear to dry (or at least drain). I’m sure they had to mop the floor after we left. Being the intrepid travelers that we were, a little water was not about to dampen our spirits though. Fortified with a hearty breakfast, discussions of weather forecasts quickly led to some alternate route planning.
Reports indicated that weather would only get worse heading north to Germany (the bad weather was mostly to our right). A revised route on the Switzerland side of Bodensee heading west in the direction of Zurich seemed in order.

Our choice was good. By heading west, within an hour we left the last of the rain behind, ironically just about the time that we arrived at one of Europe’s more impressive water features, The Rhine Falls or Rheinfall in Switzerland, near the town of Schaffhausen. The significance of Rheinfall, (other than the arrival of sunshine) is as the widest plain waterfall in Europe. Although only 75 feet high, the falls span 450 feet and averages a summer water flow of 700 cubic meters per second. Situated in the middle of the falls is a small island serviced by a tour boat. To look down from the island viewing platform at this volume of water thundering past just feet away is pretty awe inspiring. We spent a couple of hours at Rheinfall, enjoying a hearty lunch, touring the site and enjoying the blue skies and warm weather. While there, we bumped into Axel Wittick, another Tiefencastle rally attendee on his way home to Germany.

With spirits renewed, it was soon time to hit the road again. It was mid afternoon now and there was a lot of day ahead of us yet. We bid adieu to the waterfalls and headed out again, this time north towards Germany, Swarzwald and the Black Forest region.

Our lodgings for the night were to be in Neustadt at the very southern end of the Black Forest. This would be an ideal starting point for our anticipated next-day assault on one of Bavaria’s best known recreation areas with it’s never ending network of great motorcycle roads.

One stop of interest en route to Neustadt was the town of Sankt Blasien with it’s beautiful domed cathedral.

Sankt Blasien Cathedral is somewhat of an anomaly in this small town of approximately 4000 inhabitants. The Cathedral’s roots date back to the ninth century and the Sankt Blasien Abbey but the present structure is much more contemporary.

The abbey church burnt down in 1768 and was rebuilt as a Baroque round church with an enormous dome 46 metres across and 63 meters high – the third largest in Europe north of the Alps. It remains as the “Dom St. Blasius” or St. Blaise’s Cathedral, so called because of it’s size and magnificence, not because it is a cathedral in any ecclesiastical or administrative sense.
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From Sankt Blasien, we continued north and after a brief stop at an old time rural train station at Schluchsee we continued north to Titisee and our pension for the night in Neustadt.

Our route the following day took us north through the Black Forest region. Gie started the day by tossing me the keys to his Connie and grabbing the keys for the Diversion. “We’re doing the Black Forest this morning” he said with a grin. “Go have fun”. Who was I to argue?

The Black Forest was a significant mining region back in the seventeen hundreds but today is more significant for it’s tourism. Although the region is quite small (approx. 200 km. long and 60 km. wide) it is home to an extensive trail system servicing hikers, mountain bikers and cross country skiers. If you include the main motorways, this region boasts over 23,000 km. of track. Needless to say, with this vibrant tourism industry, small cottage industries are everywhere. There are many wood crafts to be had and the Black Forest is often associated with traditional German cuckoo clocks although contrary to what some think, they did not originate in this area. The roads through this area are, as you would expect in a tourist promoted area – well maintained, well designed, curvy, and scenic and just generally a fun ride. Also being that the primary tourist season was over, we had them pretty much to ourselves. Can you say, “Yee-ha”?

We continued north past Baden-Baden then began to angle west towards Luxembourg. It was getting a lot warmer now and after playing in “the forest” all morning, the heat and more boring main thoroughfares were taking their toll on all of us and rest breaks came more frequently.

Wolfgang separated from the group and headed north for Cologne. Now we were down to just four.

It was on this leg of the trip that we passed briefly through France - probably no more than an hour – allowing me to add another country to my new globe-trotting prowess.

Running along the Germany Luxembourg border is the Mosel River. The region we were entering was the Mosel wine region. The topography, the many small vineyards through which we passed combined with the warm temperatures reminded me a lot of British Columbia’s south Okanagan. In fact, many times on my trip through Germany, I felt as though I could have been back in BC.

From the wine region city of Trier, we continued west into Luxembourg. Next stop of interest, nestled serenely in the woods, was the ruins of Castle Beaufort dating back to 1150. Gie,having to work in the morning, headed west from here leaving the remaining three amigos – Ad, John and me – to head north a short distance to Vianden, which was to be our home for the night.

John, also needing to get home to work, left from Vianden in the morning.

Being only hours from home –Prinsenbeek – Ad and I took advantage of the time to spend a leisurely half a day touring through my last European castle of the trip, Castle Vianden.

Sitting in the warm afternoon sun at a riverside café, sipping an ice cappaccino and knowing that the road trip was just hours from being over, it was really hard to pull myself away. I wanted just one more day, then maybe one more after that. I wasn’t ready to wake up from the dream yet.
But all good things must end and it was time. With heavy heart, we saddled up for the last time for the three hour ride through Belgium then on to Prinsenbeek and home. Not easing the departure is the fact that Vianden and all of Luxembourg that I saw is absolutely beautiful. Ad told me that he regularly takes the three hour drive down to Vianden just to enjoy a weekend away. I can understand that. I think fondly now of taking a thirty hour plane trip to revisit this beautiful country.

