Confessions of a Wandering Gypsy Princess

So tomorrow morning we are off! The bikes are ready - at least as ready as they are going to be! Patrick spent the day working on his handle bar protection and they just did not, would not fit. So this means that his contraption (contained in this bag)

and which was to be assembled from the following:

and which was to hold tools and to hang from the back (yet was to be stabilized by wire and other beyond me ideas, as even HDMI wall plates are beyond me!) will not make it on this trip. So sad.

The other sadness is the pic of me on the bike, with everything loaded up, was way too dark, but you can get the idea of this one:

and if you look closely you can at least see the water bottles on the side of Wilma!

Despite my vow that I would freak out if we were not on the road today, we are not on the road and I am ok. Last night we (and by we I mean Patrick, as I drank champagne with Oma to celebrate our on the road soon night, and went to bed at 12:30) were up till 4 trying to get the last things ready for the bike. This morning we still had the handle protectors and the tool transport contraption. So we had a choice between leaving at 3, which would be in 30 minutes and with a very tired Patrick, or spend the rest of today eating Oma’s food and go to bed early - and yes wake up early. The final clincher was last night when Patrick’s sister called to say if we leave Monday (early) they would meet us at 9 just outside Ulm for 2 days of riding together in Austria. So early Monday it is!

So now I feel less guilt here playing on the internet and following links from online travel guides on Washington dc sightseeing in an effort to win a hand held GPS, because I was downstairs trying to help and my technical know how is nil and I think I am more in the way than not. (I did clean my chain, I can take off the tank cover and put it back together, and help with the oil change, but this transport contraption is beyond my technical abilities, and as Patrick is trained as an engineer, and I am an Arts grad, my approach does not fly with him, and my jokes about post modern technical techniques are not apprecieated). Either way, we dont have a GPS, we are using old fashioned maps, and if all I have to do is sign up for a newsletter before the end of the month for a chance, well I think I am contributing to the trip!

The crazy thing is looking back to how we got here, me living in Germany, and about to go on another trip, only this time me driving my own bike. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was meeting Patrick in Argentina, truth be told a guy I had partied with a couple of times in Korea and the opportunity to see South America by motorcycle being too good to be true. And then on the way home when I was in New York thinking about things to do in New York on my stop over, and assuming that I would probably never see him again, before going back to do my Masters in Canada. Yet that was almost 3 years ago, and almost 4 since I first met him.

ooooo time is speeding up not slowing down. Maybe this is why we leave 3 days later.

I will freak, I mean freak, if we dont get our stuff together and ready to leave for tomorrow. Before you ask why am I online when I should be pulling everything together, I have now become obsolete. As in everything I can and could help with I have, and the rest I have no idea. Patrick has some contraption in mind for transporting the tools, and I tend to tune out whenever he even mentions it let alone describes what he plans on doing. We spent this afternoon running around getting all the last minute stuff we had hoped to get yesterday but ran out of time for. So that leaves us around 5 hours tonight to get the rest together, most of it where when I help, I make more work.

At least my gas tank is now full, and I dont plan on putting anymore gas in my tank until Austria, where it is a little cheaper then here. (Here it is one Euro SIXTY per liter at the moment.) I was given a link for Phentermine no prescription, but really, at these rates the 10 pounds (rapidly approaching 12 as I keep up my visits to the bakery and the damn chocolate) will cease to be a problem as my feet are going to become my main means of motion. Biking and walking all the way.

GAaaaaaaaa

Today was suppose to be departure day. That was of course before my private student changed her classes from 3 days next week to 2 and one on Friday (and I said SURE, because she is actually someone I would meet for coffee and drinks outside of class, and 3 months of getting paid only through linky love and savings can be nerve wrecking, even if worth it). SO needless to say, I have not been helping with the bikes during day, just at night, and we still have to add my chain oiler (I really do not feel like oiling it every night), and finish packing. This will be tomorrow at the earliest in mid afternoon. So since it calls for rain tomorrow, we have decided to finish the bikes tomorrow and leave Sunday. Apparently no one ever leaves on time anyway (unless they have a support crew doing the work for them, and even then just barely ). Besides this is no Vegas vacations, and its better to be prepared rather than strictly rely on luck!

