Finally?

It looks as though we may have finally got to the end of the planning stage.

Hotels and routes look to be sorted. All we need now is some movement from "our friends" in Europe to start opening their borders to international travel and to cut out the very lucrative PCR and lateral flow testing requirements.

It's become a veritable gold rush for companies that sprung up like mushrooms to make a fortune. Cowboy territory.

The hotels are (the links may need dates checked!)

May 25th 🇩🇪 - Hotel Stadt Coblenz on Booking.com! http://www.booking.com/Share-Cu4qVt 

May 26th 🇨🇿 - Hotel Plzeň on Booking.com! http://www.booking.com/Share-oZu81r

May 29th 🇦🇹 - Austria Traveller Hotel Lenzing on Booking.com! http://www.booking.com/Share-ChHSQr 

May 30th 🇩🇪 - Gasthof Kreisi on Booking.com! http://www.booking.com/Share-xd4mdsh 

May 31st 🇱🇺 - Hotel Carpini on Booking.com! http://www.booking.com/Share-AM8EN6

That's about it for now. I have all the routes in MyRouteApp. I could share them to any travellers that want to join us but you'll have to have a MyRouteApp login.

The whole trip looks like this.  I had to stitch all the days routes together.

Overall route as planned.

This is a rough idea of the routes all stitched together although I like to have an idea where the fuel stops are liable to be, not necessarily to stick to them, but it gives an idea of the distances involved. So each day will be updated a little with fuel stops!

All the routes:

MyRouteApp 

Of course there is no such thing as "finally" in a Devall production. I will be tweaking the routes until the day we set off!  Maybe even afterwards too! The wonder of smartphones, apps WIFI and Bluetooth tethering. 👍

Infinity and Beyond!

"To boldly go" etc.

So yesterday's post about Linz to Friedberg had a very short shelf life. 

Once I started to look for hotels in Linz and seeing that either they have very few rooms released to booking.com, or there is genuinely an over abundance of tourists when we are going to be in the area!

I then started to look at the route and the distances involved.  In MyRouteApp I started to toy with different distances.  I had set an arbitrary destination of Linz before checking hotels and even the distances involved. Perhaps I should have done some more research before blogging?  "Bugrit"!

So today as I sat watching the greyhounds at my volunteer job eating and then running around the field I started to look for hotels.  One eye on the screen, one eye on the dogs!

The "previous current" Day 5 (Sunday) route took us from Vernířovice, via Brno with a 90 minute planned stop to see my former teaching colleagues and get a drink, then S52 into Austria.  The route calculated taking us to Linz. Most of it on the A1 Autobahn. We'd need the vignette. As I said before, I personally want the sticker to put on the bike as a "been there, done that" display rather than the e-vignette.

MyRouteApp calculates that as about 310 miles and 6h40m. This includes the 90 mins in Brno but no other stops, like lunch or petrol.

Phil will have his new R1250RT and that I guess will be frugal and get decent mileage. Giles has a Katana and I have no idea at the moment what mpg he gets. Vera currently doing about 50mpg over a variety or local and motorway riding.  

So that doesn't seem too bad. This brings us back to Day 6 Monday.  We have the Eagles Nest and Neuwanstein Castle on the visit list. Although a day ending in Füssen, the nearest town to Neuwanstein might seem sensible. It would leave about 560 miles to cover the be at the channel ports by mid-afternoon on Wednesday. Not too bad over two days, with overnight stops Monday and Tuesday.

But there is a hotel problem. Perhaps Neuwanstein is the mecca for tourists as there a few hotels in the more budget range.  Personally my wallet isn't in the £100+ a night bracket!

So I have from Neuwanstein I add the edited Romantic Road route from TomTom and saw that id starts in Füssen (!) and ends in Würzburg.

So Day 5 Sunday. In the end Linz was too short and Salzburg too long a day. Using booking coms map I worked my way from Salzburg towards Linz checking al the hotels that popped up. Looking at price and the number of rooms available.  You would be surprised how many hotels and gasthofs have one room left for May 29th 2022.

In the end I got as far as 40 miles from Salzburg at Lenzing. Not that far off the A1 and 60or so miles west of Linz. Linz not actually on the A1.

