Western Europe

What a Perfect Day

Melanie de WetLeave a comment

I woke up yesterday excited about what the day had in store and boy did it deliver!

With only a few days of my trip left I have become very conscience of how precious every minute is. Everything has slowed down over the last few days. I’m waking earlier, riding slower and savouring every minute.

I remember feeling exactly the same when I was in the USA. I was on my way to Durango from Santa Fe near the New Mexico/Colorado border. I can’t tell you exactly where but I remember the moment, the scenery and exactly how I felt in that moment vividly. It was perfect! These are the moments that make everything worth it.

It was around 06:45 when I walked outside to a perfect summers morning. The sun was out, there was barely a cloud in the sky and the smell of air was so fresh. As I stretched my body out to take in all this goodness, all my eyes could focus on was the amazing snow capped mountain in front of me. What a perfect way to start the day.

I stayed at a guest house in Lasa, Italy, on Tuesday night which is also a working apple farm. The hosts were absolutely delightful and accommodating and I was very pleased that the spoke some English. To be fair, most people I have met along the way could speak at least a bit of English. What through me a little though was that they were speaking German, I guess Austrian German, instead of Italian. This appears to be quite normal in areas near the borders though.

The lady of the house told me that the marble that is mined from the mountain that I was admiring was shipped to New York to be used in the station at the World Trade Centre site (Ground Zero). That made me smile. I’ve never given much thought to where materials come from that we see every day on our streets but I will certainly look at the marble in the World Trade Centre station very fondly when I get to visit it.

A photo of the mountain is provided below. Sadly, it only shows a small part of it.

It made my morning when I said good-bye to my hosts and the lady was so excited about my travels. She said it made her just want to go and travel. I loved that. Hopefully one day she will.

The part of the day I had been most excited about was riding Stelvio Pass, a mountain pass in northern Italy. At 2,757m it is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps and the second highest in the Alps. This is by far not the highest mountain pass I have ridden but it certainly has the most switchbacks. The highest I have ridden was Mt Evans in Colorado which stands at a mighty 4,345m. I was very honoured to do this with a friend that I made on that trip, Mark. That was a great day!

Stelvio Pass is stunning! The slope effect on the pass is quite distinct. The climb up the northern side of the mountain was warm and lush in vegetation. The summit was cool and covered in snow, while the decent on the southern side was sparse in vegetation.

I captured parts of the Stelvio Pass so hopefully you’ll see what I mean in the photos below.

The ride was so much fun. The best part was that the day continued to blow me away as I rode through the Alps in Italy (see the photo below) and Switzerland. For the first time I was looking forward to something different. Not only the luscious green covered mountains which ai was currently enjoying but I was looking forward to mountains covered in snow. I have never skied before but will be doing it for the first time in December. I cannot wait!

It was now time though to start heading back towards London. I thought about the voting that would be happening today to decide our fate about remaining in or leaving the EU.

I had started my ride in Italy, travelling through Switzerland and Austria to Lichtenstein, where I had lunch, and ended my day on Lake Constance in Germany. Where else in the world can you do this without border checks and visas? Why would we give this up?

No thanks, life doesn’t get much better than this!

Going Full Circle

Melanie de Wet2 Comments

Fortunately I did say that I had no real plan in mind. Well, I left Italy on Sunday thinking I wouldn’t be back but Guess what, I am.

After it took me a while to navigate myself out of Trieste (there are way too many one way streets), I spent about 4 hours on Monday riding through the western part of Slovenia. I knew nothing about Slovenia so I didn’t know what to expect. Well what a pleasant surprise!

I entered Slovenia in what appears to be their wine country. The scenery was wonderful! I was riding through vineyards and small little villages that were absolutely pristine. I could have been in Switzerland.

This feeling only grew when I rode further north and hit the mountains and lakes. I could feel the excitement welling up inside me. The scenery was breathtaking and the colour of the water so inviting. It was like being in Canada all over again.

