Riding to Berlin - any route suggestions?
Discussion
Hi, I live in Kent and have set myself a challenge of riding to Berlin over a long weekend in July. I have a good reason/excuse to go but not a huge amount of time so my plan is to hop over the channel on a Thursday evening and find a hotel about an hour from Calais. So, I wake up in France/Holland on a Friday morning and ride to Berlin aiming to be back home on Monday evening. I'm actually visiting the western outskirts of Berlin and not going in to the centre, I won't be there very long.
I've ridden in Germany quite a bit but never the stretch from Calais to Berlin and I don't know that part pf Germany at all. It's about a 1200 mile round trip but I don't want to spend all (any) of that on motorways and I'd like to see the scenery/towns as I move along. Anyone got any suggestions of where I should go?
I've ridden in Germany quite a bit but never the stretch from Calais to Berlin and I don't know that part pf Germany at all. It's about a 1200 mile round trip but I don't want to spend all (any) of that on motorways and I'd like to see the scenery/towns as I move along. Anyone got any suggestions of where I should go?
Having done 5 ironbutts I'd say smash out big miles to get there on the motorway then spend a couple of extra days on the return journey.
AndyManCam and the likeablerider are two British youtubers based in Germany and they seem to head for the Hartz mountains for fun. Beware that in some parts of Germany don't like bikes so they are banned on some of the best roads at the weekends etc.
AndyManCam and the likeablerider are two British youtubers based in Germany and they seem to head for the Hartz mountains for fun. Beware that in some parts of Germany don't like bikes so they are banned on some of the best roads at the weekends etc.
OK, I did it!
Back story: My great uncle was a flight engineer on Lancaster bombers. He joined the RAF at age 16 in 1940 and in 1943 trained as flight crew. He was posted to his squadron as a Flight Sergeant later that year and his very first mission was a raid on Berlin. On that first flight (his pilot's too) the Lancaster was shot down by a night fighter and the whole crew was killed. My dad has extensively researched all this and recently gave me his file and said to me "I'll never get there now but if ever you're passing say hello to my uncle". He's buried, along with his crew, in the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Berlin. Well, Berlin isn't somewhere I'm likely to be passing but I do have a new bike that I wanted to spend time on, so challenge time!
Day 1:
Left home and caught a early evening Eurotunel to France and headed up for a overnight in Ghent (c90miles) just to give myself a good jump off point for the next (proper) day.
Day 2:
My plan was go get within spitting distance of Berlin (500 miles away) and I woke up to pi***ing rain. No worries I have good wets so I set off early and proceeded in to what would come a bikers nightmare. First thing, the motorway network around Ghent and Antwerp is really busy and progress was slow and frustrating. Second thing was that the rain was getting worse. At times I could only manage 30 odd mph as I just couldn't see and the rain was flooding the roads. The low point came soon enough; after about 3 hours I was sat in a stationary queue and the rain was hammering down and torrents running down the road and I could feel myself getting wet inside my gear. So, I stopped at a rest stop even though I"d only covered about 100miles at this point. This is my hand at that stage:
I was wearing Rukka Argosaurus Gore Tex gloves, which had totally wetted out. Also, my Scott Ergo Pro waterproofs (that Motolegends will tell you are the best there are) were also letting water in - not as bad but I was getting wet. I phoned home and was ready to throw the towel as I just couldn't see how I could cover the distance in these conditions. But the weather started to brighten up and I decided to push on. In fact the rain really backed off and I picked a place called Helmstedt as my stop over - about 100 miles east of Berlin. On they way I'd taken my wets off and had a couple of hours on side roads in the sun and felt much better about life. Got to have some fun on the bike at last! A beer and pizza made things much better!
Day 3:
I quickly knocked off the 100 miles to Berlin, passing the Avus complex just on the outskirts. Hitler built a race track here in the 1930's to show off his silver arrows and while most of the track is now under the autobhan the control tower, parts of the track and a grandstand still exist - plus a really cool statue in celebration of the motorcycle racers who competed there:
[url]
|https://forums-
images.pistonheads.com/498358/202407175883695[/url]
I made it to the cemetery, sat and chatted to my great uncle for a while and paid my respects. Most importantly, I signed the visitors book as representing my Dad and let him know where I was (I hadn't told him). It was worth every drop of rain that'd hit me the day before.
