T-Motoriders
T-Motoriders
η πιό ταξιδιάρικη παρέα
σας περιμένει!
North Italy
It was something about Karlovy Vary’s climate and a few hours of rest, maybe the miraculous pill the pharmacist down town gave us, the rest of the day we were feeling pretty relaxed and strong. So at about 7 and a half we set off for Passo Stelvio.
The weather was our ally for once again. There wasn't a strong sun to be overwhelmed by heat nor heavy clouds to be needing our raincoats.
The trip to Germany was a pure bliss. The well made road, with the greenest and tallest trees. The fields were alternating nuances of brown and green with a stroke of gold from the collected barley and the strict white of the wind turbines or even some fields’ light purple, making you think it was lavender.
We took the highway and followed the signs to Monaco.
As time passed traffic was getting worse especially on the opposite direction. Lots of different sized trucks, family cars loaded with bicycles, others with their caravans that were out to enjoy the beautiful sun and many trailers with bikes of big capacity .
Due to street works there was really heavy traffic and our riding was very cautious. We found it difficult to track a gas station for refueling. There were lots of green rest areas with wooden benches but not many gas stations and since we did not want to risk an empty tank we got off the highway somewhere near Regenstauf, to find an open gas station.
We rested and we headed for the Alps. As we were driving along, the mountains seemed bigger and bigger. We stopped just before Austria to refuel and gain strength . There were many bikes of different models going up and down the mountains which stopped at the same spot .
What was impressive, though especially to the women of our group, was that there were lots of female riders. In each biker’s group there was at least one. There we got a pass for the Austrian highways. The cost for a few days was 4euros.
We grabbed a snack, had some energy drinks and off we went again. After Kufstein parallel to our route there was Inn River that gave another meaning to our journey. Inn River goes through Switzerland, Austria and Germany, being Danube’s affluent river, it’s length is 517km. We exited the Autobahn and we started going up the mountain.
We entered 3-4 tunnels which were pretty long, the longest 12km. To our amazement in the tunnels there was signal for both cell phones and navigators.In Greece in a 500m tunnel such signals are lost.
Clouds were threatening us, so we decided not to go up Stelvio but to get some rest in a nearby restaurant as a reward for our riding day. The restaurant’s interior reminded Vienna’s restaurants. The view of the snow-covered mountain at 1350m was amazing. The gourmet food was beyond our expectations and we really enjoyed it. Satisfied from our choice of food and dessert we returned to our hotel where we slept right away.
Late in the afternoon we reached our destination which was Trafoi. A village in the autonomous city of Stelvio , in Bolzano. The resort is in Alta Val Venosta, at an altitude of 1570m along the road from Pratto to Stelvio.
The next morning we went around Trafoi. We went down the river just to see the raging and very cold water. We walked parallel to the river admiring nature’s beauty, filling our lungs with that pure and clear air. Great experience.
We returned to load our bikes.
Having eaten something light and being heavily loaded we started climbing towards the place that many call the Mekka of motorcyclists. Turning and going up that is all we did constantly, the green trees that accompanied us on our road up at the beginning were replaced by the snowy mountains. the sun was our ally and we did not feel at all the freezing cold even though we could even touch the snow.
At an altitude of 2760m we experienced something totally different. Bikers from all over filled the turns of Stelvio and the white snow on top of the mountain gave us the impression as it being January.
We ended up in a cafe near the cable car. The turns of Stelvio were just in front of us. Using our cameras we were trying to capture the exquisite beauty from every possible angle .
We could not stop smiling . We felt liberated, unique , in a bliss. We left our footprints on the snow with the hope that it would stay there until the snow melted. At the cafe, the lady of our group asked for a hot chocolate and the guys for something more cooler.
We took a lot of photos, bought some souvenirs and we set for Padova.
On our way the number of cyclists and motorcyclists grew bigger and bigger.
We passed a lot of great places but the weather was not so good again with thunders warning us for what was about to happen.
We entered Autostrada , paying a ticket which we would keep until the exit .
The route was through a plain of many kilometers that led us to a huge canyon. The strong wind blowing got our trip dangerous so we decided to stop to rest until the weather would calm down.
What was impressing at the Rest Area, were the lollipops, chocolate bars, pasta which were huge. How come ?
Rain replaced the god of wind , Aeolos and kept us company up to Padova. Exiting the autostrada, we payed 16,50euros for the kilometers we had travelled.
When we got to the hotel , we parked the bikes, settled in and with the map in hand we went out in search of food.
The hotel, this time, was in the center of the city which was a good thing, so as not to wander around a lot in order to visit the sights and to find goodies to eat.
