1974 December

Our three week trip in September thru Switzerland and southern France to Spain and Portugal was interesting. However, it left us with the feeling that we were glad we went, but we really wouldn’t want to return on motorcycles.

We entered Spain from the south-west corner of France at Irun after travelling for four days from our home in Roxheim, Germany. The first three days were spent touring west along the north coast to Oviedo, then due south over the Cordillera Cantabrica mountains to Salamanca, and then west and south-west to Lisbon. The roads for the most part, were rough and curvy, making for slow and bumpy travelling. The land was void of lush vegetation, appearing sandy with splotches of wild grass and an abundance of squat olive trees. This type of scenery was prevalent throughout Portugal and most of Spain.

Two days were spent touring Lisbon, walking the narrow cobblestone streets of Alfama, the old sailor’s quarters of Lisbon, and taking a city bus tour. Of interest was the Coach museum with some of the huge coaches dating back to the 17^th century. Then south to Lagos on the Algarve for a few days of bathing, sunning, and writing last month’s article. We had planned to stay only two or three days with friends who own a villa there, but their kind hospitality stretched it out to five days instead. With regrets, we left Lagos on the 21^st of September, east to Sevilla, up to Madrid for one day of shopping, thru Barcelona, over into France to Lyon, then east thru Genève, Bern, Zurich, around the Bodensee, and finally arriving in Germering near Munich in the evening of the 27^th.

Mike Krauser’s Olang Rally started at 7 A.M. the next morning, heading south from Munich into Austria below Bad Toelz, thru Kitzbuehel and Lienz, and then into northern Italy to Olang near Toblach where we spent the night. The next day we rode thru Bozen, Meran, and some of the most beautiful country in the Tirol area of northern Italy. The scenery of this part of Europe was so breathtaking that we felt that we should have toured the Alpine countries rather than Spain and Portugal for three weeks. The rally ended in Zams, just above Landeck in Austria.

For an American rider to appreciate this kind of European rally, just picture 270 heavy machines riding thru small European towns with its people lining the streets and balconies, smiling and waving. A sight to behold!

Out of the over 400 people and 270 bikes present, Bob Beach and his fall Alpine Tour wound up their trip on the MOA members: Dick and Gail Hall from Connecticut, BMW MOA Director Chuck Smith and Dick Hollendursky from New York, Frank Martin from Texas, Bob Merchant from Mexico, and Fred Meyers Jr. from Massachusetts. Also on the rally were George and Jo Anne Holliday from California, who came to Germany on their own. From the European crowd, only Paul Lewis and Jay Koster, besides Rosalie and I, attended.

Monday evening, the 30^th of September, saw Rosalie and I finally back home after being on the road for 24 days, visiting six other countries, and travelling almost 7,500 kilometers. We were tired, but had enjoyed ourselves.

Auf Wiedersehen