DANNY'S ROAD TRIP
Hi Danny, can you tell us a bit about yourself ?
Hi, I’m 28 years old, I come from the Netherlands. Single so I can put all my love in my bike and travelling ! In the day time I keep myself busy on my job, with my dad who I share a small furniture factory with. There we create every kind of furniture, tables, closets, beds. The creativity that I can put in my job keeps me sharp and full of passion.
Talking about passions, my biggest one is travelling by far. I did multiple single trips to South East Asia and a 8 months world trip where I visited 12 countries.
What are your current and previous bikes of choice ? How hard it is to get your bike license in Netherlands ?
On my 19th birthday I’ve got my first practice lessons for my bike license. In a couple of months I made it to a successful end with a license in my pocket. To get your license in the Netherlands you need to complete three examinations : theory, dexterity and normal road examinations. On that time there was the law who said that you are only allowed to drive a maximum of 25kw strong engine when you are younger than 21. After two years it changed automatically to a full license and you can drive literally anything you want.
I bought a brand new green Kawasaki Ninja 250. Of course it wasn’t that fast but the low weight makes it a lovely bike to ride in the corners. After two years, I changed my bike to a Kawasaki z750r. I own this beauty since 2012. For the detail lovers, it’s the black edition so she is black matte with red stripes on the wheels. She is pretty easy and comfortable to ride but with a lot more power.
Can you tell me about your bike road trip around Europe ?
Last summer I made a road trip of two weeks where I crossed Germany and Austria and small escapes to Italy, France, Luxembourg and Belgium. The first day I drove through National park Eiffel in Germany, I know this area pretty well as I’ve been there many times for day trips. It’s an old volcano area near the border with Belgium and Luxembourg.
In my opinion, Frankfurt is not a must see place. Of course there is a lot of things to do : The old opera building is a beauty, Römerberg square with its old buildings as well or just chilling on the river side. If you like modern buildings you can eat your heart out !
I continued my way to Nuremberg. It takes a couple hours to get there with still a full sunshine. It’s a beautiful city, specially the historic city center located in a giant fort. On top of the hill is a castle which was under renovation constructions but from there you get a nice panoramic view over the city. All around you could find street food and street artists all over the place artists playing their songs, some of them where unbelievable good. The whole atmosphere in the city was wonderful.
Next stop is literally sky high : Grossglockner is the highest mountain of Austria (3798m).
I haven’t been on the top but there are some viewpoints around from where you can see the top and the glaciers. Stunning! And coming from 40° C to 11° is also a big refreshment. The landscapes changed slowly from the hills in Germany to the mountains in Austria.
For the next nights, I stayed at a friend’s house in Sellrain, a village near Innsbruck. It takes a full day to drive through these amazing alpine mountains. This is a true paradise for the bikers.
Next day, we did a trip on the motorbike to Leutaschklamm on the border with Germany. You can walk around on bridges which are hanging off the side of a cliff edge.
We did a hike on Muttererlam which takes a couple hours through the forest. At the end, there is a restaurant to take a lunch and to go back downhill we used mountain trikes :with them you got only brakes and you can go as fast as you want !
It’s already time to move on again and this time I ended up on the Lake Constance (Bodensee in German). I crossed the border to Italy and took the Stelvio Pass (Passo Dello Stelvio in Italian) : It’s a road with more than 40 hairpin corners to the top. The corners are pretty narrow and it takes all of your technical driving skills. Absolutely a must do! On top of it, it was a bit crowded with tourists, cyclists and bikers.
From here I continued my way to the Bodensee and I took the way through the Lake Reschen (Lago di Resia). It’s an Italian lake close to the border with Italy and Austria. The special thing on this lake is the church, standing in the lake.
In less than a half day I drove to Freiburg. Lucky me because on the day I’ve been there it’s the end destination of a classic car rally in the city. My trip is almost coming to an end but not before meeting a friend in Baccarat, France.
It takes two hours to get in Baccarat and staying at my friend’s house. On day time we explored Baccarat and its area. I took her little brother on the back of my bike and he loved it. At night we had a barbecue with the family and they had tons of food ! I felt myself more than welcome in this little French family.
The morning starts so you suspect in France : fresh croissants from the bakery. After thanking these people for the stay and opening their house to me I left early in the afternoon back home. Not straight of course, I took the way through Luxembourg and the Ardennes in Belgium. So I end my road trip of 3367kms in a perfect way!
What are your plans for the future ?
For the moment I’m building a campervan, it’s far from ready but I’m doing it with the plan to cross Europe and all its beautiful places. I am definitely sure that I take my bike with me on a trailer and do it all over again !