Around the World in 800 Days

Stopping at Westmalle brewery for some dubbel and triple

Right now I am staying with a nice family just south of Amsterdam.
They contacted me thru my blog when they found out that I was going to be in the area.

The husband and wife team rode a pair of BMW GS 1200 Adventure bikes from Alaska to the tip of South America last year.

We have been chatting and comparing stories.

And they have been taking great care of me with some good home cooking

Thank you so much

Yum
Home made Paella

And he has a great workshop too
I changed the engine and transmission oil, cleaned the air filters, put on a new back tire and balanced the front.
ready to put some miles on

Plus I opened up this baby today.
As you know, most beer should be consumed fresh.
But some beer can age.
The blue Chimay is one of those beers.
The boss at Chimay gave me this beer.
I will never forget what he said when he handed it to me.

He said........"I am giving this beer to you because it is so expensive that you probably could not afford it"

What did it taste like you ask.
To me, it tasted like a blue Chimay without any of the normal sharpness. It was very mellow and subdued.
It is also had a little coco note that I liked.
It was an honor and a great experience to sample such a beer.
Thank you

No plans for the UK on this trip but I would like to do the isle of man one day

Here I come
Denmark will be my 27th country so far.
But I have a long way to go.
Monkey butt for sure awaits me
I need to put in some miles as I need to get up Norway and down thru Finland before it starts snowing.
Ciao for now

Ed

Amsterdam is amazing, and Brugge is one of my favorite cities.....

If you have a chance, there is amazing scenery if you take a bicycle and ride out from the city and into the countryside. You can go to Edam, Volendam and all along the seaside on a bicycle...with a basket and stop for food, wine, and "argh", shopping :)

I loved it there, and have been twice. I was there the last time on Queens Day...quite the party!

Stay safe, and keep enjoying your travels....:)

Lalo,greetings from the Not so Frozen North!..the West Coast of British Columbia.
We have Canada's only desert is 3 hours travel from the Fraser Valley which is home to some amazing wines.My wife's nephew has a vineyard in Osoyoos B.C which is home to a most amazing Syrah,that is vinted by Moon Cursor Vineyards.
So much to refute the popular misnomer that the 49th parallel is the boundry between palapas and igloos,we have great wines and micro breweries here.
A '99 Blue Chimay,you lucky dawg.....the wines that you have sampled in your journey are a treat,and I can't read enough,my wine fridge list grows with every post!
I have enjoyed your ramblings and photos,and the gratuitus bikini shots(sorry had to).
Ah the beers,Urquell,Faxe,Grolsche,Dab.....
Safe travels...ride on!

bruce

Lalo

Sent you a couple PM's about Norway, but just looked at the Nordkapp site and it appears you should get there before 1st September really as there is significantly reduce opening from then.

Mike

Hey Lalo,

just sent you a PM.

Since you have to use either our Elbtunnel or the Elbbrücken (bridges over the river Elbe) to reach Scandivia, you should stop by and have a look.


(brewery not shown on picture above, but there is one right behind our town-house which is the second pinnacle from the left )

Excellent trip! You’ve resurrected many great memories in the last several days. We spent a couple years living in the vicinity of the Mosel Valley in Germany. My wife loved the wine, I loved the beer. Strangely enough, the 600 bottles we shipped back to the states are all gone now.

i guess if your going to hang with monks your going to be blessed
my problems started when i read Neil Pearts book ( Ghost Rider ) that started the scotch (McCallan)
Then picked up a bottle of Cava de Oro (dame i like tequila know)
then i read your report about all the wines ( yes i found the folding stem wine glass ) been hitting that stuff.
today picked up some different beers to sample.
but the wife says NO to HOOKER and DRUGS
enjoying you trip, keep it up. Im going to sober up and go for a ride.

I sped thru the rest of the Netherlands.
Raced thru northern Germany.
Ripped on thru Denmark with a stop off at Copenhagen.
And now I am dashing thru Sweden slowing down just enough to enjoy all the beautiful women here.
And I am heading to Oslo Norway this afternoon.
Then to the fiords for some hiking and back in to the Arctic once again.
I will post pics once I slow down a bit.

Ed

Just finished catching up on your ride report. What a great job you have done posting photos and writing about your experience. Composing the report is more work than people realize. In the photos above you are right in my backyard in the Okanagan Valley. I have made some notes on your wine tastings so if i can source them out i will be sure to try them. Keep your travels going and i look forward to the outcome of your love connection. She appears to be a lovely and adventurous lady with a great attitude. Keep on making your own luck. Stay open to whatever comes your way. Thanks for sharing the trip.

I got up at the crack of noon on Sunday.
My hosts in the Netherlands made me another delicious breakfast and I got on my way......heading north.
Saying good bye for now. But maybe I will see them again on the road somewhere in this world

My host in the Netherlands warned me that once I got in to Germany to check my mirrors before pulling in to the "fast lane".
And WOW was he not kidding.
I was cruising along about 80 to 85 mph and I was getting blown off the road.
Everyone was doing over 100 easy.
Some guys were doing 125 or 130.
And they were Porsches and M Powered BMW's. They were little 4 cylinder cars.
They must drive with the pedal to the metal all the time.
And at $8+ a gallon, they can't be getting more than 15 mpg at that speed.
I was wishing for my Honda Blackbird at that moment. Then I would be putting the hammer down

I got just inside the Danish border and I started to look for a place to camp.
My GPS has some "shelters" under "Lodging" listed. You never know what you are going to find when you search for a shelter. But it rained off and on thru out the day so I thought it would be nice to find somewhere with a roof over my head.
The GPS led me to a little town and then thru the town. The road turned to dirt and that was looking promising as most of the shelters are on the side of the road in town. Then the GPS told me to turn down some single track. Well it turned out to be some horse trails. Fun stuff

When I arrived at the shelter, this is what I found.
PERFECT.......almost

The shelters were wood lined and only about 2 or 3 feet tall.
Cozy.
But there was no one around for miles.
I popped open a Westveleren Beer and cranked up the tunes.