A Czech Experience

We had left Malta under leaden skies after a night of storms and heavy rain. The affects of the previous nights activities were apparent with strong running creeks and flooded lowlands as we headed north-east towards the Czech border. We had prebooked a room in Olomouc an historical 'city' about 60km east of Brno where a round of the World Superbikes was to be staged on Sunday. The heavens eventually opened as if to send us a message to stay in Austria. We passed by Vienna unimpressed with the lowland scenery and more austere Architecture after our long stay in the Mountains. The Czech Republic (CZ)was to be our first real taste of a former eastern bloc country not discounting our brief foray into Slovenia.

There are a few immediate observations upon crossing the border. Firstly the highways are mostly concrete and exhibit that thump, thump, thump as you constantly cross the concrete slab joins. Even potholed Australian highways are better than this. Secondly the fuel stations are displaying ULP at about 38 ? per litre. Is this the cheapest fuel in Europe ? Thirdly everyone ignores the speed limits and lastly the road signage is unintelligible. In answer to a couple of these issues we discovered to our surprise that the CZ has its own currency (Czech Koruna - pronounced Crown) which converted meant fuel was about 1.54 euro/litre so comparable with what we had been paying. Although CZ joined the EU in 2004 they have not yet adopted the euro and have deferred a decision to do so (no doubt worried about the future of the euro). As to the Czech language we had become used to hearing and reading German and to a lesser extent French & Italian. Czech is so different to these but fortunately a lot of Czechs have at least a basic understanding of English.

The weather had fortunately cleared by the time we arrived in Olomouc a very old city dating to Roman times. The roads in the city are cobblestoned and trams are the main form of transport so a combination of cobblestones, tram tracks and rain would have been fun. There are two immediately apparent features of the city - graffiti which is everywhere and wheel clamping which the local Police engage in with enthusiasm. On more positive notes food and drink are as cheap as chips and there are many fine historic buildings across the 'old city' where we were staying. This is a University City and as it was summer break the city was very quiet. Apparently most buildings in the city are owned by the University or the Catholic Church. There is a lot of building restoration being undertaken but a lot more needs to be done. This city has not yet been 'discovered' by westerners so get there before it does as it still exhibits an unpretentious non-commercial simple beauty.

The rain had returned Sunday morning so we decided to forego the trip to Brno for the bike races opting instead for a closer look at the old buildings in the city. We left here headed for Prague and based ourselves out of the city but on the northern tram route. As seems typical of former eastern bloc cities the public transport system is cheap and efficent. We found this in Prague with a 30minute tram ticket costing 24c and trams running about every 10minutes. The system is well patronised. Something for our bureaucrats to understand. Unfortunately like Olomouc, Prague is plagued with graffiti - it is everywhere with no apparent desire from officialdom to combat the plague.

We spent a couple of days here and covered the more popular tourist spots - it is hard not to like the place. It has a good feel about it (scenes out of fairytale books) although some open displays of drug taking, alcohol abuse, begging in the streets and graffiti would turn many away. Although cheap food and drink is still to be had prices around the major tourist sites skyrocket so beware.

We thought we had left the Old City of Prague as we aimed for Germany but our GPS had other ideas as we ended up back at the Charles Bridge on cobblestoned roads dodging tourists on a hot Wednesday morning. More cursing at the GPS but we eventually found clear air and the road west towards our next destination, Dresden.

Amazing Austria

We left Italy under heavy skies and the promise of rain but our luck held and we somehow managed to 'dodge the bullet'. We retraced our steps to the Austrian border over the Campolongo, Falzarego, Tre Croci and Misurina passes bringing  our tally to 54 and total in the Dolomites to 25. We dropped down to the less travelled B111 road which by Austrian standards is in poor condition but it follows a rural valley with genuine country people and villages. We stopped at a Gasthof in the village of Maria Luggau for lunch. An elderly couple were fascinated with the bike and how far we had travelled. They asked the most basic questions in broken English about Australia and ooooohed and aaaaghed at my answers. Austria is one of the peaks of our trip as it saw us return to one of our favorite places, Gasthof Hochalmspitze and its hosts (our friends) John & Ros Gowers. We were here a week with the promise of some great rides with much merriment and good company.

The Gasthof Hochalmspitze lies in the small village of Malta in Maltatal (the Valley) at the foot of Maltaberg (the Mountain). At the entrance to the valley is the larger town of Gmund (birthplace of Porsche) and at the blind top of the valley sits the massive Kolnbein Dam, the largest in Austria. The valley is surrounded by great riding opportunities with Salzburg to the north along the beautiful strip of A99 road, Slovenia and the Italian Dolomites to the south, the Nockalmstrasse to the East (a national park ride to be experienced) and the grandaddy of them all, the Grossglockner (Austria's highest Mountain) to the west. Little wonder we had booked a week here but would that be enough?