In the central square we found a traditional Ristorante Pizzeria. A beautiful Italian waitress served us, that did not speak English well gave us the menu. We gave our orders , paying extra attention to the spicy food , since this was Panos favorite . The pizza was full with pepperoncino (chilly) and big eyes, swollen lips and steam out of ears was the proof that it was a really hot pizza!!! The cool beer was n’t enough to cool us down so water bottles kept coming back and forth. We also had an Italian dessert and we ended up having an espresso satisfying Pano’s taste .
Next day was pretty cooler due to the previous night’s rain which made our visit to Padova’s sights delightful.
Padova is one of the biggest and most beautiful cities of northern Italy belonging to the area called Veneto. It is a magical city with 200,000 people and combines perfectly the medieval history with the modern city rhythms , for the most experienced ones it is the city of numbers. It is the 14th biggest city with the 2nd biggest Piazza in Europe, the 7th of the oldest Universities in continuous operation. The numbers however don't mean anything compared to what one sees walking down the Piazza dei Signori in Prato della Vale and the cathedral of San Antonio. You can get lost in the pedestrian streets where the medieval character remains unaltered and the picturesque squares appearing one after the other.
First stop Piazza Cavour and Piazza delle Erbe, the vegetables' market where for centuries the students meet for Sprits, the city’s apperitif. Sprits is traditionally drunk in the area of Veneto but also in Lombardy while its recipe varies. Usually it is a refreshing cocktail made from Prosecco wine, a small dose of Gin, sparkling water and a liquor for instance Aperol or Campari. It is a very strong habit and seems like it has passed in the city’s DNA. We went down Piazza dei Signori, where there the Torre dell’Orologio, the Watch’s Tower is. This Tower was built in 1428, one of the first astronomic mechanisms in Italy which shows the relative movement of the zodiac signs. A few meters away, there is Prato della Valle, the city’s symbol which up until 1785 was a swamp. It is now the second biggest European Square after La Place Des Quinconces in Bordeaux. Its 90000 square meters includes a small island , L’Isola Memmi, which took its name from Andrea Memmo who had the inspiration of the Square. Round the Square there are 78 statues of known Italian scientists and artists.
We easily found Sant’ Antonio’s Church that filled us with awe and admiration. This is a huge catholic church with embossed statues and religious stories, small chapels as well as the tomb of Sant’ Antonio. In Italy, the Basilica of Sant’Antonio, built in 1301, is called the small Vatican. Sant’Antonio, was born in Portugal, lived mostly of his life in Padova, where he died. Although his body is not indestructible ,his tongue is and it is being kept in a special glass vault along with his vocal cords and a part of his jaw. Ironically in 1991 a bizzard incident happened. Three masked men entered the place and took the Saint’s tongue. A true panic followed while the ransom that was asked was huge. In the end with the help of people from the organized crime the tongue was found and returned to the Church. Τhere was a church service at the time, which was soothing to our souls at that point. The catholic chants, sometimes, have this soothing power to many people in compared to those of the orthodox Church maybe.
Αfter wandering around the central square with the numerous statues, we sat in a small cafe to have a taste of the famous student’s drink of the city. It was something different but not particularly special.
The walk made us hungry again and this time our choice was pasta. Three different kinds of it, (one of them spicy), instead of a salad (which we usually eat in Greece) , we had a pizza and three red beers .
This wonderful day ended up with taking photos of the sunset inbetween the buildings and the statues, while tasting Italian ice-cream ( gelato) in different flavours. The road to the hotel seemed endless. We realized now that this wonderful trip was coming to an end.
We arrived at the hotel with a few drops of a summer rain.
The journey was almost over.
We took the road for Venice, where our ship would be. Unfortunately the strong storm that broke out , was raging until we embarked on the ship, thus it did not let us visit Venice.
We entered the waiting area of Fusina Terminal until they let us embark. There we met Kostas ,another biker with plenty of journey experience and after embarking we played cards so that the 36hour trip back to Greece became a bit more pleasant.
We entered the waiting area of Fusina Terminal until they let us embark. There we met Kostas ,another biker with plenty of journey experience and after embarking we played cards so that the 36hour trip back to Greece became a bit more pleasant.
At dawn when we reached Patras, Kostas and Anna , members of Motoriders who live in the city welcomed with a beautiful breakfast and coffee.
The return home, with strong sun and unbearable heat, filled us with joy and satisfaction .
Now in our minds are new plans and ideas for the next trip abroad.
Until then…
Wishing the best for all and looking forward to next year’s trip.
Written by Bill Economou & Sotiria Bantouvaki
Translated by Krysta Kalachani
