2013 Europe trip

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Oregon FJR

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Messages
10
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Location
Silverton, OR
I am shipping my bike to Heidelberg in October 2012, and plan to spend two weeks on the continent. Haven't firmed up the dates, but sometime around the end of May to the middle of June 2013. I also have not decided on any exact route. I did a Beach's tour a couple of years ago and had a blast in the Alps, but think it would be fun to stay in one town for a few days as a base and ride out on day trips. I had a co-worker who was planning to go along, but he probably won't be able to make it. Anyone interested in going?

 
I am shipping my bike to Heidelberg in October 2012, and plan to spend two weeks on the continent. Haven't firmed up the dates, but sometime around the end of May to the middle of June 2013. I also have not decided on any exact route. I did a Beach's tour a couple of years ago and had a blast in the Alps, but think it would be fun to stay in one town for a few days as a base and ride out on day trips. I had a co-worker who was planning to go along, but he probably won't be able to make it. Anyone interested in going?

If i may ask how much to ship it there and back?

 
Shipped it out of Los Angeles last month. It was about $1,200 with insurance. I plan on leaving it there for a couple of years, with Stefan Knopf in Heidelberg. His website is knopftours.com.

 
Leaving May 25 for Heidelberg, with two friends, then down to Dubrovnik, Croatia for 3 days. Taking the ferry from Croatia to Ancona Italy, then on to Arabba, Italy for a couple of days in the Dolomites, followed by two or three days in Andermatt, Switzerland. Then we plan to play it by ear as we make our way back to Heidelberg. My two buddies then head back home, and I will continue for two weeks on my own. Plan to ride to the UK to visit family and friends, and maybe take the ferry to Ireland, before heading back to Heidelberg.

 
Shipped my FJR through Stefan a couple years ago, 2010. Wife and I toured for 2 1/2 months through Europe. Seriously thinking of sending it over again for next year, 2014. We are thinking of doing the Brittish Isles this time and maybe Scandinavia? If we do it next time I'll leave it for a few years and just do a month each year. We are thinking of traveling around the middle of May before the prices go up for the summer. So maybe we'll see you in 2014? If you're interested in GB maybe we can meet up? Stefan is good to deal with. He will take you down to the ADAC and get you all fixed up with insurance and roadside assistance. Have fun on your trip.

 
I am leaving the bike for a couple of years, and plan to return each year for a month. I will undoubtedly be in the UK during that trip as well, and usually visit during May for the same reason. Maybe we will see you there. I guess ADAC does not do green card insurance anymore, according to Stefan, but he is dealing with another company. Insurance is pretty expensive (195 Euros for a month of liability, plus 395 for comprehensive) Still the cost is much less than renting if you leave the bike there for multiple trips.

 
Just got back from the trip yesterday. Wound up going for a month, two weeks with a couple of friends on rental bikes, and then two weeks by myself. Other than a minor traffic accident in Bosnia involving one of the rental bikes (very minor damage and no injury), everything went great. Started off in Heidelberg at Stefan Knopf's place. There were a constant stream of bikers, mostly from the US in and out of the place, and Stefan is very accomodating. Left Heidelberg and rode to Croatia through Austria and Slovenia. Spent a few days in Dubrovnik, with a day trip to Montenegro. We then rode down to Split in Croatia and took the overnight ferry to Ancona Italy. Went to Arabba in the Dolomites where we spent a couple of days at a really nice hotel. Then rode on to Andermatt Switzerland for a couple of days, but most of the passes there were still closed! We then started making our way back to Heidelberg, by way of Starsbourg France. After saying good bye to my friends in Heidelberg, I headed for France and the Channel Tunnel. I learned, after I arrived, that I should have booked my passage to England in advance. It cost 105 Euros for the crossing over. One of the other bikers told me that by showing up without a reservation, I paid abouit twice as much as he had. Spent a couple of days with relatives in England, then went to Ireland for three days, where it poured with rain every day. Eventually wound up back in Germany after a total of 4,300 miles and 13 countries visited. Great trip, can't wait to do it again next year.

 
Are you going in 2014? We are still deciding what we're doing. It might push us to go if we had someone else to meet up with. We have family and friends in Germany.

I also wondered where you stayed during your trip? Our last trip we split up time between friend in Germany, camping cabins and Pensions in Italy and Formula One hotels in France and Belgium and a Back Packers Hostel in Switzerland. Did you find some good deals?

We have been waffling between Southern Europe and the Brittish Isles. I think Southern Europe is cheaper and we thought of going in May before the flights go up. I think the weather would be better in the south that time of year.

Thanks, John

 
I am planning on a trip next year. I am waiting to hear back from a friend who may be going, but has to wait until the end of this year to see what his schedule looks like. My plan is either to go again in late May, or wait until September. I agree that the weather would be better in Southern Europe in May than it would be in the UK, and lodging is probably cheaper. I found one of the best ways to get accommodation without reservations, is to stop at a tourist information center (which almost all towns have), and have them find lodging. Just tell them what you are looking for and how much you want to spend. Never had any trouble doing it this way, got some really great rooms at reasonable rates.

My preference for next year would be to do Southern France, Spain, and Portugal, but it depends on who I'm going with, and what they want to do. I would always be up for another Alps trip!

 
A little ealy for the Alps in late May. I wonder how the Pyrenees mountains are that time of year? I've always wanted to ride in Andalucia. I'd like to take the bike by ferry to Morocco, but that's probably not practical. I'd also like to visit "The Grand Canyon of Verdon" in Southern France. We are still up in the air as to what we're doing. How much time are you planning for your trip?

 
I am thinking at least three weeks. I agree that late May is a little early for the Alps. We were there during the first week of June, and many of the passes were closed (including Stelvio and most of the passes around Andermatt). In 2011 we were there during the middle of June and everything was great. If I went in May I would definitely like to do the south, and I would have to jump over to Britain to visit family. Are you thinking of renting a bike or shipping yours?

 
No renting. We will be shipping the bike and maybe leaving it at Stefan's place for a few years. We just booked a trip to Costa Rica for January and now we find my son and family are moving up from Georgia to the DC area in May. This may alter our oringinal plans for May and Spain. If we can't go then the alternative might be the Brittish Isles in August-September time frame. I was recently looking at flights to Germany and that time frame is about $80 more per person....at least when I checked. I'd like to be back to attend the NAFO and/or EOM meetings in September, but will gladly miss them to be in Europe....we'll see. The bottom line, we will be sending the bike. It's just a question of when and where the trip will be planned for. Maybe we'll see you there?

 
Have you dealt with Stefan before? He is really easy to work with and very competent. My plan is to go in September, but it's subject to change if we decide to go to the Isle of Mann TT at the end of May.

 
Have you dealt with Stefan before? He is really easy to work with and very competent. My plan is to go in September, but it's subject to change if we decide to go to the Isle of Mann TT at the end of May.
Yes, if you check back in the thread you'll see we sent the bike over in 2010. At that time we spent 2 1/2 months in Europe. I had planned to leave the bike there at that time, but it had a transmission problem and I had to ship it back. Anyway it's going back in March. We just have to figure out when we're going? Since we've done the Alps and Dolimites as well as many other locations in Central Europe we want to branch out. We have three trips in mind. One is the British Isles second Spain and South West France and third is the Balkins and on to Istanbul. If we go in August and into September it most likely will be the British Isles. Maybe we'll meet up along the way?

 
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