2015 trour to Budapest

[Rynglieder]

Again, as it is quiet this time of year on a bike forum I thought I would post something to keep the traffic up.

Here's the trip report I did for the Suzuki GSX1400 owner's form as that was the bike I was touring on in those days - OK, not a GTR but perhaps it may be of interest....

Planning

At last my annual trip into Europe had rolled around. As usual I had been planning in outline since last Christmas and then booking rooms & crossings since February / March. Again, the GSX1400 was the steed for the trip, and Carole, my wife of 30+ years was to keep me company a pillion.

I had considered either buying some hard luggage for it, or a satellite navigation unit to help with the city centre parts; in the end a Garmin Zumo 390LM was purchased in the belief that it would save some time and save me having to carry a load of maps around – something I was to bitterly regret over the next 16 days.

The journey was fully planned out on Garmin Base Camp as 12 separate sections, double checked and downloaded into the Zumo unit.

Friday 22/05/15 Stourbridge [UK] > Bouillon 440 planned miles

We had a nice easy trip down the M40 / M25 / M20 toward Folkestone, although we were riding into a head-wind and it was literally a pain in the neck. Early on the run I encountered the first problem with the Zumo which was mounted on the bars through the front brake lever retaining bolts; At any burst of acceleration or coming from behind an HGV I got a message  <Lost external power source shutting down in 15... 14... [Cancel]> I can only assume that wind pressure was pushing the unit away from its contacts. From Clackett Lane service area the Zumo started to insist that we get off at every junction and turn around, but as I knew better I pushed on. We arrived at Folkestone with a bit of time in hand for a quick take-away from the terminal and then were through the Chanel Tunnel 20 minutes earlier than our booked departure. On the train I interrogated the Nav unit and found that Clackett Lane Northbound had been selected for the scheduled stop hence its insistence on the detour.

Out of the Calais terminal and onto the motorway network I ran into my next problem with the Zumo; although it indicates the initial exit in good time, where there is an immediate split of the exit road it is not quick or clear enough to indicate the correct route; given a 50/50 I took the wrong choice. Directed off at the next exit I expected to be turned around and back onto the motorway network but instead was directed on secondary roads through the countryside, eventually ending up in Guines. Here I found road signs for the A16 north and south but the Zumo ignored these and pushed me on in an uncertain direction of travel. Eventually I find a road sign for the A26 and make a break for it despite Zumo's protests.

We were doing OK down to Cambrai where we were to exit and head eastwards, but again I got bitten by Zumo at the split in the exit. Pulling over at the first available rest area it became apparent that I now have an unwanted 15 mile ride south to the next exit. When we get there the Zumo did not turn us around, but took us away on secondary roads. I was now feeling really uncomfortable with the unit, it felt like "tunnel vision" with only a view of the road ahead and no idea of the bigger picture of where we were or were heading. Eventually we ended up on the outskirts of St Quentin, a place that I had found my own way to without any trouble two years ago. From here we were lead along another succession of minor roads and some while later we reached a junction with a more major road  signed toward Charleville Mezieres which I knew to be one of my way points. Stupidly instead of following my instincts and taking this road I continued to allow myself to be lead along a different route by the Zumo eventually ending up at Hirson and back onto the route I had originally downloaded to the unit. Don't get me wrong, we ran through some beautiful countryside on nice roads and in good weather, but the run was spoiled by a feeling that it was unnecessarily circuitous on a day that the intention was to get as many miles under the tyres as quickly as possible.

Where the hell am I? (Wimy, it turned out).<1506>

Eventually we broke through the border into Belgium and my mood was lightened by seeing the signs for my destination of Bouillon and an approach to it through some great curvy roads set in woodland.

We reached Bouillon as the light was fading and checked in at the Hotel Porte de la France for the night, we were given a decent room overlooking the river and bridge.  There was just time for a quick walk down the banks of the Semois River to the next bridge before crossing and returning to the hotel. The town is built on a loop in the river and is overlooked by a sizeable fortress; I confess I took an immediate liking to the place and look forward to another visit at sometime. A quick beer (or was it two?) was had before bed and the chance to recover from a day that was longer than expected.

Bouillon at night <2120>

[Rynglieder]

Saturday 23/05/2015 Bouillon > Heidelberg [D] 220 planned miles

After taking breakfast at the hotel we loaded up the bike again and took a quick run up to the car park of the fort for a look over the town and to take a few pictures.

