Being the first day of my trip, I wanted to do enough kilometers to ensure everything was working OK, but not do so many that I end up riding dawn to dusk. In fact, I didn't actually leave Den Haag till around 11:30 after a tearful fairwell to my wife, seeing my daughter off on a school trip to the UK and an argument with my son over internet access. All in all, a perfect start....not !

Route/Travel Details

The roads were reasonably clear all the way apart for 1 massive talback in a contraflow between Osnabruck and Bremen on the A1. But that was due to an accident so probably OK usually. The bad part was that there was an even worse tail back in the other direction caused entirely by people rubber necking the accident. Crazy or what....

Places of Interest

None really on this first day. All motorway.

Accomodation, Food & Drink

The hotel I pre-booked is the Motor Bike Hotel Hollenstedter Hof and the owner, Heinz, is a biker himself and is very knowledgable about the area and southern Norway/Sweden. There are garage facilities at the hotel so bikes can be locked up securely. There is a workshop in the garage, that includes a ramp to make any necessary repairs that little bit less troublesome.

Anyway, I finally arrived at Hollenstedt Hof about 16:30 so fairly well ahead of schedule. The hotel was easy to find and while Heinz, the owner and only English speaker, wasn't there when I arrived, I was checked in and in my room without a problem. The staff were very friendly and helpful and we found communication very easy, despite the language barrier.

Needless to say I had to sample the local beers and food and, being Sunday, decided to stay at the hotel. The Pilsner (Jever) was very palatable but had the bitter tang that I am told is normal in north German lagers. After a couple I switched to another pilsner called Padeberger. This seemed to agree with me better so stayed with this one and made a serious effort to drink the place dry.

I opted for the Filet steak with fries and salad. I must say, this was one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. The quality of the meat was second to none and was just delicious. I heartily recommend it to anyone staying at the Hotel.

I forgot the mention, there is an English menu but you probably need to ask for it....Heinz saw me struggling to trannslate the German one.

I spent the rest of the evening in the company of Heinz and a Swedish bike called Soren (pron. sir-n). We watched Germany loose the Euro cup and generally had a good chat about bikes and wines. It turns out that Heinz is a wine expert as was due to present at a seminar the following day in Bremen.

We finished the evening with some excellent Austrian plum brandy. I'm sorry to say I don't remember the name....blame the pilsner ! I assume there can't be too many Austrian plum brandies, guess I'll have to try them all ! Finally staggered up to bed around midnight. 

Breakfast was traditional continental with pleanty breads, cheeses, cold meats, fruit etc etc, and was included in the room price. I have already decided to go back, with my wife next time. 

btw, there is a picture of Soren in the day 2 images. We plan to keep in touch !

Images

Not many images today and, almost all, of the hotel. Will try to do better tomorrow in Copenhagen.

Good luck to the guys I met en-route. They arn't going to NordKapp as they just don't have long enough, but plan to get above the arctic circle before turning back South.

I forget their names at the moment, but one was German, and the other three were Spanish, with 2 of them living in The Netherlands and the other in Madrid. They have my web address so I hope they stay in touch and keep me updated with their progress and I'll relay it in the daily articles.

 Update, the gut in orange is Alfonso and the guy on the right is Isaac.