The View

Category: Uncategorized

  • Day 21 🇱🇺 Chouffe & Luxemburg

    Day 21 🇱🇺 Chouffe & Luxemburg

    July 12th 2023 A treat, that’s what I needed after another raining night. And so, when Arthur, the camping owner, a tall Dutch guy, asked me if I wanted breakfast 🍳 I said “please count me in!”. In the morning I wanted to head to a brilliant Belgian brewery called Chouffe. Seb’s tipps lead me…

  • Day 20 🇧🇪 Gent and Seb

    Day 20 🇧🇪 Gent and Seb

    July 11th 2023 The next morning I packed my things and headed to Gent, another cute little town im the Flanders. The rides in the north part of Belgium are straight and flat. Short before 10am, Lollo was already parked and I was on foot. As for Brugge, the best way to discover Gent is…

  • Day 19 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leander and White Cliffs of Dover

    Day 19 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leander and White Cliffs of Dover

    July 10th 2023 I woke up with a view of a typical British neighbourhood. Nice brick houses, each with a small lawn and a driveway in front. Broad sidewalks with pupils walking to school and people jogging or walking their dogs. The ferry to leave Britain and return to the continent was going to leave…

  • Day 18 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Marco and The Bike Shed

    Day 18 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Marco and The Bike Shed

    Everyone knows that London is a huge metropole but I didn’t expect it to be so humongous. I was in Fulham, which is next to Chelsea and quite central. The plan was to have breakfast with Raffaello, Consuelo e their daughters and then drive to the other side of London to visit another good friend…

  • Day 17 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ross, Andy, Raffaello & Consuelo

    The evening before, when I arrived at Ross’s, we went for a walk with his dog Jake and his brother’s dog Milo. A refreshing experience for everyone. The morning after we continued the tradition and went for another walk. My legs really needed a strech and the woods were lovely. Later that morning, Ross had…

  • Day 16 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Cardiff and the three Musketeers

    Day 16 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Cardiff and the three Musketeers

    Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Before you wonder, my phone was not unlocked in my pocket while I was riding. Among other things l, Wales is also famous for the town with the longest name. A kind of marketing excercise that worked well. I wished to visit that town just for the fun of taking a photo or two…

  • Day 15 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Great Orme & Snowdonia

    Wales is quite hilly, which means roads are more twisty and fun to ride. From Corwen, the town I stopped the day before, I drove for about 1,5h through gorgeous landscapes and reached Llandudno. It’s a lovely sea town at the very North of Wales. Some roads in the UK are unique. Like the one…

  • Day 14 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Corwen and Phil

    As Ross had to work in the next days, I decided to continue my tour in Wales and come back on Friday evening. Therefore I had 3 days at my disposal to discover Wales. I checked the best bikers routes online and it was clear I had to drive up to the North of Wales.…

  • Day 13 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Hampshire

    Early morning, glorious light, Lollo and I were ready to board a ferry from Ouistreham in France to Portsmouth in England. Yesterday evening, while I was having a glass of wine, lots of sports cars were driving around. Some of them were today queuing to board the same ferry as me. I asked if they…

  • Day 12 🇫🇷 Mont-Saint-Michel

    The camping was in a farm, very particular. The whole family worked with animals and in the fields. About 2 hours drive were separating Lollo and I from our new destination. A place I also visited with my parents but that more than the castles, remained impressed in my heart and memories: Mont-Saint-Michel. Just few…

  • Day 11 🇫🇷 Les Châteaux de la Loire Part 2

    The evening before I had bought something for breakfast and incredibly so, it withstanded the bike ride. I didn’t go easy on it 🤣 Since the Amboise castle was just 1,5 Km away I left Lollo and the tent at the camping and walked to it. Walking allows me to get a much better feeling…

  • Day 10 🇫🇷 Les Châteaux de la Loire

    As expected, it rained. Not to complain but it just takes a good extra amount of time to pack, when you have a wet tent and a motorbike. So it was only around 11:30am that arrived at the castle of Chamborde. It’s an absolute beast of a castle. A behemoth but with charme and proportions.…

  • Day 9 🇫🇷 Rain and Trails

    It rained for most of the night, including the morning after so everything was wet: my tent, my laundry, everything. Instead of going to see the big vulcanos, I opted to save some time (spent drying my stuff) with a hike nearby. Funny enough I got lost, twice, and what was supposed to be a…

  • Day 8 🇫🇷 Polignac

    Day 8 🇫🇷 Polignac

    The camping La Poche was a nice little place with big cicadas. Here is an idea of my itinerary through France. Consider that I also knew I wanted to get to Strasburg. The rest is improvising based on recommendations, Internet searches and adventure instinct. I thought the center of France would be boring and flat…

  • Day 7 🇫🇷 Combe Laval and Lavender

    The night was relaxing. The morning started in the same way the evening before ended: with a gorgeous view from my tent. It’s not easy to find a good meal in France but the sweets balance the situation. The boulangeries are always full of delicious things. So this morning, for breakfast I stopped at one.…

  • Day 6 🇫🇷 Sans Souici and the Hérrisson Waterfalls

    The alarm clock rang at 7am. To increase my chances of success and explore other alternatives, I needed to be the first customer when the doors of the dealership were going to open at 9am. There were several other dealerships for other brands in town but Ducati had to be the first. The drive from…

  • Day 5 🇫🇷 Besançon

    All motorbike dealships in France are open from Tuesday to Saturday and are closed Sunday and Monday. A lesson I learned the hard way. It makes sense but my timing was not the best. I decided to spend the day visiting the nearby city Besançon. Once again the invisibility cloak worked his magic and I…

  • Day 4 🇫🇷 Colmar and Troubles

    I was in the middle of the Voges but before continuing the fun ride I decided to visit a city nearby called Colmar. It was Sunday so the city was mainly empty, except for the centre, which reminds of a little Venice. I parked next to other motorbikea and put the invisible cloak on Lollo,…

  • Day 3 🇫🇷 Strasbourg

    I spent the morning with lots of activities. My friends have two children: Louis e Clemence. I’m Louis’s godfather so we went shopping 😁 He choosed a 3D Labyrinth sphere which also his sister Clemence liked a lot and I added a big watergun on top. He was thrilled! Later we walked through the city…

  • Day 2 🇩🇪 Schloß Lichtenstein

    I woke up to a cold morning with dark clouds but luckily it didn’t rain. For this tour I got some new gear: Last year it was really hot so for this tour I got a new helmet and a jacket from Germot, made out of mesh. The additional breathability is brilliant with temperatures above…

  • Day 1 🇩🇪 Go with the Flow

    Everytime I have to leave home, it’s not easy. Leave my wife and the kids, embarking for a new journey with no real plan, except for the idea to visit some friends. I don’t know where in the upcoming days I will sleep, eat, drive. Things will come as I go and gather some ideas…

  • Day 87 🇮🇹 Stelvio and 🇦🇹 Austria

    Thursday September the 30thTotal distance driven: 8.585 KmToday’s distance: 226 Km Walked distance: 7 Km Do you remember the a Transfagarasan in Romania? Well, today we are going to ride the Stelvio Pass (Stilfser Joch), the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps. The road starts in Bormio and arrives in Prato allo Stelvio…

  • Day 80-86 🇮🇹 Bormio

    No matter if it’s sommer or winter, Bormio is always a nice place to spend some time. As my mom was born here, we still have an apartment in the town centre with gorgeous views over the mountains and valley. I decided to spend a week here, visiting my relatives and and enjoying the Alps.…

  • Day 79 🇮🇹 The Gavia Pass

    Thursday September the 23rdTotal distance driven: 8.359 KmToday’s distance: 140 Km in 2:35hWalked distance: 6 Km The nice part of camping in Italy is the possibility to have breakfast the Italian way. Almost every camp site offers cappuccino or latte macchiato and croissants on reservation the evening before. While drinking my latte macchiato the camping…

  • Day 78 🇮🇹 Verona & Lake Iseo

    Wednesday September the 22ndTotal distance driven: 8.219KmToday’s distance: 92 Km in 1:43hWalked distance: 18,6 Km Today is going to be a lazy day in Verona. After breakfast I walked to the city center and discovered some nice spots. I bought a newspaper, found a nice park near the Arena and enjoyed the calm atmosphere of…

