France. Saint Avold to Glisy, via Villers-Bretonneux.

Wednesday 8/5/13

I think Europe is determined to make us struggle through the last few weeks of our trip by hounding us with bad weather. A month ago people were talking about the coldest, longest winter in forty years, and it still hasn't finished.

Even so, some of the flowers are making a valiant attempt at pretending it's spring. These were in a small garden outside our hotel room.

That was unfortunately the end of the day for anything bright and colourful. We rode out to the motorway and it was cold, wet, grey, and raining. Then the thunder started. For those of you that don't ride, motorcycle helmets don't have windscreen wipers, and you can't wipe your helmet visor often enough to keep it clear. Vision is an issue.

We rode for a few hours then when it became so grey that the road and the sky were the same colour, and I was struggling too differentiate between the two so we stopped for lunch.

After a nice lasagne we were back on the road and the weather had cleared a little so the going was a lot easier.

After four hundred kilometres our wheels were in Villers-Bretonneux. This French town holds Australia very close to it's heart because of what our Diggers did here on the Western front, coincidentally on April 25th, in 1918. The connection is very obvious as soon as you enter the town.

You see signs like this...

 I think this means that Robinvale in Victoria is a sister town.

 The school in town was paid for by Victorian school children, many of them sons and daughters of fathers who died here.

One of the main streets in town.

The Melbourne bar. One of many Aussie named businesses. 

To be honest I knew nothing about this town, or what happened here, until I started researching this trip. After I discovered it's history, it was somewhere I had to visit.

You'll find the full story at this website:

http://www.museeaustralien.com/en/?A_little_History...

It was pretty late so we had a quick ride through and realised there were no hotels here, so we rode on to Glisy and found a bed for the night.

On the way there we rode past the Adelaide Cemetery which is now home to a lot of fallen Aussie soldiers.

Once we were in Glisy we did our usual supermarket food buy up. While we were in the shopping centre we found a very surprising shop.

 Everything you would ever need.

Shotguns, rifles, etc.

Inspecting the selection of handguns. Have a look at the ammunition on the back wall. Security? Um, no.

It had been a long day and we were pretty happy to hit our hotel room. We'll head back into Villers-Bretonneux tomorrow morning for a good look around, and to pay our respects to the fallen Diggers.

And, the decision has been made, the bike has to be sold. It's a bloody brilliant bike and is listed on ebay here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-R1200GS-Adventure-2010-30th-Anniversary-Model-Ready-to-travel-/221227206695?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item33822b4827

We bid goodbye to Switzerland and hit the road to Lichtenstein, then on to Saint Avold France.

Tuesday 7/5/13

What a way to wake up. I jumped on line this morning to make a credit card payment and discovered that I'd been in Bangkok having a great time. So great that I have withdrawn nearly $2,000 from ATMs there. I know it was a great time because I can't remember ever being in Bangkok. Yes, our credit card has been hacked. After an hour on the phone talking to four different people (and a two hundred dollar phone call!) our card was cancelled. Problem solved. Now let's fill up the bike and get going. Oh oh, I can see a problem now...

Luckily we have a second card that we can use for a while.

Werner arrived to see us off and in usual Werner style said "If you need any money let me know and I'll organise it for you." I'll just clarify again that Werner has only known us for a few weeks and he's given us the keys to his apartment in Lisbon, and his apartment in Emmenbruke, and has now offered us money if we needed it. Werner, once again, thank you.

So, it was time to leave. We really don't wan't to leave Switzerland but "Swiss time is running out" and we need to move on. Switzerland is a wonderful place and definitely a place I'd like to come back to for a holiday. It's great.

We were ready to go but Werner had a couple of things that he wanted to show us. First was an art gallery just up the road. AB gallery has resident artists from overseas come and stay with the idea of improving international understanding while giving artists a chance to raise their profile and hold exhibitions if they want to.

Here are a few samples from the gallery...

This is a beaded curtain.

3D display.

Werner and Heidi, the curator, discuss a piece.

Suzanne and I both really liked this one.

Suzanne was taken by this.

This is such a cool idea. There was a range of pieces and I found them intriguing.

You can see AB Gallery on the web at www.ab-gallery.com

Then we visited an artist, Monika, who has a studio next door. She was Polish and unfortunately spoke no English. Her work was very subtle with muted colours and tones. Again, there were a couple of pieces I would have loved to take home. You can see her work here:

http://albekant.com/

With our creative sides sated, it was time for a repeat of what is the worst part of our trip...saying goodbye. We have been so lucky meeting fantastic people on this trip, but Werner is special. Very special. I don't think he has a bad bone in his body. He is an incredibly kind and compassionate person. He has shown us amazing kindness and we've seen him interact with a lot of other people during our short time together. He is a true gentleman.

Werner, thank you so much, we are very proud to be able to call you our friend and hope to see you again soon.

Right, enough soppyness, lets go to Lichtenstein.

The "Avoid Motorways" button was pushed on the sat nav and we were off. The roads were very enjoyable and a lot of fun.

Cool roads...

..and great scenery.

Then...

Oh wow. Mountains. Real mountains. Big mountains. Really big mountains. The mountains along the ride into Lichtenstein were mind boggling. I've never seen anything like it. At the risk of being repetitive...Wow!

More scenic roads through Swiss mountains. Ho hum.

We popped across the border into Lichtenstein for fuel and some lunch, and found this little place.

 Cute little place to live.

