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The next morning, on Tuesday, we got up at seven and after breakfast
we said goodbye to my uncle and aunt and went to Sheernes to get on
the "Olau Hollandia" that would leave port at eleven AM.
Despite the dense fog we had time to spare. After Sjoerd had his
bottle in the ticket office, we waited outside at the bike until
we could board the ferry.
Waiting at the port of Sheerness
When we were told that we could ride into the ferry, I put Sjoerd
in front of me on the tank of the BMW. He liked it very much !
Sjoerd on the tank of the BMW
After the bike was secured on the cardeck, we went to the restaurant
and had a nice meal. Then we walked around the ship, bought some
magazines to read and relaxed.
We arived in the harbour of Vlissingen at seven PM, we drove home
via Bergen op Zoom. All the way backhome we had a strong headwind so
the BMW had to work hard. Finaly, at nine o'clock I could ride the BMW
in the garage at home. Just in time for a game of darts with Paul,
Paul and Mario.
To Luxembourg
On Saturday (the first of September) we left home again for
a trip to Luxembourg. We had planned to go sooner but because Erika
and I both got ill, we had to postpone our departure.
We were going to the caravan my parents had in Larochette in
Luxembourg. Our friend Mario is coming too. He has his tent on
his Honda CX500 chopper.
From our house in The Hague, we drove via Rotterdam to Breda. Near
Breda we stopped at a restaurant. When we walked around the bikes,
we smelled a strange odor. When we looked better, we saw that smoke
was coming from the left switch on the BMW handlebars......
I found out that the wires going to the headlightswitch and horn
button had a short circuit. First I removed the main fuse and then
after taking the switchblock apart, I isulated the wires with tape
and then replaced the main fuse again. That worked so the problem
was solved.
This switchblock was the problem
After this repair, it was time for coffee so we went into the
restaurant. Refreshed by the coffeebreak and happy that the short
circuit was repaired, we continued our trip past Valkenswaard into
Belgium. Before we reached the border, we stopped by a currency
exchange office to get some Belgian francs and then we drove to
Hasselt.
In Hasselt we had coffee, sandwiches and apple pie and we saw a lot
of Ducati's, on their way to the racing circuit at Zolder.
We drove past the circuit of Franchorchamps. We wanted to ride on
a part of the circuit that is opened for the public but today it
was closed so we had to take a detour.
In St.Vith we had another stop. At a café-restaurant we drank a
cola. Unfortunately We were "harassed" by wasps, who smelled the
sweet cola....
From St. Vith, we went into Luxembourg. Right across the border,
we stopped for fuel again and to his surprise, Mario got more change
than the amount he had payed. He told the cashier but was told
they did not made mistakes. OK, thank you and goodbye....
Not much later, after a nice ride on the beautiful roads in
Luxembourg, we arrived at camping "Auf Kengert". We settled in the
caravan and Mario pitched his tent right across the path in front
of the caravan.
The caravan and Mario's tent
The next few days we spend hiking in the woods around the camping,
making rides on the bikes and relaxing on the camping.
Sjoerd liked sitting on Mario's bike
When we are in Larochette, we always visit the castle. It was just
a ruin when I saw it the first time as a little kid but now it is
a restoration project and starts looking better every time.
The castle in scaffolding
With Sjoerd in front of me on the tank, I rode all over the camping
and he enjoyed it very much (and so did I).
While we were at the camping in Larochette, another Dutch biker
arrived. It was Ed, he was the chairman of a motorcycle club in
Den Haag and was riding a Yamaha XS850. A very nice bike.
Riding on the camping with Sjoerd
One day we did a tour with Mario and Ed on their bikes and us on
the BMW R60/5 with the sidecar. I was riding in front and enjoying
myself on the winding narrow roads through the hills and the woods
when I realised that I had not seen Mario and Ed in my mirror for
some time. With the sidecar, I could go much faster on the narrow
and slippery (covered with wet leaves from the trees) roads
then Mario and Ed on their two-wheelers.
Another tour we made was to the Müllerthal that is localy know as
Little Switzerland. It is a beautiful area with little streams in
lush valleys and rocky hills. One of the highlights of that area
is the Schiessentümpel, an old stone bridge over a waterfall.
The Schiessentümpel
Of course we had to visit Echternach. Not only because the road
from Larochette to Echternach is one of the nicest motorcycle
roads I know but also because the market square in Echternach is
the meetingpoint for bikers who are touring in Luxembourg.
In summer, the square is always filled with parked motorcycles
with riders coming mostly from Luxembourg itself, Belgium,
Germany and the Netherlands. There is always someone to chat,
bikes to look at and plenty of café around the square to have a
cold drink.
The biker meetingplace in Echternach
Beside the biker meeting, Echternach in itself is a nice and
interseting village to visit. There is a beautiful church, the
St Willibrord Basilica with the remains of St Willibrord. You
can walk on the banks of the river Sűre or do some people watching
from a terrace of a café.
Finaly it was time to ride home again. Although the weather had
been fine during our stay in Luxembourg, on the way home we had
only one big rain shower, from the start to the end of the trip.......
Not far from Liege ("Luik" in Flemish) we stopped for lunch
at "Domaine Les Casseroles" in Vielsalm. The people there left a
lasting good impression on us.
We arrived on our bikes in the pouring rain, with an inch of water
in the sidecar. We were all wet but that was no problem. They
arranged a children seat and some toys for Sjoerd and we had an
absolutely delicious meal.
Domaine Les Casseroles in Vielsalm
Sadly it was still raining when we had to leave but with
a much better feeling, we did the last part of our rainy trip home.
After a few hours in the rain, I could park the BMW in the garage
and we could slip into dry clothes at home.
Fortunately we had our one year old son well prepared so he stayed
warm and dry the whole trip. Most of the time, he was sound asleep.
We really enjoyed our trip to England and Luxembourg. It was such
luxery that we could stay in my uncle and aunt their farm in England
and that we could use my parents caravan in Luxembourg. I like that
much better then camping .
The BMW with the sidecar was fine. It was no problem that it had 600cc
only. On the twisty and narrow roads in Luxembourg I was even faster
then my friends on their bikes.
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