Here we crossed over the Famous Karluv Most or Charles Bridge.

“Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. It was the only means of crossing the river until 1841. The bridge is 621 metres long and nearly 10 metres wide. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.”

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8418/2...3771c454_b.jpgCzeck Republic-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The city is packed with tourists, but I'm told a lot less than are here in July and August. The old town is centred around the huge market square. This is full of tourist shops and restaurants. You can stop by the city hall to see the worlds oldest still functioning astronomical clock.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8082/2...602041b1_b.jpgCzeck Republic-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8658/2...c3afc5d3_b.jpgCzeck Republic-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8497/2...d1817cdc_b.jpgCzeck Republic-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8347/2...aa289d46_b.jpgCzeck Republic-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

From here you can take a short walk to the old Jewish quarter where there is some very nice architecture. Then we made for the river bank again ti catch sight of the sunset over the Prague castle.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8272/2...d49b8af2_b.jpgCzeck Republic-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8029/2...0bc524d2_b.jpgCzeck Republic-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8787/2...7da31ca5_b.jpg60 Country Full Res by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Here we are at country 60, about halfway home and it is a good time to reflect and share a few brief observations from our worldwide ride.

First and foremost to say that we are fortunate is a massive understatement. There are many days that we question if this journey is for real. To be able to roam freely about the planet on incredible machines with your best friend and spouse carving the corners right behind you is nothing short of extraordinary. Experiencing people and places in their raw form without the colors, smells, sites and sounds being edited is a privilege that at times we find hard to comprehend.

The people we meet are of course what counts the very most. The relationships that our journey has blessed us with are an element that has become so much more than we could have ever imagined. From complete strangers inviting us in to share a meal or to stay the night. To having amazing local riders contact us with places to meet up and then explore their favorite roads or to help service the bikes. Just crossing paths with another traveler in the middle of nowhere and then reconnecting with them a year or two later on another continent is surreal. We have not made friends we have made family. People are simply amazing and again the very best part of our journey. Want to have your faith in humanity renewed? Try having a broken down motorcycle in the middle of nowhere only to have a stranger fix it and refuse to take payment.

You maybe asking “what about all the bad people?” You know the bandito’s, corrupt police, boarder officials on the take and military checks points shaking you down? Sorry to disappoint those with dire pre-trip predictions, but so far no, nope and none. The funny thing about the world that we have discovered is that it is a good people place. Oh sure there is lots of evil in this world and you will hear about terrible people lurking around the next corner, but as of yet we haven’t stumbled upon them.

“Oh Canada our home and native land”……….. We have been to so many unforgettable places. The Pueblo Magico in Mexico, the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the Carretera Austral in Chile, Andalucía, Iceland, Antarctica, Galapagos, and the list goes on and on. One thing is certain though after 60 countries and the kilometers we have done there is still no place for us like our home country Canada.

What about the bad places you ask? Here there are no rose colored glasses for us. The world is not all fuzzy and wonderful as so many seem to post. Excuse the language, but there are some nasty shitty places out there and they are going to get a whole lot worse. Thankfully the amazing and stunning still vastly out number the awful. Experiencing the good and the bad though is in part what makes it an adventure.

As we embark on our seasonal riding brake to plan, reflect, and catch-up. The very first thing on our to do list is pass along a bunch of “thank you’s”. Without the rider community our journey just wouldn’t be what it is. We are grateful to no end for the pure kindness that we have been shown. The list is very long so to start thank you all for being family, friends and support. Each of you in your own way has been a blessing and down right cool. We look forward to seeing you down the road, but until then remember, “less stuff means a lot more living”.

Health & Happiness,

Daniel & Sara Pedersen

Worldwide Ride.ca

Outstanding stuff and the pics get better and better, now what am I going to do if you guys are stopped for the winter?
Gino & Fiona

I was in Andorra years ago and back then it was a duty free shopping mall. I can imagine today it's twice the mall it was 20 years ago.

It was horrible! just traffic and shops with cheap useless stuff! But at least I never have to go back. Cheers Sara

We now have just a few days left until we drop the bikes at BMW on Monday, but that is enough time to make a small detour to Sinshiem to see our friend Wolfgang. He is stopping here in his home town on the way from Hamburg to Corsica. It is almost a direct straight line for us for 570 km.


https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8347/2...9411f5df_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-09-04 at 22.11.00 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We did 2 hours on the highway and then put all the avoidance back on the GPS to get onto the small roads. Germany is so amazing for riding. Beautiful roads thru stunning scenery and picturesque villages. We then got back on the highway for the last 2 hours and unfortunately ran into some very bad traffic. We did a little “driving like the Italians” to get past the almost standstill over 10 km long. We arrived to the home of Wolfgang's brother and sister-in-law and we were welcomed like long lost family. Yvonne had prepared a very special dinner for us including Dampfnudela or steamed German dumplings! We of course then had to go out for ice cream.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5651/3...941eff7a_b.jpgDresden by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5474/3...2429c627_b.jpgDresden-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5689/3...47dc962b_b.jpgDresden-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5583/3...8ccb7fc4_b.jpgDresden-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Werner had a big day planned for us. We started with a visit to the Auto & Technik Museum. They have both the supersonic Air France Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 on display and which you can access. There are 300 vintage cars, 40 race cars, 200 motorcycles, and 50 aircraft among other things.


