Saturday, August 13: start of my twentieth motorcycle holiday with the CBX! :)

Knowing that I would be parking the bike in many public places this trip – including two days in the center of Kassel – I pre-fabricated a holder for my disc brake lock, under the tank.

The first part I rode the highways, and from the Eifel to Koblenz nice winding roads.

'Eile tötet' means 'Haste kills'. I was certainly not in a hurry, I would like to call my driving style 'relaxed sporty'.

More than 300 kilometers, half of which winding, was quite intensive. A spicy pizza and a cold beer tasted good.

As always: interesting books ...

... and a long walk. A relaxing kick-off.

Sunday, August 14: to Landesmuseum Koblenz, enjoying art. The museum is located in the Ehrenbreitstein fortification, at the intersection of Rhine and Moselle. You have a beautiful view over Koblenz, at an altitude of 118 meters.

The fortress dates back to the year 1000 and, due to its strategically elevated position, it played a role in many wars – it could accommodate 1200 soldiers – up to and including the First World War.

Temperature rose to almost 40 degrees, quite unbearable in a black leather motorcycle suit. Fortunately, in the buildings with their thick walls (up to 3 meters thick) it was nice and cool.

I visited the photography exhibition called 'Gute Aussichten' ('good prospects') in which eight recently graduated photographers showed their work. Contemporary art that was beautifully presented in this historic place.

Tamara Eckhardt's work particularly appealed to me.

The photos show a kind of desolate everydayness. They reminded me of the atmosphere of one of my favorite photographers, Diane Arbus.

This is a well-known photo of Arbus. And I must say, now that I see them side by side, that Arbus'work is still a different catagory. In fact it's not fair to compare novice photographers with her.

Vanessa Opoku's video was enchanting: a stream of dots that occasionally led to recognizable spaces and human figures, very enigmatic and dreamy. Of course, as a tiny still picture it does not have as much impact as 'the real thing'. My advice: experience art in museums!

Monday, August 15: on my way to Kassel I came across cute gas stations...

... although the texts on the windows were not always very welcoming. ;)

Visited an OBI along the way, a German construction market.

Not for fun, but because my electronics occasionally faltered. A glitch from time to time isn't all that problematic, except when it happens to my camera system, because I really need it.

So I scored a multimeter, connectors and some wiring. And of course tie wraps because yes, you can never have enough of those.

The campsite I visited is a bit outside Kassel. It's nice how they take a stand: 'Wir haben kein WLAN. Unterhaltet euch!' ("we don't have WiFi: entertain each other!").

The backrest of the wooden bench was engraved with: 'Ein Leben ohne Freunde ist wie eine Reise ohne Ziel' ('a life without friends is like a journey without a goal'). I partly agree: riding without a goal can be a goal in itself.

Measuring, finding the cause (mass break) and fixing.

A trip to the local Aldi...

... and prepared a meal on my spirit burner: beetroot with apple, spinach-ricotta and shrimps.

I took a walk ...

... discovering quite late in the evening that my air mattress was leaky. Fortunately, I was able to borrow a mattress from friendly neighbors so I did not have to sleep on the rock hard soil.

Tuesday, August 16: another beautiful day...

... with a very beautiful sunrise. That's the reason I didn't want a campsite in the center of Kassel: avoiding crowds as long as possible.

Leak detected with water with detergent, and the pruncture repaired.

Hearty breakfast that made me go for hours.

And then entering the crowds: Documenta Fifteen!

Quote Wikipedia: The Documenta has been the most important exhibition of contemporary visual art in the world since 1955. This exhibition takes place once every five years in Kassel (Germany). The exhibition lasts exactly one hundred days and extends mostly over the entire city. The main building is the Fridericianum.

So I considered the front of the Fridericianum to be a suitable parking space.

The pillars of this stately building were decorated from top to bottom with political slogans and cartoons by Aboriginal artist Richard Bell.

Some with a humorous reference, like this one to Don Quixote. But all of them with a political weight, in this case by replacing the mills by windmills.

Some of the drawings were very simple but made you thinknevertheless …

... and perhaps: discuss.

And that is exactly what the curators, the Indonesian collective Ruangrupa, intended: contemporary art does not matter anymore. Instead there was music, cooking, gardening and a lot of talking: 'Power to the collective!'

Art should, of course, also encourage discussion, but in this Documenta not the image but the spoken word was in first place.