Though I may be willing to concede that listening to MP3 players while driving your bike may be dangerous, particularly as I tend to zone out on good days and when there is nothing to distract me from such vital things as stop signs and oncoming traffic (talk to my driving instructor- just joking mother!), I refuse to accept that it means I cant not truly enjoy motorcycling because to listen to music means to not be focused on the scenery.

I must look into this a little more me thinks.

And yes, that does mean that as of Friday we are off on our trip. The reason why I slaved, cried, and bawled my way through 12 hour days, why I cut my spending habits in half, why I stopped buying books and hit the library among many things (although in retrospect, now I am only too glad to have gone through it, because its changed my attitude towards stuff for the better) - all of it for 3 months of motorcycle travel. We leave and head towards the Black Sea through Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria, into Turkey and around there, before heading back home through Greece, Croatia, and Slovenia. And everything in between! Although nothing as luxurious as Hilton Head rentals for us, we are much more of the camping types! (which needless to say, is more fun and cheaper!)

It is official, I am now not only the owner of a BMW F 650, but I can say I DRIVE a BMW F 650. Yes, boo ya to your mother, I passed on Saturday morning. For those of you staring at your Luminox watches, or more likely, your calenders, wondering when I was going to succeed in this, you would be correct in checking off an entire years worth of work. I signed up for courses this time last year, but as I was working at chain school for peanuts, I did not have the spare 2000 lying around. (Not that I did this time exactly, but at least I was able to access it over the past 4 months, but this time last year as a new arrival in Deutschland I was PO!) Then we went on our Eastern Europe motorcycle tour, and when we got back I was informed that the school did not offer lessons again until April.

Fast forward to March when I try to get those lessons booked, and the school kept saying no. So I left that school, and signed up with a new school that was only too willing to take my hard earned Euros and book me into classes and required on the bike sessions. (You need 12 on the bike that are required, not counting the unknown amount for compound time for the safety demonstrations), plus then any extra to iron out small details like right before left. This takes place as well when you have time, and your instructor has time, and so April till now was my hardcore time.

I was hoping to be finished last weekend, BUT my instructor was on vacation. Which meant the earliest for my test was yesterday, which also meant that if I failed then we were not leaving Friday for our trip, as we have to wait 2 weeks in between tests.

But I did it!!!!!!!!!!

No I did not forget Canada Day, despite posting videos here, and talking about Orlando vacations over on Sticky Apples, I just chose to ignore the passing of Canada’s birthday.  It just hasn’t been as much fun since I have moved in with Patrick.  Previous Canada Day’s I have spent sending him quotes and links to the events of Beaumont Hamel.  Its easier to ignore the eye rolls when an ocean separates you. 

And its the last weekend before I go for my drivers test, and the official 2 week mark before we leave for our trip. If I pass my test that is.

SO that means tomorrow we go shopping, we did some browsing on the internet, and credit card processors like authorize.net will be very happy with us when we buy everything we need for our trip (which includes a new helmet for me, and new pants for Patrick).

Oh wait, except we live in Stuttgart, the land that hates credit cards, and demands cash for all.

Honest people, try paying with a credit card in this city. First they laugh at you and then they send you out back to scrub the dishes.

Check it out:

Germans Make Fun Of You When You Try To Say Stuff

Only the writer is funny about it whereas I am bitter.

In which case they then make a good case why you shouldn’t learn German: love them both.

Nothing brings British royalty to my mind more than Wimbledon. Maybe its the prestigious nature of the game, or the fact that up until 2003 the players had to bow or curtsy to members of the royal family (now they only bow if the Queen herself, or the Prince of Wales are present), but for whatever reason, Wimbeldon and British royalty are fused in my mind.

Perhaps it has just as much to do with the fact that even if you are not a fan of tennis you know the main matches at Wimbledon. It is the tennis game with its own uniform requirements for the players (white), an adherence to tradition where women are often referred to by their husbands names when married (I suspect Germans actually started this tradition ), and even their own Wimbledon snack: of course strawberries and cream.