Leaving Berlin, I had decided to get out of Dodge asap (not least as a swarm of English would surely be arriving later that day!) and head to Arnhem to see the Bridge Too Far and the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek. I haven't really used Autobahn's before and much of my route was unrestricted speed-wise so I was able to crack on. 477 miles at an average speed of 78mph!!
Quite a different outcome to the day before, not least the mpg which was over 50mpg the previous day!
Day 4:
I'd made it to Arnhem and had a slowish start as the Museum in Oosterbeek doesn't open until 10am. If you're in to your war history this place is a must see. The story of Operation Market Garden is compelling but the museum is up there with the best I've been to. Beautifully set out and modern with lots of interactive activities and information. All of Oosterbeek really lives in celebration of the Airborne forces and it's a moving place to visit.
Having spent about 3 hours in Oosterbeek I headed away to my next overnight in St.Omer - shouting distance to my train back and about a 4 hour ride, but I had one more historic site to visit before going home! Also, this was a Sunday and somehow I'd manage to lose my waterproof trousers by not shutting my top box properly - so I was praying for a dry ride - which I got, thankfully.
Day 5:
First thing I did was ride to the local bike shop to buy some more wets as the forecast was for heavy storms that afternoon in France and the UK. But, it was the day after Bastille Day and the shop was shut. Of course. Oh well, nothing for it but to risk it! I set off to visit the (absolutely enormous) bunker at Eperlecques which the Germans built in WWII to store, fuel and launch V1 and V2 rockets. Creepy place!
For scale, see the people standing down on the left.
As the rain was coming and I had no wets, I broke for the train at about lunch time. I got on a train at about 2.30 and it was just starting to rain. When I got to Blighty it was dry and I took a scenic route home through the Kent countryside which took about and hour and was a great end to the ride.
In total I covered 1460miles in 4 days (got home on Monday earlier than I'd left on Thursday). I was elated to visit my great uncle and only the second family member to do so. The stop offs were great as well. What I need to do is find better waterproofs. The GS1300 is just the most awesome machine. It is such a massive step up from the previous model (which I had for 5 years before this one). It has incredible handling, just wants to roll in to bends, has gobs of low end torque like the old one which you can ride if you like but unlike the old one if you turn the taps on the GS13 is a properly fast bike, is nimble and great fun to hussle around smaller roads. On the motorway just a supremely comfortable ride, with amazingly little buffeting and I never knew I needed adaptive cruise control and maybe I won't really use it in the UK but for that big Autobahn blast it was amazing.
Really good trip and in future I'll stay off the motorways as usual and enjoy the more scenic and fun smaller roads. Glad I did it.
Back story: My great uncle was a flight engineer on Lancaster bombers. He joined the RAF at age 16 in 1940 and in 1943 trained as flight crew. He was posted to his squadron as a Flight Sergeant later that year and his very first mission was a raid on Berlin. On that first flight (his pilot's too) the Lancaster was shot down by a night fighter and the whole crew was killed. My dad has extensively researched all this and recently gave me his file and said to me "I'll never get there now but if ever you're passing say hello to my uncle". He's buried, along with his crew, in the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Berlin. Well, Berlin isn't somewhere I'm likely to be passing but I do have a new bike that I wanted to spend time on, so challenge time!
Day 1:
Left home and caught a early evening Eurotunel to France and headed up for a overnight in Ghent (c90miles) just to give myself a good jump off point for the next (proper) day.
Day 2:
My plan was go get within spitting distance of Berlin (500 miles away) and I woke up to pi***ing rain. No worries I have good wets so I set off early and proceeded in to what would come a bikers nightmare. First thing, the motorway network around Ghent and Antwerp is really busy and progress was slow and frustrating. Second thing was that the rain was getting worse. At times I could only manage 30 odd mph as I just couldn't see and the rain was flooding the roads. The low point came soon enough; after about 3 hours I was sat in a stationary queue and the rain was hammering down and torrents running down the road and I could feel myself getting wet inside my gear. So, I stopped at a rest stop even though I"d only covered about 100miles at this point. This is my hand at that stage:
I was wearing Rukka Argosaurus Gore Tex gloves, which had totally wetted out. Also, my Scott Ergo Pro waterproofs (that Motolegends will tell you are the best there are) were also letting water in - not as bad but I was getting wet. I phoned home and was ready to throw the towel as I just couldn't see how I could cover the distance in these conditions. But the weather started to brighten up and I decided to push on. In fact the rain really backed off and I picked a place called Helmstedt as my stop over - about 100 miles east of Berlin. On they way I'd taken my wets off and had a couple of hours on side roads in the sun and felt much better about life. Got to have some fun on the bike at last! A beer and pizza made things much better!