  • Day 77 🇮🇹 La Cisa & Parma

    Tuesday September the 21stTotal distance driven: 8.127KmToday’s distance: 216 Km in 4:26hWalked distance: 9,8 Km Buongiorno ☀️ The sun is shining and there is a wonderful Panorama for breakfast. Actually the two ladies of the B&B are serving pieces of different sweets “Crostate” they personally baked. They kindly ask me not to mention the sweets…

  • Day 76 🇮🇹 Lucca & La Spezia

    Monday September the 20thTotal distance driven: 7.910KmToday’s distance: 149 Km in 3:01hWalked distance: 16,8 Km Last evening I found a camping site very close to Lucca called Il Serchio. It’s actually a camper area and it had rain during the day with the result that the ground was really muddy and uneven as campers where…

  • Day 75 🇮🇹 Siena & Monteriggioni

    Sunday September the 19thTotal distance driven: 7.761 KmToday’s distance: 194 Km in 3:49hWalked distance: 13,4 Km A sunny morning awaited me when I woke up. The camping offered breakfast with cappuccino and cornetto for few coins. The best part was eating and drinking with the following show in front of me: Wonderful stuff 😁 According…

  • Day 74 🇮🇹 Montepulciano, Pienza & Montalcino

    Saturday September the 18thTotal distance driven: 7.567 KmToday’s distance: 148 Km in 2:59hWalked distance: 17,2 Km Last night and this morning I walked around Orvieto and discovered its alleys and the Dome. Definitely a nice little town worth a visit. The Dome is humongous and out of proportions for the size of this place. It…

  • Day 73 🇮🇹 Monsters and the dying town

    Friday September the 17thTotal distance driven: 7.418 KmToday’s distance: 228 Km in 4:45hWalked distance: 12,3 Km After five weeks in Italy, it’s time to continue the tour. The summer is slowly approaching its end and this morning I woke up with heavy rain knocking on the roof. I did expect that, not just because I…

  • Day 40 – 72 🇮🇹

    Coming soon

  • Day 39 🇮🇹 Proud to be Italian

    Saturday August the 14thTotal distance driven: 7.027KmToday’s distance: 478 Km in 6:02hWalked distance: 4,4 Km When I woke up in Barletta, I knew I wanted to reach Rome that day. With long drives, I prefer to have a couple of interesting locations along the way to make a pause. While searching for such locations, I…

  • Day 38 🇦🇱 Durres and a Ferry

    Friday August the 13thTotal distance driven: 6.449 KmToday’s distance: 110 Km in 1:56hWalked distance: 5,9 Km I’m exhausted. Almost 40 days on the run. If I had a companion, it would probably feel differently. My wife and the boys landed in Rome yesterday and I would like to see them. It’s a weird feeling: I…

  • Day 37 🇦🇱 Tirana

    Thursday August the 12thTotal distance driven: 6.339 KmToday’s distance: 0 KmWalked distance: 18,9 Km As for every big city I dedicated one day to explore Tirana. If you have ever been to Rome, you will notice how much some corners of Tirana remind it. Look at the picture below. The pine trees, the marble building…

  • Day 36 🇦🇱 The thousand windows of Berat

    Wednesday August the 11thTotal distance driven: 6.339 KmToday’s distance: 126 Km in 2:02hWalked distance: 14,3 Km I spent the night in a small hotel with traditional furnitures and marvellous ambience. Here are the first impressions of Berat from the night before: The photo above provides a small glimpse of the main characteristic of Berat: the…

  • Day 35 🇲🇰 Little wonderful Ohrid

    Tuesday August the 10thTotal distance driven: 6.313 KmToday’s distance: 162 Km in 2:53hWalked distance: 15,6 Km The camping lake is only 3 Kms away from the town of Ohrid. Perfect day for a walk to discover the surroundings. Do you know how is it called a “fruit salad” in Italian? Macedonia. Some say this name…

