Coming to visit you

[Curtisrides]

Howdy--Looking for input from all you guys. When we finish the Globeriders World Tour 2006, www.globeriders.com , we will be in Munich. Three of us will fuel-up and keep going.

The plan is to Berlin, Warsaw, St. Petersburg, to the Finland border. That part of the trip is already set-up due to the visa requirements. When we cross we are on our own and have a very loose schedule. Other than the Nordcapp, we will be game for what ever you guys advise.

I've seen alot of ride reports from you "northern guys". We will ride and camp or hotel or stay with your sister.:rabia All offers of free facilities will be considered.

Whatca think??

Curtis

[Jan from Finland]

Originally Posted by amcwillie

Other than the Nordcapp, we will be game for what ever you guys advise.

Hi,
How about Nordkinn? The northernmost point of Europe.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...2&postcount=10

[Curtisrides]

That's what I'm talking about. Input, need input!!

Thanks Jan, Will add to the list. Anything else 3 fat old men can ride to???

Curtis

[FemIce]

Originally Posted by amcwillie

That's what I'm talking about. Input, need input!!

Thanks Jan, Will add to the list. Anything else 3 fat old men can ride to???

Curtis

3 fat old men with what kind of interests? And how old?
Is some culture an option?

Do you have plans of riding in the southern parts of Norway?

-FemIce-

[Curtisrides]

Don't have the exact dates yet. But, Yes we will want to do and see everything we can while we are there. Hopefully some of you guys are around to visit with . Between the three of us, we have been most everywhere, but your area. Suggestions welcome. I don't know how to post a picture, but we have a crude map with the proposed route. This will be a do whatever and go whereever trip since we will be coming off a structured guided tour. We will be at some function in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and then to Munich for a few days and then to St. Petersburg and enter Finland from there. Then we are free of schedules until the airplane ticket date for going home. Thanks for the reply.

Curtis

[kimangao]

Hi Curtis,
when you're in Germany, and your route takes you a bit west to the region Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen, I'd be happy to share some stories with you. There's beer, a garage, and a place to sleep.

A little impression:







Tour input? Not for the Nordic countries but for Germany...

Black Forest and Lake Constance







Thuringia and Harz Mountains:






Cheers

Dirk

[necron__99]

Originally Posted by amcwillie

Howdy--Looking for input from all you guys. When we finish the Globeriders World Tour 2006, www.globeriders.com , we will be in Munich. Three of us will fuel-up and keep going.

The plan is to Berlin, Warsaw, St. Petersburg, to the Finland border. That part of the trip is already set-up due to the visa requirements. When we cross we are on our own and have a very loose schedule. Other than the Nordcapp, we will be game for what ever you guys advise.

I've seen alot of ride reports from you "northern guys". We will ride and camp or hotel or stay with your sister.:rabia All offers of free facilities will be considered.

Whatca think??

Curtis

Hi Curtis,

If you are passing by the southern part of Sweden (Here we are http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...ty=Johannishus ) we might be able to put you up for a night or two. We will, however, be on the road our selves during July (See http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127759 ).

Any questions about Sweden? Just PM me and I'll try to help out anyway I can.

Good luck on your journey

[JFerg]

Hey Curtis, we might see you along the way; and like you, we're looking for a bit of inspiration and local knowledge.

A pair of Aussies on Guzzi Californias, London to Istanbul via The Shetlands, Nordkapp, Krakov, Prague, and Dubrovnik. Return via Thessaloniki, the Guzzi factory, Alps, Alps, Alps, Nurburgring. Four laps for Eu54, whooohooo!

So far have not been able to find anyone with first hand experience of the traps for the unwary when crossing borders through the Baltic and Balkan states, or even anyone with riding experience of these areas. Any input really welcome.

