The Baltics and Beyond

August 25th - October 2nd, 2024

Our intro to Finland was a wet and cold one. After packing up our collapsed tent near Nordkapp, we rode an hour south to the first major town where we could get some coffee and breakfast. Feeling slightly rejuvenated from the caffeine, we continued south toward the border of Finland. We rode through the biting cold and non-stop rain for the next four hours until we reached our homestay near the village of Palojoensuu, Finland. The owners were incredibly welcoming, even as we dripped water all over their house carrying our luggage up to our room. They pulled out a heater and some drying racks and let us take over their kitchen seating area to dry our wet gear.

We slept in the following morning and woke up feeling rested. After thanking our hosts, we continued south through the straight forest roads that make up much of Finland. The roads were lined with tall evergreens and we frequently passed (and dodged) herds of reindeer, a common occurrence in Lapland.

We crossed into Sweden for a few hours and continued through more straight stretches of forest. Similar to the previous day, we made good use of our helmet intercoms and listened to books and podcasts to pass the time. We stopped for lunch at Frasses, a popular Swedish fast-food restaurant, before officially crossing out of the Arctic Circle. Since we had been on a ferry when we crossed into the Arctic Circle on our way north, we stopped to take some photos with the sign and our bikes.

After crossing back into Finland and riding for many more kilometers, we stopped for the night in the city of Oulu.

The next morning we rode another 600 kilometers of highway to Helsinki, the capital of Finland. After so much time in remote areas, it felt novel to be in a bustling city again. We found a hotel just north of the city and settled in for the night.

After so many days of sitting on the bikes, I was anxious to do some movement and get a workout in. The following morning I found a nearby gym on Google Maps and walked over to it. One thing I should mention is that many gyms in Europe have automated entry systems and very little (if any) staff that can assist with day passes. Until now, I had figured out ways to get a day pass online. This particular gym, however, did not make that easy. Long story short(er), after 20 minutes and a few failed attempts to ask someone else to let me in through a double-locked door security checkpoint using Google Translate, I finally looked sad enough for someone inside the gym to take pity on me and open the doors. The amount of checkpoints was more than I have ever seen as even the bathroom door inside the gym required a membership scan from the app, but I was determined to get a workout in and workout I did! Let’s just hope no one checked the security camera footage from that period of time.

While I was undergoing my gym secret mission, Brian took the train into town and then a ferry to the Suomenlinna Fortress Island, a maritime fortress built in 1748. While on the island, he visited a military museum and went inside an old Finnish U-boat.

After my workout, I took the train downtown and got lunch in the city center. Then Brian and I met back up and visited Senate Square, Market Square, Old Market Hall, and the nearby cathedrals. We also walked by the unique waterfront ferris wheel complete with a private sauna as one of the cabins. Saunas are a big part of Finnish culture and there are over 3 million of them in Finland, which works out to about one sauna for every two people! As intriguing as this sauna was, we decided there were better ways to spend $250.

Tired and hungry from so much walking, we found a traditional Finnish restaurant for dinner and had some delicious reindeer and meatballs.

The following morning we rode to the nearby port to catch a ferry to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The seas were thankfully calm, and the 2.5 hours went by quickly.

We were shocked by the drastic change in temperature as we rode to our hotel just outside of the old town and began sweating for the first time in weeks. It was a welcome change. After unloading the bikes, we walked the charming colorful streets and got a beer in the main square.

Anti-Russian messaging hung outside the Russian Embassy in town

Tallinn is a well-preserved medieval city that was founded in the 13th century. Over the centuries, Tallinn (and all of Estonia) came under the rule of various powers including Denmark, Sweden, and Russia due to its strategic importance on the Baltic Sea. In fact, for most of its history (all but 56 years) Estonia has been under foreign rule. During the 20th century, Estonia experienced tumultuous times, including Soviet and Nazi occupations during World War II. After the war, Estonia was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. Over the following decades, Soviet policies suppressed national identity and culture while fostering Russification.

While behind the Iron Curtain, Estonians kept their cultural traditions alive through their rich music heritage and regular song festivals. This connection to music played a large role in Estonia finally regaining its independence in 1991 as singing throughout all three of the Baltic countries became a large part of a peaceful protest for independence from Russia called the Singing Revolution. As part of this Singing Revolution, on August 23rd, 1989, approximately 2 million people joined hands to form a continuous human chain spanning 675 kilometers (420 miles) across the three Baltic nations, from Tallinn Estonia all the way to Vilnius, Lithuania. The Baltic Chain, as it was later called, accelerated the independence movements across the Baltic nations, and it serves as a testament to the power of culture and nonviolent resistance in achieving political change.

We learned all about the history of Tallinn and Estonia on our free walking tour the next day. Our guide was wonderful and along with Estonia’s history, she wove in many interesting facts and stories, like how her grandmother was sent to Siberia for being a family member of someone who fought against the Russians for independence. Two other interesting facts that she told us are that Estonia is often called “the Silicon Valley of Europe” as it has one of the highest numbers of startups per capita in Europe. She jokingly noted that you are not really Estonian unless you’ve had a startup. With a memorable punchline, she also told us that the Estonian language has no he/she pronouns and no future tense…in other words, no sex and no future.

After the tour, we visited a couple museums, starting with the the former KGB Prison Cells Museum. It was chilling to walk through the former prison cells and read about some of the stories of people who were held and tortured there.

Next, we learned all about Tallinn’s military history at The Kiek in de Kök Museum which featured a well-preserved medieval artillery tower with panoramic views of the city and exhibits on historical weaponry and sieges. The adjacent Bastion Tunnels provided a glimpse into Tallinn's hidden underground, used for defense, shelter, and secretive operations over the centuries.

We saw a lot in our short time in Tallinn, and I found it fascinating to learn about Estonia’s history and culture as it was a place I knew very little about prior to this trip. The following morning, however, it was time to head to our next Baltic country: Latvia!

On our way out of Estonia, we stopped in Parnum, a city referred to as “the Miami of Estonia” in our guidebook. The beach was slightly reminiscent of South Beach with some Art Deco-like buildings, but it was rather quiet for a Saturday afternoon. After grabbing lunch in the city, we rode the remainder of the 4.5 hours to Riga, the capital of Latvia.

We arrived at our hotel just outside the city and while we were unpacking the bikes we met a local man who, after learning where we were from, insisted on giving us two of his beers to welcome us to Latvia! We had a relaxing evening and made friends with the hotel’s cat (whom I named Crouton and whom I was very tempted to bring home with me).

The next morning we took a tram across the Daugava River and into downtown Riga. Similar to Estonia, Latvia has been occupied for most of its existence and only achieved independence in 1991. We learned all about the nuanced complexities of the country’s history on our free walking tour that morning. Our guide was a historian with a funny and country-deprecating humor. To avoid turning this post into a full-on history lesson, however, I will spare you most of the facts we learned. I will mention that Riga has one of the largest collections of Art Nouveau buildings in the world, and we admired the architecture as we walked around the city.

After the walking tour, we grabbed lunch at LIDO, a traditional Latvian restaurant that allowed us to sample many different dishes: Biezpiens (cottage cheese) crepes, Aukstā Zupa (a pink soup made with beets), and Ķiploku grauzdiņi (garlic rye bread), to name a few. Beets are a staple food throughout the Baltics, and I am pretty sure I ate more beets during our week in the Baltics than I have in my entire life.

After lunch, we walked to Riga Central Market and sampled Kvass, a sweet fermented rye drink that is popular in Latvia. The flavor was unique, but we likened it to a flat cherry cola.

Next, we visited the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. The museum offered a sobering account of the atrocities, deportations, and resistance movements during both the Soviet and Nazi occupations.

After the museum, we stopped by the Riga Cathedral to hear a short concert from what was once the largest pipe organ in the world. The acoustics in the cathedral were impressive, but if I am being honest the 20-minute concert made me feel like I was back in Catholic school and I was relieved when it was over.

Just outside the cathedral, we found a bar playing the Formula 1 race and enjoyed a drink as we watched the last 20 laps.

We walked around the city a bit more, stopping to see the Freedom Monument, before ending the night at an outdoor bar to sample Riga Black Balsam, an herbal liqueur considered the national drink of Latvia. We couldn’t leave Latvia without trying it, but given its bitter and black licorice-like flavor, we were happy we split one.

A reference to the Baltic Way chain that I mentioned earlier and that was part of the Singing Revolution

We really enjoyed the culture, the food, and the people of Riga, but the next day it was time to continue south to Lithuania. On our way to the capital city of Vilnius, we stopped for lunch at a tiny roadside cafeteria. Compared to Scandinavia, the Baltics had been considerably more affordable, but we were still impressed when we got two full plates of food and a soup for 9 euros!

We arrived at our hotel in Vilnius, unpacked the bikes, and then walked through the city to find a spot for dinner.

Before this trip, Brian and I had heard of Vilnius through a creative and controversial marketing campaign from 2018 that referred to Vilnius as "the G-spot of Europe.”

Aside from this intriguing campaign, we knew very little about the Baltic nation. Thus, the following morning we joined a free walking tour of the city (can you tell we like free walking tours?). We learned that before World War II, Vilnius had a thriving Jewish community and was a major center of Jewish culture, earning it the nickname “Jerusalem of the North.” Tragically, this once-thriving Jewish population (30-40% of Vilnius residents) was almost completely annihilated by the atrocities of the Nazi Germans during the war, and today Jewish people account for only 0.1% of the population. On a more uplifting note, we learned that Vilnius is one of Europe’s greenest capitals with 46% of the city covered by forests, parks, and green spaces. It is also home to a quirky neighborhood called the Republic of Užupis, a self-declared independent "republic" of artists. Užupis has its own constitution, flag, and president, and celebrates its “independence” on April 1st every year.

We also learned from our guide that Catholicism is the primary religion in Lithuania, but basketball is a close second.

Like the other Baltic countries, Lithuania has been occupied for much of its existence and has a complex history. During World War II, about 30% of Vilnius was destroyed. Throughout the post-war Soviet occupation, much of the city was rebuilt in traditional Soviet-era architecture. Due to this, Vilnius has been a popular filming destination for shows and movies from that time period including the HBO mini-series Chernobyl.

After learning about the culture, history, and architecture of Lithuania on the walking tour, we had lunch at a popular market and food hall called Hales Turgus. We sampled some Lithuanian foods including Cepelinai, a football-shaped potato dumpling filled with meat.

I was tired and feeling unwell, so I spent the rest of the evening relaxing while Brian visited the Green House Holocaust Museum, the Money Museum of the Bank of Lithuania, and the National Picture Gallery. We rejoined for dinner and reflected on how much we enjoyed Lithuania and its exceedingly friendly people.

The next day we made the 6.5-hour highway journey to Warsaw, Poland. When we were about two hours away, I noticed my bike was clunking/rattling a little so we pulled off the highway. We spent about 30 minutes at a gas station trying to diagnose the problem and determined my chain just needed some maintenance. We were a bit surprised that during this time not a single person in the town stopped to ask if we needed any help, but we did end up meeting a really friendly Lithuanian guy who noticed our license plates as we were preparing to leave. We decided we would properly clean and lubricate the chain once we got to our destination and rode the remaining two hours to our hotel. We were astonished by how built up and modern downtown Warsaw is, and we admired the skyscrapers on our walk to dinner.

The following day we explored the capital city on foot. Warsaw is sometimes referred to as the “Phoenix City” as 80-90% of the city was destroyed during World War II. Warsaw played a central role in resistance efforts during the war, particularly during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. After the uprising, the Nazis systematically destroyed most of the city, including its old town. We learned all about the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 at the Warsaw Rising Museum which explored the events that took place during the 63-day operation that ended with the tragic defeat of the Polish insurgents.

Seeing the photos of Warsaw after the war and learning about the destruction and devastation gave us all the more appreciation for how much work has gone into rebuilding the city to where it is today. We spent the afternoon walking through the meticulously reconstructed old town, visiting the old Jewish Ghetto, and admiring the expansive skyline from the Palace of Culture and Science’s 30th-floor observation deck.

We finished the day off with my all-time favorite Polish food: pierogies!

There was one more place Brian and I felt compelled to visit before leaving Poland - the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps. Over 1.1 million men, women, and children lost their lives there during World War II. We had tried to visit the memorial and museum on our first pass through Poland earlier in the trip, but tickets were sold out. This time we booked in advance, and the following morning we rode the four hours from Warsaw to Oświęcim, the town where the camps were located.

