This may seem a little early but the seeds were sown when I met Magda [JediGirl] and Isabelle on 28 November.

Magda also mentioned two friends who ride K75s. They are all Polish and interested in some travel. Magda had been watching the posts about our travels and the Christmas Brunch but since they were all returning to Poland for New Year they couldn't make it. So the subject turned to a longer trip home as in Warsaw. This turned into a more detailed discussion when I said I had been looking at different forum members along a route like that and it was felt it could be a great outing.

Feasibility was for a trip across England to skip French tolls so Born Again Eccentric could come. Maybe Becky too..... Then onward to Calais? Rodemack? Munich? Vienna? Budapest? Poland.

Magda mentioned having this idea of having half a dozen Ks turn up at her parents place to surprise them. Not sure how they would view that but since forum members are well presentable it seemed a great idea.

Anyway I am posting this to see what the thoughts are. I have a big birthday in 2016 and this would really fit the bill [I went steam train travelling in the US for the last big one] and I happen to know Comberjohn also shares one in 2016. My own plan is to do something like this anyway.

Nothing is cast in stone, just thoughts to see what anyone thinks or who might be interested. My budget usually extends to camping but there are some very cheap hotel deals too. July/August definitely too hot for this, late May/early June or very early September is probably better timing.

can't believe you are 100 next year!

Becky wrote: can't believe you are 100 next year!

K keeps you young, the whole forum knows that.

Does that mean im going to be 18 (how old i was when i got him) forever? :p

Yep. Forget all that expensive Chanel rubbish, a K is much more effective. You will always feel 18. To all of us!!

Well, I also will hit a round number in 2016 so it seems obvious I will have to join in.... My only restriction is that I can only go in school holidays to leave the cubs behind with my parents.
So, are we going to take the German Alpine Road on the way up and Stelvio on the way back or vice versa?

This is a real alignment of the planets 

I also hit a round number in 2016 (the big 50 ) so I was looking at "The big trip" then.  This couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

So a big European trip might fit the bill nicely.

In the name of the gods! John, Olaf, Fintan and the 2 Bjørner, that's exactly one quarter of a millenium.... Worth going as far as Estonia Well, there are beautiful places around the South of Poland / North of Slovakia, well worth visiting.


Or we can simply do what I was doing for years when on tours: eat around Europe From Alsace (cabbage with bacon) to Slovakia (dumplings with ewe's cheese).


(and nobody would know I'm cheating there, well, Sebastian may have an idea )

I hate f*****n dumplings. Everywhere you go....'would sir like dumplings with that, sir?'. I reckon John Cleese got a does of this in his childhood too. Dumplings!!!! I hate them.

But there are some good makings here so its worth pursuing a little further. A few key questions to address.....

How many big birthdays? So far as we know.......:
Comberjohn
92KK
Bjorn
Corkboy........

When? School term, if it is a limitation, places us firmly into July August, peak travel times and also warmest times.

I do have a preference for camping so do we have a slightly leisurely and more scenic trip, off motorway and camping or do we have a motorway blast high miles and hotels? I did a round trip to Budapest in 2012 for my son and his gear, that was a purpose confined to a date he could pack his stuff and having to be back for my other daughters concert so it was a tightly planned trip and 3,000 miles in 8 days. Fun but not for a bike holiday.

The slow way means the fun is the journey rather like when we go cruising on a boat, or the fast way is the rush to get to some place that then becomes the holiday.  If the slow off motorway option do we make up a route that sort of does out one way back another way.

So, how long do we take or allow? Its flexible so if someone is caught for time why not do some of the trip.....

Do we do the trip via south east England? My own thought is that is a wise move.

I'm very flexible, visited a small town in Western Hungary 4 years ago, wonderful spa (did good to my joints), also everyone around could speak German and some English too.
Otherwise, it's all about how big is big? Do we want to do something extraordinary? If more than one person says Nordkapp, I'm up for even that, straight

I may have to do a solo big Birthday in September so. the big 5-oh and I don't mean Hawaii !

Nordkapp doesn't hold a huge interest for me but I'd Give Ennis-tonia a go, sure it's only County Clare  .

oh poor will !!!   ...blooming young uns <50    its all good mate,  those youthful members give us a challenge that we love to meet
will be tracking that event from way down here .

good luck with the plans guys

Corkboy
88KE
Bjorn
92KK
Comberjohn

Have identified significant birthdays for 2016.......any more we don't know about??

Nordkapp could be nice and I suspect no darn dumplings up there either.

On the other hand a stop at The Prater http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/prater in Vienna is probably a must for birthday boys....

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:Corkboy
88KE
Bjorn
92KK
Comberjohn

Have identified significant birthdays for 2016.......any more we don't know about?

 Yes, Olaf, I've got one too.

Yours +10!

Paul.

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:Corkboy
88KE
Bjorn
92KK
Comberjohn

Have identified significant birthdays for 2016.......any more we don't know about??

Nordkapp could be nice and I suspect no darn dumplings up there either.

On the other hand a stop at The Prater http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/prater in Vienna is probably a must for birthday boys....

Going to the Prater you naturally end up in Schweizerhaus where you enjoy cold beer and roasted pork knuckle that might be served with dumplings

Where do you think I got my dislike of dumplings? Certainly not Goleen...I can say no to them but its like the are trying to force feed them to you over there.