Bouillon from the fort <2145>
Hotel Porte de la France <2128>

Guided by Zumo we left Bouillon in the direction we expected and then onto the E25 toward and around Luxembourg. <Lost external power source shutting down in 15... 14... [Cancel]> We had decided to give the route originally planned a miss so that we could have a bit more time in Heidelberg so we stuck to the Autobahn and just relied on the Zumo for the last mile or so in. We arrived via a bit of a bizarre route, through some residential suburbs but it took us to the road with our hotel in eventually.

We had booked a room at the Vier Jahreszietn, situated right at the end of the old (now pedestrianised) bridge over the Neckar River. There was no parking at this hotel and strictly speaking the street was not open to motor vehicles, but I managed to squeeze the '14 next to some cycle racks near the hotel and no one seemed to bother.

Hotel Vier Jarszeiten <2242>

After getting out of the bike gear we had a decent afternoon around Heidelberg including a quick trip up a sort of cliff railway to the castle which sits above the town. Again, we only achieved a "taste" of the town and I think it would stand another visit with a bit more time one day. The usual beer at the end of the day was inevitably followed by bed.

Heidelberg  <2219>
Heidelberg Castle <2243>

[Rynglieder]

Sunday 24/05/2015 Heidleberg [D] > Rothenburg ob der Tauber  [D] 112 planned miles

A really easy day was planned for today; I was looking forward to this one. Zumo took us in a loop around the town which sits at the south of the Neckar, over the river to the west of where we started and then eastwards along the river bank. Whilst riding along I found myself wondering why we had not left the hotel in an easterly direction and simply crossed the next bridge like everyone else seemed to be doing – oh well, there's another 15 minutes of my life I will never get back.

The Run eastwards along the Neckar was really enjoyable on the bike and reminded me of previous trips along the Mosel Valley. There were the usual coffee and cigarette breaks along the way but we eventually broke away from the river at Mosbach for the start of a cross country run that I had programmed in.

A pause as Hirshhorn on the Neckar <2281>

This did indeed turn out to be a nice run through the German countryside on secondary roads, well used by the local motorcyclists. Eventually the need for a coffee and cigarette became irresistible and we started looking out for somewhere to stop. Being a Sunday and away from the major towns there was not much on offer. Suddenly as we rounded a bend a pair of impressive (although scaffolded) towers came into view and looking for somewhere to pull over to take a picture I found myself turning into the car park of what turned out to be the local biker's café – excellent. The building that had caught my attention turned out to be Schöntal Abbey and provided a nice backdrop our top up of nicotine and caffeine.

Not the only bike at Schöntal <2290>
Schöntal Abbey <2291>

Pushing on through more of the same great roads and scenery by early afternoon we eventually arrived at the destination of the day, Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Our journey to our hotel (Gasthoff Rodertor) was thwarted at the last 100 yards as the road outside the hotel was closed. On dismounting the bike as close as we could the obstruction was found to be a platoon of medieval infantry and cavalrymen - I think this is the first time that this has happened to me. By the time we had pulled the luggage of the bike, checked in and got changed the road had cleared and our hosts opened up their garage to accommodate the bike overnight.

Access denied <1572>

Taking a walk into town we discovered that we had dropped on a major festival weekend. Rothenburg is claimed to be the best preserved medieval city in Germany and this weekend it was filled with hundreds if not perhaps a thousand re-enactment enthusiasts in period costume. The town is circled by an intact town wall and is as reputed filled with charming buildings, towers and churches. If anything it has a bit of a surreal "Disneyland" feel to it, it is hard to believe it is real and not a film set.

At first walking around the town was impossible, the ends of the smaller streets leading to the main street are gridlocked with tourists watching a parade so we content ourselves around the periphery for a while. Eventually things quietened down and we could explore the core of the town where street cleaners were now dealing with the aftermath of a hundred cavalry horses with shovels and German efficiency.

<2354>Rothenburg

A final walk around the city walls overlooking the re-enactment camp and climb up one of the towers finished the day. The battery in my Pentax DSLR was now exhausted and I resolved to return into the town early in the morning to take a few more pictures before the coach-loads arrived.

<2361>Rothenburg

[PRD]

Thank you always enjoy your trips.

[nightrider]

Good write up , i also had a zumo 390 that did my head in had a mind of its own with no logic to why it picked the routes , switched to a Samsung s9  using a quad lock to hold it on and Google maps have so far been faultless on trips to france  and spain ,so much easier to use ,

[Rynglieder]

Thank you always enjoy your trips.

Thank you - it's coming by installments as usual in between doing other stuff!

[Rynglieder]

Good write up , i also had a zumo 390 that did my head in had a mind of its own with no logic to why it picked the routes , switched to a Samsung s9  using a quad lock to hold it on and Google maps have so far been faultless on trips to france  and spain ,so much easier to use ,

I've persisted with it; over time I've learned some of it's ways, but it can still get me into more trouble than it gets me out of.

