Redbull Planes and well...museums...

So I slept terribly! Not the fault of the school camp, but mostly mine - I left my windows open to let the cold in and instead got mosquitos and well...I awoke at 6am to hammering.


Someone was building a dock! If I had a boat I'd be so happy, I didnt :(

The lake however, once I'd had several coffees, was beautiful!

Only 5 minutes out of town, before I'd even settled into riding I passed a sign with one of the few German words I know...Rodelbahn!

Thats German for Toboggan!


5 Euros got me one trip down the mountain, and wearing wet gear I didnt even care that it was raining a little!


But as the weather cleared I had a mission, find the nearest Triumph dealer and get a new clutch level - the old one wasnt working...badly...but the broken metal was slowly cutting thought my glove!


The roads however were very enticing!

I also passed the sister castle to the one from the day before, whilst the fortress outside Salzburg was designed to guard the road, the Castle in Salzburg was more of a regal residence.


Beginning to suffer castle fatigue I decided to head up as far as I could without entering the castle, one again road became gravel, gravel became walkway and suddenly I was very much on the pedestrian footpath.

View was worth it however!

Heading back down the hill I tried desperately not to hit tourists!

Or cars...

Before leaving Salzburg there was one other thing I had to see, Google advised one of the top attractions was called Hanger7; a semi function centre / semi aircraft hanger run by Redbull to hold their aircraft when not being flown.


Google was not wrong!

They were setting up for a function that night so I hit the gift, and the cafe, and had one of the the best meals of the whole holiday. This was 9.50 euro! I'd paid that for a crappy sandwich!

It turns out that part of the reason for the excellence of the food is because the internal kitchen which caters events is VERY highly rated. And you can buy their cookbook, for 60 Euro...


I instead decided to spend my $$ on motorbike parts!

Unfortunately the universe had other ideas, this shop didnt have my clutch level in stock however they assured me that Triumph Munich did! So I tucked by cash away and headed for the border, stopping along the way at a GPS waypoint I'd tagged as "Green Lake".


Turns out there wasnt anything there, I'd just been super stealthy because the road to "green lake" took me here!

This is a totally legitimate place, the locals didn't realise why it was funny until recently! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria


And it seemed someone had been here before!

Feeling incredible at the wonders of language, and hoping there's a place in Australia which the Germans might find as funny I decided to crack out the drone. After almost 2 months of not being bothered, and it sitting in slightly damp disposable British Aldi bags I was...skeptical.

That smile says it all, slightly rusty but STILL WORKING!

But I couldnt sit around in Austria all day (as much as I'd have liked) I was heading back towards Germany, specifically Munich!

And another castle!

And that is the village in the picture right at the top of the blog!

Jumping back on the road I headed to Munich, my phone doesnt work in Germany so without the a ability to google I was back to trying to read signs to understand cultural significance. This is the Angel of Peace, which I didnt know as I passed it...

Passing ANOTHER Triumph dealer I headed inside to try and find a new clutch lever, and this time...SUCCESS! Plus Munich has a massive custom motorcycle scene so this dealer actually sell their own customs next to factory models!

I cracked out the tiny toolkit I was carrying, having amazingly all the right tools I swapped the levers on the roadside and headed to my hotel.


One of the downsides to simply listing all city centre accommodation by price and picking the cheapest is you sometimes end up in unexpected areas. My hotel tonight...right next to the strippers. I guess at least they'd look out for my bike!

Next morning, despite the rain it was time to hit the museums...first and foremost BMW. Born out of the Versailles treaty of WW1; the BMW company was a prior aircraft engine manufacturer's rebirth. Their first vehicles were licenced copies of UK vehicles however they rapidly moved into designing their own cars and bikes.

And because they're efficient and German they colour coded their museum, which I loved. I've discovered that my ginger beard and ability to say 'Hallo' german...ly... has lead to my being mistaken for German, and spoken to as such. I dont understand most of what's being said but due to my love for beer and pretzels (german: bier & bretzel) I'm ok with it!

Much later BMW went back to producing aircraft engines, I'm completely unsure why convertible aircraft never caught on!

The also had an impressive collection of rare cars, this is a BMW 507; initially proposed to be imported to the USA as a cheap competitor to the Mercedes 300SL (gull wings...) however only just over 250 were ever built and whilst being an amazing vehicle buyers were hard to come by. Of this original run around 200 are left and in 2013 one sold for over $3m AUD. 

The car itself was a financial disaster almost bankrupting BMW but the styling went on the be the basis for their entire convertible line and still can be seen in the current Z4.

Unfortunately I'd still pick the Mercedes 300SL (google it) either the new or old, but interesting that a spectacular stuff up could go on to shape almost 50 years of cars.


Typically BMW is promoted as a stylish, classy company however their design department occasionally has different ideas. I'm unsure if they double logo was needed?

Its like the lovechild of a Pontiac Firebird and DeLorean, only two were built but the designs went on to become the BMW M1, which seems like a Ferrari with a BMW badge!

Whilst their auto design department was hard at work their motorcycle designers hadnt dropped the ball either! Struggling to find efficient engines which could handle the power output needed to use the autobahns they decided to add HUGE fairings to their bikes to drop the wind resistance. This BMW K1 was capable of doing 150 mph (240km/h) on the autobahn, and the fairing was wide enough to tuck your legs in.

Unfortunately whilst performing very well at high speed, all the excess fairings added weight, and its acceleration was poor - also the bike became exceptionally hot at low speed and as a result was not widely popular. ​

It also reminds me far too much of the Power Rangers motorbike I had as a kid!

As well as some failed models BMW design department has also put out some oddball successes; this one in particular was very popular in continental Europe. Essentially a scooter with a roof it has a full seatbelt and does not require a helmet, the front wheel is also a impact absorbing zone and so it fares as well as small cars in impact tests. ​

They are no longer produced but other manufacturers ran with the idea and in a crowded city I cant see why more people dont opt for and electric one of these!

Rounding out the concept department were some of my favourite cars, the first the BMW Gina; the tech on this car has yet to be used substantially on a production model however the vehicle is covered with a taught skin which is bent over a metal frame and can reshape to suit the driving conditions - going fast; the car optimises aerodynamics; the headlights close like eyelids when not in use and if it rains...well there's no roof...but still an interesting concept which might lead to a transformable roofline to go with the fold flat seats we currently get in our cars. ​

Today I'd like a convertible, tomorrow a station wagon!

Next up the BMW Vision ConnectDrive; this was a concept based on all sorts of fancy 2008 driver assistance tech which has mostly made it into mainstream cars now but the best part of this vehicle is the front - its borderline an American Muscle car!

Apparently this blog was too long...so the rest is in part 2!