On the Ground

GAME ON!!! Well, the trip has begun in earnest now. Had a great flight from Ottawa to Gatwick with Zoom Airlines. The in-flight movie was Wild Hogs with John Travolta, Tim Allen and crew. Storry about some middle-aged guys getting away from the hum-drum of their daily lives to ride motorcycles and enjoy the country. Prophetic or what!!!
The person sitting beside me was a young girl from England who was in Canada for a holiday and to attend a wedding in Toronto. She knew a lot about getting around London and gave me some excellent advice. I didn't have much time as I had to get to Brussels but I really wanted to visit the Imperial War Museum and the Tate Gallery of Modern Art. Thanks to her advice, I was able to get to both.

This will be a short post and I will have to get back to edit it again later. I am in an internet cafe in Germany right now. The place is pretty grungy, at least 10 people - 9 of whom chain smoke and the guy behind me just pointed to the screen and said something like 'blah giyzitzn oober gotem blah blah...sexy seniors ...blah gizoonz blah...' I am suspicious of this keyboard.

Anyway, there has been a slight delay unloading the bike so I rented a small car for a few days. I visited Dunkirk, Somme, Ypres, Roye, St Valery and made it to Vimy Ridge Canadian War Memorial on Canada Day! It was truely a humbling and spiritual moment; one that defies description. Since then, I have made my way over to Dortmund, Werl, Unna and Bremen. I have been on the backroads for the most part and the countryside has been some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I will update and will provide pictures when I edit this post. Right now, I just want to get out of this place before my lungs give out. Stay tuned for the edit!
Derek