I arrived at my Netherlands home in time to park Yomaha for the last time and head over to Trudea’s home where she had prepared a welcome home dinner for us.

We spent the following day on four wheels as Ad toured me around the more rural parts of the Netherlands.
Before heading out to farm country, we paid a visit to the small village of Oudenbosch. The most significant landmark and the reason for our visit to Oudenbosch is its Roman Catholic Basilica which is an exact one third size replica of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. As much as I was impressed with the previously mentioned Sankt Blasien Cathedral, I was even more overwhelmed by Oudenbosch’s Basilica. It is hard to conceive of an identical structure in Rome three times as large. This is more fodder for a return visit across the pond. As with many of the wonders that I saw, this one served to remind me that I’ve only scratched the surface. OTP has truly “primed the pump” leaving me hungering for more.

I wanted to learn more about Holland’s famed dyke system. To this end, we departed Oudenbosch to explore the coastal regions of the Netherlands as Ad maintained a running commentary on the design, construction and history of Holland’s battle against the encroaching ocean. As most people know, a large portion of the western half of the Netherlands is below sea level. Amsterdam is a city of canals, which exist only through the ingenuity of decades of Dutch engineers. I was to learn that keeping out the water while maintaining an ecologically sustainable balance is far more of a challenge than simply building dikes. Remember that we’re not just dealing with controlling a narrow flood plain around an existing waterway. We’re dealing with flood plains covering half a country. Our tour ended at the Deltaworks interpretive center.

The Deltaworks project has been active since 1950 in the southwest of the Netherlands consisting of dams, sluices, locks, dikes and storm surge barriers. Changing environmental concerns and the current status of potential climate change make this an ongoing “work in progress”. Current project plans extend into 2015.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has declared the Works to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World together with the Zuiderzee Works.
For those with an interest in engineering, researching the Deltaworks Project will produce a fascinating study.

We arrived home late in the afternoon and after a quick ‘freshen up” headed out to a local restaurant. A pleasant surprise was the arrival of Gie and his wife and John. One last time, the group came together for a farewell dinner.

John stayed overnight at Ad’s place then the following day joined Ad, Trudy and me for a half day of Amsterdam “touristing”. We cruised the canals, ate pickled herring the right way (delicious. Sorry Hans – your Surrstromming has been seriously upstaged), hung out in sidewalk cafes and of course took the obligatory tourist stroll through the Red Light District.

What I will say about the RLD is that I saw the good, the bad and the ugly. The good were very good. The bad were more accurately “the sad” – posed zombies with dead eyes. The ugly were just plain scary – I’m thinking a couple of them that I saw were packing some extra equipment if you get my drift. The alleys in the red light district were populated during the day mostly by packs of tourists, like ourselves (apparently the night scene is a whole other deal that you really don’t want to know about). It is a “must see” if you’re going to Amsterdam if only so you can say “been there, done that, don’t need to do it again”.

Amsterdam is much more than hookers and pot shops though. It is a beautiful exciting vibrant city that I would recommend to any traveler. The half day we spent there was only enough to let me know that I want to go back. I am glad that we visited Amsterdam after the Deltaworks day as I could now appreciate how much the health of the Amsterdam waterways is influenced by Deltaworks.

At the end of the day, John drove north to his home and Trudy, Ad and I took the train south back to Prinsenbeek. The train system in Holland is wonderful. You don’t really need a car at all. It’s an expensive and unnecessary luxury. Public transit - Inexpensive, comfortable, convenient schedules - you rarely wait more than 10 minutes for a train. When I return, there’s a train that pulls right into the terminal at Schiphol connecting to anywhere in Europe I want to go.

My trip of a lifetime was rapidly drawing to an end. As full as my head was of these amazing images, as much as there was some sadness at the prospect of leaving, there was a little part that longed for a decadently large Montana prime rib dinner and the familiarity of home turf both of which I availed myself during my Minneapolis/St. Paul stopover the following day.

My evening was spent with packing, reminiscing and last beers. There was a sense of sadness over the impending end of the party as both myself and my hosts had enjoyed an amazing three weeks. Through our shared adventures, I believe friendships were forged which will last a lifetime. I look forward to returning the great kindness and hospitality shown to me throughout Europe. Plans are already afoot for return visits by new friends to explore my part of this big old world. I can neither express deeply enough what an impact this trip has had on me nor can I state strongly enough how much I appreciate those organizers, supporters and hosts who made it all possible. I hope that in some small way my travelogue conveys that.

The following morning, Ad, Trudy and I traveled once more by train to Amsterdam and Schiphol for my flight home. We don’t linger over farewells - there’s a lump in my throat, which I didn’t want to tempt. Farewell Europe. I’ll be back.

Put a light in the window, Cheryl. I’ll be home soon.

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