Everything was up for discussion, including my job as a teacher at an academy. Questions you couldn't just put aside.

And everyone was challenged to participate.

In addition to the discussions, there was a lot of indignation, a lot of anger. About injustice in the broadest sense of the word: colonialism, racial inequality, rich and poor, dictatorship and oppression, sexism, up to and including genocide. And of course: the environment.

When I suddenly came across work by Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei, I noticed that it was quite out of place. On the other hand, Ai Wei Wei of course is, beside famous artist, an important activist.

Much of the work was not made to stimulate or move the viewer, which is clearly what much contemporary art strives for. Artists who processed waste products into sculptures together with children were given a stage here.

Wonderful initiatives, but the results did not appeal to me. Awareness over image.

The few works that impressed me came from the collective called FAFSWAG: highly atmospheric videos that draw attention (because yes: Documenta Fifteen) to the queer community in the indigenous cultures of Samoa and New Zealand. Beautiful soundtrack, vulnerable and powerful.

FAFSWAG is a portmanteau of fa'afafine (non-binary in Samoan) and swag (stylish confidence). And that sums up their wonderful work very well. Simply breathtaking.

Most of the other videos had a strong documentary character and exposed abuses. The art – video in this case – is once again subservient to the story, subservient to engagement.

After this somewhat heavy meal, I treated myself to a Poke Bowl, a dish I hadn't heard of until recently. Fresh and fruity, just what I needed.

Rain was foretold in the afternoon. It did not rain ...

... but beautiful threatening skies covered Kassel. I like the combination with demolition work. ;)

In the evening I marked which of the 32 (!) locations I had visited on my now battered map, and which ones I still wanted to see tomorrow ...

... and prepared a fine meal with chicken breast, penne and a field salad.

In the evening I took a walk on the campsite: mainly residents of Kassel seeking their peace and quiet here.

Wednesday, August 17: a peek from the tent. Would it get that hot again?

Yes, it did. But I became familiar with the winding road to and from Kassel, resulting in more wind.

The cobblestone roads of Kassel were not pleasant ...

... and so wasn't the majority of the art I saw that day: activist, angry art, brimming with graphic clichés.

I don't doubt the pure intentions of the makers for one second, but I think the form is just dreadful.

Anger, all over the place, room after room. Art as propaganda.

Sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally, the existing text mixed with the visual work, as here in Hallenbad Ost, the swimming pool: 'Vor verlassen der Schwimmhalle gut abtrocknen' ('dry well before leaving the swimming hall'). I thought that was funny but I doubt whether that was the intention of the makers because humor was hard to find in this Documenta.

The sculptures by the Haitian collective Atis Rezistans were nice and abrasive.

Ferocious images with references to death, to voodoo, to science fiction and to sex.

Funny and bizarre and wry. As a viewer, you sure have to chew on it for a while.

I couldn't get enough ...

... as you can see.

Especially since the location is a church.

Okay, just this one.

And further: Denmark is a horrible asylum country ...

... and I ended my visit viewing a depressing video about the Palestinian issue.

Back at the campsite I prepared a tasty burger. And had a nice beer.

Almost traditionally in Germany I am bitten by the bloodsucking Blandford Fly, which already let me cut short a holiday in 2015. Luckily I had meds with me to limit the damage.

Thursday, August 18: I had a nice breakfast ...

... and treated the CBX tasty petrol with an octane rating of 102. Pure indulgence! :)

At times the roads were so bad that I feared I would be toothless after the ride.

A drizzly day was predicted.

So I decided to make it a sauna day. I had never done that before on a motorcycle trip.

Obviously no pictures taken in the sauna. ;)

But one from the outside, from the other side of the river: I could not believe that the sauna's sunbathing area was visible from the public road, and yet it was. It surprised me so much because my German friends are so very fond of their privacy, and they don't understand, for example, our habit of having the curtains open at night. A special experience. And more than that: wonderfully relaxing!

The road to Villa Löwenherz was nice and winding. A beautiful building, with relaxed visitors. Only motorcyclists are welcome.

Of course first I had to screen what kind of bikes were present. Mainly sports bikes, and that's no wonder because Lower Saxony is a good touring area.

There were also big cruisers, like this 2,300 cc Triumph Rocket 3.

It turned out I had a twelve-person room to myself. Not bad!

I got acquainted with Rudy and Gert. Motorcyclists make contact easily anyway, especially when it is combined with beer and schnapps.