I missed the turn off that I had intended to take and found myself heading towards Italy instead of Austria. This cut my time in Slovenia a little short but I still managed to see part of the Triglavski National Park. It is stunning!

Below are some photos of my time in Slovenia.

When I did eventually get to the Austrian border I was in for a bit of a surprise. There were guards patrolling the border crossing. Outside of coming into France and Italy from St Bernard, this was the only time a border crossing had been manned. Most of the borders are unmanned.

I stayed in a town called Spittal an der Drau, which is at the base of the Nock Mountains. The town is lovely, as is the part of Austria that I saw. I didn’t find Austria overwhelming but I did find it incredibly relaxing. I was so chilled out last night you could have knocked me over with a feather. This of course I am sure was aided by all the Ibuprofen tablets I was on.

Unfortunately my right shoulder and upper back have been taking some strain so I’ve been trying to keep my riding jacket off for as long as possible to give my body time to rest. It’s not something that you would normally think about but riding is very physical. Not only do you have the elements to contend with, the wind hitting you the hardest, but my jacket and helmet alone weigh about 4 kilograms. That’s the same as having two 2L bottles of Coke hanging off your shoulders all day. It gets very tiring! I think I need to hit the gym before my next trip in September.

Heading back into Italy today was a pure delight and driving through the Dolomites was breathtaking! I now certainly appreciate all that Italy has to offer. It certainly has a lot to offer.

The photo below was taken on the Jaufen Pass. It’s one of the few passes I had the pleasure to ride today.

Tomorrow the ‘creme de la creme’ of the Italian passes awaits me, namely Stelvio pass. I can’t wait to see it! From there though I need to steer Trinity back towards London, as I have a Eurotunnel ticket booked for around lunchtime on Sunday.

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Wonderful Italy

Melanie de Wet1 Comment

I would sum up Italy as gorgeous, full of character and super romantic. My favourite city without a doubt has been Venice. I will certainly be back for a visit but next I will not be alone.

The only downsides to Italy are that fuel is more expensive than the rest of Europe and the most direct roads anywhere are toll roads. There are a lot of toll roads!

I arrived in Italy on Thursday morning following a leisurely breakfast in Monaco.

I had met some lovely guys in Interlaken, Switzerland, who told me that I had to visit Clinque Terre (five lands). The manager at my hotel in Monaco confirmed this so I thought I probably shouldn’t miss it. I’m so glad I didn’t!

The Clinque Terre National Park was the first national park established in Italy. This only happened in 1999 two years after the area was included as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The five hilltop towns (Monterossa al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore), which lie on the Ligurian coast, are linked by train as well as coastal walks. I managed to experience both.

Below are a few photos of the area for your viewing pleasure.

I knew I didn’t have time to see all the towns so I decided to visit Monterossa al Mare. As it turns out it is the largest of the five towns. This made finding a hotel easy and also gave me the opportunity to get out of all my riding gear and enjoy the sunshine in the shorts and flops. Not much makes me happier than that!

There is such a fabulous vibe in the town. Of course it is heaving with tourists, mostly American, but there where a good number of Australians and even some South Africans mixed in there too. It’s not surprising though, we get everywhere (*giggle*)!

I decided to take a little time out and walk to the next town, Vernazza. The recommended walking time is 1.5 hours and I had read in a blog that this section is the most difficult. I was ready for a challenge!

As long as your knees are okay (there are a lot of steps) and you don’t stop too often the route takes an hour. It is pretty challenging though. I had a brief stop in Vernazza to have some water and met a lovely young couple from Seattle. After a very pleasant 10 minute chat I was on my way. I had to see the next town, Carniglia.

After a 50 minute walk I was in Carniglia; another stunning little town. This one I may even call a village. It’s really small and intimate; just how I like it! This was definitely my spot to enjoy some lunch.