Saturday night after our greeting (and a free pint) produced a stormy night which carried into Sunday. An easy day was had with an afternoon run into Gmund and a visit to the fascinating 'sound museum' a place impossible to describe but fascinating to visit. Our batteries were recharged so with the promise of fine weather on Monday we prepared to tackle the Grossglockner.

The Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse is a high Alpine road that passes through a National Park that contains the Grossglockner and Franz Josef Glacier amongst many features. It is a tolled road but the Karnten Pass Card (included with 3 nights stay with John & Ros) gave us free access. The road to the Park leads by the Maiden's Leap waterfall and a portent of what is to come. The park road is in top condition so even if you had to pay the motorbike toll of 22 Euro you would not be disappointed. As you ascend the pass the road forks with the left option leading up a dead end road to the Glacier and best views of the Grossglockner while the right leads to the highest part of the road, Bikers Point. We chose the latter option. As we climbed into the cloud the temperature dropped and it started to snow, a very rare experience for us and the first time on the bike. Bikers Point forks off the main road up a tight cobble-stoned series of switchback bends that were saturated with snow melt. We got to the top in what was by now very low visibility in near freezing conditions and were proud that our Grey Ghost was the only bike there.

We dropped down to the main pass road and across to the Glacier to be greeted with bright blue skies and warm sunshine a world away from where we had been a mere 30 minutes earlier. There were many bikes here as the late starters had arrived including Ian leading an English Group from our Gasthof. Pleasantries exchanged, we headed back by Bikers Point towards the northern exit from the park to receive another drop of snow. Interestingly Ian's group experienced sunshine just half an hour later so we had been "lucky". It was a day of meet and greets for as we exited the park we ran into Matt & Andy our Welsh friends who we first met in 2010. We had bid them farewell that morning as they headed home. We completed the long loop back home tired but satisfied and filled with new experiences.

The weather forecast for the next few days was good so best enjoy it. Tuesday we tackled the Nokalmstrasse another tolled road but totally different geology to the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. This road passes through pine forests over two passes at 2024 and 2042 meters along a winding ribbon of road that could only have been designed by a motorcyclist. . If you were to ride just one road in your life then this would be the one. It is pure magic with a near perfect surface, well formed corners, good sight lines and light traffic for us early starters. We enjoyed it so much that we turned around at the end and repeated the experience in the opposite direction. That afternoon we visited the Porsche Museum in Gmund before returning home to a few well earned beers.

We had visited Salzburg in 2010 on a very wet day so we were giving it another chance under blue skies. The scenic run north to Salzburg is along the A99 that follows the river course along the valley floor but there is a fast option on the concrete strip of autostrasse that is suspended above the valley. There are many contrasting photo opportunities of the concrete autostrasse from the green valley below. Salzburg conjures images of Mozart and the Sound of Music and both have strong reminders in the City but for us its Architecture and history took centre place. It is a fascinating city that has been shaped throughout the middle ages by the strong control of the Archbishop/Princes who ruled the land. This dual religious/ruler role has created a city rich in church architecture.

Thursday the weather Gods were still shining as we set off on the locally famous three countries run - Austria/Slovenia/Italy. The route south took us along the shore of Lake Millstatter and on this bright morning it was filled with physical activity, boating, jogging, cycling. We could have stopped there for the day and been satisfied but the road called. Our pathway into the former Eastern Bloc country of Slovenia (formerly part of Yugoslavia) took us over a less travelled mountain pass by a dormant tank (previous border control?) and into an immediate change of Architecture. We had lost the beauty of the Austrian villages for a more utilitarian form devoid of the added details that makes its northern neighbor so appealing. Any lost beauty was recovered however as we dropped down to Lake Bled and its stunning blue waters. This was our destination for the day and it is an absolute cracker. Lunch by the lake, a walk along the lake shore, look at the cathedral and castle and time for home. We chose not to venture into Italy preferring to explore some more of the villages on this too small a taste of Slovenia. There was a predicted change of weather late in the day and our 6.30pm return just beat the storm. Our luck was holding.

Friday started with a planned 60,000 km service for the Grey Ghost which was undertaken in John's very well equipped garage at the Gasthof. Another good reason for bikers to stay here (if you needed one). A few valve tappets adjusted, general check & tighten, new oil & filter and the Grey Ghost was purring like a kitten again. The afternoon was taken up with a run up the valley to the Kolnbein Dam and then a trip up the Maltaberg for stunning views over the Maltatal Valley. The night finished off with a massive storm which had fortunately cleared by morning. It was hard to believe that our week was over but there are still things we need to do - there will be a next time. Farewell to John & Ros and their wonderful staff and we were on our way to the Czech Republic under leaden skies.