The ride there was very hot and filled with construction delays, but thankfully the friendly woman who owned the hotel we booked offered to drive us to the entrance and save us the 20 minute walk there. We quickly changed out of our riding gear and arrived just in time for our tour.

No words are sufficient to describe the somber and profound experience of walking through the grounds of a place that brought so much death, destruction, and devastation to the lives of so many people. It was surreal and heartbreaking to hear some of the stories, walk through the gas chambers, and see the crematoriums. Our tour took us through Auschwitz-I and the nearby Auschwitz II-Birkenau complexes. Both places serve as an important reminder of the consequences of hatred, prejudice, and totalitarianism.

The next morning we chatted with our lovely hotel owner using Google Translate and thanked her for her hospitality. Then we hit the road for Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

The five hours to Bratislava were mostly straight and boring highway, but we enjoyed some beautiful views of the nearby Carpathian mountains. When we arrived to our hotel just outside of the city, we collapsed from fatigue and rested for a few hours before riding into town for dinner. We walked the charming old town streets as the sun began to set on the city and then enjoyed a nice dinner on an outdoor patio.

The next morning felt like something out of a sitcom. When we had checked into our hotel the previous evening, we got the feeling that the rooms could also be rented for hourly rates. Having stayed in a few budget hotels of the hourly persuasion before, this didn’t bother us as these types of places are cheap and often have the most secure parking facilities. The guy at the front desk mentioned that no one would be at the desk in the morning and we could just leave our keycards on the counter on our way out. What he forgot to mention, however, was that at exactly 10:00 am, our key card that was needed to open our room, the elevator, the secure parking, and the garage door exit would stop working. At 10:01 Brian and I left the room with our first load of luggage for the bikes and soon realized we were trapped. With no way to get back into our room for the rest of our belongings and no way to get the elevator, secure parking, or garage exit to open, we began to scour the floors for someone to help us. A few minutes later, Brian returned with a Ukrainian cleaning lady who had unwittingly been recruited for our escape mission. With the help of Google Translate, we pleaded with her to not leave our side as she held the only working key card. To avoid holding her hostage for too long and making her wait while we loaded up the bikes, we began throwing our bags out the front door and onto the street. Once everything was out of the room, she scanned her card one last time to let our bikes out of the garage. What should have been a 10-minute process ended up taking 45 minutes but gave us a good laugh. We will be forever grateful to Kateryna for helping us with our escape.

With our bikes loaded, we pushed through a three-hour stretch of highway before finally reaching the Austrian Alps. Oh my goodness did it feel good to be on some curvy roads again! We rode up Soboth Pass and the Seeburg Saddle, and I could not stop smiling with delight through every twist and turn. Having been distracted by the good roads and views, around 5:00 pm we realized we should probably find a place to stay for the night. We found a guest house in the small town of Weitendorf and ended up being the only guests. The owner was incredibly friendly and invited us over to his home next door to have some beers and check out his car and motorcycle collection.

We awoke to pouring rain the next morning. The forecast didn’t show any sign of it letting up, so we rode through the heaviest rain of the entire trip for an hour to the Honda dealership in the town of Villach. We picked up some new filters to do oil changes on the bikes and then waited out the rain in the cafe next door. Thankfully, it eventually stopped and the sun came out.

As we continued farther west into the Alps, the roads became even more twisty. At one point, we found ourselves on Passo Carson di Lanza (or the Clown Road as Brian and I came to call it), which was a crumbling, haphazardly paved, super narrow, steep hairpin turn pass in the Italian mountains. It was the most technical asphalt road we had ridden in a while and came with a few hair-raising turns, but it was so much fun. We continued along small mountain roads through the Italian countryside.

Unfortunately, we had forgotten one key fact when traveling through Italy - pretty much every restaurant closes around 2:00 pm and doesn’t re-open until 7:00 pm. We spent about an hour trying to procure some lunch but eventually settled for a bag of chips and a slice of strudel from a bar.

We had two more hours of riding to reach our hotel in the small village of Mareson. The sunlight on the mountains was absolutely stunning and the roads were impeccable. The temperature began to drop, but even with the lunch debacle, it was the best day of riding we’d had in a long time.

We rode through the dusk on car-free mountain roads until we reached a pizza restaurant 10 minutes from our hotel. We devoured our food and then rode the remaining 10 minutes in the dark.

Our late arrival only added to the initial creepiness of our hotel. There were no other vehicles in the parking lot, no staff at the reception, and eerie music playing in the downstairs sitting area. It was giving some serious haunted mansion vibes.

After a good and ghost-free night of sleep, we embarked on what would become the best day of riding of the entire trip. Although it was mid-September, the weather was sunny and perfect. We spent the day riding all of our favorite passes from the previous year, but this time with 50% less cars on the road and almost no campervans! I don’t think there is a better asphalt riding destination in the world than the Italian Dolomites, and this day served to further confirm that notion. For my own memory, the passes we rode were (in order): Forcella, Staulanza, Arabba, Pordoi, Canazei, Sella, Gardena, Campolongo, Valparola, Falzarego, and Giau. Somewhere in there, we stopped for a pasta lunch with a stellar view and stopped for an early dinner at our favorite pizza spot in the beautiful town of Cortina d’Ampezzo. We rode our last and favorite pass of the day (Giau) at dusk and flew the drone to take in the surrounding views. We arrived back at our hotel right at sunset, feeling utterly satisfied.

We recreated one of our favorite photos from last year

We would have happily stayed and ridden the surrounding roads again, but there was snow in the forecast so we made a plan to head south to one of our other favorite spots from the previous year: Riva del Garda. The forecast predicted rain, but we managed to avoid it all day as we wound through the valleys filled with vineyards and surrounded by towering mountains. On our way into Riva, we stopped in Trento and found a shop that could order me a new front tire and install it in two days' time. Once settled into our place in Riva, we walked to the water to take in the beautiful Lake Garda scenery and find a spot for dinner.

The following day, the rain caught up with us so we spent the afternoon running errands, getting my bike an oil change, working out at the local gym, and relaxing.

The next morning Brian rode my bike back to the shop in Trento to get my new tire. He took the long way back through the mountains and met two friendly Polish riders.

I stayed back and worked on some continuing education courses for my PT license which needed to be renewed in a month and also applied for a job at a hospital in Colorado. This was an unwelcome but necessary reminder of our dreaded return to “normal life” soon. Thankfully, once I shut my laptop, I was still in one of my favorite places in Italy and Brian and I went out to dinner to forget about “normal life” for a little while longer.

The following morning we left Riva del Garda and took a long route through the mountains toward Lake Como. The recent cold front brought a heavy dusting of snow to all of the mountains making them even more beautiful. We rode up Passo Di Croce Domini, Passo de Viviona, Passo de Presolana, and Col di Zambla.

Our final pass of the day was the almost 2,000-meter-tall Passo di San Marco. It was a cold and windy ride to the top, and we stopped for a hot chocolate to warm up in the pass cafe.

We ended the day up in the mountains in a small town just north of Morbegno, Italy. The sunset on the surrounding landscape was gorgeous. The views from the hotel were wonderful, but unfortunately, we had arrived on a very cold evening the week before the hotel turned their heat on, so we bundled up in extra blankets and layers to stay warm.

The next morning we rode along the northern edge of Lake Como. It was a Sunday and the traffic was crazy, but the bright blue water was mesmerizing.

After taking in the view, we made our way north toward Switzerland. We spent an hour trying to get gas before crossing the border, but for some reason none of the gas stations in this region would accept any of our credit cards so we pressed on and filled up in Switzerland. With full tanks, we rode up and down the winding Maloja Pass twice to enjoy the sweeping turns and vistas.

We continued on to ride along the pristine and turquoise blue waters of Lake Moritz before riding up Bernina Pass.

After our short stint in Switzerland, we crossed back into Italy and had some of the best pizza of the trip in the town of Livigno. We rode the remaining 40 kilometers to the town of Bormio to drop off our luggage. The road up to our hotel was comically steep (around 50 degrees in some areas) but we made it. We left our luggage in the room and headed back out to ride one of the most iconic motorcycle roads in Europe: The Stelvio.

We had ridden the Stelvio Pass on our trip last year, but it was a weekend day during the height of summer and the number of cars, buses, bicyclists, and other motorcyclists on the road was insane. This time around was a completely different experience. We had the turns almost completely to ourselves

While pulled off at a hotel near the bottom of the pass, we met a super friendly group of Taiwanese travelers who were also on bikes. We chatted with them for a while before making our way back up the pass and down a section of the Umbrail Pass and then returning to our hotel in Bormio.