Olaf, it seems you have to ride all the way to Nordkapp to get out of the way of the basted dumplings

sidecar paul wrote:

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:Corkboy
88KE
Bjorn
92KK
Comberjohn

Have identified significant birthdays for 2016.......any more we don't know about?

 Yes, Olaf, I've got one too.

Yours +10!

Paul.

That's 6 significant birthdays....plus 88KE.....Sagi......JediGirl.....Is that a Kworum?

Since for so many of us a 'big birthday' year and a thought to avoid getting all the tolls across France the makings of a route and some other thoughts are wandering around in my head.

If we go through England we can have a few important stopovers.

Birmingham [Sidecar Paul] to share a birthday celebration.
Antwerp [depending on timing my daughter may be still there]
Namur/Rodemack [Indian 036]
Bjorn.
Vienna [Sagi] Ok, no dumplings but there is the Danube Tower or HaasHaus.
Budapest I just love too.
Warsaw....Magda et al.
So, does it become a Kruise in Europe?

Hope 88KE will Kome....we have trailer designs well thought out for a long trip and which might even allow us bring a single larger tent rather than lots of small ones or spend a lot less time playing Tetris Packing.

My attendance is all going to be driven by date. Eldest daughter will be taking/getting A level results (College graduation) and looking at university and my youngest taking/getting her GCSE results (High school graduation). That kind of screws up May, June and August 2016. 

My birthday is un-significant (although digits add up to 8 which equals the number of valves on my trusty steed). However, this has the makings of a fantastic run and I would love to be part of it.

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:That's 6 significant birthdays....plus 88KE.....Sagi......JediGirl.....Is that a Kworum?

Since for so many of us a 'big birthday' year and a thought to avoid getting all the tolls across France the makings of a route and some other thoughts are wandering around in my head.

If we go through England we can have a few important stopovers.

Birmingham [Sidecar Paul] to share a birthday celebration.
Antwerp [depending on timing my daughter may be still there]
Namur/Rodemack [Indian 036]
Bjorn.
Vienna [Sagi] Ok, no dumplings but there is the Danube Tower or HaasHaus.
Budapest I just love too.
Warsaw....Magda et al.
So, does it become a Kruise in Europe?

Hope 88KE will Kome....we have trailer designs well thought out for a long trip and which might even allow us bring a single larger tent rather than lots of small ones or spend a lot less time playing Tetris Packing.

Getting sad.... I was pretty much hoping that from Antwerpen we would take course Northbound, over to Denmark and Norway - mostly because I never dared to visit Hungary (or any place in the South) in the summer for the heat (last time I got a sunstroke there in April). But if there's gonna be that many of you around I can certainly take a chance on it, along with some dumplings, an extra portion to make sure Olaf gets his too

So, Trollstigveien, Atlantic Road, Lapland and Nordkapp at the next big birthday?

If we take it step by step as above, surely we know someone at each stop with a big enough garden to let us erect tent in there, accommodation will not be an issue so.

BTW cruise, how about taking the river cruise from Vienna to Budapest? Oh yes, one more thought: if heading East-Southeast from Antwerpen / Lorraine, German Alpine Road is a must. It goes along the Bavarian / Swiss border, nicely into Oberösterreich (Upper Austria) then.

July would be too hot. I have a graduation in Antwerp but no date yet. My eldest daughter just decided on a wedding date in August. May/June or September are better for temperatures. May better too. July also extremely busy. Been in Budapest end June and end August. Much too hot for a K. 

July could be high thirties, outside K comfort zone. 

I can do graduation on way out or way back if I can get the date. 

Would be great to have BAE along but timing may not work. might need a plan B!

Whatever, really, Olaf, I was just expressing my concerns about the temperature in Hungary during the summer - some bad experiences.

On the other hand, timewise I am badly restricted to school holidays....

Bjorn

I agree about heat in July. Too hot for me. I prefer under 30C if possible. Realistically I think need to be back for mid June.

Well, there is a possibility (wouldn't count on it as yet though) that I can bring one of the grandparents over and then we would not be restricted that strictly with school holidays. Plus if we go far enough North in June, the sun never sets which gives us extra time for riding (and coffee)

Well, taking all the time and cost restrictions into consideration, I seem to have settled for the German Alpine Road around the end of July. At least I don't have to struggle with trying to speak Norwegian in case I get lost Even though there is an idea by Ditte to go as far as the High Tatras in Slovakia, I need to sleep on that.

Any takers? Just to know what end of the trip I should arrange family visits to....

I sure wish I could but my eldest daughter decided to get married at the end of July.

Let me know how it works out but I think there are further seeds being sown for putting this in for next year as in 2017. Will see how it works for me but it has been the subject of some off forum discussion. There is a K1 Treffen in May and while we are not on K1s Ringfad and Trapper go to it and I suspect they would have another K1 with them next year so we could have a combined K exodus in May. Any later is too warm for it.

Had I a K1, I would surely go to that as well, but would be afraid of turning up on an R We'll see how it works but as we said earlier, some big trip must be done this year to deal with my mid-life crisis

On the other hand, if we postpone the big trip for 2017, we can still do Nordkapp then

At the rate I'm acquring K's I might have a K1 by then .

Seriously tho' it looks like the 2016 European spin will not be a goer for me this year. Too many commitments and I'm def going to be doing a trip to England (N.E.) and one to France (Somehow, Sometime, has to be done for Sanity's sake)