Following lunch I headed off to find the train. Trinity was calling. I found more stairs; this time they were all downhill though. Phew! The train was certainly interesting. It could give a London Underground trip in rush hour a run for its money i.e. it was packed! Luckily the trip was only 10 minutes and the packed train actually added to the atmosphere.

It was now time to hit the walled cities of Lucca and Pisa. Lucca came at the recommendation of the hotel receptionists, while Pisa was a no brainer. Who wouldn’t want to see the leaning tower of Pisa! Well here it is along with a photo from Lucca. The rest are on my Facebook page.

Both cities were great! Of course I only explored the old cities but who ever really gets to see all of any city, so I think that’s okay.

I spent the night in Ferrara which certainly deserves a mention. It’s located roughly midway between Florence and Venice. The town is full of character and was certainly full of characters as there was, what looked like, a gaming festival on. This men’s that there were a bunch of people dressed is some interesting costumes walking around the city. I didn’t take any photos of them but ai did take a photo of the most colourful street I have come across in Italy. I absolutely loved this street. Below is why.

Last but certainly not least are two of the great cities, Florence and Venice. As I have already mentioned, Venice was definitely my favourite. I found Florence a little too big and difficult to negotiate on the bike. Venice was smaller and more intimate which you already know I love. Also, the water was a better colour. The water in Florence was the colour of green olives which I found a bit off putting. In Venice the water is still not a great blue but it’s better than green for sure. The pure romance of the city makes you forget about the water.

Both Venice and Florence have a wonderful combination of narrow cobblestone street and large impressive squares. I remember learning about Piazza St Marco when I was doing my Town & Regional Planning degree at university. I never thought I’d actually be standing it it. It was so exhilarating! Then again, I felt like that the whole time I was in Venice; like a kid that had just discovered a candy store.

Below are some photos of the cities and the stunning buildings that form part of them.

I made a wise move today when I visited Venice. I parked my bike on the mainland and caught a boat to Venice. This allowed me to approach Venice from the water and also leave stuff on the bike. Woohoo… freedom!

I only had two hours in Venice but I made the most of it. I walked as much of the city as I could, having a slice of pizza (it had to be done) and a bottle of water on the trot. I would happily have stayed longer but I needed to head east. I have exactly a week left to get home and I’m a long way from home!

As I write this I’m having dinner in Trieste next to, you guessed it, another American couple. Apparently the hit list for Americans is the UK, Italy and France. Yes, I asked them. Anyway, moving on.

Trieste is the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. Founded by the Ancient Romans (I’m excited all over again), it’s on the doorstep to Slovenia, which is where I am heading tomorrow. Officially this will be the start my journey back to London.

Before I call it a night I would like to wish all the dads out there a happy Father’s Day. I’m so glad I got the chance to speak to mine his morning. It was the best part of a pretty amazing day! I love you dad! X

Six Days. Seven Countries.

Melanie de Wet1 Comment

I hit the road on Friday afternoon for the first of the two European motorcycle tours that I have planned for this summer. In stark contrast to my North American and South African tours, I left the UK with a broad plan, having only booked my Eurotunnel journeys, bought the insurance policies I needed and packed my panniers. My goal was, and still is, to visit 10 countries in 16 days. Well 16.5 days really. I have 11 days and 3 countries to go. Of course I will be backtracking through some of them on my way back to London.

The first few days were a bit of a haze. I was completely run off my feet for the three weeks leading up to my trip, hence the lack of planning, so I was feeling quite drained and tired. The fact that I was mainly on motorways for the first three days was not adding any excitement but it did get me to where I wanted to be faster, namely the Alps. That made it all worth it!

By and large living day to day has worked out pretty well so far. Because I was tired I spent my first night in Bruges rather than pushing through to Gent which was a great decision. I loved the old town of Bruges. Gent was lovely too but it’s a larger city and therefore less intimate. I like small and intimate.

Below are photos of Bruges and Gent to give you a little flavour of the cities.

My decision to stay in Echternach in Luxembourg (on the border of Germany) the second night came at the recommendation of the hotel receptionist in Bruges. It was nice but it didn’t blow me away to be honest.

I spent my third night in town called Mulhouse, France (close to the French/German/Swiss border) largely because I was too tired to push through the to Switzerland. I decided to travel via and spend some time in Trier, Germany which is a lovely city. I spent a long weekend there with my cousin, Deborah, and her family some years ago and it brought back wonderful memories. The city has a strong Roman influence which really appeals to be. I have a strong fascination with the Roman Empire.

The description in the photo below provides some information about Trier.

This is where my trip really started to get exciting.

I sent a friend from work, Migi, a message to find out where I should go in Switzerland. Her recommendation was Lucern and Interlaken. Migi nailed it! The Swiss cities are so refined and gorgeous and of course who can resist those mountains!

Lucern is a cosmopolitan city on Lake Lucerne. The lake is the fourth largest in Switzerland. It city has a similar feel to Geneva, both of which are quite stunning and centred around the lakes they are next to.

Below are some photos of Lucern.

From here things got better and better.

I took Highway 8 between Lucern and Interlaken. I hadn’t planned on stopping anywhere along the way but when I saw a gorgeous town nestled between the mountains and a lake I could resist a visit. The town is Lungern. The photos speak for themselves.

I spent the evening in Montreux which is on the eastern side of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. It was raining when I arrived and raining when I left so I sadly didn’t take any photos. The town is gorgeous though but then again all the towns on Lake Geneva are from memory.

Day five took me via the Aosta Valley in Italy and then back into France. I was now on the ‘back roads’ riding through the mountains. I’m not sure what I was expecting but riding through snow capped mountains was not it. Not in summer anyway. It was fascinating and I even managed to meet some tor the locals (see photos below).

The days amazing travels led me to Briancon which is the highest, in terms of altitude, city in France. I love this city! I could feel my spirit rise walking through the little streets and around the fortress like walls. It’s a must visit if you’re ever in the area. Below is a taste of Briancon.

I could not imagine my ride getting any more beautiful but yesterday proved me wrong. From Briancon I took the Great Alpine Road through the mountains before eventually heading to Monaco via Nice.

The Great Alpine Road is stunning! It has also elevated my admiration for cycling. Wherever I was riding there were cyclists. I have no idea how they do it. The roads are steep and winding. A clapped for a few as they passed me. They certainly have my respect. You’ll see why from the one photo below.

My summary of the last two days riding is that is doesn’t matter which town you stop in along the way, they are all gorgeous. Maybe that’s why I’ve been slightly underwhelmed by Monaco. There is such hype around Monte Carlo but in my opinion is really not that special. Nice is far nicer but I’m glad I can say been there, done that! Below is a photo of Monte Carlo Casino.

There have been a few unforeseen incidents along the way. The first incident happened on day 2 when my headlight bulb died in France and I had to find a BMW dealership to replace it. The second incident happened when my phone ran out of battery in Switzerland because the power socket (a smaller version of a cigarette lighter in a car) on my bike is playing up. This left me stranded in Montreaux in the rain until I could swap the SIM cards between my phones. Of course this meant I no longer had GPS and I had to keep stopping to check my phone. That’s not great in the rain on a bike. The third incident happened yesterday again in France when I planned a route on my phone but for some reason it took me on the alternative (motorway) instead. That little mistake cost me €72 in toll fees. I was not impressed! Today was another French incident. I was on the top of a mountain and the screw on my GoPro attachment decided to fall off. Thank goodness I saw it happening so I could stop immediately. It had fallen into my radiator so I managed to fish it out.

Today I’m off to Italy. It’s a very special day today as my eldest niece, Tyla, is officially a teenager. Happy birthday gorgeous! I can’t wait To see you at Christmas.

The adventure continues!

P.S. For more photos please visit my Mel & Trinity page on Facebook. 🙂