And it is also the only tennis match, let alone championship, that I watch. I rarely participate in sports, and when I watch I would much rather watch the matches live as the feeling is completely different. (and on a tangent, I am absolutely, no way am not , going to watch the game on Sunday night in city center, Germany vs Spain or Russia, we shall see! The atmosphere there last night was just of one giant street party. Only city wide. Even the city trains on the way home were literally rocking as everyone danced and sang - minus that one poor Turkish dude whose heart was breaking! ) Back to topic however - Wimbledon is one championship that I do watch on TV, and one sport that I would love to watch in person, to have the ever elusive Wimbledon tickets.

But given my little rant of the last post, why not share again!

My own family will tell you, I dont deal well with crowds, particularly crowds and heat. This may come as a little bit of a shock as I tend to head to lots of places full of crowds and heat, Tokyo, Rome, Bangkok, etc. BUT, I am not I am expected to talk to talk to these crowds and take their crap. And though I am actually quite social, and I love entertaining, I love to do it on my terms. Therefore hanging out with extended family is rarely entertaining for me, as no other group will so enthusiastically insult you “for your own good” and then get upset when you call them on their crap. (Except that is Germans) Again, when you can live your own life then you can give me advice on mine, having said that, most people who live their own lives successfully are far too happy and secure in life to pass on judgment of others. So yes, every time you tell me to settle down, stop traveling, for f&%ks sake stop driving a motorcycle or blah blah blah, not only am I not listening, but I am wishing you happiness in what has to be a sad life.

Anyway, so I spent this weekend on a mountain top in Chur. Patrick’s nephew was Christened this weekend, and I was really looking forward to it. The kid was literally baptized on a mountain top.

But to say the heat, and the fact that it was an extended family gathering, with lots of people I dont know as friends of friends come, and it was a little overwhelming, and I hate how everyone gets on my case about not speaking German BUT when I give in and start to talk they make fun of my pronunciation. yeah, there is a reason I only speak with Oma, she doesn’t ridicule my accent! And then I think, guh, why am I here when I could be home with my own niece who thinks my German accent is just fine!

This is my German notebook she is so excited about here (yes I tired a word a day and a grammar point a week in an agenda.  I gave up after 2 weeks, I just dont have the attention span :-P  ):

But then the ride afterwards really brought my spirit up however. And this is why I stay, I love being in Germany. I wish my parents and family lived in Switzerland as well (or Italy, or France, Im not choosy, ) and I wish my friends from were here for dancing, or that I could go home more often, but where else can I take off and drive for 3 months to Turkey and back through Croatia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, and still have a job to come back to. We looked it up. If we took the highway for 27 hours straight we would be in Istanbul. (no we plan to take 3 - 4 weeks to get to Istanbul, but we COULD if we wanted to make it in 27). Where does that get you in Canada? Somewhere in Quebec? I would go stir crazy at this point in my life in Canada. A Job I am locked into? 350 dollars to fly to the next province?

gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I HOPE my last ride on back. I have my test July 5th, I will let you know how it goes. Till then check out CAT6 cable links,

Sorry I am quiet, I promise to update, email, and generally respond to the world tomorrow, we were in Switzerland this weekend and then I worked 12 hours, straight, no break today. Blaaaaaaaaa

So I leave you a pretty Journizer slideshow, and a castle from Lichtenstein!

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And as an after note, I also think given how much I have traveled, and what I have saw, I have come to the conclusion there are much more important things out there then having coffee tables, Tvs, or the like. Plus, its awesome knowing that when the subletter moves in here in July, not one single second of my trip is going to be spent worried about what he may or may not do to my stuff.

Feel free to do so of course. Admittedly when I first began blogging I never thought anyone outside my immediate friends and family would read what I wrote, and so I used my real name, as I figured who cares. Now my name is connected forever to this blog, but I can live with that. I dont spill sordid secrets, and I dont bash my employers (at least never by name, though chain school deserves lots to be said that I refrained from ), I imagine a number of students who come to me for private lessons want to know why I never have free time for them when they see the inside of my apartment. They must figure that they are the only people paying me.

No, never fear, it ties into your exact same question when I tell you I am going on vacation for months at a time. Yes I may have discount furniture, but the less I spend on the apartment, the more I have for those vacations.

End of story. And I don’t need the latest and the greatest to feel whole or like a real person. I like me just fine. With or without fancy furniture.