BikerThomas.com

Monday 4th of August 2008

I wake up in Hamburg once again. There is the usual bad weather… I decide to ride to Copenhagen in Denmark.

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When leaving Germany I decided to take a ferry to Rødby on the Island of Lolland in Denmark. The ferry is run by Scandlines and is named FS Deutchland. The ferry took 45 minutes to get to Rødby. This was a good opportunity for me to recharge the battery on my laptop and I found an electric outlet that I think is supposed to be used with vacuum cleaners – funny how you really get to appreciate the little things when you’re out camping. The sea was a bit rough, the waves were quite big and I was a little bit worried about my motorcycle. It turned out not to be a problem though as I had strapped it to the deck quite well.

When riding onboard ferries motorcycles often get on first and also disembark first – which is great! After riding for a while I got to a really long queue and it started to really pour down and the wind was trying to push everyone off the road… *note to myself: buy waterproof gloves!* I soooo wanted to just split lanes and ride past everyone but there was a police car right in front of me and I wasn’t sure if splitting lanes is legal in Denmark. Do you know if this is legal? Please do comment at the end of this article if you know.

I arrived at my destination, camp Hundinge Strand just south of Copenhagen City. The camp wasn’t something you write home about but it was alright and I was only going to stay there for one night. The price per night was 110 Danish crowns which is about US $22. Now, this must sound ridiculously expensive if you’re American, but the dollar about halved its’ value towards Scandinavian currencies during the Bush administration so in Northern Europe these prices are normal.

Sorry boys and girls – I didn’t take any pictures this day, but I did the next day so come back and read the next part of my journey in a couple of days ;)

Sunday 3rd of August 2008

The 32 km long Afsluitdijk is awesome!

It was Sunday morning and I checked out of Camp Zeeburg at 11.30am. I wasn’t sure where to go next. The rain was pouring down and there were dark clouds everywhere. I thought about going with the original plan and ride to Antwerpen and Brügge in Belgium but I was tired of all the rain and decided to start my ride back home, but this time I would ride through North Holland and ride on the Zuiderzee works.

The 32 km long Afsluitdijk separates the IJsselmeer from the North Sea, protecting thousands of km² of land. The dam is quite impressive and as a result of building it Holland has actually expanded their landmass as water in the IJsselmeer has been pumped out in the North Sea and land has risen from the sea!

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While paying for my petrol at a petrol station in Bremen there was a German guy running towards me, pointing at my bike and asking me “Is that you’re Harley!?”, “Umm, well yes… that’s my bike” I replied as I didn’t care to explain that it was a Kawasaki… and he seemed very worried that that there were leaking petrol underneath of the bike. I freaked out a bit myself as I hadn’t seen this happen before. A quick call to my local mechanic and he could assure me that this was only because I had filled my tank to the absolute maximum and that it was perfectly normal for the bike to get rid of some excess fuel and told me to fill a little bit less next time… I remember thinking that this was one of those moments where I wish I had learned a few German phrases like “Where is the closest mechanic?”. (Note for future trips through Germany: "Wo ist der nächste Mechaniker?").

I finally arrived back in Hamburg and stayed at the same camping site that I stayed at a few days back (Campingplatz Schnelsen-Nord). The hot shower that night felt greeeeat! And the weather is much better in Germany, things are looking up. So far on this trip I had left behind 1768 kilometres.

 
My bike at the Zuiderzee works (left), A map of the area (right)

  
My über-cozy tent from the inside…

Make sure you bookmark www.BikerThomas.com so that you can come back and read about the rest of the trip. Day 9 of the trip will be out real soon!

Saturday 2nd of August 2008

I’m still at Camp Zeeburg and it was very hot this morning and some scattered clouds. I decided to ride towards Hague to visit Corpus -  a science centre based on the human body. Riding towards Hague is an experience in itself! Holland’s main airport, Schipol, is situated between Amsterdam and Hague and you get to ride straight through it! There are large jumbo jets on both sides of the road that you’re riding on and there are also planes landing and taking off right above your head! How cool is that!? This was definitely the highlight of my day.

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There was a queue to get into Corpus and I had to wait 1 hour. So if you’re going, you should probably book in advance to avoid the wait. The tour is partly guided and you get a headset that tells you all sorts of fun facts about the human body, in fact the whole tour is built as if you were walking through a huge person… you walk through his body, listen to his heart and walk inside his ear and so forth – no doubt probably very popular with schools. I guess it’s fun if you’re a bit younger… I myself found it a bit boring and the price was a bit high at €16,50 + €5 parking.

Camp Zeeburg did have deposit boxes where you can store your valuables like your camera or computer. It’s free and you only have to pay a €20 deposit – well worth the effort instead of leaving them in your tent or in your saddle bags or some other stupid place, and carrying them around everywhere is hassle.

