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June - August 2022
Riding through Norway, Sweden, Croatia, the Alps, Italy and some more of Europe with Chezle Read more
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  • TravelerEurope
    Day 12

    Rest Day: Aurlandsfjord

    July 7, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Today was the perfect remedy to yesterdays nightmare. We woke up with the sun shining and the wind a little chilly (of course). Chez needed a rest day so I went off on a solo adventure in search of sunny fjords and beautiful views.

    From our base camp near Hol, I travelled north west to the beautiful Aurlandsfjord and the Stegastein or lookout point. I put on some lovely music, wrapped myself up warm (just in case) and hit route 50. It was glorious, I haven’t felt so light hearted and joyful for a long time. It’s pointless to say that the views were incredible! Firstly I climbed up to the snow capped peaks past icy lakes and wind blown tundra before descending through tunnels and hairpins to the sheltered base of Aurlandsfjord, where the gentle breezy was warm and inviting.

    After riding up to the lookout, which was of course full of tourists I headed to the local cafe bakery for a hot cappuccino and a chocolate donut. I shared both with the local baby birds. On the way back, I embraced the cold and stopped for a break on the top of the mountain pass, a chance to appreciate the cold and desolation of these majestic passes! A perfect day to unfortunately end our time in Norway, with heavy rain for the next two weeks, we are bailing to southern warm climes. Adios Norway, you have been spectacular!

    HIGHLIGHTS - Aurlandsfjord (of course)
    LOW POINTS - knowing we are leaving Norway
    ROADS - Route 50    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 13

    Hol to Rauland

    July 8, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    I guess today was a final goodbye to western Norway as we begin our journey out to Oslo and then down towards Sweden and Denmark. It was a wonderful goodbye, with the weather finally turning out sunny (or at least not rainy!). Our aim was to visit some final fjords and waterfalls before getting onto the E365 west to our Airbnb for tonight at Rauland.

    We had a late start after packing up our bags after our day of organising yesterday and set off to Vorringfossen waterfall, not just for the epic view but also code and some lunch. Neither disappointed, two cappuccinos, a chicken focaccia and and apple cake ☺️😋 then the most out of this world view of the waterfall and fjord beyond. I even attempted to get my drone out but not sure how good the footage is!

    It was wonderful to spend the day back with Chez after a solo ride yesterday, these places are better shared. We still had some 4 hours left to reach our Airbnb so we hit the road in search of more views, more coffee and some petrol. Ringoy, was a wonderful little village on the edge of the fjord as was Tyssedal.

    Our final waterfall was Latefossen, another epic but not quite on the scale of Vorringfossen. We met some other bikers and finally got our stickers for Norway before hitting the road once more for bed. Annoyingly, even with all my planning, we managed to hit the same traffic over the mountain that we had two days previously and although the weather was much better, it was tiresome to wait so long on the same patch of tarmac. When we finally reached Rauland, we were both tired and slightly achy. Time for sleep!

    HIGHLIGHTS - Vorringfossen waterfall cake, focaccia and coffee, riding with Chez again
    LOW POINTS - repeat of the mountain traffic
    ROADS - Route 7, 13    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 14

    Rauland to Fredrikstad

    July 9, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    A quick dash today just 270km (170miles) to Fredrikstad to stay with Merete and her family. We’re there now and I need to write this diary now before I get too drunk. It’s lovely here, they have fed us a BBQ and now we’re relaxing inside with beer, wine and crisps. When we stopped at Drammen, I bought some new boots which was fantastic! They were just £200 rather than £270. We didn’t do a lot of beautiful roads mainly motorways but it was good to warm up and we had our first ice cream! We’ll dash down through Sweden tomorrow and start heading south.

    HIGHLIGHTS - New boot day and meeting the lovely people at Monsterbike in Dremen
    LOW POINTS - knowing that we’re on the way out of Norway
    ROADS - E134    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 15

    Rest Day: Fredrikstad

    July 10, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    What a fantastic day!!?? I think we must have ridden 400km or 250miles around the local area and up to Lillestrom but we are staying with Marete and her family again so it was for fun as a ride out with them.