Back on the road into Switzerland for a while and we were soon at the turn off into Vaduz. We trundled around for a while and had a look. It was nice, but I think we may have been spoiled by Emmenbrucke and Luzern.

Lichtenstein style.

Pretty cool.

Wooden bridge over the river.

More mountains.

And more.

With the odd lake thrown in.

We decided to keep going towards Villiers-Bretonneux in France, so it was onto the motorway to cover some serious miles in what remained of the day. We were making good time and travelling close to the speed limit through French farmlands. Then there was a bright flash from the side if the road. Damn! Speed camera. Add that to the credit card drama and the day wasn't going very well.

After 584 kilometres we found ourselves in Saint-Avold. We located a cheap hotel that offered good food and a comfortable bed, and made use of both by having a early night after a good feed.

Tomorrow's target is Villiers-Bretonneux, and the history it contains. We're near the end.

Another fun day riding in the Swiss Alps with Werner. 

Monday 6/5/13

This morning Suzanne was coming out for the ride with us so Werner scheduled an easy ride along the lake's edge to where we had our first stop yesterday. The plan was a cup of coffee, then a leisurely ride back home.

Here I need to tell you a little story so you'll get an idea of how nice a person Werner is. As we left the building one of Werner's neighbours was going upstairs. She was an elderly lady, with a walking frame, and carrying her shopping. When Werner saw her he immediately took her shopping and put it in her apartment, then carried the walking frame up as well, then made sure she was OK before we left. Werner is one of those people that after you've spent time with him, you feel the world is a better place. As I've said before, it's the people that make this trip so special.

Werner bought the perfect bike for a casual Sunday morning ride. His BMW HP2 Sport. I hadn't had a good look at one of these before and it oozes trickness, and 128 bhp! Very nice.

It was time to roll.

Push bikes are very popular in town, and there are plenty of places to park them.

A little more Swiss architecture.

Here we go.

Little Swiss houses dotted the landscape everywhere.

A quick photo stop along the way.

The view was like this in every direction.

Werner's beast at rest at our coffee stop.

Ah! More coffee.

Back on the road after our coffee break we rode through a little town where Werner pulled over. He said he had forgotten that the Vitrinox factory was here and asked if we'd like to have a look. Of course we said yes. Vitrinox make the very well known "Swiss Army Knife". I was given one of these for my twenty first birthday (Yes, they did make them that long ago) and I still have it and use it frequently. They are an extremely handy tool to have. Inside there were all sorts of goodies, and we weakened and made a few purchases.

Toy shop.

With the day's shopping out of the way it was ride, ride, ride. Werner decided to take us up into the "hills" for a look. Werner's definition of hills and mine are obviously VERY different. In my world hills don't have snow on top of them, or ski lifts, or ski lodges. I would call these mountains. Maybe it's just me.

Hills eh?

Before we knew it we were climbing another mountain and hitting the twisties again.

Another typical village scene.

Yippee!

It was about here that Werner's bellowing, carbon fibre tail pipe disappeared into the distance and we didn't see it again until he stopped at the top. At the top Werner did tell me he's been riding these roads for more than forty years and knows them very well. I think he was trying to make me feel better.

He also showed us a bit of road where he crashed twice in about a hundred metres. He lost it on a corner, then not thinking got back on the road and nailed it, but his tyre was full of mud and grass, so he lost it again. Oops.

No, it wasn't one way.

Could you ever get tired of looking at views like this.

Then after a few switchbacks and zig zags we were at the top.

This is mid spring?

 The ski runs are closed.

What goes up, must come down.

Once we were back on level ground Werner took us to Engkeburg to the Kloster's Monastary, that he said we must see. This stop was unplanned, but wow, was it worth it. The Monastary is one of the most amazing religious buildings we've seen on this trip. It is absolutely breath taking inside and like nothing we've seen before. 

Unfortunately there were no photos allowed inside, so here are a few Suzanne stole from the web. Take a look...

Walking back to the bikes we found a new friend for Suzanne. This little Pomeranian was apparently Swiss Champion for a few years. I think he has left his best days behind him, along with a lot of his fur.

Who says advertising and promotion doesn't work? We saw this and realised we "needed" a veal sausage.

Expensive signage works.

We were laughing about the sign and explained to the owner that it was the reason we stopped. He told us it cost two thousand Swiss Francs, but his business improved by about fifty percent after he got it. It was a good purchase.

Werner and I tucking in.

We finished our day with a ride back along the lake. For a "casual ride with a few hills" it was a bloody fantastic day.

Once we were back at the apartment Werner had a meeting to attend, so Suzanne and I went shopping for dinner. We keep being told that Switzerland is soooooo expensive. We are finding that prices here are pretty much on par with Perth. Unless, you are talking alcohol. Take a look at the photos below. The prices are in Swiss Francs, which are about the same as Aussie dollars.

Perth price $6.99.

Perth $6.99.

Perth $59.95 on super special.

Perth $59.99 on special.

To top things off, twenty roses are about fifteen euros.

Werner arived back at the apartment and Suzanne cooked up a nice dinner which we all enjoyed. Then Werner started talking about buying a Tenere to keep in South Africa to ride when he visits there. I suggested he rode one from Switzerland down there. That would be an adventure. Werner said he wouldn't do a trip like that by himself...and so the seeds of another trip were sown.

It was another great day thanks to our wonderful host Werner. Thank you for everything Werner.

Tomorrow we plan to head across to Lichtenstein for a look. It's so close we just have too.