The Austria Traveller Hotel has plenty of rooms available and Lenzing is only 3kms off he A1. It does bump up the day's mileage to around 340. But quite a lot will be on dual-carriageway and motorway.

Day 5 - Sunday

That means that Day 6 (Monday) will be almost as planned with the stops and then part way up the Romantic Road to near Augsburg.

This is also brings into question a stop in Rothenburg ob der Tauber on the way to the rally on Day 2.  It's on the Romantic Road!  But that's a change for another day!

The stop tonight will be at Gasthof Kreisi in Friedberg as per the original plan of only yesterday!

Day 6 - Monday

Day 6/7 - Miss Out Sinsheim?

Question? "What if I dropped Sinsheim?"  The original Day 6 would have been a longish day starting around Brno and ending in Heilbronn.

The decision to convert Brno to a stop rather than a stopover means that Sunday evening (Day 5) could be in Austria.  I plucked Linz from the air as I have stayed there before, in the Youth Hostel.

That end point was to allow for a shorter journey the next day to Heilbronn on Monday to get to Sinsheim, visit the museum and then head homewards with an overnight stay in Luxembourg. Instead there maybe a different trip planned for later this year or in 2023 that includes Sinsheim.  So it seems a bit daft to go twice!

Dropping Sinsheim would mean cancelling Heilbronn overnight and maybe even the Luxembourg overnight.

So Day 6 from Linz onwards. Maybe incorporate the Romantic Road ending up at the end of that around Würzburg?

Even I am getting confused with what day is what and where I will be!

Day 1 (Wednesday 25/5) - Ferry or Shuttle - Overnight near Coblenz.

Day 2 (Thursday 26/5) - Across Germany - Overnight Plzeň

Day 3 (Friday 27/5) - Cross Czech - Overnight Vernířovice

Day 4 (Saturday 28/5) - Rally - Overnight Vernířovice

Day 5 (Sunday 29/5) - Leave Vernířovice, Brno, Austria - Overnight Linz?

Day 6 (Monday 30/5) - Leave Linz, Romantic Road? - Overnight - Würzburg?

Day 7 (Tuesday 31/5) - Würzburg - Overnight ???

Day 8 (Wednesday 1/6) - ???? to Shuttle/Ferry - Overnight Home!

Routes - Day 3 - Plzeň to Vernířovice

A change I made some weeks ago and didn't update the blog. I added Church of Bones near Kutná Hora to the the route across from Plzeň. 

It is only a short detour off the D11 to the Ossuary and then back to the D11. 

The original route does take a stop off at Rozhledna Doubravka XIV.

It's just a short walk from the main road. 

Plus of course the slight detour to Poland and Boboszów!

Hotels on the way to Vernířovice

Just confirming the hotels on the way over to the rally hotel in Vernířovice. 

It is two longish days on the road to Fachbach/Koblenz and Plzeň, but I have tried to build in some "sights" and scenic roads on the way, rather than squaring the tyres on the A3!

Between Fachbach/Koblenz and Plzeň I have built-in a trip into the Christmas Town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Who could resist the charm of the place?  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber

Photo by Berthold Werner/Rothenburg

Anyway hotels.

Hotel Stadt Coblenz - Check-in Wednesday, 25 May 2022 - https://www.booking.com/hotel/de/stadt-coblenz-fachbach.en-gb.html

Hotel Plzen - Check in Thursday 26 May 2022 - https://www.booking.com/hotel/cz/plzen-r.en-gb.html

I booked myself a single room where possible, or double when not possible. Not because I am a miserable bugger but with a few personal problems mean I sleep fitfully and disturb others.

Routes - Day 5 Rally to Brno

Currently, Day 5 is the Sunday that the Rally ends and everyone sets off for home. I had planned to go back across the Czech Republic and head for Schloss Colditz.

But I got to thinking.

I will have ridden 800 plus miles across Europe to the rally, so it seems odd that I miss out going to see my friends in Brno. Doesn't it?

I am sure I can add a day to the trip and from Vernířovice go south and visit them near Brno. After all. At my age, 66,  I have no idea when I will get to go there again. Probably not by motorcycle. 

I guess Jiří might be able to get to the UK again for a trip but maybe (Claire and) I will be too old to go there?

So I am changing the end of the trip and making Popůvky to visit Lilka and family, and Jiří and family in Ostrovačice my goal for Day 5! 