  • Day 34 🇲🇰 The refreshing Matka Canyon

    Monday August the 9thTotal distance driven: 6.151KmToday’s distance: 211 Km in 3:38hWalked distance: 9.2 Km In the morning I took another walk through the old town of Skopje. Wonderful scenes! As another hot day approached, I headed to a renowned and fabulous Canyon about 15 Kms / 10 miles from the city: Matka. Once I…

  • Day 33 🇲🇰 Kuklica & Skopje

    Sunday August the 8thTotal distance driven: 5.939 KmToday’s distance: 235 Km in 4:06hWalked distance: 9.2 Km Today I’m going to leave Bulgaria and enter the Republic of North Macedonia but first I want to complete my collection of abandoned petrol stations 🤣 It’s Sunday! How do I know? There is a queue at the frontier…

  • Day 32 🇧🇬 The amazing seven Rila lakes

    Saturday August the 7thTotal distance driven: 5.704 KmToday’s distance: 113 KmWalked distance: 13,4 Km It’s August and the temperatures are rasing, especially in the cities. Plovdiv registered 41 degrees Celsius the day I left it. Everyday I face 38-39C which is nice when you are at the lake or at the beach but with my…

  • Day 31 🇧🇬 Sofia

    Friday August the 6thTotal distance driven: 5591 KmToday’s distance: 0 KmWalked distance: 16 Km Today is one month I’m on this journey. It’s great to be with my Ducati discovering the Balkans and meeting new friends but I also miss my wife, my boys, my family and friends at home. Travelling for long times has…

  • Day 30 🇧🇬 Devil’s Throat Cave & a Great Ride

    Thursday August the 5thTotal distance driven: 5591 KmToday’s distance: 348 Km in 5:49hWalked distance: 8.1 Km It wasn’t easy leaving Plovdiv but the next destination promised to be an exciting one: a huge cave called devil’s throat. Little that I know, the best part was going to be the ride to get there. As most…

  • Day 29 🇧🇬 Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv

    Wednesday August the 4thTotal distance driven: 5243 KmToday’s distance: 238 Km in 3:39hWalked distance: 14 Km Veliko Tarnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria. There is only one camping out of town and it’s five stars. Very nice, with a big swimming pool and completely in the nature. But it was almost empty. I counted 3x…

  • Day 28 🇧🇬 Madara and an impressive Monument

    Tuesday August the 3rdTotal distance driven: 5005 KmToday’s distance: 281 Km in 3:56hWalked distance: 12,8 Km We had a running gag with Alexey about the glue. He always asked me to remind him to search for the glue to fix his boot. The problem was, he asked me while we were drinking and of course…

  • Day 27 🇧🇬 Varna and Vodka

    Monday August the 2ndTotal distance driven: 4.724 KmToday’s distance: 103 KmWalked distance: 6,9 Km I woke up with a little headache and memorable conversations of the night before. We had finished the bottle. It was around 7:30 am. No sign of Alexey besides his motorcycle and tent. The showers and toilets of the camping where…

  • Day 26 🇷🇴 A boat trip and an Artist

    Saturday August the 1stTotal distance driven: 4.617 KmToday’s distance: 294 KmWalked distance: 6,4 Km Luckily I needed the Voltaren’s help only once. After riding again with the jacket, everything went back to normal. Tanja, the biker I met in Budapest, told me she has always a warming cream with her and it has helped more…

  • Day 25 🇷🇴 Tulcea and the Danube Delta

    Saturday July the 31stTotal distance driven: 4.323 KmToday’s distance: 115 KmWalked distance: 5,4 Km My back was truly in bad shape. The night before, I came to the conclusion that the probable cause was rising without my jacket. It was over 38C and dry but probably my back didn’t like it. That must have been…

  • Day 24 🇷🇴 Vulcano Mud and a Crash

    Friday July the 30thTotal distance driven: 4.208 KmToday’s distance: 355 KmWalked distance: 5,6 Km Next destination: Tulcea and the Danube Delta. As expected the road was flat and straight. Here is what it looks like near Bucharest: After a quarter of an hour I got bored. There was still a place I actually wanted to…