We had planned to spend only one night in Bormio but ended up extending our stay for three nights. We spent one of the days relaxing in the hotel, only leaving the room to walk down the steep hill into town for dinner. The next day, we were refreshed and ready to ride again. We began by riding up the back side of the Stelvio Pass again, stopping for coffee and croissants at the top. There was even more snow than two days ago, but thankfully most of it had melted off the roads.

We continued on to ride the Umbrail Pass into Switzerland before making our way up Ofen Pass, Flüela Pass, Albula Pass, and Bernina Pass. Winter was definitely coming as all of the passes were covered in snow, but it was a surprisingly sunny and perfect riding day.

We left Bormio the next morning and started the day off with one of my all-time favorite passes from last year - Passo Gavia. The turns and views were just as good as I remembered and we took some time to fly the drone at the top of the pass.

On our way down the other side, we saw two young riders pulled off the road, and I noticed the woman was on a red CB500x just like me! I always get super excited when I find another young female rider, but my excitement increased exponentially when I saw we were on the same bike, just a different year’s model. We stopped to chat with them and learned they were from Germany and on a multi-month trip down to the Balkans. They were headed the opposite direction on the pass, so we exchanged info and continued down the road.

We rode a few other nearby passes and then stopped for the day in a town 10 minutes north of Merano, Italy. We rode into Merano for dinner and walked around the beautiful town at dusk.

The following day we had plans to meet one of our good friends in Innsbruck, Austria. If you have read any of the previous blog posts, you will know that we have met up with Tammy multiple times during our travels over the past year, including in Switzerland and in Nepal. She is one of our friends who is always planning and down for an adventure, and she was flying to Austria to do some trekking in the area.

On our way into Austria, we rode up the famous Timmelsjoch Pass that spans the border of Italy and Austria. We visited the motorcycle museum at the top and were blown away by how many bikes were in the impressive exhibit.

After making it down the other side and into Austria, we rode up two smaller passes outside of Innsbruck that we had missed the previous year: the Silzer Sattel and Kühtai Pass.

We met Tammy at our hotel just outside of downtown and the three of us walked into the city. We had a lot to catch up on as we told Tammy about our trip and she caught us up on the very snowy trek she had just completed. We spent the rest of the evening walking around the city and making plans for the following days. Tammy’s recent experience post-holing through knee-deep snow on her trek made us focus our plans around lower elevation activities. We eventually decided we would visit the alpine club in the city the next morning and get some intel on an easy via ferrata (a climbing route with fixed anchors and ladders) that we could do.

We awoke determined to make the most of the day. After a quick breakfast downtown, we stopped by the local alpine club to inquire about via ferrata routes. As mentioned before, Tammy encountered a lot of deep snow and avalanche risk on her recent trek in the area so we wanted some expert advice on what would be a safe and fun option for the day. The guy we spoke with gave us two “easy” options nearby and then we walked down the street to the Mammut store to rent the necessary gear. On our walk back to the hotel, we also stopped by a motorcycle shop to see if we could source Tammy an affordable helmet to avoid Ubering everywhere. We found a great HJC helmet on sale for 99 euros and made it back to the hotel before 11:00 am, feeling accomplished and like luck was on our side.

Tammy hopped on the back of Brian’s bike and we all rode to the start of the via ferrata. After the short hike in, we realized our luck had changed. The “easy” via ferrata the alpine club had recommended started with a C-rated vertical section of rock with very few rebar holds. Although via ferratas have steel cables that you are always clipped into, the distance between bolts that would stop a fall is sometimes 10-15 feet, which can mean a 20-30 foot drop if you lose your footing. Feeling rather unprepared, we began rock climbing up the vertical face, struggling to find hand and foot holds. After about 45 minutes, we had only made it a few hundred feet up the wall. Given that we were only one-tenth of the way through the route and there were three more C sections along the way, we didn’t think it was wise to continue and risk getting stuck at a point where we couldn’t turn around. As we were deliberating what to do, a comical scene unfolded as a small crying child and his parents climbed over us and passed us. We took this as a sign that we were no Alex Honnold and began to downclimb. Downclimbing, however, proved to be even more challenging, especially on the overhanging sections, but we all made it and sighed with relief as our feet finally touched solid ground. Feeling a bit defeated, we contemplated trying the other “easy” route, but given that it was already late afternoon, we decided to pivot and make a new plan over pizza.

