Sunday 26th May to Wednesday 29th May.

We left Boppard in full wet weather gear - again! Our stay in this town had been glorious so it was going to take more than rain to dampen our spirits.

The decision had been made to ride to Rothenburg for our next stop. Greg and I had visited this medieval town in 1982 with Bob and Sally Konowicz and their children Dean and Becky -Sally was very pregnant with Matt. We had met the Konowiczs' in Warren, NSW when we were teaching there in 1976 and have been friends ever since. We did not have clear memories of the town but could remember the city walls and the historic buildings with their shingles to display their trade.

Riding in the rain is never fun so we decided to get to our destination the quickest way possible - the Autobahn. We sure could learn a thing or two about how to regulate traffic from this system, Heavy traffic always flowing freely as cars can go fast enough - legally - to keep the traffic flowing. Trucks stay in the right lane, keeping a sensible distance between each other so as to allow cars to overtake other and still have somewhere to go.

Still raining when we arrived, it was a quick change and off to walk the town and find dinner. We borrowed umbrellas from our host and found a traditional Bavarian restaurant for our meal. We discovered it was a converted stables from the 1590's - horses sure lived the good life in those days as the walls were covered with beautiful painted frescos – maybe they were a more recent addition??? We intended to wander around town a little more after dinner but the rain had really set in so looks like we will have to come back to Rothenburg another time to see more - what a shame.

Next destination was decided over breakfast and a quick booking made on Booking.com - our accommodation bible. We had the choice of Munich, Innsbruck or Garmisch. We had stayed in all before so picked a little town not far from Garmisch called Mittenwald that was so pretty a one night stay turned to two nights about five minutes after we arrived. The town is nestled at the foot of the mountains and is beautiful. The weather had cleared after lunch and the sunshine certainly puts a different light on a place. Chris was given the task of finding somewhere for dinner while Greg tried to get the last 3 days of rain-grime off the bike.

Our dinner was a Bavarian Buffet complete with musician playing the piano accordian. What a great spot - delicious food with entertainment thrown in - even yoddeling! Well done Chris!

As Mittenwald was only 16km from Garmisch, we decided to have the next day off the bike and catch a train from Mittenwald into Garmisch so that we could go to the top of the Zugspitz - Germany's highest mountain. Garmisch, partnered with Partenkirchen has held the winter Olympics and many of the event facilities are evident in the town. This is an area we have visited before but we never tire of the spectacular scenery no matter what direction you look. After going up the mountain in a combination of Cogwheel train and chairlift we played in the snow and delighted in the mountain's scenery before returning to Garmisch for a wander around town.

Next stop would be Lake Garda as we head further south. The weather was fine and a little warm as we rode closer to Florence – our destination for the MotoGP. Lake Garda was a VERY pleasant surprise! Our hotel was one month old and would never have passed OH&S in Australia ie no carpet anywhere and the wiring not fully done – but we are in Italy. It was however very clean, modern and comfortable and served a good breakfast. We walked the 1 km into town and were stunned at the beauty. The high mountains coming right down to the lake, which was crystal clear and very deep. We sat in a restaurant enjoying the view and sipping on beer (birra) and wine and supping on pizza and other Italian goodies. We then found a motorcycle shop selling Hondas – Greg & Chris drooled at the new toys. There was an accessory outlet right next door with this young good looking Italian guy working there – Kerrie drooled – quid pro quo! We found a full rain suit that weighed 35 grams and rolled up to the size of a can of beer!! Of course we all purchased these gems as wet weather gear is notorious for being heavy and bulky – big no no on bikes.

In the morning we set off in glorious sun shine and rode down the western side of Lake Garda, about 65 km, before returning to the Autostrada and heading for Florence – our home for the next four days. Fun time – MotoGP!