  • Day 23 🇷🇴 Bucharest

    Thursday July the 29thTotal distance driven: 3.853 KmToday’s distance: 0 KmWalked distance: 12 Km Budapest and Bucharest. Similar names, many people mix them up. But they are fundamentally different cities. Bucharest is an absolutely large city with huge spaces. The touch of the dictator Ceausescu is very much visible, especially in buildings like the Palace…

  • Day 22 🇷🇴 Bran & Peles castle, Rasnov and hail

    Wednesday July the 28thTotal distance driven: 3.853 KmToday’s distance: 186 KmWalked distance: 15,8 Km To tell the truth, I already attempted to visit the famous Bran castle the morning before. But I had to do my laundry and arrived at the castle around 10:30am. Bran is a very touristic attraction and the queue was just…

  • Day 21 🇷🇴 Hiking the 7 ladders & Brasnov

    Tuesday July the 27thTotal distance driven: 3.667 KmToday’s distance: 98 Km in 2:15hWalked distance: 19,8 Km When I entered Romania few days ago, I stayed at Camping Mala near Orasova. Funny thing also Alex and Jana went to that camping in the past. In the morning I was pointing the sat nav to Corvin Castle…

  • Day 20 🇷🇴 New friends and the real Transylvania

    Monday July the 26thTotal distance driven: 3.565 KmToday’s distance: 206 Km in 4:47hWalked distance: 5,6 Km On Monday, there were just few cars left in the parking and the road was empty! I pinged Alex on Signal and asked if he was still up for a coffee together. He offered me to stay at his…

  • Day 19 🇷🇴 The Transfagarasan & Lake Balea

    Sunday July the 25thTotal distance driven: 3.359 KmToday’s distance: 122 Km in 3:07hWalked distance: 7,2 Km The Transfagarasan. Try to pronounce it 😂 The best road in the world according to Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear. Previously he used the same definition for the Stelvio pass in Italy, which is near Bormio, my mother’s birth…

  • Day 18 🇷🇴 Corvin Castle

    Saturday July the 24thTotal distance driven: 3.201 KmToday’s distance: 364 Km in 5:54hWalked distance: 9,7 Km Breakfast, tent, packed. I had to go back and watch again the king‘s statue, as it was only 8 km away from the camping. My memory sometimes is not the best. When I have moments I want to remember,…

  • Day 17 🇷🇴 King Decebalus

    Friday July the 23ndTotal distance driven: 2.475 KmToday’s distance: 319 Km in 5:33hWalked distance: 5Km Today I’m heading to Romania and to the spot that made me change my route through Serbia. Just outside Belgrade, in the east direction the roads get hilly and the driving fun is back. Very rural landscapes and encounters. Just…

  • Day 16 🇷🇸 Belgrade

    Thursday July the 22ndTotal distance driven: 2.156 KmToday’s distance: 0 Km Walked distance: 22,8Km Today was reserved for the sightseeing of Belgrade, beginning from the fortress. Here it is possible to see some of the russian influence in Serbia. I walked through the city with a tourist map for orientation and saw some more street…

  • Day 15 🇷🇸 On the way to Serbia

    Wednesday July the 21stTotal distance driven: 2.156 KmToday’s distance: About 400 Km Walked distance: 6Km Beside Budapest, Hungary has other touristic attractions to offer. Hortobagy didn’t work as expected. Then I considered lake Balaton, the cave bath of Miskolctapolca and the city of Pecs. There is more but I couldn’t find anything I wanted to…

  • Day 14 🇭🇺 Budapest

    After having set up the tent the evening before at the Arena camping in Budapest, I met Tanja. She arrived by bicycle from Germany and had done over 600Km in the past week. Her tour actually started two weeks before and included Austria, Slovakia and Hungary as she followed the Danube.The first week her son…

  • Day 13 🇭🇺 Hortobagy and a straight road

    Yesterday night I arrived around 9pm. Quite late but the camping offered a great spot to pitch my tent and very clean services. The best camping so far. Hortobagy is a small village and natural park rich of culture and folklore, located in the North East. It is recommended by many as a must visit…

