Day 8: Sat. June 19th, 2010 Leaving Timisoara Romania and Heading to Sighisoara Romania

Gerbeaud is the best cake shop in the world!!!!


Mick our Compass Expedition Leader's wife's family
worked at this very Bakery in Budapest, Hungary. And yes we did order dessert here.
Utterly Decadent!!!
It can't have calories - it's too lite. Parliament building shot from the Bridge looking across the Danube. Local taxi service.

My New Riding Play Friends for the Next Four Months

Here are my new riding buddies. Jason is our support vehicle driver originally from Alberta however he is currently living in the U.K. working for Compass Expeditions, Then there is Carmen who is from Australia and is riding 2 up with her husband Joe. Next picture is of Isaac and he is living in San Diego however was from Mexico originally. Then, there is my buddy George from Scotland (lives very close to where my mom's parents came from - Motherwell). Murray is also from Australia however spends a great deal of time in Hong Kong and travels for business. Joe is next (Carmen's husband) and he is a Psychologist from Australia (we probably need him more than we all are aware of). Patrick and Lauren are from Colorado USA and Mick (left) is the tour leader and owner of Compass Expeditions (Australian) and Mick from Tasmania. Hope this gives you an idea of who I'm riding with as we head from Timisoara Romania to Sighisoara Romania tomorrow. Once again, torrential rains are being called for tomorrow. Sighisoara is suppose to be a very old mideaval town that is apparently the prettiest town we will have seen so far. So, I'm looking forward to that. I'll put up a couple more photos from Budapest, Hungary showing a little of the Danube. Night for now.

JACK

Day 7: Friday, June 18th, 2010 Arrived in Romania

wow!!!!! What a day this has been. Torrential downpour all the way from Budapest, Hungary to Timisoara, Romania. I was soaked before 10 am and remained that way until 4pm when we got here. A bit of a lightning show as we crossed the border in Romania (this time we did have to show our passports: 15-20 min. delay there). It's about 83 km's from the border to Timisoara which is a bit of a mideaval city (definitely not as modern as Budapest). Four of us from the group went ahead of the others as the rain was quite thick that we just wanted to get there and bypass our lunch stop. Just as an added side note, I have tried to upload some video that I've taken but have not been able to do so, so I apologize for that as I would love to show you some of the riding and the scenery as well as the firework display along the Danube last night. I'll keep trying and crossing my fingers and maybe we'll be able to get something. The further we are headed however, the harder it might be to try not only to get internet but to be able to upload pictures. So, the rest of the group is checking in now and they need this computer, so I'm off for now. Talk soon....

Day 6 Budapest, Hungary(June 17, 2010 11:34 pm)

I'm just headed to bed as it has been a busy day today. We headed out from
Saltzburg, Austria this morning by 9am and we got into Budapest, Hungary by 6:30 pm (by the time we found our hotel). It was pretty much straight driving (hwy driving). We passed through the top/upper part of Vienna, Austria (couldn't see much but that's o.k. as Budapest is spectacular). It is right on the Danube and the parliament buildings lit up at night along with the bridge and the rest of the city making it one of the best cities that we've seen so far. While we were having dinner, there were fireworks over the Danube. I had to ask Carmen and Joe to pinch me as it really is magnificent. Who knew that this place once was actually two places; Buda (on one side of the Bridge which housed all the government offices and Pest on the other side that housed the businesses).

When we crossed the border of Austria to Hungary we were all set to show our passports however there was no checkpoint to do so. We entered Hungary effortlessly with the only requirement being to obtain a vignette (which I believe pays for their roadways that are newly paved and a joy to ride on if one must do highway driving). Mick, our leader, has let us know that after tomorrow midway in the day, we will be leaving highways behind and entering more scenic roadways. Because it's been a big day, I'll keep you in suspense and make this solely a writing blog this time and I'll upload some pictures to follow. An added note, as soon as we went over the border, we shedded our clothing (sweatshirts etc) as it warmed and cleared right up and stopped drizzling. So, until next time, I'm signing off for now and we'll catch ya later. Oh!!!! One more thing, as of tomorrow we will be entering Romania (my grandmother's birthplace) which is suppose to be spectacular. The towns are suppose to be old yet have a lot of character. Right now another rider Mick from Australia, Murray whose also from Australia and George from Scotland are looking into the logistics of visiting my grandmother's village Radauti in the Bucovina Region. It's very much of the beaten path and may not be doable but they've told me if it is then we'll do it. It is at the northern border of Ukraine and we are entering from the southwest. So, until later..............

Honda in Salzburg, Austria

Riding into Salzburg, I spotted their Honda store and had to take a picture. Mick, the Australian fellow rider, and I had headed out after lunch on our own as it was a long drive (total of 560 kms) and we wanted to get to Salzburg early enough. However, me taking this picture screwed up our GPS unit and ended up sending us around the roundabout again and again and again which just got me laughing so hard I was crying in my helmut. We ended up heading back to Munich and then into an industrial section which there was no way that a Best Western Hotel would be located in that area. Finally after a couple more times around the roundabout, the GPS unit kicked in and we were back on track. I had wondered if he was doing it on purpose and it was just a part of the Australian humour (they are quite a bunch if one can understand them). I'm now finally caught up and I'm going to try to publish some video later on this evening. I tried already once and it kept saying error so hopefully it will let me. If not, I guess this is until next time I'm able to post/blog again. I'm sitting at an internet cafe right now as I still can't seem to get the computer online. I have wireless connection but it doesn't seem to want to hook up. So, until next time and as Arnold would say " I WILL BE BAAACK!!!!!"

Lichtenstein - Our Stomping Ground

I think all my riding buddies (and you know who you are High Alpine Tour Guys) should recognize this place. It's the border from Austria into Lichtenstein and the tower where we had lunch. I didn't get any pictures but Carmen from our group did and I'll include them in another blog. We parked our bikes in the exact same spot we did when we ate at the Tower with the aligator that hung above our heads and ate Schnitzel. We didn't eat there but right at the part where we parked our bikes. Deja vu!!!

Day 4: Switzerland to Salzburg, Austria

Leaving our hotel in Switzerland, I took a couple shots of the townspeople rounding up the cattle with their cowbells on as they went parading through the town (quite a site). Then loading up to take off to Austria