[Rynglieder]

Monday 25/05/2015 Rothenburg ob der Tauber [D] > Modrava [CZ] 220 planned miles

On the very morning I had wanted to get up early I had slept longer than usual, I think the travelling was catching up on me. There was time for another quick walk into town after breakfast but not as long as I wanted and the streets were already filling. There was no point is rushing to get away anyway, the garage containing our bike was still obstructed by costumed women and men, all armed to the teeth and looking slightly hung-over.

Rothenburg (slightly quieter) <2370>

The bike was finally pulled out of the garage and loaded up; a gentleman with a push-chair took a liking to the big Suzuki, attempted some conversation with us and asked if he could take a photo of it. Wishing him a goodbye, we eventually left our hotel; ignoring Zumo's advice to take various streets fronted with No Entry signs and after five minutes or so found ourselves at a petrol station (the first priority for the day) on what I assumed to be the outskirts of the town. "Hello again" said a voice – It was the chap with the push chair again! 1402cc, more torque than you can shake a stick at and I was beaten there by a chap with a push chair – bloody Zumo!!

I activated today's trip plan in the unit and we set off again. My relationship with the Nav unit was deteriorating, I may or may not have been following the route I had set into it but I was still feeling uncomfortable that I did not know where I was or what progress I was making. I do recall that I had set the route to avoid Nürnberg city centre, but somehow ended up there anyway. After a few minutes weaving in and out of the tram lines I found a petrol station, had another coffee and tried to plan my escape. Given the direction signs on offer I knew that Berlin was too far north, and I thought that Prague was too. In the end I plumped for Regensburg and broke out of town. At the next stop I adjusted the Zumo to give quickest time to the night's destination and cracked on again. At least we were now passing through towns that I knew were in the right direction and as the afternoon wore on we crossed the border and were into the Czech Republic at Zelezna Ruda.

Where am I now? (Amberg, it turns out). <2383>

Now I was comfortable with where I was again, we pulled over for another break at a service station a mile or so out of town. This was a bit of fortunate timing, just as we pulled under the canopy we were hit by a quick hail shower, this first stuff that had come out of the sky during the whole trip. During this stop I started to realise how cheap things were in the Czech Republic; I was now paying for my petrol cigarettes and coffee in Czech Koruna and doing a quick mental conversion I could see that I was getting a lot of my tourist pound.

Shelter from the hail <2386>

Riding on into the heart of the Bohemian Forest I was starting to enjoy myself again. The road surfaces were wet from the preceding showers and although the bike (and Carole) were getting wet from surface spray we were still staying relatively dry. The qualities road surfaces were mixed to say the least; there were some beautiful black ribbons of fresh tarmac, some areas that were more patches than road and as we rode deeper into the national park, a couple of sizeable runs on rough and damp cobbles – but all through a great, hilly wooded landscape.

Eventually we reached Modrava in the heart of the national park, the Zumo reckons we are 2450 feet above sea level here so no wonder it is feeling cooler. Our hotel for the night was the Klostermannova Chata, a real stunner of a room all newly fitted out with a big bed, huge flat screen TV, a sitting area with a couple of club chairs and a table, another sitting area with a sofa and a really nicely fitted out shower room. All for the equivalent of £43.00 including breakfast for the two of us.

Hotel Klosermannova Chata <2398>

I suppose that Modrava is what you would call a developing resort – the hotels, cafes etc. are there or being built, but the tourists are yet to arrive in any numbers. This is an area that will come to attract hikers and cyclists in great numbers in the future I'm sure. The day is finished with a walk down into the "village" and a short way along the river before the return to the hotel and the obligatory beers (it took less than £1.50 to get Carole drunk that night) and bed.

[PRD]

Great. Enjoying this.

[mcfroyce44]

I recently bought a second hand Zumo 345LM which I haven't had the opportunity to try as yet. It has an option for you to travel via the best curvy roads.  Your frequent mention of travelling along curvy roads that weren't the shortest route makes me wonder if your sat nav had that switched on?
IMHO faults with machinery often turn out to be machinery operator faults.
Only saying. 

Quote from 2013 Garmin blurb:

'The new Garmin Zumo 390LM has a new mode called Curvy Roads, which like the shortest and quickes route modes, looks for the route with the most fun.'

[O.C.]

Great pictures which link directly to the written report.... very enjoyable.....  thanks for sharing   

[Rynglieder]

I recently bought a second hand Zumo 345LM which I haven't had the opportunity to try as yet. It has an option for you to travel via the best curvy roads.  Your frequent mention of travelling along curvy roads that weren't the shortest route makes me wonder if your sat nav had that switched on?
IMHO faults with machinery often turn out to be machinery operator faults.
Only saying. 