https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8330/2...6d3ee9f0_b.jpgGermany-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8020/2...043aec45_b.jpgGermany by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8291/2...c31b1f05_b.jpgGermany-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8234/2...e5cd8a29_b.jpgGermany-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8166/2...4202edba_b.jpgGermany-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8813/2...5ee5d84c_b.jpgGermany-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5606/3...2e08fc59_b.jpgDresden-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8258/2...754d08dd_b.jpgGermany-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7572/2...58ec8967_b.jpgGermany-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


They even have a Canadian water bomber that when you go inside it is set up to make you feel like you are diving down for water.


https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8012/2...0de3e42c_b.jpgGermany-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The super slide is accessed from the door of a plane mounted on the roof of the museum.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5548/3...9a06bdfa_b.jpgDresden-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5825/3...df131c0b_b.jpgDresden-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5810/3...2064fc88_b.jpgDresden-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

This evening we drove over to Heidelberg for the annual illumination of the castle and fire works. We luckily secured a parking space and then got some tickets for the evening dinner cruise for the fireworks. We did a bit of a tour of the city, which had one lone pedestrian zone thru the city.


https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8014/2...281c047c_b.jpgGermany-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8173/2...7c87af77_b.jpgGermany-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8085/2...1de4ffe1_b.jpgGermany-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr



We took the funicular to the castle.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8097/2...2e7b303b_b.jpgGermany-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5709/3...78b4ece0_b.jpgDresden-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5717/3...9de11a9e_b.jpgDresden-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Sunset cruise

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8298/2...d95b444e_b.jpgGermany-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8126/2...8432fdd3_b.jpgGermany-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8557/2...5b89e20a_b.jpgGermany-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8638/2...525fe8b8_b.jpgGermany-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8503/2...4975cbde_b.jpgGermany-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5792/3...35f3a095_b.jpgDresden-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8676/2...f1c38e13_b.jpgGermany-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Today we have another straight shot 478 km north east to Leipzig.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8306/2...8d879b7f_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-09-04 at 22.09.50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8168/2...bc9923e1_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-09-04 at 22.12.28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The initial plan was to wander up the small roads and we did this for the first 2 hours. It then began to POUR rain and after 45 min of this we were finally able to get on the highway. Now this was not very pleasant with the heavy rain and the speed of the cars, but at least we were making some miles. Finally about 150 km from the city the rain stopped and we were able to get back off the highway.

We had booked a hotel that was the closest to the Leipzig BMW. The rain started again despite that we did go out to find a wand car wash to get the bikes cleaned up for their hospital visit. It was unfortunately still raining in the morning for the 5 km trip to the dealership. We had preplanned with the service department here to drop the bikes today so they can have a complete once over after almost 200,000 km. We really want them to have a good once over and some new parts before we set out east and to the Stans.

They will also get some new Heidenau tires. We have decided to prophylactically change out both clutches, despite the fact that they are both working perfectly. We will also have the cam chain tensioners replaced. The water pump on the 800 has a minor leak and we will get a new one. The issue with the dash display on the 800 has gotten worse. The bike runs perfectly, but when hot and at low RPM the entire dash goes wild. The lights all start flashing on and off, the fuel goes to zero km to go, and the gauges go wild. If you give it a few revs it stops. The GS 911 has dozens of fault codes, but once cleared it says the bike is functioning perfectly and it is. This issue started several months ago, but rarely. In the last 2 weeks it has escalated to frequent (turned out to only be a frayed wire!).

They will have the bikes for 4 days, but they say they will be done in 3. That said we have a few days with a rental car to tour about. We left the gear and went out to the airport to get the car. By the time we got back a few hours later both bikes were completely stripped down…so i bet they will be done on time with German efficiency.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5525/3...2296d4ed_b.jpgDresden-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5576/3...a6bc9b61_b.jpgDresden-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

First stop now was to go to the laundromat for clean clothes and YEAH clean suits. Then we made a trip to Louis for some much needed replacement items. New shields, pin locks, and detents for the helmets, new rain pants for Sara that unzip the entire length of the leg to make them so much less frustration to get on and off, some new Rok straps, a chain tool, and some new riding socks for Dan!

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5583/3...d7de5054c9.jpgScreen Shot 2016-11-06 at 13.22.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5553/3...5d44681fd4.jpgScreen Shot 2016-11-06 at 13.22.29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5589/3...f391daa06d.jpgScreen Shot 2016-11-06 at 13.22.11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Now we have decided to go the 130 km east to Dresden and on the highway at 150-170 km an hour it doesn't take long. About 15 km from town torrential rain started and we were so glad to IN a car!

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5574/3...17a3bca7_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-11-06 at 13.05.04 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had a hotel near to the market square. We had three days of down time to explore the city. Dresden is a very nice city, but of course it has been totally rebuilt since it was decimated from the bombing in WW2.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5472/3...82ebdf8e_b.jpgDresden-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We did the usual walking around the old city centre and actually joined one of the “free” city tours.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5601/3...f808d661_b.jpgDresden-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5526/3...d55971b2_b.jpgDresden-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5791/3...d30c37e5_b.jpgDresden-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5799/3...1413405c_b.jpgDresden-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5809/3...a701d9ec_b.jpgDresden-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5679/3...c1eb4362_b.jpgDresden-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5506/3...de970f27_b.jpgDresden-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

There is a very good restaurant on the main square “ the Augustiner” with great food and excellent beer.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8381/2...d824071f_b.jpgDresden CC-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5777/3...76bc7e1d_b.jpgDresden-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5453/3...d7e5367b_b.jpgDresden-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8206/2...907a45e9_b.jpgDresden CC-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8029/2...343c3ba8_b.jpgDresden CC-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr