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!

Dam Busters Tour

17 of us, from Rolling Hills Chapter Cheltenham, mustered on 11 Harleys at Folkstone's Eurotunnel terminal to cross over for a tour of the Dams, 71 years after they were bombed by 617 Squadron of the RAF in May 1943.  Our stopovers on the way out and back were in Bruges and the weather forecast didn't indicate it was going to be dry!

Our base was the Seegarten Hotel near the Sorpe Dam, for 3 nights.  The Sorpe was one of three dams bombed with the famous bouncing bomb, the Upkeep, designed by Barnes Wallis, and it was hit once but not breached.  BW reckoned it would take six such bombs to breach it as it is of earth construction and not concrete.

First of all, we left the Sorpe for the Möhne Dam, a concrete construction that was breached.  I was impressed by the marker for the water level at 211m and recalled reading that the timing of the raid was when the dams were expected to be full.  As it is now:

After the bombing, from archive:

It was the Möhne Dam's 100th anniversary (1914-2014).

Our group at the Möhne

The skills required were awesome, flying 60' above the water, in the dark, to release the bouncing bomb at just the right distance so it skipped over the torpedo nets and dropped in the front of the dam. The technical aids were crude - two spotlights converging on the water to indicate that the height was right, and a wooden 'Y' frame with 3 nails was used to sight the distance was right from the two towers on the dams.  No GPS or laser guiding in those days, and they flew at tree-top height to get there and back below enemy radar and flak!

Many runs were made before conditions were right, exposing the aircraft to sustained attack by flak. Barnes Wallis' calculations were spot on, that a (relatively) small bomb and one that could be carried on a Lancaster, could breach such a strong structure if detonated at depth using the water and pressure to concentrate the explosion.  The Lancasters must have been below the top of the tower behind us in the lower photo, not forgetting that it was in the dark!

The bouncing bomb had only been successfully tested for the first time days before the raids took place, and the crews had been trained in a matter of weeks, not knowing until the last minute what they were going to be asked to do.  They really must have been quite remarkable people and only a few survive today.

Next, it was on to a biker cafe for coffee and Bratwurst:

a very friendly place it was too!

before heading for the Eder Dam, the other one to have been breached.  We were only able to view this dam from the lake side:

After the breach, 17.5.43:

Close by, there is a Dam Busters' museum, with an Upkeep outside:

The metal bit is it!

It had a model of the Eder Dam with a cut-out of the section that was breached, plus many other pictures and artefacts to see.

1,300 were reported to have died as a result of the two breaches and the Ruhr Valley weapons production impacted because of the destruction of the hydro-electric generation at the dams.  However, the Germans quickly mobilised thousands of labourers and they were rebuilt within a matter of months.  At the time, there was much criticism in UK that they should have been attacked again, or at least the rebuilding impeded.  However, analysis since then has shown that large parts of the Atlantic Wall were not completed because of this diversion of labour at a critical turning point of WWII, and that in turn helped the D-Day landings when they took place.  There was also a major morale impact that helped fuel the anticipation of defeat in Germany.

The cost of aircraft, 8 lost out of 19, and lives to the RAF was significant. The pilots and crew were led by the famous Wing Commander Guy Gibson, only 24 at the time and declared unfit to fly by his doctor, due to exhaustion, on the day the planes took off for the raids!

One notable hero was Flt Lt John Hopgood, who flew his badly flak-damaged Lancaster until the last, allowing two of his crew to bale out for two of the lowest parachute landings from 200' recorded in the war.  He and the four other fatalities are buried at Rheinberg Cemetery, which we visited on the return leg to Bruges:

We did visit a couple of other dams on our two days of touring, neither of which were attacked:

Diemelsee

Biggesee

We also managed to find another biker cafe in the hills near Versetalsperre Lake.  The group had become split into two in the urban traffic leaving the Ruhr Valley but managed to arrive at this remote oasis from different directions within a few minutes of each other nearly an hour later!

In all, we covered 1,500 miles, over 300 of which was spent touring the dams and lakes area over two days.  When not in the saddle, nourishment and liquid refreshments were partaken in the tradition of such trips and the group was able to make light of some of the awful weather thrown at us.

In fact, the weather wasn't as bad as forecast for the two days around the dams and lakes, staying mostly dry if rather dull, but it made up for it otherwise!  Worst was the leg from Sorpe back to Bruges via the cemetery and a spontaneous detour to a Harley dealership in Hamminkeln.  (I resisted buying another T-shirt, to my surprise).  Pleasant as the stop was, it made the riding day long in the high winds and driving rain and into one that was endured and survived rather than enjoyed. Fortunately, the rain didn't materialise for the last leg home but the wind remained strong, blowing us around the motorway lanes.  But, as roughty-toughty bikers, you have to take what is thrown at you!

