By Robin Hyde
E-mail - robinhyde@comcast.net

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Have you ever dreamed of touring the European Alps? I have for the past 10 years. So for our wedding anniversary in 1999 we decided it was time to do it. I started researching different tour companies about a year in advance. The well-known ones are on the Internet and have home pages: Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures, Edelweiss Bike Travel, AMA Tours and Bosenberg Motorcycle Excursions. I knew people who had taken a tour with Edelweiss a few years ago and Rider Magazine had a write up about Bosenberg. We eventually decided to go with Bosenberg Motorcycle Excursions for a number of reasons. The time frame of their tour (September) was closest to our anniversary, we could choose Honda motorcycles to ride, the tour was limited to a small group (12 bikes maximum) and the owner/tour leader, Leon Heindel, was originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin so we knew he would be able to speak English.

Now we had to choose what bikes we wanted to ride. Bosenberg had a chart with recommended bike size for the weight of a rider. It turned out to be very helpful and great advice for riding the terrain of the Alps. After searching the internet on European bike models for seat height and design we chose the Honda Deauville 650 cc for myself and Bob went with the Honda Shadow ACE 750 cc. My Deauville only made for the European market, looks like a small version of the Honda ST1100. We both think our selections were great and would rent the same bike again for our next tour with the exception that we would try to get a windshield for the Shadow. One thing for sure is that neither one of us would have wanted to be riding our Gold Wings. The mountain passes are not built for a bike with a long wheelbase and you would be exhausted pushing all that weight around the hairpin curves.

Next it was time to complete our tour application and send in our deposit. By applying early (6 months prior to our tour date) we got a discount and since both of us were riding our own bikes we got another discount. My bike selection was a standard model included in the rider tour price. Bob’s bike was an upgrade to the comfort class, which cost a little more for the tour. Our tour company also had other classes such as sport class, cruiser class, exotic class and top class all at additional pricing.

As we made our flight reservations, which you should do as soon as possible, we decided to arrive a few days before the tour actually started. By arriving early we could get adjusted to the different time zone (7 hours difference for us) and get ready for the tour. Then 90 days before our flights we could make our airplane seat selection, which I highly recommend you do as early as possible unless you want to sit in the middle row.

During the months leading up to our tour we were always looking for things that we could use. I found a tank bag on sale to use on my Deauville and Bob got a rearseat bag for his Shadow, which also doubled as a backrest. We used these to carry the cameras, riding gear, raingear and personal items. When film went on sale we stocked up and stored it in the freezer to keep it fresh. I would recommend 25-30 rolls of film so you don’t have to purchase any overseas. We took a pocket camera, our larger camera with telephoto lens and our video camera. Plus we picked up three instant panoramic cameras to take wide-angled shots.

Some safety devices and security locks for your luggage is also a good idea. We were allowed to check two suitcases per person and have two carry-ons. We picked up a big suitcase during a summer sale since we needed the room to take our riding gear along. Our carry-ons were our helmets and our tank bag and rearseat bag. We wore our riding jackets rather than try to pack them. While packing your suitcases split up your clothes and riding gear between your luggage bags just in case one of them gets misplaced by the airlines and doesn’t arrive on time. The temperature range was going to be 40-85 degrees so all types of clothing from shorts to long underwear was needed. A good riding suit is essential and will make your trip more enjoyable. Helmets are required in Europe.

We also needed a current passport and an International driving permit. We got our driving permits from the AAA Tour office. It cost $10 and is good for a year. For the countries that you travel in you will want to get their respective currency from your local bank. We had recommendations from our tour company as to how much per day per person would be needed. Some hotels and gas stations took credit cards but not all businesses are set up for that. By choice we did not take any travelers checks.

