Day 0 - Traveling to Europe in the Age of Covid

The day is finally here. It has been a while since we first talked about going to Germany to ride the famous Nurburgring. A 21km track built in 1920 in the mountains around the village and castle of Nurburg in the Eifel mountains.  A track where anything goes.  

Once you pass the entrance gate, hell is supposed to break loose.  City cars, motorcycles, race cars, camper vans, and anything that can keep a minimum speed of 100kph, all go on at the same time.

Apparently, Formula 1 driver Jackie Stewart nicknamed it "The Green Hell".

Preparations for this trip were relatively easy.  Not having to prepare and ship your own motorcycle simplifies things greatly.

Unable to find a BMW S1000RR track motorcycle for rent, I opted for the next best thing, a BMW S1000XR, a more street friendly version but with the same engine.  It is supposed to come with a fully loaded European GPS (no need to mess with this which is always a bit of a challenge) and full panniers.

Not knowing exactly what you will get when you rent things just adds to the fun of the trip.  "Make it up as you go" as always.

The other challenge was trying to figure out the test/vaccination requirements to travel to Germany.  Luckily AA took my vaccination certificate as proof that I am cool : )

Boarding at DFW was uneventful, watch a movie, had dinner and went to bed around 8pm.  I was able to sleep a good 6 hours on the plane. 

We arrived in Frankfurt a bit early.  It was overcast and drizzly with patches of sunshine ... just your typical German weather.  Immigration and baggage claim was easy.  Again my tested vaccination certificate did the trick here.  The airport was empty.  Eerie.  Called an Uber and headed to the motorcycle rental place.

I arrived at 9am but had to wait until 10am when they open at the McCafe across the street so decided to to get this blog setup and have a cappuccino.  

I got a bright red S1000XR with hard cases, brand new tires, and GPS on board.  Transferred the luggage, waited for rain to die down and headed out towards the Nurburgring.  A 2 hour ride.

My cozy abode for the flight

Empty airport in Frankfurt. Eerie.

My new friend - a BMW S1000XR fully loaded - Nurburgring, here we come!