We laughed about our via ferrata gone wrong and then discussed alternative options for the evening. We saw that one of the main attractions in the area was an interactive Swarovski Crystal museum. After learning about Tammy’s history with Swarovski crystals (young Tammy asked for a Swarovski crystal animal every year for Hanukkah for 10 years straight, thinking she was smarter than her siblings for starting her collection young rather than asking for electronics or the hottest toys of the day), we decided we had to go. We rode the bikes to the entrance of the Swarovski Crystal Worlds Experience - and an experience it was. We laughed so hard at the absurdity of the various strange but impressive exhibits and then made our way outside to wander through a maze and then up a platform to catch the sunset.

As we walked back to the bikes, the last bit of sunlight dipped below the horizon. While on the dark highway back to the hotel, I felt something hit my thigh and reached down to find I had just caught my phone as it fell out of my unzipped pocket. Unfortunately, it was on my right thigh and my bike began to slow on the dark and busy highway as my throttle hand clumsily tried to grip the phone and secure it. I somehow managed to shove the phone inside the front of my jacket without getting rear ended, and I held it awkwardly against my stomach until we reached a stoplight eight minutes later. I sighed in relief as I realized that our luck hadn’t run out after all. There was no way I could have recovered the phone if it had fallen on the road.

We dropped the bikes off at the hotel and then walked into the city for some well-deserved apple strudel.

A couple weeks back when Tammy was planning her trip, she realized that she was flying out of Munich the day after the start of Oktoberfest. We all agreed that this was a fantastic coincidence we could not pass up. Thus, the next morning we set to accommodating Tammy’s bags on the bikes and hit the road for Munich. The setup may have looked ridiculous, but we made it work.

We stopped for lunch overlooking Lake Achensee and discovered one of our new favorite dishes, kaiserschmarrn - a delicious cross between pancakes and french toast.

Satiated, we rode the rest of the way to our hotel outside the city and then Ubered to Oktoberfest. We had no idea what to expect and were overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the carnival-like event. It was opening day and the expansive grounds were jam-packed with people moving excitedly in their lederhosen and dirndls.

It should be noted that most people who come to Oktoberfest make their reservations a year in advance to secure a spot in one of the 17 main beer tents. The entry to the event is free, but space in the tents is limited. Thus, after trying unsuccessfully to wait in line for a few of the main tents, we found a small beer garden with some space and ordered our first pretzels and beers!

Feeling rejuvenated and determined, we set out to try and get into another tent. After multiple rejections, Tammy spotted a security guard at a side entrance to one of the tents. She coyly approached him and implored he take pity on us as this was our first Oktoberfest and we hadn’t been able to get in anywhere. He pondered our request as he looked at our despondent faces before finally nodding and waving us by. We were incredulous at our good fortune (thanks to Tammy’s persistence) and triumphantly entered the Löwenbräu tent as “Mamma Mia” blasted from the stage. Within 10 minutes we were standing on top of benches, drinking beers, and making friends. The vibe inside made it feel like a party with 5,000 of our closest friends, and we danced, drank, sang, and laughed until the tent closed at 11:00 pm.

We spent another hour wandering the fairgrounds, hanging with our new friends, and comically video-chatting with people to try to reunite drunk friends. It was one of those nights we didn’t want to end, but eventually, we found a taxi and managed to be in bed by 1:00 am. This is probably for the best as Tammy had a 7:00 am flight the next morning.

We said a groggy goodbye to Tammy when she left at 5:00 am to catch her flight and then Brian and I took advantage of the hotel’s late checkout time and slept in. After some much-needed coffee and breakfast, we hit the highway for a couple of hours back into Austria. Once over the border, we headed straight for the famous Grossglockner Pass which leads to the top of the highest mountain in Austria. We had ridden this pass in the rain last year and were eager to ride it again. Although it was cloudy, the views were breathtaking as we took turn after turn up the mountain. We enjoyed the views at the top before riding down the southern side and stopping for the night in the town of Debant.

