Well, here I am after two days in a VERY HOT Germany.
I travelled in the night between Wednesday and Thursday (August 5th-6th), in a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul and then Lufthansa from Istanbul to Frankfurt.
After arriving in Frankfurt, I travelled directly to Darmstadt and to MCD (Motorrad Center Darmstadt) to begin doing with them the paperwork that would allow me to drive the bike in Europe. First we did the temporary insurance and license plate for the bike, and with the two of them ready, we went to their transportation authority to have the license and certificate of property printed.
After that, to the customs office, in order to print the EUR.1 form for the export. There I had a first surprise (not a good one this time): it comes out that the itinerary for the trip that I planned to Greece could not be done. The fact was that Serbia and Macedonia are not part of the European Union, and I could not travel there and then return to the EU in Greece. So I needed to prepare an alternative trip plan that included only EU countries.
With that in mind, I finished the process with them, and then went to finish the whole thing there at MCD offices. After 3 hours from the moment we began, we shook hands, and the girl was mine.
I travelled in the night between Wednesday and Thursday (August 5th-6th), in a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul and then Lufthansa from Istanbul to Frankfurt.
After arriving in Frankfurt, I travelled directly to Darmstadt and to MCD (Motorrad Center Darmstadt) to begin doing with them the paperwork that would allow me to drive the bike in Europe. First we did the temporary insurance and license plate for the bike, and with the two of them ready, we went to their transportation authority to have the license and certificate of property printed.
After that, to the customs office, in order to print the EUR.1 form for the export. There I had a first surprise (not a good one this time): it comes out that the itinerary for the trip that I planned to Greece could not be done. The fact was that Serbia and Macedonia are not part of the European Union, and I could not travel there and then return to the EU in Greece. So I needed to prepare an alternative trip plan that included only EU countries.
With that in mind, I finished the process with them, and then went to finish the whole thing there at MCD offices. After 3 hours from the moment we began, we shook hands, and the girl was mine.
With the bike, I travelled to the hotel. I booked the hotel Bockshaut. A very nice small hotel in the middle of the entertainment and tourism area of Darmstadt (and yes, I don't know why and how, but there are MANY tourists in Darmstadt), with a very good restaurant with normal prices, and very nice employees. A kind of a family hotel.
I must say though that I had three problems with this hotel: first, the hotel is in a pedestrian area where cars and motorcycles are not allowed. So it is very difficult to find it, since all GPS software takes you to a pedestrian only area or to a public transportation (bus and tram) road where you cannot go in. And after I found it, with the motorcycle, they still managed to find a place for me in their biergarten (beer garden - the restaurant), but with a car - forget it!
Secondly, my room was at the extreme of the floor where the internet didn't like very much to visit my room. And third, since the hotel was very small and Germans are not used to hot weather, it did not have air conditioning. Luckily, during the evening the temperature cooled down, otherwise it would have been a nightmare.
Some pictures of Darmstadt entertainment center, composed of Marktplatz, Friedenplatz, and Luisenplatz:
I must say though that I had three problems with this hotel: first, the hotel is in a pedestrian area where cars and motorcycles are not allowed. So it is very difficult to find it, since all GPS software takes you to a pedestrian only area or to a public transportation (bus and tram) road where you cannot go in. And after I found it, with the motorcycle, they still managed to find a place for me in their biergarten (beer garden - the restaurant), but with a car - forget it!
Secondly, my room was at the extreme of the floor where the internet didn't like very much to visit my room. And third, since the hotel was very small and Germans are not used to hot weather, it did not have air conditioning. Luckily, during the evening the temperature cooled down, otherwise it would have been a nightmare.
Some pictures of Darmstadt entertainment center, composed of Marktplatz, Friedenplatz, and Luisenplatz:
At the hotel, I was working on my alternative trip plan. After looking at some different alternatives which were either blocked by Macedonia, or made the trip longer 2-3 days, the decision was made: instead of visiting Belgrade and Kumanovo in the two countries we couldn't enter, we would leave Budapest on the direction to Romania and Bulgaria, both EU countries, sleeping one night in RESITA and one night in SOFIA. And then to Thessaloniki as planned.
With that done, I went out to have dinner and then to sleep.
This morning I woke up at 6:45, had breakfast and went back to MCD. There my host was waiting for me with his motorcycle in order to take me to my first trip on Saphira (yes, this is her name) to the beautiful surroundings of Frankfurt. A 4 hours trip in which he took me to Bacharah, to a view of the Loreley Rock, to Sankt Goar, and then by ferryboat through the Rhein river to Sankt Goarshauzen, and from there back to Darmstadt. Here are some beautiful pictures of the area:
With that done, I went out to have dinner and then to sleep.
This morning I woke up at 6:45, had breakfast and went back to MCD. There my host was waiting for me with his motorcycle in order to take me to my first trip on Saphira (yes, this is her name) to the beautiful surroundings of Frankfurt. A 4 hours trip in which he took me to Bacharah, to a view of the Loreley Rock, to Sankt Goar, and then by ferryboat through the Rhein river to Sankt Goarshauzen, and from there back to Darmstadt. Here are some beautiful pictures of the area:
After that, I said goodbye, thanked them for the deal and the hospitality, and left to the hotel. There I went to the ADAC shop to buy the sticker I needed in order to use the Austrian roads.
After having my Friday afternoon nap, I headed to the Marktplatz to eat, and finished my day writing this blog post.
Tomorrow I leave to Austria: some 9 hours, 700 Km to do, but with a good reason: there in Vienna I will meet my beautiful wife who will continue the trip with me.
After having my Friday afternoon nap, I headed to the Marktplatz to eat, and finished my day writing this blog post.
Tomorrow I leave to Austria: some 9 hours, 700 Km to do, but with a good reason: there in Vienna I will meet my beautiful wife who will continue the trip with me.
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