Start date is 1 August.

cheers,
JFerg

[Roger]

Hi

10 years ago, I made the route Switzerland - Austria - Czech - Poland - Lithuania - Latvia - Estonia - Finland - Sweden - Germany - Switzerland.
The aim was to reach a Moto Guzzi meeting in Finland and to prove that me and my Cali 2 was still able to ride. I took a match box along and was ready to leave the motorcycle behind me in case of serious troubles. Remember it was the time without GPS, without mobile phones and for most without the Internet. All went well, I still ride the same motorcycle.
Twice I had troubles, once during a stop when I did not notice that the green nice place aside of the road was a hidden ditch, and once in Estonia when I was busy to find the directions instead of watching the traffic.
At that time a visa for Lithuania and Latvia was still required. The green card was not valid in Latvia and maybe Estonia. I ignored that as nobody ask at the border for it. The route from Estonia via St.Petersburg to Finland was strongly not recommended. The advice was not to stop along the road in any circumstances due to robberies. I did not do it as it required a visa too, I took the ferry between Tallinn and Helsinki. But again a flash back, it was the time "shortly" after opening the wall and the dead strip within Germany. The heads were still filled with ideas created during the cold war. The travel books were also full of warnings concerning day long queue at the borders. At least that was wrong. I could see old oil drops some kilometers before the borders but I never had to queue seriously. Some transfers of used car from the west to the east on a private initiative was still ongoing and especially between Czech and Poland it looked like a workshop. (the polish law permitted the import of broken cars without a high tax). But also this is history. Today, I assume, queues at the border are due to Germans looking for cheaper stuff in Poland.
Overnight I stayed all the time in the tent. I used the street map to localize the campgrounds. Most of them were very fine and had even shops. The toilets (restrooms) and showers were ok, you need to get used to the idea that not only white painted walls can be clean. The East had a good camping tradition, in the evening people did sit together and sing song in the best case around a fire, unlike other countries were people build castles with gardens and fence around their "houses".
Streets: I used no highways, made about 400 km a day. The streets are fine, in the eastern part of Poland they remember me at France, having high trees on both sides of the road.
Radar: In all the countries they used very often mobile radars, especially near the borders. They catched me only twice, once in Austria at a typical trap. (end of the villages, good visibility but the speed still limited) and once in Poland.
Poland does (did?) not use speed signs. The village signs are supposed to say all and usually it is difficult to find them behind all other shit (advertisement). At that time it was quite cheap. 92km/h instead of 60km/s = approx 20 USD.
Money: Again it is from the past. I changed Swiss francs into Austrian schillings and then into Czech crones and then into Polish Zloty, into Lats, into Litas, into Crones, into Mark, into Crones into Mark...
I could always change at the borders, I had some troubles in Lithuania as the Zloty from the neighbor country were not accepted at least not in the official exchange office. A private "bank" a combination of a bar and a red house changed it finally. Nowadays local cash and Euros and a credit card as spare should do the trick.
Languages: I had a bunch of translation book with me. I did not use them. To my surprise did the people quite often speak some German (Poland,Lithuania, Latvia), also some French was known. (Poland) and of course English (Estonia, Finland, Sweden)
Petrol (gaz): Since I did not travel the big roads, I had to watch careful for the petrol stations. I used at that time still petrol with lead. It was sometimes a problem to find high octanes with lead. Once I had to use 92 octanes without lead... but remember I a ride a Guzzi, Czech locals translated that to tractor.. Today, I believe, Petrol in good quality is no more an issue, since German cars (with the needs for it) are quite popular in these countries.
Hope my typing is of any help. It is a while ago and I crossed many countries without to visit them actually.
Maybe dedicated questions awake my memories.

@ oldmoped: Your offer is 10 years to late, but I would not have missed it.

@ JFerg: I am very interested at your travel story. I run a "California" homepage.

Have a good day !

Roger

[oldmoped]

In Estonia not problems with gasoline - only euroquality - Statoil, Neste, Lukoil and couple of locals - octaned 95e, 98e. Today 95e - 0,95 eur/L
In estonia 50% are automatic petrolstations - can pay with cash, petrolcard or visa/master card.
Speed in roads 90kmh (some roads with signs to 100 or 115kmh in sommertime), in towns 50kmh. In Estonia not automatic radars, only policemans sometime in some places measuring that. In Estonia not highways, only ordinary roads. Some roads are with wery bad quality, with holes and hills, small roads in countryside are 50% very dusty gravelroads.
Same trafficinsurance greengard all over europe.
Local money - estonian crown - 15,65eek=1eur

For EU citizen and USA citizen visa not required.
In border yoy must have passport or if you a EU-citizen ID-card valid to.
Not long quere at the borders - 5to20min exept Russian border.

In Estonia not ewrymans right in privat land camping, but in public land lots of free campingplaces and huts. Not toilets and restrooms on roads, only in big petrolstations.