German Treffen

Our schedule worked out so that we were able to make the German Treffen.  On the way there we stopped in the Champagne valley to sample some wine.  We found the Moet & Chandon (makers of Dom Perignon) to be above our budget and the others were closed.

So we tasted whisky instead at the Guillon distillery.  It was good and we bought a bottle for our friends in Holland (the ones who loaned us the trailer).

Then the Treffen, this is the camping area.  A pleasant grassy field without one single flat spot big enough to put a tent!  We all spent the nights sliding off our sleeping pads.

There were the usual Treffen events including a light parade,

A 100 km. run to Wurzburg, an ancient city with a castle on the hill, where the priest blessed the bikes.  (That is our bike in the foreground that is receiving the holy water sprinkle from the priest on the trike.  I hope this means no more disasters in our life!!!)

There was a drill team, the Golden Nuggets, that put on a nice performance.

And a stunt man who did wheelies and stoppies, but not on a GoldWing.  He ended the show early when he over revved the engine and blew a hole in it.  He left a puddle of coolant on the ground and then turned the bike off and took some bows, just like he had planned it that way.

Then the Awards Ceremony where our club (GoldWing Clube de Portugal) took 14th place, out of 19.  An award is given to each country based on a point system.  A country gets a point for each kilometer ridden by each bike attending the Treffen.  We were the only "Portuguese" there but because of the distance to Portugal we had more points than closer countries with only one or two bikes there.

We left on Sunday and went to Frankfurt.  We had to go to the ADAC (automobile club of Germany) to renew our insurance.  Then on to Holland to drop off our souvenirs at our friend's Dirk & Hetty's house.  We will have to return to there before we leave Europe to return their trailer so it makes a good dumping place for our extra stuff.

Now on north to Scandinavia.