Day 3:
I quickly knocked off the 100 miles to Berlin, passing the Avus complex just on the outskirts. Hitler built a race track here in the 1930's to show off his silver arrows and while most of the track is now under the autobhan the control tower, parts of the track and a grandstand still exist - plus a really cool statue in celebration of the motorcycle racers who competed there:
[url]
images.pistonheads.com/498358/202407175883695[/url]
I made it to the cemetery, sat and chatted to my great uncle for a while and paid my respects. Most importantly, I signed the visitors book as representing my Dad and let him know where I was (I hadn't told him). It was worth every drop of rain that'd hit me the day before.
Leaving Berlin, I had decided to get out of Dodge asap (not least as a swarm of English would surely be arriving later that day!) and head to Arnhem to see the Bridge Too Far and the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek. I haven't really used Autobahn's before and much of my route was unrestricted speed-wise so I was able to crack on. 477 miles at an average speed of 78mph!!
Quite a different outcome to the day before, not least the mpg which was over 50mpg the previous day!
Day 4:
I'd made it to Arnhem and had a slowish start as the Museum in Oosterbeek doesn't open until 10am. If you're in to your war history this place is a must see. The story of Operation Market Garden is compelling but the museum is up there with the best I've been to. Beautifully set out and modern with lots of interactive activities and information. All of Oosterbeek really lives in celebration of the Airborne forces and it's a moving place to visit.
Having spent about 3 hours in Oosterbeek I headed away to my next overnight in St.Omer - shouting distance to my train back and about a 4 hour ride, but I had one more historic site to visit before going home! Also, this was a Sunday and somehow I'd manage to lose my waterproof trousers by not shutting my top box properly - so I was praying for a dry ride - which I got, thankfully.
Day 5:
First thing I did was ride to the local bike shop to buy some more wets as the forecast was for heavy storms that afternoon in France and the UK. But, it was the day after Bastille Day and the shop was shut. Of course. Oh well, nothing for it but to risk it! I set off to visit the (absolutely enormous) bunker at Eperlecques which the Germans built in WWII to store, fuel and launch V1 and V2 rockets. Creepy place!
For scale, see the people standing down on the left.
As the rain was coming and I had no wets, I broke for the train at about lunch time. I got on a train at about 2.30 and it was just starting to rain. When I got to Blighty it was dry and I took a scenic route home through the Kent countryside which took about and hour and was a great end to the ride.
In total I covered 1460miles in 4 days (got home on Monday earlier than I'd left on Thursday). I was elated to visit my great uncle and only the second family member to do so. The stop offs were great as well. What I need to do is find better waterproofs. The GS1300 is just the most awesome machine. It is such a massive step up from the previous model (which I had for 5 years before this one). It has incredible handling, just wants to roll in to bends, has gobs of low end torque like the old one which you can ride if you like but unlike the old one if you turn the taps on the GS13 is a properly fast bike, is nimble and great fun to hussle around smaller roads. On the motorway just a supremely comfortable ride, with amazingly little buffeting and I never knew I needed adaptive cruise control and maybe I won't really use it in the UK but for that big Autobahn blast it was amazing.
Really good trip and in future I'll stay off the motorways as usual and enjoy the more scenic and fun smaller roads. Glad I did it.
Edited by Gixer968CS on Wednesday 17th July 17:23
Good write up. Coincidentally I met up with 2 mates from the UK 2 weeks ago in Albert near the Somme. The maternal great grandfather of one of them was killed in the battle for Delville Wood in July 1916 and the first thing we did was ride to the CWGC cemetery at Heilly Station to visit his grave and pay our respects. The following day we rode to the Thiepval memorial where are inscribed the names of over 73,000 men for whom there is no known grave. Very moving.
zzrman said:
Good write up. Coincidentally I met up with 2 mates from the UK 2 weeks ago in Albert near the Somme. The maternal great grandfather of one of them was killed in the battle for Delville Wood in July 1916 and the first thing we did was ride to the CWGC cemetery at Heilly Station to visit his grave and pay our respects. The following day we rode to the Thiepval memorial where are inscribed the names of over 73,000 men for whom there is no known grave. Very moving.
A mate and I did the same thing a few years back while riding back up from mid-France. When we arrived there was a pipe band carrying out a ceremony at Thiepval. That was really something:Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff