Luxembourg to Germany

 

Esch-sur-Sure, Luxembourg to Heidelberg, South West Germany.

170miles / 270km

Perhaps it was sleeping next to the river, but even without rain, everything was sodden when we awoke.

Tried our best to dry things before we left, but there wasn’t enough heat in the sun. There was an exodus of the Harley gang; we nailed some strong coffee, got the caffeine jitters, and followed suit. We had an appointment with Stefan Knopf in Germany later in the day, i was quietly excited by the prospect.

Wide roads, drizzled over hills, with a backdrop of forests were on the menu this morning.

It was Sunday and everything we passed was closed in Luxembourg and Germany. Our supplies amounted to a bag of crisps, a bag of nuts and dried fruit and a Lidl energy drink. Not exactly the cornerstone of a balanced diet, but it would have to do.

Strangley, more roads were blocked today, as they had been on previous days, so we had to pick alternative routes. Every time we stopped, we took the opportunity to fuel up on nuts and crisps and spread the wet tarp and tent out. All i could think about as we neared the German towns was Schnitzel, sausage and sauerkraut, I needed them in my future. 

Below, one of the buildings in Trier, Germany's oldest city, built by the Romans in 16BC.

By 15:00, we reached Stefan Knopf Tours, and the man himself met us. What a stand up character. He introduced us to his wife, who also travels like we’re attempting, 'tour and store' your way around the world. They are heading to New Zealand via Africa.

I showered (my first in two days) and prepped the bikes for storage. Afterward, Stefan gave us a tour of the HQ. What a cool place. It has MotoCamp Bulgaria vibes, with kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms, (with travellers mulling about) but feels much more purposeful. 

Where MotoCamp is a chilled thoroughfare for international travellers, Knopf Tours is a hive of bike activity, a large mechanics’ garage with bikes on stands, a lift to lower and upper storage floors, and hundreds of bikes. 

Posters and pictures of tours stretch back decades.

A fountain of knowledge, hes even hooked us up with a contact in Armenia for storage.

 Thank you for the assistance, Stefan! 

Two trains later and home for the evening is Mainz.   

Mainz 'the city of media' boast the signs.

Birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the movable type printing press around 1450 (the german Internet of its time 😉).

 It also had one of the oldest books museums in the world and a great old town with authentic German cuisine. 

Pork knuckle and sauerkraut

And so ends 321 Stage 1, a whistle stop ride to position the bikes for further journeys.

Just four trains, a bus, a plane and taxi to get home now.