When's the next installment due? :scotsman
Scotland to Lake Como via Black Forest and Switzerland - Two Idiots Abroad
- Thread starter gog
- Start date
Keep it coming my friends. 
Bitburger used to be my favourite beer until Rothaus came in to my life
I hope you sampled it
of course. several times, just to be sure
It surprised me too Cabby but it just did. Various delays, getting separated, stopping for leisurely brek/lunch/tea, getting lost etc. It just all added up. Next time maybe we will be more organised
Me and the missus are doing Ely to lake Como via Reims, Black Forest, B500, Alps, at the end of July. And we are booked into Pension Williams en route for 2 nights.... now I really can't wait.... enjoying it even more as I will be tracing your footsteps it seems...especially if you went to wassen, susten, furka,grimsell etc. On the way to Como. Then stelvio and home via the French Alps and Lyon...
Enjoy the trip Al, I wish I could do it all again next week. We did the passes (minus the wassen) and we didnt go as far east as the Stelvio. Had to get back sharpish so came up via the Vosges and the route des crete on the way back to the ferry, didnt have time for the French alps unfortunately.
Writing doesnt come naturally to me so im just doing it when i get some quiet time at work, which is normally towards the end of the week
Your always quiet at work. I have my phone fixed so I'll try and upload some pictures tonight.
I have my phone fixed so I'll try and upload some pictures tonight.Day 4 (9th June) - Black Forest to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald
Woke up to another glorious day, and broke camp whilst the groundsman mowed the grass in circles around us, and hit the road planning to follow the B500 as far south as possible. Somewhere along the way the sat-nav decided we had seen enough of this road and took us off-piste once again but this time we were very glad of it, as the roads we discovered were some of the best on the whole trip. All but deserted, we wound our way through some stunning scenery, perfectly surfaced winding roads and little stretches of tunnel dug into the side of mountains.
Coming down a steep track through a forest, I hear a faint beeping and look in my mirror to see Jon weaving about, frantically signalling to pull over. Oh shit, bit of a remote place to have a major mechanical problem I think, and pull off sharpish at the side of the road. I have never seen a man dismount a bike and remove a helmet so fast in my life, and my worry grows. THERES A FUCKING BEE IN MY HELMET <flap flap flap>. With much relief I check for bees, though its either got out itself or transformed into the large (but harmless) green fly type insect now crawling along his shoulder. It was funny to me, but I understand, as Jon has had some traumatic bee-related incidents in his past. Grateful - Jon for not being stung in the eyes, and me for him not having some catastrophic engine failure in the arse end of nowhere, we continue on our way.
Before we realised it, we noticed the reg plates on some of the cars showing Swiss marks so stopped for lunch at a Subway before crossing the border. Turns out we were less than 2 minutes from it, where we were simply waved through without stopping.
Having forgotten to ask about buying a vignette at the border, we decided to stop at the next petrol station but didn’t see any before we ended up on the bloody motorway. This concerned me slightly as I had heard of large fines for dodgers, so at the next exit we left and found a station where we bought one. For the sake of £35, it just wasn’t worth the worry.
I had left my bike on the side stand, and while fixing the vignette to the windshield the bloody bastard bike fell over, in slow motion. Red faced, and with Jon’s help, we got it back on the stand and surveyed the damage. Front right indicator broken at the stem and lens, large scratches and several dents to the pannier and a small crack on the windshield. Could be worse. Then it fell over again. What an absolute tit.
Luckily the second fall only added another wee scratch to the pannier. The faithful duct tape re-attached the indicator and we were on our way. I was pissed off at my stupidity but if that’s the worst that happens on this trip, I suppose I can live with that.
The ride down to Interlaken was very scenic and I struggled to keep my eyes on the road as the mountains rose all around and the lakes just got bluer and bluer. Everything looked like someone had just switched on high definition. A quick pit-stop in Interlaken to check the internet for digs, we found a camping ground in Lauterbrunnen, close to Grindelwald which was ideal as we had planned to go see the Eiger. An enthusiastic armchair-mountaineer, this was high on my list of priorities so off we went.
Lauterbrunnen itself was picture postcard pretty and the camping site was at the foot of a high waterfall. The snow-capped mountains looked out of place in the heat of the day and everything felt a little surreal. We set up camp, had a sandwich, and headed out towards Grindelwald on the (now much lighter) bikes.
The run up the valley was fantastic, alongside an impossibly blue river of (I assume) glacial runoff. It may have been slightly more fun if we had not been warned several times about the Swiss speed limits and strict penalties, but were happy enough taking in the sights anyway. By the time we reached Grindelwald though the clouds had rolled in, obscuring the Eiger. We decided to ride around for a bit and ended up on a tiny track zig-zagging up near the base of the Eiger. I had not seen the 'road closed' sign, and neither (evidently) had the Americans who followed behind us in a car. Up and up it went and eventually we were stopped at a closed gate, where a bemused looking man and his goats gestured for us to turn around and go back, which we did. We stopped a few corners down to take photos and chat to the American couple who were quite taken with the bikes. After taking photos and saying goodbye, my bike refused to start. Bastard. A minute or two of panic then discovered the side stand switch had been dislodged so turned it by hand, tucked it out the way and my arse unclenched as the bike roared back to life.
At that we decided to call it a day, head back to camp and come back in the morning, when we hoped to see more of the mighty Eiger Nordwand.
That evening we took the 5 minute wander along to the main bit of town in Lauterbrunnen where we ate a mediocre burger and chips for £20. Seems the Swiss don’t do salt and vinegar, but the guy said he had something similar. I ended up with chicken stock powder for salt and soy sauce for vinegar, and decided I would be happier with noodles for the rest of our stay in Switzerland
We had passed a busy pub, the Horner, and stopped at it for one on the way back. Neither of us were really in the mood to drink and it was getting late, so we went back to camp to hit the sack. The waterfall at the camp was lit from below in the dark and was quite a sight.
We were staying another day here, and agreed that the Horner bar would make for a decent Saturday night out tomorrow, after a day in the passes.
TBC
Woke up to another glorious day, and broke camp whilst the groundsman mowed the grass in circles around us, and hit the road planning to follow the B500 as far south as possible. Somewhere along the way the sat-nav decided we had seen enough of this road and took us off-piste once again but this time we were very glad of it, as the roads we discovered were some of the best on the whole trip. All but deserted, we wound our way through some stunning scenery, perfectly surfaced winding roads and little stretches of tunnel dug into the side of mountains.
Coming down a steep track through a forest, I hear a faint beeping and look in my mirror to see Jon weaving about, frantically signalling to pull over. Oh shit, bit of a remote place to have a major mechanical problem I think, and pull off sharpish at the side of the road. I have never seen a man dismount a bike and remove a helmet so fast in my life, and my worry grows. THERES A FUCKING BEE IN MY HELMET <flap flap flap>. With much relief I check for bees, though its either got out itself or transformed into the large (but harmless) green fly type insect now crawling along his shoulder. It was funny to me, but I understand, as Jon has had some traumatic bee-related incidents in his past. Grateful - Jon for not being stung in the eyes, and me for him not having some catastrophic engine failure in the arse end of nowhere, we continue on our way.
Before we realised it, we noticed the reg plates on some of the cars showing Swiss marks so stopped for lunch at a Subway before crossing the border. Turns out we were less than 2 minutes from it, where we were simply waved through without stopping.
Having forgotten to ask about buying a vignette at the border, we decided to stop at the next petrol station but didn’t see any before we ended up on the bloody motorway. This concerned me slightly as I had heard of large fines for dodgers, so at the next exit we left and found a station where we bought one. For the sake of £35, it just wasn’t worth the worry.
I had left my bike on the side stand, and while fixing the vignette to the windshield the bloody bastard bike fell over, in slow motion. Red faced, and with Jon’s help, we got it back on the stand and surveyed the damage. Front right indicator broken at the stem and lens, large scratches and several dents to the pannier and a small crack on the windshield. Could be worse. Then it fell over again. What an absolute tit.
Luckily the second fall only added another wee scratch to the pannier. The faithful duct tape re-attached the indicator and we were on our way. I was pissed off at my stupidity but if that’s the worst that happens on this trip, I suppose I can live with that.
The ride down to Interlaken was very scenic and I struggled to keep my eyes on the road as the mountains rose all around and the lakes just got bluer and bluer. Everything looked like someone had just switched on high definition. A quick pit-stop in Interlaken to check the internet for digs, we found a camping ground in Lauterbrunnen, close to Grindelwald which was ideal as we had planned to go see the Eiger. An enthusiastic armchair-mountaineer, this was high on my list of priorities so off we went.
Lauterbrunnen itself was picture postcard pretty and the camping site was at the foot of a high waterfall. The snow-capped mountains looked out of place in the heat of the day and everything felt a little surreal. We set up camp, had a sandwich, and headed out towards Grindelwald on the (now much lighter) bikes.
The run up the valley was fantastic, alongside an impossibly blue river of (I assume) glacial runoff. It may have been slightly more fun if we had not been warned several times about the Swiss speed limits and strict penalties, but were happy enough taking in the sights anyway. By the time we reached Grindelwald though the clouds had rolled in, obscuring the Eiger. We decided to ride around for a bit and ended up on a tiny track zig-zagging up near the base of the Eiger. I had not seen the 'road closed' sign, and neither (evidently) had the Americans who followed behind us in a car. Up and up it went and eventually we were stopped at a closed gate, where a bemused looking man and his goats gestured for us to turn around and go back, which we did. We stopped a few corners down to take photos and chat to the American couple who were quite taken with the bikes. After taking photos and saying goodbye, my bike refused to start. Bastard. A minute or two of panic then discovered the side stand switch had been dislodged so turned it by hand, tucked it out the way and my arse unclenched as the bike roared back to life.
At that we decided to call it a day, head back to camp and come back in the morning, when we hoped to see more of the mighty Eiger Nordwand.
That evening we took the 5 minute wander along to the main bit of town in Lauterbrunnen where we ate a mediocre burger and chips for £20. Seems the Swiss don’t do salt and vinegar, but the guy said he had something similar. I ended up with chicken stock powder for salt and soy sauce for vinegar, and decided I would be happier with noodles for the rest of our stay in Switzerland
We had passed a busy pub, the Horner, and stopped at it for one on the way back. Neither of us were really in the mood to drink and it was getting late, so we went back to camp to hit the sack. The waterfall at the camp was lit from below in the dark and was quite a sight.
We were staying another day here, and agreed that the Horner bar would make for a decent Saturday night out tomorrow, after a day in the passes.
TBC
I'm in.....
I wish it was the end of my week too 
Great posts. Keep them coming
Great posts. Keep them comingFantastic Gordon, Im loving this...Keep it going
Then it fell over again! 
Awaiting the next one. Never a dull moment.
Awaiting the next one. Never a dull moment.
Wait. There's more to come.
Enjoying this. 
Mark
Mark
JJ's GS
Registered user
Excellent so far guys, looking forward to whats coming next 
Dave Ford
Registered user
Wonderful stuff - looking forward to more...
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