  • Day 12 🇸🇰 Spiš Castle & Dobšinská Ice Cave

    Today I’m going to reach Hungary but first there are two spots I would like to visit. One of them is Spis castle, the biggest European castles by area (41,000 m²). Massive! It is impressive to see it from the distance when approaching, as it stands on a green hill in contrast to the white…

  • Day 11 🇸🇰 Hiking in Paradise

    After driving 377 Km there must be something interesting to see. Indeed, I was very close to the Slovakia Raj also called Paradise.I took a bus in the early morning and arrived in a town called Hrabušice where one of the entrances of the park is located. The first trail was called Suchá Belá. I…

  • Day 10 🇸🇰 Bojnice and a lot of road

    Today I wanted to visit Bojnice‘s castle and depending on how tired I was going to feel, either stayed there overnight or reach the far north-east corner of Slovakia, home of the the Slovak Paradise Natural Park. Arrived in Bojnice, I had to leverage my PacSafe to lock my Motorcycle Gear and change clothes. The…

  • Day 9 🇸🇰 Bratislava

    I began my sightseeing the evening before, with no expectations and no plan. I didn’t know what the city had to offer and just pointed my feet in the direction to what I believed to be the city centre. I think this way of discovering Bratislava made it so much better for me. Plus it…

  • Day 8 🇸🇰 Rainy Brno, Lednice & Devin Castle

    Thanks to a mix of luck and some planing, I managed to never ride in the rain so far. Today was no exception. I use an App called RegenRadar, which shows how the rain clouds move across the country. The standard weather forecast announced rain throughout the day but the App showed that the clouds…

  • Day 7 🇨🇿 Telč and Brno

    It has been a week that my journey has begun. It feels much longer, probably because of the so many new experiences. I feel the effects of yesterday’s hike and ride in my bones and muscles. I’m pretty tired but life is good. Telč is a wonderful little town with lots of charme and a…

  • Day 6 🇨🇿 Adrspach-Teplice Rock Park

    So where I left… ah yes: Italy European Football Champion 🇮🇹😃Not to brag about it but rather to reconnect to the story. As the match ended around midnight, when I went back to the camping, the gate was locked. All dark and no one around. The gate was quite high but I was keen to…

  • Day 5 🇨🇿 Ještěd Tower & first breakdown

    Today I was back on my Ducati chasing curves. The destination was another national park to visit the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks. More on that later. I left around 9am and really had some good fun driving the first kilometres across the woods. One thing that strikes me is the amount of railroads even in the most…

  • Day 4 🇨🇿 Boemian Switzerland

    Today was reserved for hiking. No motorcycle riding. Spoiler alert: this place was well worth the trip!Around 10am I began my hike which turned out to be over 16 Km through the Narodni Park. Amazing views and gorgeous details: The highlight was the „Prebishtor“. When I looked on the Internet for the top spots in…

  • Day 3 🇨🇿 Lost in Bohemia

    It rained all the night but I managed to remain dry. The water kept pouring the whole night and according to the weather forecast, it was going to continue the whole day. So the night before I packed the motorcycle and took out the rain-overall, preparing myself for a wet ride. To my surprise the…

  • Day 2 🇨🇿 Beautiful Pilsen

    The camping is just 3 Km distant from the city center, which shows how small this city is. Usually cities this size have a beautiful flare and Pilsen is no exception to this rule. The most famous and impressive parts are the great synagogue and the St Bartholomew Cathedral. This last offers a great view…

  • Day 1 🇨🇿 Heading to Czech Republic

    I consider myself lucky because I‘ve several second homes. Beside Rome and Kammerstein in Germany, I spent some years in Dublin, Bruxelles and Kelheim + Regensburg. In all of them I made new friends and in Dublin I even found my love 😍 With Regensburg being on my path to Czech Republic, I had to…

  • Eastern Europe & Balkans Tour on a Ducati

    I did it! I left home, wife and kids for a new adventure. Special thanks to my wife Ines for her help and support 😘 I’m on a solo motorcycle camping tour across the balkans, planing to visit as much as possible of the following countries: Czech Republic 🇨🇿 Slovakia 🇸🇰 Hungary 🇭🇺 Romania 🇷🇴…