11-02-2013, 12:53 PM
(11-02-2013, 05:34 AM)ingobohn_imp Wrote: Even for us Germans, Switzerland is extremely expensive. I was born close to the German/Swiss border, and I remember that my parents preferred to go to France (Alsace) with me and my brother because it was much cheaper. And that was 30 years ago. Now, with the bad EUR/SFR exchange rate it is even worse. The only thing you can do with your bike is to fuel it up right before the Swiss border and try to head through the country to reach Italy (or other neighboring countries) and hope that the gas tank is big enough. Do not stop for having a sandwich and a coffee at the highway, it will blow off your wallet.
But be careful - do not try to head through Switzerland too fast: The Swiss police is very strict with their speed controls, and if you exceed the speed limit to much they even put you in prison and seize your motorcycle. No joke.
I lived in Alsace France and studied Deug A from 76-78 in Strasbourg university as Phd of math candidate wannabe. I could see the cathedral of Fribourg Germany across the Rhine river from Strasbourg. Everytime I walked across the bridge on Rhine, suddenly I heard language of new world unfamiliar to me. I recalled many trips to Germany from Alsace in radius of 350 km, it was a fond memory. In summertime, in Alsace, Strasbourg and Colmar and other smaller picquereste cities, German tourists filled the street. At 20, all German girls were exceptional beautiful.
Many trips to Swiss, a beautiful country, the Alps is impeccable, not quite sure wanted to live there, nevertheless a good memory of Bern, Briggs, Interlaken and so on.
Come back once a while, always start at Alsace France, route du vin first, then Germany and Swiss then Italy and end up in Paris for trip back in California
Travel by rented car, but want to ride my OWN bike.