WOW – is all I can say – again the beautiful roads, the lush landscapes and the great people on the Posse Ride are all amazing! The small villages that we travelled through were extremely neat and tidy. The Germans are very proud people and will not accept anyone not keeping their property in order.
Yesterday I forgot to mention that I went to the reception of the hotel to see about free wifi and the clerk said it would be $7.50 but it would be free if I signed up with the Wyndham Club – so I did – then I asked if my room had air conditioning as I heard some did not – he upgraded me for free as I was now a member! Never hesitate to ask!
Again today we left with a few more people that had joined us in Hanover and headed out on the road trying again to do the second man drop and of course the same culprits ended up causing massive confusion and we lost some more bikes! But not to worry the lost were found and got to Berlin quicker than us – well of course – because we were waiting to hear from them and waiting to see if they had been found. Not a big deal the conversations and company is always great as we were sitting in air conditioned comfort at no other place than a MacDonald’s!!!
Arriving in Berlin was amazing. We drove to the Harley Dealer for 4:00 and were greeted with enthusiasm to help us however they could in our purchases of course. Well the rental helmet was absolutely driving me crazy – not only was it covering my ears and feeling very enclosed it was pressing on my forehead enough to cause me a headache. So yes Paul I bought a damn helmet!! It is worth every penny!! And actually it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be but at that moment I was willing to pay anything — I didn’t – I bought one of the cheapest as it does have to be covering your ears. I guess eventually I will get use to it but very glad I don’t have to wear one like that at home!
Outside the dealership right in front a car caught on fire and burnt to the frame and unfortunately for the car that was parked behind the front end of that car also caught fire! Thank goodness our bikes were parked across the street and not where they were parked. The dealership had a bar right inside the store and they were serving free drinks! At the front of the store there is also a patio where everyone can sit out and enjoy themselves in the shade along with the nice breeze. The weather in Berlin was 31 degrees today – very hot!!
We were told leaving the dealership we would be escorted by the Berlin police! Well not only were we escorted by the police car – also by about six police BMW motorcycles!!! Amazing again – it was very emotional driving through the downtown with the police escort as these BMW’s were whizzing past us on left blocking all the traffic so that we had all three lanes to ourselves and absolutely no interruption at any light or any turn. The car in front was announcing something on the loud speaker for everyone to pull over and stop and not to come on the road – people were in awe of the Harley’s riding past and were taking pictures and videos of all of us as proud as punch being treated like we were royalty!! I was glad I wasn’t the only one that found it emotional because several other people mentioned that as well. We must have travelled at least 5 km if not more and were escorted right to the door of the hotel!!! Great job to the Berlin Police!! They were able to practice when real royalty comes to town and we were able to bask in the glory!!
Hotel is very nice – get this the check-in is at the bar!!! Check in and get a beer all at the same time. After checking in I went to the room and had a quick shower after texting a few people about the experience riding through Berlin.
Supper was at 8:00 which was perfect as the soccer “football” game between Germany and France which are huge rivals finished here at 7:50 or so. We were able to walk to the restaurant where the party was for the night. Buffet supper and a great two man band. They played great music and it is amazing that with all the different nationalities that everyone knew the words to all the songs and joyfully sang along. Once the music stopped there were a few that sang some more songs with their baritone voices. Of course my group was the last to leave the bars and had a nice walk back to the hotel. I met a few more people that have been a part of the Facebook page for the European Posse Tour and it was great to finally put a person to the faces and names.
Tomorrow we are off to see the sites in downtown Berlin by bus. We get picked up at 1:00 and dropped off downtown with some maps and locals hopefully being able to help point us in the right direction of all highlights. They will pick us back up at 6:00 and return us to the hotel for another party and supper to begin at 8:00 pm.
It is now 1:00 am and I am heading to bed!!! I uploaded the photos this morning as my power on my iPad was getting low and my charging cord was on my bike!
