The bikes were my Honda CBF1000A, two BMW GS1200LC, and a Ducati Multistrada 1260S.
Day 1 Aylesbury to Luxembourg, Esch-sur- Sure – 400 miles
A bit of a ball ache day as we had to put in some proper mileage to get to the good roads. It was 120 miles from Aylesbury to the Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal on the M25 and M20 and then a 280 miles stretch through northern France and industrial Belgium, which isn’t pretty, down to fairy tale Luxembourg
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Day 2 Luxembourg to Germany, Ulm – 300 miles
Into the journey properly now with fast sweeping roads everywhere. Luxembourg City was small and grid-locked but it was well worth seeing although it delayed us by 2 hours. We then got nicked for speeding with a 50 euro fine
.
Day 3 Germany to Austria, Lienz -250 miles
Germany was super clean with lovely roads around every corner. We crossed the Rhine somewhere on a ferry. The Austrian town of Lienz was set in an Alpine Valley with the mountains in the background and a great place to spend the evening. Awesome roads and hardly anyone around
Day 4 Austria to Slovenia, Ljublijana – 275 miles
Slovenia wasn’t what I was expecting. Sure, there were remnants of the old communist era everywhere but also some lovely villages. It reminded me of Italy but without all the manic activity and frenzy. Awesome roads again and Ljublijana, the capital of Slovenia, is very pretty. As were the women!
We also rode the Grossglockner high alpine pass.
Day 5 Slovenia to Croatia, Split – 280 miles
We went inland in Croatia and skirted in an out of the Bosnian border. Bosnia was as you’d probably guess, very rural with only the occasional café and hardly any petrol stations. In some of the villages we saw bullet holes in the walls and virtually 50% of the houses are derelict or un-inhabited. The people were very hospitable but it’s not a place I’d rush back to.
Day 6 Split – 0 miles
Split was a mixture of communist tower blocks and an old Roman city, it was a lovely place to visit as it’s very laid back with plenty of things to do and ideal for a mid-tour stop over. I’ll be going back.
Day 7 Croatia to Slovenia, Portoroz – 310 miles
Mile after mile after miles of absolutely fantastic roads along the Dalmatian coast. It really was a superb day’s riding and Croatia doesn’t appear to have been overly commercialised yet which was really nice.
Day 8 Slovenia to Germany, Ettal – 280 miles
In and out of Austria enroute across the picturesque mountains and valleys. My bike broke down in Innsbruck (which I’ve reported elsewhere on the forum) so I completed the rest of the trip in a Vauxhall Astra!
Day 9 Germany to France, Munster – 370 miles
Day 10 France to France, Givet – 225 miles
Day 11 France to UK, Aylesbury – 330 miles
It was a fantastic trip, despite the last 3 days
).