TUESDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2011 (Night packing)

We had a lazy day, basically recovering from the HUGE weekend in Mandello.

It was a beautiful day which made it easy to clean all our camping equipment and do some washing.

Paul fixed the dent in the sidecar (where it lurched into a stone wall at St. Goar without us!)


We'd decided what to do with the bike. We needed to take it (her) to the Zundapp specialist holus-bolus and have them look at the engine. We knew what the results would be but best to have her dismantled where spares were readily accessible.


It was arranged that we would borrow Tobi's dad's car (a Pontiac wagon) and use Tobi's trailer to take Brunhilda to Kamphausen.

We drove to WILDENHOLZ and had dinner with Ulla, Tobi's mum. She made a great spread of traditional German fare for us - sausage, mashed potato and sauerkraut.



We then borrowed Rudi's car and drove back to Crailsheim to load the bike on the trailer.


It wasn't easy getting Brunhilda on the trailer. She weighs a ton. Just when we needed an extra pair of hands two neighbours, Juergen & Karl, popped over which made the job easier.

The bike is securely tied down and we are set for an early departure in the morning.

MONDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2011 (San Bernadino Pass)

It was great sleeping at Elios' knowing that it poured rain most of the night. We could hear it on the terracotta roof. We spent part of the morning with Elios who is one of Mandello's well-known characters. He used to regularly sail his traditional boat on the lake until recently when a storm flooded the boat and the bow broke. It now lies at the bottom of Lago di Como and all he has left is the broken bow and this model that he built a number of years ago.

From Elios' upstairs area we had the best views of the narrow laneways below, dating back some 700 years, and the surrounding mountains which are always present, no matter in which direction you look.

It was nice to see the pigeons flutter down to the narrow pathway in the garden for their breakfast of soaked bread.






I went for a wonder through the campground and was surprised to see the northern mountains covered in snow. The SPLUGA Pass we crossed a couple of days ago is now un-passable.

All but the last few campers had disappeared and a few torn and battered tents had been left behind. A lot of debris had fallen from the trees. Thankfully we didn't have to camp last night.

We met with John, Sed & Olga at the foreshore for an hour before we all left in our different directions. John was heading east to Basano; Sed & Olga were staying another day before heading back to France and we needed to drive back 'home' to work out what to do with our broken bike! We'd forgotten about our woes for a few days which is exactly what we needed.

All set to go we decided to revisit the factory one more time but found it closed till 3.00pm. Again the time had escaped our notice and it was afternoon siesta time. Everything closes from lunchtime for 2-3 hours.

The town square was deserted which was a total contrast to how it had been the last 3-4 days.

We bid our farewells to Carlo GUZZI and we were off.

We did manage to get to the supermarket before we left Mandello to get some bananas to eat on our way. We are astounded at the excellent quality of the wine and as you can see in this picture, not overly expensive. We wished we could buy a few hundred dozen bottles to take home...!!!

We had put off leaving for as long as possible but the time came and we had to make miles.

We drove through Como to the Swiss border and then over the SAN BERNADINO PASS.

Being Switzerland it was of course, picture perfect. The higher we climbed the thicker the snow got and at times, very wet.

This was the one good thing about having a broken motorcycle...we were warm and snug in our hire car.

We couldn't help being like two little kids gawking at the snow around us.

We found a car-parking area, pulled in and 'played' in the snow. It was cold and wet but that didn't make any difference to us. We just enjoyed being in the Swiss Alps in the snow.






We continued on our drive and once we got back to the little town of SPLUGEN we'd completed a full circle. As we descended the snow disappeared. We stayed on the motorway until we got to the Austrian border where we took the back roads to the German border. We didn't fancy paying the toll for the 10-15 kilometers of Austria we had to drive through.

It was easy to tell we were back in Germany as the roads widened to allow for the increase in speed. There seems to be no speed limit on the autobahns!

We came across this interesting roadside cafe where we stopped for refreshments and a toilet break. Of all the roadside houses on the autobahn systems we found probably the best one. The toilets alone were a work of art and worth the visit.

The whole place was brightly coloured and covered in jagged ceramic tiles. It looked fabulous.

SUNDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2011 (Friendly faces)

We woke to LOTS of thunder and rain this morning but we managed to get to the breakfast tent during a break in the weather.