    Merete is a complete badass and after only one year of riding has a new Ducati 950 Supersport. She got into riding because her son, Storm, wanted to learn and she thought she would too. She’s a very good rider for someone who hasn’t been riding for so long. Her son, however, is in another league and should definitely do more track riding. He is one of the fastest riders I have ever followed, which is crazy considering he is just 17 and still has to wear a learner vest when he’s riding his bigger 600cc Yamaha. He also needs a responsible adult with over 5years on their license to ride behind him (if you can keep up). This was down to me for part of the day! If he got caught speeding, then I would get the ticket. I learnt this just before he wheelied out of the petrol station 😅🫣 following him was quite a lesson and a lot of fun! Later Marete then let me ride her new Ducati with only 4,500 miles on it 😍🤩 amazing but not my cup of tea.

    We have just finished the day with a BBQ and some wine before bed. I’m exhausted and very happy!!

    HIGHLIGHT - too many to mention, the whole day was brilliant
    LOW POINT - nothing
    ROADS - 114(!), 115, 120, 22, 21, 124    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 16

    Fredrikstad to Asa

    July 11, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Hot chocolate in hand and canvas (plastic) overhead, the perfect way to write this diary. We are now in Sweden, having ridden just 300km or 190miles. It’s incredibly beautiful here, although not as majestic as Norway, it feels as little more peaceful perhaps. We had a fabulous day with Merete and Storm again today, riding the twisty biking roads towards Sweden and then stopping at the Elgåfossen waterfall that straddles the border. Once across, we headed to Fjällbacka for an ice cream and to say our final goodbyes as we headed south and they returned north. Fjällbacka was an incredibly scenic coastal village with archetypal houses, coastline and even Swedes!

    Now we are at a beach side camp site in Asa, heading to Copenhagen tomorrow. It has been sad to leave Norway but today has been brilliant and I’m beginning to appreciate the extent of this trip! Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Croatia here we come!!

    HIGHLIGHT - riding out of Norway with Merete and Storm, the lovely waterfall
    LOW POINT - long motorway miles
    ROADS - 220    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 17

    Asa to Copenhagen

    July 12, 2022 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Kinda admin today and getting a few miles under our belts, only 300km or 200miles but we changed country and are now back in Denmark. Crossing the bridge cost a whopping £28 each but it was pretty epic so we’ll let them off. I had a shuffle around of packing this morning before leaving the campsite, which was good and I think I may even send some things home tomorrow. Once on the road we headed south along boring highways to reach a Triumph garage near Copenhagen to buy Vex some rear brake pads (job for tomorrow). We plan on a rest day tomorrow to explore Copenhagen and have a day off the bikes, maybe even do some washing! So tonight we have a lovely little Airbnb close to the city centre where are bikes are nice and safe and we and comfy and toasty (Chez got a bit cold last night!). Not much else for today really but we’re still pooped so I’m off to sleep!

    HIGHLIGHT - coming back into Denmark and meeting the lovely people of Steven MC Triumph Dealership
    LOW POINT - more motorway miles
    ROADS - none of note (E47)    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 18

    Rest Day: Copenhagen

    July 13, 2022 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    A well earned rest day in Copenhagen today, a chance to rest our bums, wear our ‘normal’ clothes and get our tourist nerd on. We made the most of it with a lie in before grabbing the metro into the centre of the city.

    First job was to get some admin done; Chez needed some new black trousers and I needed to send some stuff home ready for the hotter weather in the south. That done we hit the tourist spots: coffee and smaugbread thingie at The Coffee Collective, a walk up The Round Tower, hiding in the shade of The Botanical Garden and 16,000 steps of mooching around the various streets.

    Not a restful day per say but fun nonetheless and nice to be off the bike for a change. We both got back to the Airbnb at about 5.30 and promptly fell asleep! It’s now 9.30 and I’m looking forward to getting my new book out and falling asleep again. We’re heading into Germany tomorrow via a ferry, new day, new country, new adventure!