We had some good laughs, we saw some mighty dams and lakes behind them, and the Ultra is now serviced and ready to be cleaned and prepped for the next foray, to Croatia.

Asia 2014 - Hong Kong

45 years after coming to Hong Kong for the first time, I still think its motto should be that of Niki - "Just do it"!  Governance has changed since '97,  but it has and hasn't changed.  

Always, there is the unrelenting rise of new buildings swaddled in bamboo rising to the sky, the rate of construction having increased to one floor/week to two or three, and the construction of tunnels.  Just after I left Asia in late '71, the new Cross Harbour Tunnel was opened.  An eastern one was opened some years later and I watched the 3rd western tunnel sections being tugged into place from my office in '96.   2 years ago, work started in front of my hotel on part of a 4km bypass under existing land reclamation and a typhoon shelter, from Central to North Point, all to ease traffic flow across the northern part of the island.  That huge hole is one of several along the northern shores of the island.  It seems that capacity is built to meet demand, rather than lagging behind it by a generation or more like UK, which seems to spend its time in deliberation and pubic enquiry.  The Brits did it here, but it doesn't seem that they can do so at home, and this 'do it' capability seems the same since Handover.  Change on the surface continued with a new airport in '98, built in the sea involving 97% of the World's dredging fleet, with all the attendant infrastructure of highways, tunnels and bridges, including a new huge suspension bridge coming on stream simultaneously to serve it.  Hong Kong - "Just done it"!

Also, the businessmen are getting it done and the guys with their unchanged metal trollies of goods are still scurrying along the roads and pavements moving stuff to where it needs to be. The shops that open at 10am are still open and busy 12 hours later.  Everyone seems to be going about the day with a purpose and at pace.  The Noon Day Gun has remained to signal that traditions are intact and important, booming just below my hotel window on the dot of midday, the statue of Victoria and other relics of the past remain, including the trams and the Star Ferry.  But, a few building names such as Prince of Wales have not unreasonably changed, now being occupied by the People's Liberation Army! 

I spent 2 days at the 10s at HKFC.  Exciting stuff of the highest levels and involving many big international names. I had only previously seen a very much club level tournament in Manila in '00.  It was a big step change.

The 3 days at the Sevens were great.  Starting at 2p because of the increased (28 team) format, so the first was a long and late one.  Sat poured en route to the stadium and again during Scotland's match heavily, but it stayed away for the rest of the day and the rugby was good.  

South Stand - full and thirsty!

Night came at 11am on Sat!

And the rain followed, but was short-lived!

Seven Cathay Pacific stewardesses catching the camera

On Sun, the rain stayed away until the very end and the rugby over all 3 days was great with NZ (boringly?) winning again.  They are so disciplined and methodical.  Fiji looked sharp all the way to the semi to be beaten by Eng who had looked indifferent up until then.  But, they beat Aus in the playoff to be runners up while Eng were quite easily beaten by NZ in the Cup final.The rain finally came, in torrents, just starting as the fireworks did and turning to a deluge within seconds. It was a black rain warning and there were golf ball sized hailstones in some places.

But, did I think it was worth that finale of getting soaked, oh yes!

Asia 2014 - Ayuthaya

Off we went by coach some 65km north of Bangkok, to Ayuthaya,  Thailand's second capital from 1350 to 1767.  It was first to Bang Pa-In Palace, a very grand place that has hosted Kings and Queens up until quite recently, a Summer Palace with a number of different architectures in its buildings.  They include a Chinese Temple, a Chinese pagoda in a lake, a band stand, a Russian style building and a very smart European styled pavilion, which was where the visiting royalty stayed.  We heard quite a lot about the various Kings, particularly King Rama IV, of the 'King and I' film fame, catapulted to the throne from being a strict monk.

Next stop was a dilapidated remains of Wat Maha That.  It was rather in the Angkor style, made of hand made bricks and took 5,000 labourers some 40 years to build.  Flooding has been the main cause of subsidence and collapse, but it was still impressive after 650 years!  

Then it was Wat Na Phra Meru, with two main shrines of worship,and last was Thailand's 3rd longest/tallest reclining Bhuda, but it was rather sad, being made of cement, mouldy because it was in the open.  Bangkok has the 2nd, which is gold painted and inside.

 The Reclining Buddha

Gold Leaf attached to a shrine in front of the Reclining Buddha

There was a very fine Thai buffet on the boat on the way back down the Chao Prahya, River of Kings and some notable landmarks were seen, including the notorious Bangkok Hilton prison.

Department of Corrections

The infamous Bangkok Hilton prison