Germany > Through Germany

I wake up early, ready for the next leg of the trip. Wilco still needs to stop by a motorcycle shop. A small hose has broken and needs to be replaced. At half past nine, we set off. Today’s final destination is a hotel near Salzburg. The weather forecast is somewhat cloudy, and we’ll decide later whether to visit the Kehlsteinhaus this afternoon. The restaurant inside is unfortunately only open during the summer months, but the view is said to be magnificent. We merge onto the highway toward Munich. It’s obvious that there’s a lot of truck traffic today.

Germany - At the top near the Kehlsteinhaus on the border between Germany and Austria

On Sundays, trucks are not allowed in Germany, which means we have to overtake them regularly while also keeping an eye on fast-moving traffic. In general, we drive around 100 km/h. Uphill it’s a bit slower, downhill a bit faster. Near Ottobrunn, on the road from Munich to Salzburg, we pull off the highway for a while. In Ottobrunn, we have lunch at a local bakery. The weather turns gray, becoming cloudy with a light drizzle. In the car, I realize I’ve forgotten my driver’s license. Quite an essential item, really. After contacting home in the Netherlands, it turns out my license is still on the scanner at the office. Silly! Through some connections, my license will be brought along tomorrow by a colleague of a friend, who is traveling to Turkey. I’ll pick it up there in two weeks. We decide not to go to Berchtesgaden. Maybe the weather will be better tomorrow morning. The hotel is on the northern side of Salzburg. Just before half past three, we arrive. Given yesterday’s experience and the extra garage visit for the motorbikes, we don’t expect the others to be at the hotel yet. We park Brutus in the rear yard. It’s a typical Austrian hotel with nice rooms. Today’s odometer reading is 390 km. In the evening, we walk to the city center, a half-hour stroll—nice for stretching our legs. Twilight slowly falls over the Danube. Salzburg Castle stands out against the darkening sky. We stop at a café for a drink, then have dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The “all you can eat” sign turns out to mean a set price per course. The food is disappointing.