USA, New York, 27 Dec 2013 – 3 Jan 2014

Posted on Saturday, 4-January-2014 by Chris Desmond

This trip was about experiencing a northern winter, New Years Eve in Times Square, the Daytona 500 and seeing the Niagara Falls in winter.

The Northern winter put on a special show this year with some of the heaviest snowfalls in years and extended periods of below freezing temperatures, the coldest I experienced was -21 Celsius in Ohio. I took a two week break in Southern California and then another week at Daytona Beach for the race where the temperature was a balmy 25+ Celsius.

New Years Eve in Times Square, New York

Video of the Countdown to New Year 2014, wait for the Confetti Blizzard at the end.

New York

Little Italy, Bronx etc.

9/11 Memorial

Brooklyn Museum

 

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Malta, 8-15 October 2013

Posted on Tuesday, 15-October-2013 by Chris Desmond

Malta, 316 sq.km, population 411,000, a country in its own right and a member of the EU.

Once upon a time an island Fortress, now a place where the British and other Europeans come to burn. They serve beer in pints and drive on the left. Everyone speaks English as well.

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Netherlands, Breda and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, 3, 5 October 2013

Posted on Saturday, 5-October-2013 by Chris Desmond

Visited Breda with friends to see the Casino which is quite unique being built inside what used to be a convent, a historic building.

Day trip to ‘s-Hertogenbosch which means Duke’s Wood, over the years the city has been built over canals and the river.

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Belgium, Antwerp, 28 September 2013

Posted on Saturday, 28-September-2013 by Chris Desmond

Day trip to Antwerp where I was lucky enough to be shown around by a local, an interesting place, need a few more days to see it properly.

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Finland, Helsinki, 20-23 September 2013

Posted on Friday, 27-September-2013 by Chris Desmond

I got the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki, there are a number of these every day, cost 58 euro for me and the bike. The journey takes 2 hours and you get off right in the middle of the city. This is the website http://www.tallinksilja.com/en/web/int/book-a-cruise you can book through other websites but they are usually more expensive.

Helsinki big modern and expensive city with a population of nearly 1.4 million. Not sure what happened to the Medieval old town though there was lots of Scandinavian style. There is one metro line and trams and buses, a single ride costs 2.20 euro or you can buy an unlimited ticket for 1, 2,3,4,5,6 or 7 days very flexible and the only city with this option, usually its 3 or 7 days. Most people speak good English and signs have an English version as well so its a very easy city to navigate.

From Helsinki I travelled by ferry to Travemunde in Germany, cost 125 euro for me and 82 euro for the bike. The journey takes 27 hours, board at Helsinki 1730 and arrive at Travemunde the following day at 2100 hrs, which meant I had to spend the night there and leave for Holland the next day.

http://www.finnlines.com/ferry-trips/routes_fares/helsinki_travemuende

The end of my bike trip, 27 countries, 118 days

12,501 km, 536 litres of petrol costing 855 euro

25 Sep 2013 Europe Tracks

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Estonia, Tallinn, 17-19 September 2013

Posted on Thursday, 19-September-2013 by Chris Desmond

I left Riga after 0900 but it was still rush hour and courteous driving is less common as I travel north, 2 lane roads all the way to Tallinn, no freeways in either country. Flat countryside, mainly forests, overtaking happens anywhere anytime don’t worry about oncoming traffic hahaha, there was hardly any traffic mainly trucks, speed limit 90 kph with fixed radar at regular intervals. The border immigration buildings were abandoned slow down and ride straight through. Arrived in Tallinn and the roads in this city need some work, 316km, 4:40hrs.

Tallinn population 406,000, 38% of whom are Russians. There are over a million ethnic Russians in the Baltic States (Latvia 550k, Estonia 340k, Lithuania 175k), having declined from 1.7 million during the Russian occupation.

The Old town is well preserved and is still surrounded by some fairly massive walls largely intact with towers that have conical roofs. Most people speak some English and blonde hair is dominant.

