Frankfurt, Germany 447 km

Our motorcycle adventure has officially ended. Today we completed our 7617 km northern European loop by riding the motorway from Dresden to Frankfurt. Norma has contracted an intestinal bug, it is hot and we are both somewhat “ridden out” so we wanted to make the best time possible. We did the ride in a bit over 5 hours. See the attached video for a short clip of a relatively quiet section of the autobahn. I was doing 120 kph. 

The photo below shows our trusty steed in typical repose at a freeway rest stop. We will miss the amazing engine but Whiskey Jack is a far more comfortable ride. This is also the first day we have had to pay to use the washroom. At least you know they are clean as the attendant not only stands waiting to be paid but also cleans after each use.

Summary: 21 days and 9 countries. 9 different languages. 5 different currencies.

First item: the weather was hot. For the whole trip including above the Arctic circle. It is 34C in Frankfurt today. All the cold weather gear we brought was barely used. The most valuable pieces of clothing were our shorts to get into immediately after each day’s ride.

Second item: we are not used to all traffic and the people. After experiencing it in the Balkans last year we hoped to “get away from it all” by heading to far northern Europe. We were only partially successful. We all should enjoy our North American “wide open spaces”.

Third item: it is very frustrating not to be able to read signs. It gives one a feeling of what it is like to be illiterate or a foreign non English reading person in our country. This is not a nice feeling.

Fourth item: Europe is expensive to visit, especially the Scandinavian countries. Hotel rooms ranged upwards to as much as $250 per night and one tank of gas was over $90 which is a lot for the relatively small capacity bike tank. We knew that going in but there still were surprises. Speaking of money, credit card machines should be standardized worldwide so one doesn’t have to figure how each one works. In 9 different languages no less. Same thing for gas pump protocol. Some were pay in advance and some were not and you were never sure.

Fifth item: we are surprised to see how many people, young and old, smoke. It is like we have gone back 30 years to when it was fashionable. It just seems so harsh seeing a beautifully coifed women, nicely dressed pull out a fag! Wrecks the entire image. But then again it would have been just the thing years ago, oh so fashionable!

Tomorrow we fly to Calgary via Ottawa.