We weren’t very far south of Prague on a small, paved back road when we started coming across signs in Czech that appeared to indicate the road was closed ahead. Not sure what to do we continued on past more and more informational signs. It was a Sunday so we thought if there was construction maybe they wouldn’t be working and we could sneak around any barricades which we actually had accomplished a few times already. Eventually we came to an area with a large group of people and an arch across the road, it was some kind of event. I found some pictures online:

We stopped and attempted a conversation with someone who looked official, and he just waved us through. Ok, why not. The road was perfectly paved and wound through the wooded hills, we noticed people gathering in groups on the turns with chairs and pop-up tents. Next, we saw rally cars driving towards us and more stopped on the side of the road. It was a rally race course! I’ve since learned it was the EDDA Cup Hillclimb racing series.

They let us continue up the road as they were between warm up runs. I found out we were lucky because the road was scheduled to be closed the whole weekend. We got to the top of the small mountain when we came to the staging area that was packed with cars, campers, tents and food vendors. Being close to our normal 11:00 cappuccino time we stopped to see what it was all about.

One car caught our eye, a beautifully restored 1967 Tatra T2-603 B5. None of us had even heard of a Tatra but we could tell there was something special about this one.

The proud owner saw us admiring his car and came over to talk to the obvious Americans riding motorcycles with German plates. In very good English with an understandable accent, he explained that this was his father’s car built for racing including a stint at the famous Goodwood race in England. The Tatra was a rear-engine luxury car produced in Czechoslovakia from 1956 to 1975.

This one was a four-door sedan with a 2.5L air cooled V8 that produced 170 hp. According to Wikipedia it was reserved for high-ranking Communist officials in Eastern European countries and Cuba.

We spent a bunch of time walking around admiring the cars and were glad for stumbling upon this event.

The final night in Czech Republic was at the Grand Hotel Zvon in České Budějovice. How do you pronounce that? We finally learned to give up and just hope we could communicate the best we could in English.

Grand Hotel Zvon with the Beach’s support van in front.

Fun fact, the original Budweiser beer is from that city (Budweis). The brewery, known as Budweiser Budvar, has been brewing since the 13th century and uses the name “Budweiser” because it denotes a beer from the city of Budweis. The “Budweiser” name is also used by the American company Anheuser-Busch, leading to a long-standing trademark dispute between the two breweries. According to Wikipedia, Anheuser-Busch began producing it’s own Budweiser in 1876 in St. Louis, Missouri inspired by the Czech beer. Of course we had to sample some. It was good!

Original Budweiser beer.

Our discerning beer taster Chuck, approved of the original taste.

Continuing south into Austria we were crossing over a low mountain range dividing the two countries with average peaks rising to around 3,000 feet. No problems with high elevations but plenty of twisty roads through the hills and small villages along the way. We were having good luck with the weather so far with cool temperatures but not so cold that we needed to turn on the heated liners we brought. Low clouds came and went but we didn’t get wet, really it was about perfect riding weather that allowed us to challenge our corning skills on the deserted back roads. It seems like in Europe the speed limit is either 50 kph (about 30mph) in the cities or 90 kph (about 55mph) in the country. There is usually no in between. When you get to a city you need to brake suddenly to get under the speed limit or chance having your photo taken by one of the many speed cameras. Once leaving the town you suddenly jump back to 90 and the race is on. Most of the roads were so narrow and winding that the default 90 kph was dangerously fast, but fun.

At the restaurants we needed to use Google Translate on our phones to translate the menus. I ordered what the translator called a pulled pork hot dog. Hmmm, ok. Here it is:

Deby ordered this…. it was mysterious but good.

After three days in the Czech Republic it was into Austria, yet another new country for Deby and I. As part of the European Union there was a small border crossing that seemed unmanned so we passed right through.

In Austria we made a short stop in a small village for a couple of pictures.

Steve and Deby

We only had one night in Austria in the city of Admont famous for the Admont Abbey Library, which was closed when we arrived, but we walked around the outside and explored the gardens and a huge cemetery.

Sunset over the Abby

Steve, Deby and Chuck

The days were starting to blur together as we settled into a routine of getting up early enough to have breakfast and be ready to ride by 9:00. Technically, we could have left any time we wanted but our luggage needed to be in the van by 9:00 so as long as we were standing around in our riding gear we usually just jumped on the bikes. Part of our routine was to ride to about 11:00 and find a suitable café for a late morning cappuccino and delicious pastry. We were the tough bikers sitting in the main village square at an outside cafe sipping our tiny coffee cups with our pinkies out and croissant in hand. How civilized.

