Nordkapp 2 - 2024. Page 6/7. All images click to enlarge.
July 29th Monday. Kristiansand, Norway.
Our last full day in Norway and the weather is still perfect. Taken as a whole, we’ve been extremely lucky with the weather while in Scandinavia. Sure, there’s been a few days when conditions have been challenging but you’ve got to expect that on an extended tour.
The direct route between Bykle and Kristiansand using the RV9 is only 114 miles. After a leisurely start we headed south with the intention of stopping in a scenic spot and chilling out in the sun before heading into Kristiansand before the teatime rush hour. The mighty river Otra runs alongside RV9 all the way from Bykle to Evje. There’s a few riverside tourist stops with facilities that are very popular, especially on a weekend. We stopped at one next to some waterfalls and watched whitewater rafters for an hour or so.
We stayed at the Ansgar Sommer Hotel which is located within easy reach of the ferry terminal. Accommodation was basic but breakfast was very good. This hotel is very popular with touring motorcyclists, and we met many nationalities there. Hotel website: https://www.ansgarsommerhotell.no
July 30th Tuesday. Horsens, Denmark.
Another dry warm day. After another leisurely start to avoid the Kristiansand morning rush hour we rode to the Fjord Line ferry terminal to catch their catamaran service to Hirtshals, Denmark. This service takes 2.5 hours as opposed to the 4 hours by normal ferry. We disembarked at 15:30 and after waiting for the ferry traffic to clear we headed south on the E39/E45 to Horsens. The 145-mile journey was uneventful with very little traffic until we reached the outskirts of Horsens. After some confusion navigating the town’s road network, we finally arrived at our hotel early evening.
The Comwell Hotel is an impressive 18th century building with international standard accommodation. Hotel website: https://comwell.com/en/hotels/comwell-hotel-bygholm-park
July 31st Wednesday. Kirchseelte, Germany.
After the unpleasant ride through the area around Hamburg on Sunday 7th July we planned a different route for today’s 260-mile ride to Kirchseelte. Using minor roads wherever possible we hoped to avoid any major roadworks but that didn’t work out. Again, we experienced frustrating traffic delays due to roadworks in afternoon temperatures that reached 28 degrees C.
We eventually arrived at our hotel in Kirchseelte at 7.00pm. The DreiMädelHaus is a beautiful country inn that dates from 1767. We can recommend it to anyone travelling through Lower Saxony. Hotel website: https://www.drei-maedelhaus.de
August 1st Thursday. Geldern, Germany.
Our last day in Germany was supposed to be an easy 180-mile ride to Geldern near the Dutch border. Riding through intermittent rain showers, some of them heavy, we again experienced traffic delays due to roadworks in Germany. It appeared that no section of road, no matter how small or large, was free of roadworks.
We arrived at our hotel early evening after battling through the rain which had turned the roads around Geldern into a mud bath. There are many farms dotted around the town, so tractors and other farm machinery had made the roads a right mess. Our Guzzis looked like we’d ridden across the fields rather than using tarmac roads.
We stayed at the Schloss Walbeck. This is a beautiful 14th century castle located on the outskirts of Geldern. All the staff were wonderful and many of our fellow guests were from the Netherlands. It was a great way to spend our last night on mainland Europe. Hotel website: https://schloss-walbeck.de/hotel
August 2nd to 5th Friday to Monday.
On Friday, the 130-mile ride from Geldern to Europort Rotterdam was undertaken in
very hot weather. Keen to avoid the usual Friday afternoon heavy traffic near Rotterdam
we arrived at the P&O ferry terminal around 3.00pm. This was a bit earlier than required
but at least we enjoyed a stress-free ride with no unexpected delays.
After a pleasant overnight crossing in calm conditions, we arrived back in Hull on
Saturday morning. From Hull we rode 175 miles in mixed weather conditions down
to Broadway in the Cotswolds. We stayed 2 nights there so we could attend the
Moto Laverda 75th Anniversary UK celebrations in Willersey on Sunday.
Details of this event can be found here: Moto Laverda 75th
We travelled back home to West Yorkshire on Monday in good weather, completing the
last 150 miles of a most memorable 5,521-mile motorcycle adventure.