It does say across the top of the Blog that this is MY trip. 

This means cancelling the bookings at Colditz by email and the Hagen date on booking.com.  The latter sorted quickly and efficiently. The other waiting for a reply.

I suppose I should let them know at some stage that I am going to drop on their doorsteps! Maybe in their Christmas cards? 

The route is pretty straightforward and only around 105 miles via Olomouc.  

Routes - Day 5 Part 1 - Vernířovice to Schloss Colditz (B)

As I have been on the tour at Colditz before I am not in any hurry to get from the rally in Vernířovice to the castle, so since the original post for Day 5 was posted, I am looking at alternative places to stop enroute.

Firstly I saw a post on the "Visit Czech Republic"  Facebook page for some troglodyte houses to the north of Prague. These are in a small town of Lhotka near Mělník - https://www.muzeum-melnik.cz/rock-dwelling-lhotka-near-melnik/

I had a look on Google maps and then on My RouteApp to see where it is situated and whether it would form a reasonable stop on the way to Colditz. In Czech the site can be found as Skalní Byty Kokořínsko.

I added it to the Day 5 route in MyRouteApp.  It has extended the day a little but as the route planner doesn't account for stopped time (although I can add that later!) it looks like the day's riding will be around six hours and 282 miles.

From there is it plain sailing up the E55 to the German border and towards Dresden.  There are bound to be a few photo opportunities on the way!

Such as the lookout tower at Kostelní Hlavno, just a few metres off the route for the day.

Routes - Day 5 Part 1 - Vernířovice to Schloss Colditz

The rally traditionally starts on Friday and ends on Sunday before lunchtime.  I have already booked an overnight stop at the Youth Hostel in Colditz Castle. I stayed there with Claire way back in 2011 and we had two nights and did the tour on the morning of the full day we were local. 

The tour takes a couple of hours and is in English, but seems at the moment only on Sundays and Mondays. See the website for more details. 

Having done the tour a decade ago I am not all that worried about doing it again.  The current route (below) takes me back towards Prague on pretty much the same route that I went on.

As I am not that bothered with the Colditz tour I will look at some alternative stops on the way. Dresden maybe?

Routes - Day 3 - Plzeň to Vernířovice

Is this the last update we shall see?  The trip isn't for about 8 months so much could change in that time. Hopefully the overnight stops  have been sorted once and for all.

All there is no do is maybe look out some more places to stop off along the route without making too much deviation.

The hotels I have booked are all on booking.com and apart from Plzeň are either doubles or twins. I don't expect to share with anyone in any case. All I will say ids that is because I not only snore badly, but have a few medical needs that might keep others awake.  Unless of course it is my brother Neill and then that's okay!

To use a phrase I hate, I have already "reached out" to Rosta about a stop off on the way past Hradec Králové to meet face to face for the first time since 2011.  We are so much older that we might recognise each other!

The basic route looks like this:

Plenty of time to add places to stop and be a tourist. 

In fact at one point the route passes less than a kilometre from the Polish border and so maybe I can "bag" Poland on this trip too? And there is a very interesting old church in the village of Boboszów just crying out to be visited. ;)

Routes - Day 2 Part 2 - Würzburg to Plzeň

A change of the second night hotel means this is all change. I had previously booked into a hotel in Königstein in der Oberpfalz but after considering the journey the next day to Vernířovice I decided to make Day 2 a little longer and cross into Czech.

The obvious route would be to stay on the motorway from Würzburg and kill off as many miles as possible.  After a search around booking.com I decided on the Hotel Plzeň in Plzeň. It looks very clean and very modern in the 145 photos on the booking.com page and from their own website.

I have only booked a single room and it works out at about £30 including breakfast. I have asked them about parking the bike.  Even if I have to pay €6 for secure parking that will be okay. 

I  can't remember stopping in Plzeň before for more than a few minutes.  I think once we stopped for petrol and then for lunch along the main road.  Long before the dalnice was built from the border towards Prague the ordinary silnice went right through the city centre. So this time it will be a first.

They have sent some voucher to use on entry.  It looks as though they expect visitors to use an electronic entry system and times mentioned are 2200-0600. I'll be emailing to check that there is a human on site in daylight hours!

So the current route, V4.1 looks like this:

There should be opportunities to stop off on the way somewhere scenic. 