After our incredible day of riding in the Italian Dolomites a couple of weeks back, we were anxious to return before the riding season was over. It was late September and the days were becoming consistently cooler, but we wouldn’t let that stop us. The following day, we took a roundabout way from Debant, Austria to Mareson, Italy. It seemed like most accommodations in the region were closed for the shoulder season, but thankfully the haunted hotel we had previously stayed in still had a cheap room available. On our way to Mareson, we rode a couple of new beautiful passes.

We unpacked the bikes and then found some dinner at the only open restaurant in the small village.

The next day was cold and rainy, so we decided to take a rest day and wait for better weather. It rained all day long so we ended up walking down the street to the same restaurant from the previous night for both lunch and dinner. It felt a bit like groundhog day, but everything on the small menu was delicious and the owners were incredibly friendly.

The following day was cold and cloudy, but the rain had passed! We rode a loop of all of our favorite passes, but this time in reverse. At one point on the ride, we realized this would likely be our final day of good mountain roads, so we took full advantage of it. I seriously do not think the passes and vistas in this region could ever get old.

That night, we walked down the street to our new favorite restaurant for the fourth and final time.

With more rain and even snow in the upcoming forecast, we decided it was time to head south. Our flight back to the U.S. was in one week, but we had one final stop we wanted to make before dropping the bikes off in Slovenia. Last year, we had to rush through Croatia due to our 90-day Schengen visa. After so many cold days of riding, a beach destination was sounding pretty perfect. So the following morning we headed south toward the Croatian island of Krk.

It is astonishing how quickly the freezing cold air transitioned to a balmy and sunny 70 degrees as we dropped down to the coast. We welcomed the change, and after a few hours on the highway, we made it to Baška, a beautiful resort town on the island of Krk. We spent the evening admiring the ocean views and walking around the charming town.

The following morning we went for a hike up one of the nearby mountains. It was a windy day, but otherwise the weather was perfect and the views were stunning.

After the hike, we grabbed some coffee, relaxed on the beach, and had a chill evening.

The next day was a proper beach day and we lounged in the sun, reflecting on how grateful we were for the experiences of the past couple of months.

All too soon, it was time to leave and begin our last day of riding to our final destination of the trip - Ljubljana, Slovenia. Ironically, Brian’s bike wouldn’t start. He thinks he may have left his heated grips on, but luckily after a quick jump from our jumpstarter, we were on our way.

We stopped for lunch near Rijeka with a beautiful view of the ocean, before riding the final kilometers to our accommodation just north of Ljubljana. We had plans to leave our bikes with the owner of the shop who welded my engine mount last year and did a full service on Brian’s bike. Marco and his wife Natalja are wonderful people and we knew our bikes would be in good hands. Before dropping them off, however, we had some work to do. We spent the next couple of days doing maintenance on the bikes, prepping them for storage, meeting up with another rider friend we made last year who happened to be in the city, and sourcing some ridiculously large suitcases to fly all our gear back in. We also managed to sneak in some touristy activities, like riding the funicular up to the castle, walking around the beautiful city, and getting dinner at our favorite restaurant.

Before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to our bikes and loading into a taxi to the airport.

Our journey home was a bit more eventful than we were hoping. After departing an hour late, we landed in Istanbul as our next flight began to board. Unfortunately, the airport staff would not allow us to follow the signs for international connections and made us exit and re-enter security in a different terminal from our next flight. Determined to make our connection, I am pretty sure that Brian and I ran at least a 5k as we sprinted from security, over to the next terminal, and down to one of the very last gates. We were absurdly sweaty as we boarded our 10-hour flight to JFK, but we made it!

After one more flight, we arrived in Florida where we were looking forward to spending time with Brian’s family before flying back to Colorado. Little did we know, a major hurricane was headed our way and would lead to a rather unconventional and extended visit. Thankfully, we all made it through the storm, as did Brian’s family’s homes, and we still managed to have a wonderful visit.

And just like that, our trip had come to an end. We flew back to Colorado and spent some quality time with family and friends. Our overpacked storage unit was still waiting for us, and we began the process of reconstructing our lives and saving up for the next trip.

Until next time,

Brian and Erin