5 July 2005:We got up about 9.15am. A quick gather of our luggage and went out for a small tour at the city’s castle on the day light. Although it was early in the morning and there where a few people, it created you a sense of liveliness. We stopped in one of the many coffee shop for our breakfast before we left. The weather was cloudy. The night before, rained. The temperature was too low, so we wore our winter jacket.
About 10.00 returned to the hotel to take our things. Before leaving Nurnberg, we said to pass from the biker’s shop of Hein Gericke, for Vangelis to buy a trouser. Finally left from the shop about 12.00am. and everyone had baught something. A lot of the products had difference compare to Greece!
We reached the autobahn and followed the signs to Wurzburg (A3) and than to Frankfurt. The autobahn until there, much better than the greek roads, but sometimes it had 2 lane a stream. The situation was loaded from many trucks that we found in our way. Although the rhythm was good and without problems.
After we passed the regional of Frankfurt, went on to Koln and about 6.30pm. were inside the city. Reached very easily the centre and the old city. Parked in a guarded parking, that it was forbidden for the bikes, thanks to the kindness of the guard, parked again in a handicap’s parking lot…Very easily and quickly we found the roads of the shopping centre of the city, that lead in a central square, where was the famous church.
The weather was fine and the streets were crowded. We visited the church. Really impressive. What made us impression(?!), were the priest that hang from their neck wooden money boxes …A so known church needed charity???... Before we left, stopped at the cafe that was opposite the church.
About 8.00pm. started to go to Brussels. When we got out of the city confused a little at the regional. You must follow the signs to Aachen and Liege and after to Brussels and to autobahn A4. As the sun went away , started getting cold, passing by the forests. At some point, for 20km, passed also in Holland territory, before entered Belgium. It is really impressive to change countries without realize from the landscape… just only from the police at the edge of the road and the plates of the cars!!! You see it’s European Union…
When we entered Belgium, the traffic decreased a lot. Rode almost alone on the road with our tanks reaching the end…30km. outside the city of Brussels. Stopped at the first gas station we found… the gas near 1,3euro/lt. More expensive from all the countries we passed by. Filled up our tanks and started for Manolis cousins, that had made reservations for us at the hotel.
About 10.00pm. we were at the suburb Kraainem of Brussels. They invited us for dinner and discussed for our experiences until then and our plans to the future. Also we found the opportunity to empty the memory card of our digital camera to the PC of cousin Leon. Chatting, the time went by so fast and were already 11.00pm. So we started with the aunt and the cousin, to lead us to the hotel that was at the centre of the city.
The hotel’s name was SleepWell, and found right behind the biggest mall of the city and 15 minutes on foot from the Grand Place. The price 33euro/per person two-bed room or three-bed room. The important was the parking for the bikes that didn’t charge us. The condition of the rooms was very good. Thanked aunt Eleni and cousin Leon and went our luggage up to the rooms. Before bedtime we hang a little at the hotel’s lounge to discuss tomorrow’s schedule, that would be loose from kilometers point of view… We would visit the beautiful Brugge.