    HIGHLIGHTS - Botanical Gardens, lying in the shade
    LOW POINTS - feeling hot, sticky and pretty tired    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 20

    Copenhagen to Hamburg to Havelberg

    July 15, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Just 200km today and another 300km yesterday, but two cities in as many days!

    Although most of Europe is experiencing a huge heatwave, we were unfortunately chased out of Copenhagen by our beloved cloud, which we have lovingly called Brian. It seems Brian has followed us from Norway.

    So we hit the main roads heading to Rødbyhavn to catch the ferry to Germany. It’s takes just 45 minutes and although some say it’s chaotic, we thought it was very efficient! Drive on fast, drive off faster! Once in Germany, Brian returned so we ditched our plan to camp and headed for Hamburg and a Bunk-a-Biker called Florian (Woody). It was a happy decision and we spent a wonderful evening chatting about his many road trips, music, food, plants and other things. I had also asked if I could change my brake pads in his very well equipped garage, but realised this wasn’t needed just yet. This morning he fed us local breads and pastries and so much coffee I was in heaven. He was a truly wonderful host and I very much hope we can stay connected in the future.

    Since this morning, we have been following our newly named Woody Route, heading towards the Czech Republic and following the Elbe river down towards Dresden. The roads were beautiful with tree lined sweeping curves and lush woodlands. As we were feeling a little tired today, we bailed on the route early and found a lovely campsite with the aim of getting out early tomorrow to cover the remaining 330km to the border!

    HIGHLIGHT - meeting the wonderful Woody and spending hours chatting, the beautiful tree lined roads
    LOW POINT - feeling tired whilst riding never works!
    KEY ROADS - 195    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 21

    Havelberg to Struppen

    July 16, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    A long one today but we’ve had good energy levels and managed to do 300km after leaving at about 11.30. Haven’t touched a single autobahn on the way down through Germany either! We carried on following the Elbe river down on Woodys route part 2 and are now just 30 mins from the Czech border 😝

    There are some wonderful towns and cities in Germany if you stay off the main roads, two wonderful ones today have been Tangermunde, where we stopped for lunch, with lovely old churches and beautiful buildings and Dresden, a city full of culture and picturesque streets. I would love to revisit it again one day.

    Now snuggled up in my toasty sleeping bag, looking forward to exploring Little Switzerland and the Bikers Cave tomorrow!

    HIGHLIGHT - long ride that we didn’t think we’d manage, lunch in Tangermunde
    LOW POINT - panicking that we hadn’t booked a campsite at 8.10pm
    ROADS - 189, 107, 172    Read more

  • TravelerEurope
    Day 22

    Rest Day: Struppen

    July 17, 2022 in Czech Republic ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Well that didn’t go to plan! We started the day with a little bit of admin and washing, before heading over the border to the Czech Republic to see the bikers cave or Pekelne Doly. The ride over there was about 1.5hrs through some beautiful, alpine style villages and views, many along the river Elbe. The cave itself, however, was a dark, crowded and uninviting place. It was an amazing spectacle to see bikes being ridden around a cave but it didn’t feel welcoming. I had been feeling a little off all morning after losing my infinity bracelet, which I felt was my lucky charm, but either way, the place got my hackles up a little, so we didn’t stay long.

    On the way back out of the country Vex and I had a bit of a bump, ok we crashed, very slowly. Someone rolled back into us on a slight hill and broke the front mudguard. It was nothing spectacular (thank god) and we’re both absolutely fine, I was just a little shaken up. After dealing with the driver and exchanging details, I tested her brakes, front suspension and ‘tracking’, all of which felt perfect and rode her slowly back to the campsite, where I promptly had a snooze. Luckily, the day finished off nicely with a lovely walk around the local area and a lovely sunset.

    The plan for tomorrow has now has to alter so she can be checked over and we can hopefully walk some of the Saxon Switzerland that we missed today. Then back into an uninviting Czech Republic.

    HIGHLIGHTS - walk through the beautiful surroundings at sunset, getting some washing done
    LOW POINTS - crashing
    ROADS - none of note    Read more

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