The European Chronicles 2026.14 - Turn The Page
Back To Germany
TL;DR Mia's been parked in Bemelman's garage b/c I didn't trust the Italia dealer's clutch "fix." Cable cars, trains, hiking, exploring, marching bands, wine and food have kept me busy. Made it to Germany, Mia is now at her "home" dealer for repairs. I'm hanging at Stefan's moto B&B, Krisanne lands Monday; Tuesday we head to Austria.
Even without riding (although riding is HUGE) there's lots of stuff to do right at Bemelman's doorstep. One such trip is a cable car up to the Rittner Horn for a ton of hiking.
There's always a hutte; here, there are several with this one right at the top of the cable car.
Wandering...
And, like in 2022, I was lucky enough to be around for the marching band!
So much fun, and they are GOOD!
There WILL be wine, a very nice Alto-Adige Lagrein.
An excellent Pinot Nero, also Alto-Adige...I always try to stay "local" with wine selections.
Bemelmans has a "music night" too.
Krisanne and I bond over the accordion... 😂
You can also take the train to a cable car that drops you right into the center of Bolzano. Sigmund Freud stayed at Bemelmans Post, and his namesake hiking trail runs from the Collalbo train station to Suprabolzano, which is where the cable car is.
You'll notice the German names for the locations...here, there are Italian and German names for everything, and it all "leans German" based on the heritage. It is truly remarkable listening to everyone switch seamlessly between the languages, and English.
Train station cafe.
Takes you right to the cable car.
All this local transpiration is free with the Ritten Summer Card that comes with a hotel stay. Nice.
A short walk along "scooter alley" takes you into the center of Bolzano, which is pedestrian (and bicycle) only.
All Spritz, All The Time
Mine. 😎
Bemelmans has two large shepherds that grace the lobby. Incredibly sweet.
Some afternoon thunderstorms, one leading to this wonderful full rainbow.
Clearing...
I really do love Bemelmans Post and this area; sad that I didn't get to ride it much. I'll be back, I'm sure.
Saddle up for an "as much highway as I can" ride to Germany, getting close to Stefan and the dealer. Drop the bike off first thing the next morning, with Christopher picking me up to stay at the moto B&B.
Made it intact...difficult shifting, but managed. Met with the service manager and the mechanic, explained everything and will put Mia "all back to stock" so she can be serviced by any BMW dealer (but hopefully won't need to be). I've had nothing but good service from them these 7 years, so I'm confident they can put things right.
Sort everything for storage. Stefan has yet another warehouse expansion...across from the new "annex," upstairs, there's an entire storage room.
The "new" warehouse
Directly across, climb the stairs.
Ever more storage.
For me: on the left, far wall. Black duffle, 2 grey duffles, tank bag, small cardboard box. The dealer has Mia with all 3 bags attached.
That ends the riding portion of this program...
Krisanne arrives Monday. Tuesday we'll head to Austria in a rental car...but first drop Mia's old clutch lever off to the BMW dealer...assuming they let her thru Customs. 😂
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Ciao!
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