6 months in Europe on a Duc

[JackL]

World Ducati Weekend
I found out about this event just before I left for the trip from the local Ducati shop owner, Dave Roosevelt. I met up with him & some of his buddies from Seattle, who I'm still friends with, there.
I also met some crazy Germans in the camp site next to me.




Dave R, Mike, Steve & I




The first MH 900e delivered


More Ducati's than even I could ride


Who says a Duc isn't an adventure bike?







The ride to the factory on the final day. 16 km of Ducatis. The Bologna police, who ride Ducati's, led the way.


Then the classics.


and the rest of us



The Germans again.


I met an English guy named James, a friend of Dave R, who lived in Milan. I stayed with he & his girlfriend after the event & we did some riding.


Went to the Ducati factory.


and took the tour. We saw how the bikes were built & checked out the museum.








Other than Milan that was it for Italy. What a great country. Great food & wine. Beautiful, happy people. Amazing bikes & cars & wonderful roads to ride them on with few cops.
Next. North! To Switzerland!

[JackL]

Originally Posted by RumRunner

One of those ride reports/adventures that you simply hope never ends.

DW

Thanks!
My girlfriend is an Editor & we're actually working on turning this into my first book. That's one of the reasons it's mostly pics & not so many stories. I've got to give you guys something worth buying. ;)

Jack L

[Huber Tuber]

Dude, thats rad, the sceen from Conan. "Stay for warmth barbarian"

[Apxgrndr]

Great Stuff, Thanks.

[JackL]

Well, after a month back in the US to deal with an eye problem & haul Ducati Seattle's race bikes to Laguna Seca it was back to Europe. I picked up my Duc at James' flat in Milan & headed north to Switzerland.

Through the longest? tunnel in Europe then over a pass that still had snow at the top in July.







I spent about a week in & around Interlaaken






before heading north though Lucerne

[Kevinny]

Jack,
Great post! I just spent St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland and a week driving around England. I had hoped to get to the Netherlands. Money, time and weather were not on my side. Your pictures of Amsterdam make me wish I tried.

[ratdog]

Highly unlikely you got a hangover from this machine, no matter the price, as sin means none (as in alcohol, in this case...)


Mike

[JackL]

Originally Posted by ratdog

Highly unlikely you got a hangover from this machine, no matter the price, as sin means none (as in alcohol, in this case...)


Mike

That may be what the machine says but it was stocked with both light & dark (evil, high proof) beer.

JackL

[JackL]

From Switzerland into Bavaria. I went to Füssen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fussen), where I've been before to see the Castles of Ludwig the Mad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein).




and the countryside.







Then up the Romantische Straße (Romantic Road) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_Road)


to Augsburg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg) where I went to a Medieval dinner.


Then on up to Nürnberg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremburg)




After staying with the crazy Germans I met in Italy & attending their towns annual beer fest it was off to...

[afoganso]

Hi,

Congratilations! Great report, great photos! Keep posting!

[JackL]

The Czech Republic & Prague




I stayed at Hostel Elf ( http://www.hostelelf.com) which I highly recommend. The other travellers were friendly.

as was the staff.


They even let me DJ when some French circus perfomers performed for their stay.



Lots of interesting things to see in Prague:





I took a day trip with a girl I met (who had no finger or toe nails, very strange) to Karlštejn ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlstejn)




Prague is one of those places you never want to leave but after about 2 weeks I moved on, heading east to Kutna Hora where I visited the Sedlec Ossuary ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_ossuary) aka the Bone Church.






From there I headed east to Brno, where they hold a MotoGP race each year, which I missed.




After a couple days in Brno, long enough to buy 2 very nice suits, tailored, for $125 total, it was off through the countryside. I love truth in advertising.


To some caves.


Hmm?


and then circling around south I ended up in Český Krumlov ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesky_Krumlov). On the way in looking for a hostel I met a fellow biker who owned a bar. He had me park my bike in his family's garage just down the street so it would be safe. He even got the hostel owner to get me a bed when they were all booked. The Czech people are great!








I rode up to a nearby castle.




This is the family crest of the nobility.


From there it was back to Prague for another week & then north.






So, with one long look at all the prostitutes standing outside the brothels just on this side of the border, it was back to Germany.

[JackL]

Germany.
Such a nice country. Such good roads. So easy to navigate. Kind of like a little America with better beer. ;)
My first stop was Dresden, the city for which during WW II the phrase "a slight case of overbombing" was coined.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II)


The Soviets didn't rebuild it so they were just getting a lot repaired.


Then on to the city once known as Babylon of the West, Berlin.






As you may have noticed I went to every Erotic Museum that I came across. Surprisingly the best was in Berlin & was run by a woman who made her fortune selling contaceptives & sex advice manuals after the war.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beate_Uhse_Erotic_Museum)




From here it was a long blast across Germany on the Autobahn to the Low Countries.

[JackL]

Ah, Amsterdam. Venice of the North.






My roommate from college, Joost, lives here so I looked him up again. He manages an indoor climbing center. That's him at the top.


There are two things you must do in Amsterdam:



and go to the Red Light District





Bad night picks because I lost my camera & had to resort to disposable for the rest of the trip.

When I was in Prague I met a couple of Dutch guys. It turned out one of them was working at a big music festival, The Lowlands Festival, while I was there. So I rode out, found a scalper, and met up with him. I'd left my tent back in the States because I wasn't using it much so built my own from a tarp at one end of his. It poured on the 3rd night & I was one of the only dry tents because I'd lined the floor up the walls about 5 inches with extra tarp. I guess Air Force survival school does come in handy sometimes.




I did meet a very nice Rockabilly girl from Seattle here but have no pictures of her. Sorry. Some of the bands that performed on the many stages were Underworld & The Reverend Horton Heat.
Then it was down to Den Bosch, a college town, to visit the other of these two guys.




I think someone must have been smoking something good to create this.

[iwhelan]

Awesome thread Jack. I love your photography. Are you shooting on film? Is the 900SS pretty comfortable as a touring bike? I'm thinking of getting a similar bike. Keep it up and good luck.

-Ian

[TheYeti]

Love your report, Fantisic Pics. The ones in southern Germany were great.