It started raining in the afternoon and I started to get a bit fed up by all the bad weather as I wanted to ride towards Brügge in Belgium. I went to bed early and hoped for better weather in the morning.

 
Corpus – Reis der mens (left), What you taste where on your tongue (right)

 
Another poster showing some statistics about teeth.

Make sure you bookmark www.BikerThomas.com so that you can come back and read about the rest of the trip. Day 8 of the trip will be out real soon!

Friday 01st of August 2008

I was still at Camp Zeeburg this Friday and I woke up to overcast weather with scattered rains. I woke up early because the goats on the camp made a lot of noise…

While wandering around camp looking for breakfast, some nice Englishmen lend me their special glasses and told me to look towards the sun. At first I thought they were joking, but suddenly realized that these were eclipse glasses and I witnessed a real solar eclipse – awesome! What a great start to the morning!

I used the washing facilities on the camp, that set me back about €6,50 and a was a welcome luxury. They really had just about anything you need at this camp. They even had fresh bread rolls, jam and spread cheese which made for a cheap and tasty breakfast.

I headed for town once again and bought a ticket to the science center Nemo.  The first few minutes at the science centre was great! …then the electricity stopped working in the whole building and everyone had to leave and get a refund, kinda disappointing. I compensated by going to a flee market and Vondelpark.

In the evening, there was the mandatory visit to the red light district. Prostitution is legal in Holland, they even have unions. In Amsterdam the prostitutes stand in tall windows and are on display. Gentlemen (and women?) who want their services simply go up to the window and negotiate a price. It would be easier to just show you a picture, but apparently bouncers will throw your camera in the river if you try to take photos in the red light district so I don’t have pictures. I guess you just have to go and have a look for yourself.

I had been planning on visiting the Heineken Experience and learn everything about Heineken but I had learned the day before that it was closed due to maintenance. Oh well, I’ll save that for next time!

Fresh breadrolls! (left), Lots of boats in the harbour (right)

Make sure you bookmark www.BikerThomas.com so that you can come back and read about the rest of the trip. Day 7 of the trip will be out real soon!

Thursday 31st of July 2008

A canal tour boat full of tourists in Amsterdam city

I woke up to excellent weather this Thursday. I was tired after riding from Hamburg the day before so I was planning a whole day of not riding my bike. The showers on Camp Zeeburg were broken, there were barely enough water coming out of the shower to get clean, but I was’t going to let that ruin my day! I packed my GPS and headed for Amsterdam city! My motorcycle GPS has 3 hours of battery life which is great for walks around new cities, whenever I’m not sure where I am or where I’m heading I just turn on the GPS and BAMM! I know exactly where I am and what direction my destination is – excellent!

I decided to do as many of tourist attractions as possible on my first day. I started with The Amsterdam Dungeon which was awesome. Without ruining the experience for you if you’re planning on going there sometime, I can tell you that it’s a guided tour that’s both scary and educational at the same time. You learn a lot about life in Amsterdam in the past – it wasn’t quite as pleasant as today, that’s for sure! I can highly recommend this tour, it was a lot of fun.

I did a lot of walking this day. You can really get to know the entire city centre in one day if you’re determined. Vondelpark is situated in the north of the city centre as is quite large and has a great vibe and lots of people. It’s a great place to relax and people seemed very laid-back.

Next tourist attraction was the erotic museum. Needless to say, a very popular attraction. Entrance is €5 which is quite cheap. It was actually quite interesting seeing all the history preserved in the museum, everything from chastity belts made out of iron to old drawings. It’s all very well laid out and I’d recommend anyone to visit it.

Next up is the marijuana museum… when in Rome at least pretend like you’re interested, right. Although it’s not completely legal, Marijuana consumption is generally accepted in Amsterdam. Entrance is €5 and you get to learn the history of hemp and marijuana, their many uses and health benefits/problems. It’s actually quite educational. I didn’t try the weed, but obviously alot of people do and I guess you could ask the staff a lot of questions if you wanted to learn more about a specific topic. I’d recommend a visit to anyone who has an open mind and want to expand their knowledge about the many uses of the marijuana plant (hey, they even make sweaters out of that stuff!)

So, what else could I do this day to piss off any priests reading my blog? It was time to head up to Holland Casino! Entrance is once again €5… see a pattern here? I only spent 10 minutes there and left €10 richer… It was at this point I was reminded how incredibly boring gambling is. I played roulette, it’s about as exciting as watching paint dry. I was getting hungry…

What could I eat that was typically Dutch? Pancakes of course! I stopped by a little restaurant that served all kinds of pancakes. I chose the Hawaiian pancake and got one huge pancake with cheese, pineapple and capsicum. I took a photo of it and the locals around me started laughing… they obviously understood that I was a tourist.

It started to get late and it started raining and there was thunder and lightning too! I took the bus back to camp.

 
One of Amsterdam’s many canals (left), A huge pillar in the City centre (right)

City centre (left), An awesome looking house boat with a terrace and everything! (right)

 
A wooden shoe boat! (left), Hawaiian pancake (right)

Marijuana plant at museum (left), Entrance to Vondel Park (right)

Vondel park is a nice and laid-back place, a great place to relax.

Make sure you bookmark www.BikerThomas.com so that you can come back and read about the rest of the trip. Day 6 of the trip will be out real soon!

Wednesday 30th of July 2008

This Wednesday started with rain, so there I was in Hamburg planning on riding 363KM to Amsterdam in jeans… not a good combo! I wish I had brought some proper waterproof pants. I wanted to check the weather forecast online but there was no Internet connection at the camping site. I decided to ride no matter what but I waited a while just to see if the weather could clear up a little bit. And guess what, at 10am my prayers had been heard and the skies cleared up, once again I started riding with a big smile on my face! :)

Now that’s what a real biker looks like, haha! :)

Riding on the Autobahn was boring… *reminder to myself: find some alternative routes next time!*. It was efficient though, and there were few traffic jams, whenever the traffic stopped I just annoyed the shit out of cagers by splitting lanes.

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I arrived at Camping Zeeburg in Amsterdam at 5.30pm. They charged me €13,50 (US $19) per night for me, my tent and my motorcycle. My immediate impression of Camping Zeeburg was that there were alot more younger people at this camp than in Hamburg. There was a hippie-feeling about the whole place, there were even goats and other animals on the camp! You could rent bicycles on the camp which is a good idea as walking to the city centre would turn out to take about 1 hour. There were also canoes for rent, which looked really cool since Zeeburg is really an island. There were also an Internet café and hot showers that cost €1 for 10 minutes. In addition there were a couple of washing machines and a dryer that you could use for a couple of euros or so.

A German slug had been living beneath my tent… (left), Camp Zeeburg had a little farm (right)

There were sheep (left), …and goats (right, in case you can’t tell)

Camp Zeeburg in Amstedam, Holland

Make sure you bookmark www.BikerThomas.com so that you can come back and read about the rest of the trip. Day 5 of the trip will be out real soon!

Tuesday 29th of July 2008

 
On my way to Hamburg city centre.

The weather was good this day and it was 32 degrees Celcius. It was time to check out Hamburg.

Once again, I stopped at Haupfbahnhof Nord. The first thing that hit me was that there were kebab-shops fuckin’ everywhere! Not that kebabs aren’t tasty, but I remember thinking “is this all they eat here?”.

I went further to the centre of the city and discovered there was a tivoli in the middle of town and the ferris wheel turned out to be a great way to see the city from above! I could spot places that I wanted to go and check out later  and it was an opportunity to take bird-eye photos. As you’d expect when in Germany, there was a beergarden in the middle of the tivoli. There were also restaurants serving great snacks like “kartoffellecken mit bier” for €4,80 (US $6), which is basically potato wedges with dip and beer which tastes great!

The infamous Reperbahn is a street with shabby erotic shops and strip clubs. I didn’t visit it during night time but I walked through it during the day and damn it looked dodgy… not pleasant at all. It’s one of those street names you hear everywhere and are told that you have to go and see. This was just silly though, and strangely enough you feel kinda dirty just walking through it.

Safely back at the camping site some heavy metal fans where pitching their tents next to mine. They were on their way to Wacken Open Air Festival which is like the largest metal festival in Europe or something like that. They had the classic long black hair, black t-shirt, black shoes, black jeans, devil worshipper-look… but they turned out to be great guys and we had alot to talk about including their fascination for church-burning and good metal. Turns out you don’t have to have the same opinions to have a great chat with some great young chaps from England.

By now I’ve had the chance to taste several different German beers. König pilsener tasted just like any other beer, nothing special, quite boring actually. The local Flensburger pilsener was OK. Warsteiner is also fairly ordinary and Jever Pils tastes like what alcoholics buy because it’s cheap… Duckstein Weizen was a good weissbier and really the only one so far on this trip that I can recommend.

Hamburg City (left), Hamburg city railroad (right)

Tivoli (left), German beer (middle), Hamburg city (right)

Kartoffellecken mit bier, great snacks!

Make sure you bookmark www.BikerThomas.com so that you can come back and read about the rest of the trip. Day 4 of the trip will be out real soon!

I found this great instruction video on YouTube on how to change the oil and oil filtre on a Kawasaki Vulcan 900. Enjoy!