The day finally arrived for our departure. A friend of ours took us to the airport. We checked our luggage and then had some time to eat lunch before heading to our gate for departure. Our flights were on time and we had no problems. We had plenty of reading material along and even a couple hand-held games to pass the time in the plane. Both flights (from Minneapolis to Detroit and Detroit to Frankfurt) were full and it was hard to get much sleep especially with two young boys sitting behind us. We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. The last leg of the flight was 7 ½ hours.

After passing through customs and getting our luggage we were on our way to our hotel. Leon, the owner of Bosenberg Motorcycle Excursions, had just picked up two guys from Australia that also flew in early for the tour. On our way we stopped at a BMW dealership to see a new BMW model that had just been released in Germany. Once we were at our hotel we got checked in and then met with Leon to go over our early arrival packet, which had information on the area for sightseeing. Now we were on our own for a couple days. We were tired and wanted to go to bed but Leon recommended we stay up as long as possible in order to get adjusted to the new time zone. It worked.

After cleaning up from our long flight we walked to downtown Mainz along the Rhine River. Mainz is a suburb of Frankfurt. It was hot and in the 80’s so I was glad that I brought my shorts along. We stopped at a little café to eat lunch and had hamburgers and fried potatoes. Most restaurants seemed to have someone who could speak English or interpret the menu. Then we went over to Old Town, Market Square and the Cathedral where we walked and shopped till we were really tired. So we walked back to the hotel and rested but didn’t go to sleep. Well, Bob, actually took a little nap. It was hard to stay awake since we had been up for 30 hours straight.

That evening we ate supper at the hotel's outdoor Bier Garden where we had bratwurst. There are a lot of outdoor café’s and beer gardens in Europe and most days we ate lunch at these places. They were very clean and didn’t have birds or critters begging for food. The hotels were not equipped with air conditioning. You just open the windows.

On Sunday morning we slept in and then had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. All the hotels we stayed at included the morning buffet breakfast in the hotel rate. The breakfast included fruit, juice (fresh squeezed oranges), breads, rolls, meat, bacon, eggs, cereal, jams and jellies. The food was very good. After breakfast we walked downtown through the park and visited a ship building museum, the Zentral Museum that had ancient artifacts in it, and took a boat tour on the Rhine River. Old Town was really quiet today compared to yesterday when the market was set up. Most stores were closed on Sunday. Already we are noticing the narrow cobblestone streets and the old buildings. We also noted that there are a lot of motorcycle riders and the car drivers are very aggressive.

Sunday afternoon we relaxed and organized our riding gear for tomorrow morning when we are going to pick up our motorcycles. We rented them one day early so we could get used to the bikes and make sure our bags fit on them. For supper we ate at another restaurant within the hotel and sat outside and enjoyed ground steak, baked pork, salad and fried potatoes. It was delicious.

Each day the housekeeper puts two pieces of chocolate on our pillow after cleaning your room. The Hotel's in Europe don’t use bedspreads, just a soft down comforter/blanket and only a sheet on the bottom and no top sheet on the beds. All of the beds are twin size and slid together for doubles. Some of the hotels did not have washcloths in the bathrooms, but I didn’t find this to be a problem. I did bring my own washcloths put never used them. Otherwise the rooms are similar to hotels in the United States. One-thing ladies, their toilet paper is like cheap paper towels, very rough.

Monday arrived and we spent most of the day picking up bikes and going to the airport to pick up other tour participants. By late afternoon we had our bags organized and on our bikes so we went for a short ride. As we headed northwest from Mainz up along the Rhine River we saw numerous castles on the hillsides and lots of river traffic on the Rhine. The hillsides were also covered with vineyards. At the town of Lorch we took a ferry across the Rhine and headed back to Mainz.

As we got closer to Mainz we ended up on the A60 autobahn by mistake. The autobahns are like our freeway systems here in the United States. Most of them do have speed limits around the cities. As you get out into the countryside then there is no speed limit. One difference we noticed is that their highway construction crews do not give you any notice of work being done or lane closures. So it is really important to be scanning 12 seconds ahead of you, looking for the flashing yellow lights and not to restrict your view by following a truck or vehicle that you can’t see around.

We were surprised at the vehicle drivers and how courteous they were toward the motorcycle riders. They would actually brake and let you into traffic if you had your signal on. One truck even blocked traffic for me so I could change lanes. This is something you don’t see in the United States. Also if you come upon a construction zone with a red traffic light or a train crossing, motorcyclist are allowed to go to the front of the line to wait for the green light. I wouldn’t do that in the United States, and even felt guilty doing it over there.

Did you know that they have McDonald’s restaurants over there? We ate at one in Wiesbaden, Germany and had fish filets, french fries and cokes. It costs us 22.80 deutsche marks. Then in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany we also stopped at McDonald’s and had a cone and a chocolate shake. And guess what? They taste the same as here!

Tuesday was another free day for us as other tour participants were just arriving in Frankfurt. We took off riding again and put on 204 km through the countryside. The castles we saw were awesome and to think that they are still lived in by individual families. We had some nice curvy roads through the hills, along the rivers and through small villages. An excellent way to get used to our bikes before we ride with the group tomorrow.

One of the first things we needed to get familiar with was the various road signs used in Europe. They were easy to follow once you understood them. In our tour packet Leon had provided us with a brochure that explained each sign. A lot of the signs with pictures are the same as here, so you don’t need to know the language underneath it. The biggest difference is that the large print road signs always direct you towards a town and the road number is in small print versus our signs always giving the road number as the major direction. You need to know what town you’re heading for since the signs are not labeled east, west, north or south.

Tuesday evening we had our tour meeting with Leon and all the tour participants. The tour has officially started now. After everybody introduced himself or herself, Leon explained the tour, the maps and the protocol for the rest of the trip. He had a slide show on the traffic signs and group riding. Then we all sat down for a nice dinner together.

We had 15 people on the tour with 12 bikes. The group consisted of two young men from Australia, two men from Brazil, nine from the United States, our tour director and van driver from Germany. The bikes consisted of six BMW’s, five Honda’s and one Harley Davidson. There were four couples, counting us. I was the only female motorcycle driver on this tour. Leon has never had a female driver lay her bike down or crash on any of his tours. He sure knows how to put the pressure on (but I kept the string going).

Each morning we had a briefing at 9 a.m. with Leon on suggested stops and routes. We would go over the maps and the towns we’ll be going through. This made for a late departure time, something we’re not used to. Our first riding day, Wednesday, we left at 10:30 a.m. as one big group. After about 40 km we stopped at a pull off alongside the road. We were now in the country and you had a choice to stay with the tour guide or go off on your own. The three sport bike riders went off on their own and the rest of us stayed with the tour guide. For lunch we stopped at a famous café called the Deidesheimer Hof and had soup and bread. Vice President Dan Quayle and Queen Elizabeth have eaten there and had their pictures on the wall inside.

Today we passed through a small corner of France and rode a portion of the Alsace. The border crossings here are non-existent except for buildings which did not appear to be used for anything. Then we passed back into Germany and as we started into the Black Forest the landscape changed and the temperature dropped. It was turn after turn on tree-shadowed roads, small town after town, haze, fog, sun, trees and forests everywhere. It was beautiful and fun to ride. We didn’t stop for any camera shots today.

All of the riders were really nice and friendly. Their group riding skills left much to be desired. Most of the riders had never ridden with a group of bikes before or been involved with any organized riding. We had riders passing each other for no reason and in the same lane. The only other problem everybody had was remembering to cancel his or her turn signals.

We arrived in Titisee-Neustadt at our hotel at 7:00 p.m. We traveled 313 km today. It seemed like a long day but with the late morning start and four stops it took time. Dinner was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and it was after 9:00 p.m. before we got our food. The hotel was on a lake and our room over looked it. There was shopping close by and this area is known for their Black Forest cuckoo clocks.