Day 7 - Prague to Brno

After a day of rest, everybody was eager to get back on the bikes! The day of ahead of us would take us through the Czech countryside - what a change from Prague, the buzzling capitol. Small villages are connected by twisty roads, the rolling hills followed us all the way and when we arrived at our lunch stop in Telc, even the sun came out. Just at the right time, because this town is definitely worth a few pictures. The UNESCO put it on their World Heritage List for a reason:

Denny, Sandy and Bill watching the local performers

Harleys in Telc!

After lunch we had to decide between visiting a Basilica or visiting the local Harley Dealer... Guess who won?

Harley-Davidson Brno

Brno is a fascinating city, the second largest in Czech Republic and as there are no less than 6 universities, there is also a lot of nightlife going on!

DAY 6 - REST DAY PRAGUE

The rest day in Prague was used by some to have a nice , long sleep in, others to do some shopping and tourguides Marko and Ted , together with Andrew and Martin went off in the morning for some sightseeing. The weather was better than predicted so we had the change to see some of the most famous highlights in town  like the Prague castle, the Karlsbridge and the old town squares and streets with the beautiful historic places everywhere

Karlsbridge over river Moldau

Andrew, tourguide Marko and Martin

DAY 5 - REGENSBURG TO PRAGUE

Today the temperature was perfect for a nice riding day towards the direction of the Czech Republic. Some roads on the route were blocked due to road construction , but that gave us the opportunity to ride along other very nice routes.

The morning coffee break was in the village of Zwiesel where the famous glass- and chrystal factory is. In front of the factory is the biggest glass pyramid of glasses , containing more than 93.000 glasses.

According to Sheryl, Vicky and Sandy the glasses were good for one weekend of wine drinking (joke!)

After this nice break and a short look into the factory's shop we went through the ski area of Gross Arber. Here we had a nice lunch at a beautiful lake. Coming out of that area we were right at the border with Czech Republic.

After a challenging ride into the rush hour of Prague, we arrived safely at our very nice hotel right down in the middle of the city center. After a refreshing shower everybody showed up for a nice diner and to celebrate the birthday of Stephen. For this occasion the hotel had provided a nice cake and the ladies for the decoration of the cake! Happy birthday Steve!

Day 4 - Salzburg to Regensburg

Salzburg was definitely worth the extra day that we spent here - but there is so much more to see in the Habsburg Empire! We left Mozart's town and headed north. Our first stop was the KTM factory in Mattighofen, but for our Harley group, this was not the big attraction.

Passau was a lot more stunning. Here the three rivers - the blue Danube, the green Inn and the black Ilz connect! And even though some of the tour members claim that there were only two rivers, it was still a beautiful stop!

The group at the junction of the THREE rivers!

Bill and the little mermaid from Passau

Just above Passau we found a great restaurant for lunch - but I have to admit, once again we did not see the third river. But we saw a lot of great, local, German food - yes we were in Germany now, we had just crossed the border!

Lunchtime!

After the meal we started to explore Germany's southeastern region, the Bavarian Forest. Winding roads lead us further north towards our destination for tonight, Regensburg. We stopped one more time for the mandatory ice-cream sampling - and we were barely able to stop Nick from switching his means of transportation:

Nick is torn between hog and dog!

DAY 3 - REST DAY SALZBURG

After arriving last night in our hotel in Salzburg and a short walk and city tour we walked our way to the oldest restaurant in Europe  for our diner.

This morning , after the early risers had their breakfast at the roof terrace  (with an awesome panoramic view over Salzburg), some took off for a visit at the former summer residence of Hitler , called the Eagle's nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Others used the morning for a nice sleep in and some took off for a morning city walk to visit some highlights in downtown Salzburg.

And of course a short visit at the Harley-Davidson dealer for some couldn't be forgotten!

At the entrance of the tunnel into the mountain to the elevator who brings you up to the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest)

Into the tunnel.....

A nice coffee break and this time only a pastry for Steve..!

Sheryl and Sandy looking at the histor

House of Birth of Mozart in Salzburg

Huge castle on top of city of Salzburg (Feasting Hohensalzburg)

After the coffee break we followed our way to Hallstatt, a beautiful old village at the Lake of Hallstatt. Parking our Harley's in a tunnel (where on earth can you do that??) we took the steps in to the enchanting village centre. Strolling around we were blown away by the fantastic views! After a visit at the cemetery and the small bone house, we took our steps up again to the parking place in the tunnel. After this exercise everybody was hungry and so we took off to a nice restaurant in Gosau.

Hallstatt village centre

Martin, Bill, Kate, Nick, Sandy, Andrew,Steve , Sheryl, Vicky and Denny at the banks of Hallstatt lake

On our way to Salzburg everybody very much enjoyed the great riding weather! On the morning coffee stop in Ironing we were lucky that the local church service just ended, so that the group could enjoy the beautiful dresses of the ladies and the Lederhosen of the men. And of course there was the excellent choice of the pastries which most of us tried out!

We slept like knights in the beautiful castle Gabelhofen, where we had arrived last night. But you could see and feel that everybody was eager to go riding again (probably just like the knights in the Middle Ages) - at 7:30 in the morning some were already up and loading the bikes (the planned departure was 9:00!).

The beautiful background of the castle gave us a great opportunity for a few fotos:

The first group foto including the tour guides Street Glide!

Andrew and his new bike (maybe )

Kate and Nick - looking good on that Harley!

Vicky, Dennis and Martin - ready to rumble!

Royal!

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We are on our way! Under blue skies and with pleasant temperatures we started out in Vienna this morning. Fortunately it was Saturday morning, so the traffic

out of Austria's largest city was very light and we made to the countryside in no time.

Tour start!

After the mandatory stop at Harley-Davidson Vienna we continued into the mountains south of Vienna. We found lots of incredibly twisty roads, but of course there was also time for sight-seeing. The Basilica in Mariazell was definitely worth the stop!

Sheryl and Stephen in Mariazell

Allright - we did some twisty roads, we did some sight-seeing...now we deserve some food:

Sheryl, Bill, Sandy, Dennis and Vicky enjoying the local food

The main course was trout - straight from the lake:

Erlaufsee

Just before we arrived at our pretty spectacular hotel tonight, we had to do one final stop: the Red Bull Ring. This week it was still kind of empty, next week it will look a little different: it is the Formula 1 weekend and the Austrian GP will take place right here!

Red Bull Ring

Eventually we arrived at our hotel near Fohnsdorf - well, maybe hotel is not quite the right word for the castle that we are staying in...

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Just one more day and the first official Edelweiss Harley Davison Tour of the 2015 program will be on its way! The sun is shining in Vienna, the chrome on our seven bikes is reflecting the rays into the blue sky - now we just have to wait for our guests to arrive.

Tomorrow evening is the official tour start, where 10 Harley Riders from all over the world (i.e. USA, Canada and the UK) will meet to explore the beautiful region that used to be part of the Habsburg Empire. Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic  - all have one thing in common: excellent motorcycle roads that seem to be made for motorcycles!

Follow us on this trip and watch the daily updates with lots of fotos and information!