You haven't heard thunder until you hear it in Mandello. It rolls and bounces off the mountains on either side of the narrow Lago di Como and can't seem to escape. It was rather dramatic and we could afford the luxury of enjoying it, knowing we didn't have to take off on the bike (!) today.

Once in the breaky tent the heavens opened up big time and that's where we stayed for the next two hours...along with a couple of hundred suited up riders waiting for a break in the weather to hit the road.

Even though lots of people were leaving it didn't seem to make a dent in the camping population. There were so many campers that a mere thousand or so departures seemed to make no difference!

We wondered back up to the town square where there were the remnants of bike displays, tourer's selling their books and of course the brand new statue dedicated to CARLO GUZZI which was unveiled the day before. There are no words for the pride Mandello has towards the Guzzi. There's no doubting the passion behind the Italian marque.

We still hoped to run into a good friend of ours from near home but we now knew that it was next to impossible to happen. We put the idea out of our mind and continued on back to the Guzzi Factory.

At the very next corner we stood facing a fellow (big silly grins on our faces) and he did the same in return. It was John, who we'd been looking out for. The chances of meeting at the corner were a zillion to one but hey, we did it. Two steps in either direction and we would've missed each other. There was a tiny bit of jubilation as we both realised our chances of meeting were virtually nil.

We also met John's friends Sed & Olga and immediately found our way to a cafe to have an espresso.

Lots of chatter, swapping travel stories and weekend experiences. Of course the time escaped our notice. We all decided to revisit the factory as it's a place you can't revisit too many times.

Never saw a sad face at the Guzzi entrance...why would you! Here's Olga, Sed, Paul & John about to go back inside the factory.

Mission was to go shopping. We were surprised to see the Guzzi items substantially reduced in price so EVERYONE bought something.










We also bumped in to some other Aussies from Brisbane & Tamworth who were staying a full two weeks at Mandello. We had met them earlier and they were having the time of their lives.

Here's Bernie, Craig, Bill (who's favourite saying is ... "I always have one before eleven and eleven before one"), Sed, Olga, Paul & John.

After the shopping session it was off to the ever popular ROSALBA Pizzeria for something to eat. We were all famished. We all thought it was lunch-time and were surprised to learn it was after 4.00pm! That's what happens when you're having too much of a good thing.

Food of course is better than excellent.

We wondered down to AGOSTINI's which was a disappointment. It's no longer owned by the Agostini family and it just felt like another retail outlet. The history of the shop was lost. Having said that, there were still lots of people there.

Nothing was purchased from Agostini's but the shopping bags from the factory were proudly displayed for a group photo.







We all headed down  towards the lake shore. Still lots of motorcycles everywhere but they were beginning to thin out.














We went to visit long-time friend Elios and the reunion was sweet. At the same time the heavens opened up and that's how it stayed for the rest of the evening. We're not talking ordinary rain here, we're talking a never ending torrential downpour. Later on the wind picked up and added more discomfort.

We'd already packed up our belongings (all except the tent itself) as we had planned to leave today. Bumping in to John made it easy to change those plans. It was decided that we would stay with Elios the night and so we forced our way through the gale and rain to pack up the tent and then settle for the night. Paul & I, John, Sed & Olga drove to Al Verde, another famous restaurant in Mandello. Not only for the food but for the incredibly difficult and dangerous drive through the mountain pass to get there. Exciting though...the fact that we survived.

SATURDAY 17th SEPTEMBER 2011 (Moto Guzzi's 90th Anniversary)

Can't believe we're here - we made it to Mandello del Lario. Not with the preferred mode of transport but that doesn't matter. We're here.



We woke to the sound of Guzzi's with my first mission being a dash to the loo. However, it was to be a while before I actually got there! On the way I kept seeing things that I've just GOT to photograph and then there was another, and another, and another. And that set the scene for the whole day!





It was special though to see five V7 Classics lined up with the lake and mountains forming a perfect backdrop.


Food tents were set up all over the place and a good breakfast of cereal, juice, bread rolls, ham, cheese, hard boiled eggs, tea and coffee cost 5 Euro a head. It was all undercover with seating for thousands. Very well organised.