Quote from 2013 Garmin blurb:

'The new Garmin Zumo 390LM has a new mode called Curvy Roads, which like the shortest and quickes route modes, looks for the route with the most fun.'

No worries, I'm happy to put my hand up to a degree of Operator Incompetence (always going to happen on the first trip with new kit), but no more than 10%! The rest of the problem is split between the unit and/or the Garmin Base Camp route planning software.

The 390 also has the curvy roads feature but some of the "curvey roads" it has picked for me were about 2.4m wide with grass growing up the middle of them - not my idea of biking heaven.

My relationship with the unit got no better during that trip - the story continues....

Pete.

[Rynglieder]

Tuesday 26/05/2015 – Modrava [CZ] > Melk [A] 156 planned miles

Placing myself in the hands of Zumo again we left Modrava on dry roads. At first it felt like we were making some progress until I allowed myself to be directed off a secondary road, behind some houses, past a block of garages, over a narrow bridge and up a lane to a crossroads of sorts. Ahead of me was a forest trail closed to motor vehicles. The roads to the left and right are the same. Time for another cigarette....

Since buying this Zumo unit, I have never been more lost in Europe. The strange thing is that at that moment I was completely relaxed about it. It is not a long run today, there is all the time in the world and I have every confidence that I will find my way to where I need to be in the end – anyway, it is a perfectly nice place to be lost. After watching a shiny new forestry wagon arrive to load up his logs we remount and press on, back the way we came and then in a direction which looked right to me.

Where am I now? (I still don't know). <1662>

Finally we were alongside the large lake I was expecting to be travelling southwards by. Zumo directs us into the village of Frymburk where there is a supermarket to pick up a bit for lunch and a café where we lingered and watched the world go by. Back on the bike I fired up the Zumo unit again. "Look at this" I said to my other half, "It now wants us to turn round and go back the way we came". Choosing to ignore it I carried on in the direction we were originally travelling in and found myself at a pier serving a passenger ferry across the lake - a dead end. Back the way we came then......

By instinct I head southwards and as intended eventually crossed the border and we were into Austria. From this point we should have continued southwards for a while before heading east in the direction of Freistadt and then southwards again to cross the Danube somewhere near Pochlarn, the idea to avoid the city of Linz and the Autobahn. I picked up signs for Freistadt as expected but Zumo had other ideas and again I made the mistake to assuming it knew what it was doing.

Inevitably I found myself in Linz and allowed myself to be tricked into getting on the Autobahn. Having done this I had no choice but to get off and find somewhere that I could buy the Vignette that I needed for the Austrian motorways. Once I had handed over the few Euros and slapped the sticker onto the speedo housing I decided I may as well press on to tonight's destination of Melk on the Autobahn. <Lost external power source shutting down in 15... 14... [Cancel]>

Zumo was bloody furious. As I cruised along the E60 it sat on the bars shouting at me to leave at every exit and sullenly adding on mileage to my "arrive in" reading. However, I was in charge of the throttle and my new steering head bearings and by this time I knew that I had a better idea of getting to my destination than it did. There was no problem with following the autobahn signs and there was no mistaking Melk when we arrived with the huge Baroque monastery dominating the skyline.

By the time we arrived at a small car park below the abbey in Melk, Zumo had decided that we were 205 miles away from it, which was actually 40 more than when we started. I cleared the selected trip from the unit and asked it to find the quickest route. After a little rethink it decided that it was only 0.1 miles away after all. A car moved away from a parking space allowing me to reposition the bike to pose it for a photo below the impressive abbey on the hill above. I could see the left hand turning for the road in which our hotel was situated just a couple of hundred yards up the road, but by the time I started the bike up again Zumo had had a another change of heart and decided that the hotel was now 0.3 miles away and should be approached from the rear by a cunning route, presumably designed to take it by surprise. I ignored it, turned left and pulled up outside the hotel.

Melk <1655>

The Hotel Stadt Melk is situated in the main town square and immediately below the abbey. We were given a nice little room with a balcony overlooking the town square and the bike was safely tucked away in a small car park at the rear. After getting out of the bike gear we took a walk up to the abbey and around its outer walls. From there we dropped back into town, walked across a bridge to an island in the Danube River where we sat for a while on the banks before returning to town so I could take my evening beer at a bar opposite our hotel.

Hotel Stad Melk <2446>

[PRD]

Great fun. Roll on next issue.

[O.C.]

Great fun. Roll on next issue.

+1