23rd European HOG Rally - Croatia

The destination was Biograd na Moru in Croatia, host for the 23^rd Annual HOG European Rally, returning after being there in 2011.  But, the trip was more about the journey than the destination.  It took us 2,800 miles through France, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia in 2 weeks and included visiting World War I cemeteries, riding up and down mountains and enjoying some good food and scenic hotels along the way.  The weather was incredibly kind, one small shower to contend with, although it was over 30°C for much of the outward journey, which made for some hot riding conditions, especially when stationary.  We only donned wet weather jackets for some extra wind-proofing on our first leg back from Croatia, so no complaints on that front!

We stopped at the Douaumont Ossuary near Verdun in France.  I had been once before and found it quite grim and depressing then, but, perhaps for the centenary of WWI, the concrete had been cleaned and it was also a bright sunny day on our visit so it seemed better.  It is one of the three key memorials for WWI, the others being at Menin Gate, Ypres, and Thiepval in The Somme.  The display of bones below the building is quite chilling, having been collected from the surrounding fields after the longest and one of the largest battles in human history.  They include German as well as French remains piled into chambers viewable through windows from the outside. Casualties have recently been estimated at nearly 1 million.

 The memorial and ossuary

 The graveyard (thousands of crosses beyond the trees)

The skulls and bones through a window

Not far from Verdun the next day, we came across the WWI American Cemetery of Saint-Mihiel, resting place for over 4,000 who mostly seemed to have been killed in 1918 in the closing stages of the war.  The perfectly aligned marble crosses and manicured lawns left an impression of care and respect like those of ours looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 Saint-Mihiel Cemetery Entrance

Perfect rows of marble crosses

Next, it was through forest and into the hills near Munster, getting close to the German border.  High up, we stopped at a busy ski lift adapted to carry mountain bikes, then came across the Hohrod German WWI cemetery before our hotel in the hills above Munster.  I noted again how the German cemeteries tend to be smaller, simpler and somehow more sombre because of the dark metal crosses, also that they are not so well kept.

Panorama to Munster with a memorial in the foreground

Crossing Switzerland, we then entered Liechtenstein, for the first time, to climb some more hills to our overnight stop with fine views over the valley below, and probably most of the country!  It has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the World at 1.5% and the highest GDP/capita, quite extraordinary for this small landlocked principality.

View from hotel balcony in Liechtenstein (rain coming)

Rain passed

Soon after entering Austria, we first climbed and then descended through the stunning scenery of the Dolomites, into Italy and to Cortina d’Ampezzo, a popular ski and walking resort.  It is obvious why it has been used as a film set in several movies, including The Pink Panther, For Your Eyes Only and Cliff Hanger, with its very pretty setting and mountains all around.  However, it was pretty devoid of skiers and walkers and must have been between seasons during our visit, as it was incredibly quiet.  Even our hotel had been closed for some renovations and only opened for the 1 night of our stay, just us, closing again after we left!  But, at least it did that.

Hotel owner and friend - both enthusiastic Harley owners!

Owner has 16 bikes, mostly British!

More scenic road was enjoyed south from Cortina as we tracked towards and around Trieste, deciding not to venture into the town as it was so hot.  Then, it was across Slovenia to the last stop of our outward journey at Opatija in Croatia.  This was close to where we had stayed in Rijeka last time, and offers a similarly great view out over the Adriatic at sunset.

Rijeka across the bay of the Adriatic from the hotel balcony

Last time, we rode the contours of the coastline’s many inlets all the way to Zadar, but this time we crossed over by ferry to the island of Pag, one of the many of the Croatian archipelago.  It connects back to the mainland near Zadar, not far from Biograd and gave us a very different, straighter, ride for about half the journey. There is little life on the island and it is pretty barren, but we did stop briefly at the small coastal town of Novaljo near the ferry port, before riding down the single road of the island and back to the mainland over a large bridge.

Roadside stop near Rijeka

Ferry arrives at Prizna

Ferry approaches Pag

Roadside stop on Pag

The Rally was much like last time on the sea front near the marina, open to the public, but this time bike parking on the front was chargeable.  The charge (€20/day) seemed to be a discouragement and many parked outside the main area, giving the impression of lower attendance although I don’t think that can have been the case.  The weather wasn’t the kindest, raining on parade day so numbers were much lower than last time as most chose to watch, as we did, rather than ride!  However, being within walking distance meant we could enjoy the restaurants, bars and music more extensively than last time when we stayed in Sukosan along the coast from Biograd.  Other members of our Chapter had ridden down separately and other Chapters were seen from from as far away as Ireland, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Jordan, Portugal and all others in between.  There were also groups from Balkan motorcycle clubs that are not HOG affiliated.

Main entrance

Vintage WWII military Harley complete with Tommy Gun!

Saw him at the last Rally here!

Azerbaijan grouping

Waiting for my lasagne!

Sunset from the Rally site

Why not indeed!

Wet road runner!

Some cold high winds on our departure made riding somewhat ‘lively’ on the exposed and high road above Zadar but, once we had cleared the coast and got to the other side of the mountains, it settled down as we headed inland.  Once again, we transited Slovenia without stopping, using a minor road trip to miss out the dogleg via Zagreb, which benefited us as the border crossing was quick with both posts side-by-side in the middle of a town.  Thereafter, we rounded Ljubljana to return to hills en route to Austria, stopping near Faaker am See, very scenic and the location of a large rally every September.  Our hotel was themed with Hollywood stars and we stayed in the Sophie Loren room, enjoying magnificent food al fresco with a sunset over the lake.

A 'cooler' by the lake!

Sophie Loren room

In Sophie's room

Shortly after leaving Faaker am See, we crossed into Germany to enjoy some fantastic scenery as we approached our next stop in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  The tree-clad mountains rose steeply from near the road and many had snow caps on their rugged rock peaks.  We had enough time to enjoy a wander around the town and soak up some of the scenery.

Lunch stop en route

Our hotel

The scenery continued the next day, with a brief return to Austria, before our longest day of riding took us along the northern shores of Bodensee, a huge lake with lots of boating activity, then onward via Freiburg over the Rhine and back into France to Saint Die, via some forested hills not far from Munster.

A long day of mostly motorway riding got us close to the Tunnel for our final stop at Wisques, in a hotel we have used before for a relaxed dinner.  The final leg home saw some typical congestion for miles on the M25, which was tiring and very frustrating, but we were home early afternoon to get set for the next trip a week later!