Although not visible in the Würzburg end of the map above, I also added a stop at the Würzburg branch of Louis motorcycle shop.  

Nearby is another bike shop called Polo. On the map there are two waypoints superimposed. I think this company rose from the ashes of Hein Gericke, but maybe just coincidence. 

The local bikers are well serviced as it looks as both are J&S style shops.

The day's mileage is about 350, but a lot of it is on motorway between "sights".

Routes - Day 1 - Eurotunnel to Kobern-Gondorf

Whilst I am working from home and waiting for someone to log a call on the MIS Helpdesk,  I have turned my attention to places to visit on the way across from Calais Eurotunnel to Vernířovice. 

With a longish day from Eurotunnel to the first overnight stop in Kobern-Gondorf, a break other than at the motorway services might be nice.

When my brother, Neill,  plans our trips and those that he goes on every year with his mate Patrick, he includes fuel stops as Patrick's Shadow has a lot lower tank capacity than his BMW. I tend not to do that but maybe once I know what sort of mileage I can expect from Vera's tank, then I can add that into my planning.

Anyway, I digress.  Places to visit/stop on the way across Belgium and western Germany. Where to look? The internet I guess! Or maybe for POI's in MyRouteApp? Success.

I have started to split to overall routes into bite sized chunks, by day and parts of days.  

Day 1 Part 1 is Eurotunnel to the Biker Ranch Eifel near Simmerath.  This will be all on motorway into Germany and then exiting for Simmerath.

Depending on what time I get to France on Eurotunnel, the Biker Ranch should be about lunchtime. Then we reset TomTom with Part Two.

Day 1 Part 2 is a ride through the Eifel Naturpark from the Biker Ranch to Bad Münstereifel.  I chose this as it cuts off the corner that would be the motorway routes. Bad Münstereifel is also the twin town of Ashford in Kent near where I live.

Sadly, in the massive floods or "hochwasser" earlier in July '21 many buildings in the town centre were badly damaged. Hopefully things will have improved by May. 

It's not that far and I was sent the route by a friend in Germany as a "tasting" as he put it. I have driven in this area before in my old Fiat Panda!

According to Google Maps the total trip should take about 5 hours and is about 250 miles. Add on petrol stops and lunch at the Biker ranch that looks more like 6 hours at least.

Day 1 Part 3 takes us from Bad Münstereifel to the hotel in Kobern-Gondorf. Once again this is off motorway.

Waypoint 2 is another biker stop at the Haus Waldfrieden Biker-Treff.  Depending on what is consumed in Bad Münstereifel this looks like another watering hole for both ends.....

That adds another hour and a half and some more decent looking miles under the wheels.

Day 2?  Work in progress.

Date Confirmed

All the rally dates have been confirmed and Roman the Rally Organiser has said that he needs to know the number of rooms that the UK contingent want to book, and he needs that by the end of March 2022.

Roman will also give me a run down of the rally inn, Hotel Reoneo,  regarding rooms and prices.

Once I know the rooms that are available and the cost per night I can start the booking process with Roman. As I said earlier, although I can share I prefer to pay a bit more and have a room to myself. Medical reasons are all anyone needs to know!

Schloss Colditz DJH

Another day another update.  Whilst on leave from work across the summer it gives me something to do when the weather outside is less that wonderful.  One minute heavy rain, the next bright sunshine.

It also takes my mind off having to go to DFS and buy a new living room sofa and chairs....

Today's update is the the entire DJH network is now reserve-able online.  What is also superb is that it is a reservation system with payment on arrival.  

I should be able to get from Vernířovice to Colditz by 6pm when the reservation expires.  Although I am sure payment can be made in advance to make sure it is not lost.

Flickr gallery from our 2011 stay.

Czech Republic Centre SOC - Invader Rally 2022

Well, here we are. Another update on the trip to the Czech Invader Rally in Vernířovice and only a few days after the last post.

This is Plan C Outwards!!

How things can change. I was using Google Maps rather than MyRouteApp to try and chop the journey into three more equal parts.  This is not as easy as you might think considering accommodation and doing the trip on a budget.

I start all the routes from Calais Eurotunnel's "Avenue to France" and there is a waypoint that's clickable in Google Maps.  From there to the Vernířovice Rally site in the Hotel Reoneo is around 835.35 miles.  