Cappuccino stop in Southern Austria

We realized that if we wanted lunch we needed to stop about 1:00 PM, 2:00 at the latest or everything closed down until about 7:00 PM. We usually found somewhere to get a sandwich or even a pizza to hold us over until the group dinner. Sometimes what we ordered was a surprise because of the language barrier but we usually managed just fine.

Along the way we came across someone from our group who was standing on the side of the road taking pictures. He happened to snap this one just as Deby flew past.

About halfway through the tour, (day seven?) we crossed into Slovenia where we would have a day off in Bled. The weather finally turned sour with overcast skies and light rain. Our day off at Vila Bled was a wet one. Deby and I walked around the lake on a nice trail that was about two miles long. It was too cold and wet for us to take the scenic boat ride to the island with a Disney looking church. We did get a few pictures.

Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church on the island in Bled lake

Bled Castle on a cliff overlooking the lake

I took this picture of a rain covered informative sign along the walking trail to show what it would look like in nicer weather. I think a return trip is in order.

From Bled we continued south to the Italian city of Trieste in the most northeast corner of Italy at the top of the Adriatic Sea. Suddenly, more road signs we couldn’t read but they seemed important. We were on back country roads in the hills with nobody around or no cars. We’ve learned it can be a bad sign if there is zero oncoming traffic for an extended period of time. That was the case here but we continued on with the thought “how closed is it?” Then we came to this:

Now what? Turn around? Wait? Not knowing what to do we stopped and considered our options. Someone started waving at us and somehow seemed to indicate to wait and they would fix up the road for us. Ha, really? So… we waited.

After a short wait they flattened the road and waved us through. Nice!

A short video of Chuck making the loose gravel look easy.

Once back on the pavement, we blindly followed the GPS track through even more impossibly small roads barely wide enough for out panniers to fit as we descended into Triste from the surrounding hills. It was tough going at the end of a long day to have such challenges. We were lodged at a wonderful hotel on the Adriatic coast and were welcomed with warm sunshine as we made our way to the patio for a bottle of Italian wine as a reward for a good day’s ride.

We had another day of riding in the northern part of Italy exploring more back roads.

Our last night in Italy with the tour was at a very tucked away “Albergo” or Inn. The Albergo Ristorante Riglarhaus. Here is the Inn with the van and bikes in the parking lot. Our room was on the second floor with the small balcony.

View from the balcony window

With only a few days left in the tour we pointed north back towards Munich. We would be transitioning the famous Alps Mountain range via a much-anticipated crossing over the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the highest surfaced mountain pass in Austria. We learned it’s one of the three most visited destinations in Austria with an excellent paved road over the pass. The road passes the Pasterze Glacier, the biggest glacier in existence in the East Alps. The high point of the road is 8,215 feet above sea level.

At exactly 9:00 AM we loaded our luggage into the chase van and fired up the bikes for our return trip north. We were back on small roads climbing into the Alps when we stopped for our fancy 11:00 cappuccino. One of us wisely thought to check our phones about the pass conditions and there was the announcement: Closed to Motorcycles. What? We came all this way and it’s closed? Why? Because of a little bit of snow?

Disappointed, we found a route circling around the pass that utilized a 5.3 km long  tunnel to avoid the highest mountain points. It was cool riding at high elevations of around 5,000 feet and added some extra time to our day but we made it to the last hotel on the tour before returning to Munich with some daylight left. We spent the evening checking the website for the pass with hope there might be a sudden thaw.

Our hotel was just over the pass on the north side of the Alps and was actually situated on the same road that came from the pass. Deby had a great idea, let’s leave the hotel early and ride south towards the pass and see just how closed is it? This is a phrase we often use when encountering closed roads, “how closed is it?” We convinced Chuck to join us but not Steve. Steve was having a problem with his sinuses decided to take the easy route back to the hotel and get some extra rest. Without Steve the three of us  were the first group to drop our luggage at the van well before our regular 9:00 AM departure. The van driver and other guides wished us luck as they were getting ready to give up on the pass and ride north for their last day of riding. We thought, what’s the worst that can happen, we would be turned around at the gate? But at least maybe we could buy a sticker at the gift shop.