We then set off to try and view all 20,000 bikes in the village. An impossible task but we gave it our best shot. According to the British MCN 30,000 bikes were on site - either way there was a LOT.




It took hours just to make our way through the foreshore campground and weave our way through the narrow streets towards the town centre and then on to the Moto Guzzi factory which is only about two blocks away.




The sights and sounds were unbelievable.

The car parking area and street outside the factory were chokka-block full of Guzzi's. Cars were not allowed in the vicinity and rightly so. This is MOTO GUZZI's birthday, no one else's.

The variety of models was huge. From the very earliest bikes to the latest and greatest.

The number of old bikes astounded us. We reckon every Luigi in town got their old Guz out of the shed for the weekend. And they were so proud of their bikes and of the Guzzi name. It was incredible and wonderful to see such loyalty.

We got our entry tickets to the factory. The first thing we encountered was a mock-up production line of the new V7 Racer. An introduction to the factory doesn't get better than that.

The masses were shuffled in a one directional line which started with a tour of the museum. And anyone who's ever been here will agree it's a wonderful history of the marque.

We couldn't help but pass a glancing eye over this military Guzzi outfit. Could this possibly be an idea for future travels...!!!

Each floor of the museum was dedicated to a different era. All fabulous in their own right.

There was also a section devoted to Guzzi's racing history and of course their famous 'experimentale' engines and bikes.

The day was glorious and all the museum windows were wide open. On one side we could look out over the gathering crowd below and on the other look out over the surrounding mountains. It's probably the most picturesque factory/museum in the world.

After the museum we went to the engine assembly area. It appeared many parts were outsourced and assembled on site. The area was immaculate, but you'd expect that for a public weekend. It was exciting to see.

Paul was rather taken with this 90th Anniversary model Californian. I had to coax him with lollies to get off!

Of course we ventured out back to the infamous wind tunnel, tiny in structure but an essential ingredient to Guzzi's design.

Following the wind tunnel we could absorb the grounds of the Guzzi Factory.

We were always on the lookout for a couple of Aussie friends we knew were in attendance, but they weren't aware we were there. We hoped and hoped we could surprise them but with the amount of people about we realised it would be almost impossible.

Up the back there was a wall graphically painted with Guzzi murals and around the corner from that was a signature banner (about half a mile long). As I was watching one fellow sign the banner, the letters 'A-U-S' appeared, followed by a 'T-R-A'. It was then we said "G'day mate, you're a long way from home".
He looked up quite astounded as if hearing the Aussie accent for the first time! He beamed, introduced himself (that's Tony in the red shirt) and we chatted for ages. Turned out we knew many of the same people and as we were talking about a mutual friend, the man himself walked around the corner. FERG is well known amongst Guzzisti (that's him with the white beard - he's an old bloke!). Well, the surprise worked as well as we hoped and there was lots of chatter and laughter.

Rod, another of the fellows was told before he left home to look out for two Aussies (us) on a Zundapp riding around Europe. He couldn't believe he was talking to us as, by rights, the chances of running in to us with a network of 140 million thousand roads made the odds impossible. But there you go, that just goes to show the tightness of the motorcycling community.





After that excitement we checked out the production line and found it to be quite modern with two models on the go - Bellagio and the popular Stelvio. The new Stelvio looks the goods with its copper coloured tank.

Back outside in the streets we could marvel at the sight of the factory with hundreds of bikes in the foreground and the mountains forming a perfect backdrop.


We walked back through the streets, amazed at the thousands of Guzzi's parked and riding on the streets. There was almost no room for cars at all. It was quite amazing and we couldn't stop beaming at the deep burbling sounds roaring up and down in every direction. It was like being in a dream.

Back at the campground, just when we thought we couldn't possibly see anything different we stumbled across this veteran-styled Guzzi. It was a work of art. Not everyone's cup of tea but there was no denying the workmanship in the design.


There was the sublime and the ridiculous and everything in- between as you'd expect.

We wondered about the lakes edge. It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The campground was organised with HUGE beer tents set up and nearby a magnificent stage area with the large Guzzi backdrop. The band was good and LOUD but our tummy's dictated that we MUST go to our favourite pizzeria, ROSALBA. It was as good as it's always been. Nope, I tell a lie...it was better.