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Latvia, Riga, 14-16 September 2013

Posted on Monday, 16-September-2013 by Chris Desmond

I left Vilnius in a drizzle, first ride in the rain since the 3rd of July, the drizzle stopped after about an hour and it was fine for the rest of the day. Freeway for the first 170 km and 2 lanes after, the border had a sign saying Latvia and some abandoned buildings off to the side, slow down and ride straight past, road surface deteriorates and road works almost all the way to Riga, no freeway and lots of police with radar all day, 299 km in 3:40 hrs.

Riga, population 700,000, old town, churches, some nice parks and gardens and many groups of Russian tourists, St. Petersburg is only 570 km distant. Public transport consists of trams and buses, one ride costs 0.50 Lats about a dollar, you buy a card loaded with as many rides as you want from any one of the many Narvesen kiosks around town, the card itself is free.

 

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Lithuania, Vilnius, 11-13 September 2013

Posted on Friday, 13-September-2013 by Chris Desmond

The ride from Warsaw to Vilnius was mainly on 2 lane secondary roads, the last 100 km into Vilnius was on a freeway, many towns and trucks and roadworks meant slow going, flat straight roads and farmland, cool 15c and overcast. The border had a Lithuania Republic sign and some abandoned buildings with the road going around them. No Vignettes or road tolls in Lithuania. 510 km in 6:45 hrs.

Vilnius a small city population 557,000, green and spread out. A well preserved  old town, churches of every denomination, the obligatory castle and palace, a surprisingly nice place.

This country in recent history was first taken over by the Russians then the Germans and then back to the Russians, each phase resulted in a huge number of deaths and deportations, Russian troops only withdrew in 1993. The Jews (200,000) were completely wiped out during the German occupation.

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Poland, Warsaw, 5-10 September 2013

Posted on Tuesday, 10-September-2013 by Chris Desmond

I rode from Prague to Warsaw through Germany via Brojce in Poland all freeway except for the Czech side where I think they are rebuilding the whole freeway system, long diversions onto secondary roads and roadworks. No signs when crossing the border the only indication that I was in Germany was the road surface turned to very smooth concrete, went past Dresden and turned east just before Berlin crossing the border into Poland at Frankfurt on der Oder. This border crossing is a trap, there are signs that say cars to the left and trucks to the right, so I went left along with some cars and you see a line of cars and the Immigration booths and as I got closer I realised the cars were just parked there and the booths were empty so turned around and followed the trucks on a road that goes around this area. You do not have to stop at this border just follow the trucks and go right. Those signs should be covered up or replaced.

Poland does not have Vignettes, they have tolls sometimes you take a ticket and pay a toll at the end of the section or when you exit the freeway and sometimes they have regular toll collection points on the freeway. The total toll from the border to Warsaw  was 68 zloty or 16 euro, no discounts for motorcycles. I stopped at Brojce for the night and continued on the following day, good quality freeway all the way to Warsaw.

Warsaw big modern city with a population of 1.7 million, it was flattened by the Germans during WWII and has been completely rebuilt so no old buildings. The old town has been replicated quite well and is classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Lots of tourists but not crowded, things are more spread out here and the roads are wider.  One metro line, trams and buses get you just about everywhere for less than 1 euro a ride.

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Czech, Prague, 30 September – 4 October 2013

Posted on Wednesday, 4-September-2013 by Chris Desmond

The ride from Bratislava to Prague was mostly on freeways with roadworks for more than half the way which is why it took 3:50hrs to do 332km. The border was a non event, no signs or anything to say you had crossed a border. No tolls or vignettes for bikes in Czech.

Prague is a big city 1.3 million, it has a metro 3 lines, trams and buses, not many English translations which considering the number of tourists is not very helpful. There are literally herds of tourists being led around by guides, many from Asia as well as Russia and neighbouring countries, very annoying until you get used to it and if you get away from the main attractions its a nice place.

I discovered this website which has walks for a number of cities and followed the Prague walks, very good, http://www.use-it.travel/home

Tip – Tram 22 takes you to the top of the hill and from there you can walk down to the Castle or the Monastery or to Petrin Tower. I walked up the hill twice before I discovered this and used it for the next two trips.

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