After only about 15 km we came to the gate/toll booth. Being a popular tourist route it’s a toll road which discourages commercial traffic and makes it easier for motorcycles, cars and bicycles to enjoy the road. We pulled up to the booth expecting to be told we needed to be turned around and the pleasant woman took my charge card and told us to have fun. It was open! Wow. I paid for all four of us in order to expedite our progress before she realized it was a mistake and we breezed past the raised gate. After about a half mile I pulled over and sent some panicked text messages to the two guides and van driver that the pass was open. One of the guides got the message in time and turned around his group to ride up the mountain.

The ride was well worth the effort. We were there early enough to have the road to ourselves as we blasted around the perfectly banked curves towards the alpine tree line. It was getting colder but we didn’t care the views were spectacular and worth the chill. At the top of the pass there was a small road to a peak that was too narrow for the tour buses but just wide enough for a small car or a motorcycle. We immediately rode up and parked in the mostly empty parking lot for some glamor pictures of ourselves and the bikes.

It was cold but we didn’t care and were having fun. Of course, there was a gift shop and I bought a shirt, hat and a sticker! The trifecta of motorcycle tourism!

If you ever get up there, look for our sticker!

It was the high point and highlight of our ride for the day. Literally, it was all downhill from there as we made our way back to Munich to return the motorcycles. One funny thing happened along the way. We were riding painfully slow on some seriously small back roads that seemed like they twisted through the back 40 of someone’s ranch. Which they probably were doing. Steve had gone ahead on the highway because he wasn’t feeling well for the last day and Chuck was following us. We stopped at one point where we missed a turn and Chuck came over to say he was done with fighting the tiny roads and was going to take a more direct route suggested by the GPS. Ok, no worries. He took off on his route and Deby and I continued on exploring the farms and ranches of southern Germany. About an hour later I pulled over in a small village to get something out of my panier. While we were on the side of road a motorcycle approached from behind, it was Chuck! Somehow his shortcut was actually a longcut and he decided to try to catch up with us after all.

We had a good laugh and rode the last couple of hours into the increasing suburbia surrounding Munich before reaching our hotel in Olching just as the daylight was fading.

I was bittersweet as we parked our BMW motorcycles in line with the others and removed our personal items one last time. Except for the flat tire and some oil issues on Chuck’s bike the modern BMWs served us well and were fun to ride. All the bikes were subject to inspection by the guides to look for dings, scratches or other damage. By this time the guides knew us and our riding skills and one of them came over to me and simply asked if we had any tip overs. Nope, not a thing I truthfully reported. Not a scratch or mark on their shiny motorcycles to report. We passed the test.

We were done with riding but the Beach’s organization had one more treat in store for us. They had tickets for us to attend Oktoberfest and had tickets for one of the famous beer halls. The next morning we were on the train into Munich to experience Oktoberfest to its fullest.

I’ll summarize to say there was a lot of beer drinking involved. We were in one of the 14 huge beer tents. Here is a picture or ours.

Ok, time to get the party started! Ahem, that is 10 after noon, not midnight.

Each tent can hold over 1,000 beer drinking dancing and singing happy people. Our group of riders took up three tables and shortly after the beer started flowing and the polka music commenced we were dancing on benches, singing and swaying with the music. All before 2:00 PM. An appropriate wrap up to the Fall Frolic.

Chuck, Mark (our van driver) and fellow tour rider Victor enjoying cigars and beer.

All of Deby’s grandparents immigrated from Germany, she felt right at home celebrating with thousands of her people.

According to my GPS data we rode 1,732 miles over the course of two weeks. We explored parts of five countries had incredible food everywhere, made new friends and solid memories. The Beach’s outfit was first class in every way and I would highly recommend any of their tours.

Now what? Head home?? Noooo.

We flew all this way and felt like we needed some more time exploring the area. We said goodbye to our fellow Norton club friends and the Beach’s group. The next day we would be heading for Italy for a few more weeks of motorcycle riding, just the two of us. More on that coming up soon.

Thanks for following.

Donn and Deby

A whole gallery with more pictures can be found here: https://donnh.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2025-Fall-Frolic-Europe/2025-Fall-Frolic-Europe

Here is an interactive map of our route. Note: This is not the exact Beach’s tour route since they had different options for each day. This is our route including bypasses and shortcuts as needed. You can click on the markers to see the hotels.