Having a fuzzy brain after months of working from home, I used the calculator on the laptop to chop it up into three parts.... it comes out at 278.45 miles.

AACZ - Invader - Vernířovice OUT Plan C

So using Google Maps I tried to find somewhere around that distance for the first hotel stop. I chose the B&B Hotel in Troisdorf. It has parking and a restaurant on site.  I don't know if I really want to overlook the railway though!

Apart from the rally itself, I am booking single or double rooms (if they are the same price) with private bathroom! I don't mind sharing if I have to but given my health problems being solo or with my wife id best all round.

It's maybe a little short at 268 miles. But there was nothing further on in my price range. Or rather what I was interested in paying. 

I have kept the second stop at Hotel Reif  in Königstein in der Oberpfalz, I just had to change the date to a day later. This is another with restaurant attached.  Food and beer and no walking or need to ride the bike.

The Prague stopover is gone. A shame but it does mean I will be away from my family a day less.

The third day is a little over the 278 average. That is simply because hotels nearer the Czech border are more expensive or if comparable in price,  don't have food and drink nearby.

Plan C could easily be Plan D though...

Homeward Plan A

No changes here except that I have managed to book the DJH Hostel at Hagen for the second night after we leave Vernířovice.

AACZ - Invader HOME Plan A

I have emailed the DJH Schloss Colditz to see when they are open to take booking and they have yet to reply.

I saw on the main DJH.de website that there was a relaxation in Germany due in August, but that may be up in the air as they have had killer floods in the Rhein/Ruhr and Covid is on the increase as well. 

Czech Republic Centre SOC - Invader Rally 2022

I have been looking at the route back.  For the route out I will stick (I think) with Plan B and the southern route via Frankfurt and Nuremburg.

The return looks like this. 

Two nights and both at Youth Hostels.  The main event being the Colditz Castle Hostel (2) and then at Hagen in the Ruhr (3) on the way back. Three days on the road and each about 250-275 miles. Easily and comfortably do-able on a modern bike.  Plus allowing time to stop on the way and look at something!

AACZ - Czech Invader - Home Plan A

There's plenty of time to refine and book.

Czech Republic Centre SOC - Invader Rally 2022 - Plan A & B

Now that Vera has joined the Devall Family (or at least will have in time for this event) I have been looking at my (tentative) plans for the trip across to the Czech Invader in May 2022.

I had been looking at taking the newly rebuilt Kettle aka Suzi Triplo but even after all the time (and not to mention money!) spent to bring her back to life, a 2000 miles trip might be a journey too far.

I have a couple of Plan A's. I checked with the new secretary of the Czech Centre and he has confirmed the dates of the rally as May 27-29th 2022.  In fact that is the traditional date. That's what I had gambled on when I began to plan earlier in the year.

Those plans are on Suzi Triplo's Blog site.

With Vera taking over the long distance and more arduous trips from Suzi, all updates will be here. With a modern bike I have been able to plan for longer days in the saddle.

I have so far stuck with the Plan A outwards from the UK. Although there is already a Plan B!!!

Plan A is what I call the "A4 Route" and goes across the top of the Ruhr and a first stop at the DJH Hostel in Kassel (2 on the map). The second stop on Prague  (3). The shorter distance between Prague and Vernířovice would allow me to maybe make a short stop in Hradec Kralove and call in at my friend and former student's house.  I've not seen Rosta since 2011 when Claire and I were in the car.

AACZ - Invader - Vernířovice OUT Plan A

Plan B OUT has shorter days on the way to Vernířovice, with stops at Bingen (2) and Königstein in der Oberpfalz (3) with a final stop in Prague (4).  This gives fewer hours on the road and most of that will autobahn, and maybe give me time to "see" something".  In the end I could of course reduce the overnights to two from three. The overnights are all (cheap) hotels.

AACZ - Invader - Vernířovice OUT Plan B

Plan A HOME is still to be decided, but I would love to stay in the YH at Colditz Castle again just as a reminder of the 2011 trip we did in the car. But that is still to be decided.

The current problems with both Plan A's is that they both take the former East Germany route and much of it is retracing steps. 

Both outward routes share the same Prague Hostel Plus in Holešovice which is cheap and comes with off road parking at a small cost