It soon became crazy. ;)

Friday, August 19: a hearty breakfast killed the hangover straight away.

I was strongly adviced to visit Goldwinghaus Fuchs, in Uslar.

Yes, six-cylinder, yes, Honda too, but still not quite my type of bikes. They looked at each other a little unease, and at an appropriate distance.

Fuchs had listed all prejudices against Goldwings on a banner.

A huge collection, with a lot of bling.

And that bling was also shamelessly promoted: 'Das Sondermodell mit viel Lack, Licht & Chrom' ('the special model with a lot of paint, light and chrome').

There was also ample choice in to trikes converted Goldwings. So you can even take móre with you, and who wouldn't want that?

No, don't be silly, to each his own, as the banner said: 'Nicht lästern - fahren!' ('don't speak bad - ride!'). Because that's how it is.

A photo wall showed proud owners.

And I must say ... this model ... Goldwing 'Bagger' ... looks quite good. Who knows, in 10 years or so... or 50? ;)

The predecessor of the current 1,800cc boxer six-cylinder is this GL1000, with boxer four-cylinder. Naked, classic seventies, and meanwhile very expensive.

They love six-cylinder motorcycles in Uslar. There was also the naked version of the Goldwing, the F6C ...

... and the six-cylinder in-line from BMW, the K1600.

The roads to the motorcycle meeting were sometimes beautiful, through endless forests. The asphalt quality in the Harz, riding towards former East Germany, sometimes was quite challenging ...

... until suddenly there was the 'Autobahn' A7, with pitch black, brand new asphalt. A feast for body and soul.

The tiny rain shower was negligible.

Bikers were welcomed from afar to the '18. Langensteiner Bikertreffen', organized by the Bikerfreunde Langenstein. Had I ever heard of this meeting? No, I had never been to former East Germany with the CBX before, but the photos of the meetings from previous years looked nice and inviting. So why not?

Erwin and I had agreed to catch up at the meeting; he got there an hour before me, on his Fireblade.

Twenty years ago, almost to the day, we attended our first meeting together, the memorable Bulldog Bash in England. Here is a grainy photo of our outward journey, in 2002. Back then the CBX had carbon fenders and a 'real' seat.

Actually, nothing really changed because we can still have a good time!

The meeting got off to a quiet start that evening, so we could chat in peace; important too. :)

Saturday, August 20: Erwin decided not to participate in the rideout, and I understood that. Because in the Harz you can do far more exciting sportsbike things than riding in a traffic jam with other bikers.

In the meantime I enjoyed (the sight of the) many kinds of cake that villagers had baked. Really nice to see with how much pride and pleasure everyone worked together to nurse the visitors.

There was a booth for clothes...

... including shirts with a wry sense of humor: 'Vizeweltmeister 1945' ('runner-up 1945'). As the German poet Otto Julius Bierbaum (1865 - 1910) once said: 'Humor ist, wenn man trotzdem lacht' (humor is when you laugh anyway'). Is it funny? Or tasteless?

To be very clear:: there was absolutely no right-wing extremism in the many conversations I had.

Nice to see, among all the new bikes, these builds in typical 90s German streetfighter style ...

... recognizable by the steep exhaust and the equally steep seat.

Now and then it was quite busy around the CBX.

Prior to the rideout, Mayor Holger Werkmeister (r) addressed the participants. Holger was there all weekend and actively helped by baking burgers for hours at the BBQ.

A procession of 150 motorcycles, and a trip of 100 kilometers. Wonderful to see how people from many villages along the road, young and old, took pictures, filmed and applauded. So very different to the Netherlands, unfortunately.

You see me passing at 1 min 42 sec. And hear me revving oncet.

I doubted quite some time whether I would join in or not because the pace of course is very low, an average of 25 kilometers per hour. I don't mind, but the CBX is not really happy with it, in terms of heat generation.

Luckily there was a break half way through ...

... in which I got aquainted with a group of 'Ossies', as the inhabitants of the former Eastern Bloc are nicknamed.

Always entertaining, the so-called 'funny games': completely in East German style a Trabantje ('Trabi') was pushed as fast as possible.

Special attention to the woman at the top left: she cleaned the scarce toilets 24/7, a task not to be underestimated at a motorcycle meeting. Callable at any time, judging by her blue gloves.

'Der Bürgermeister' was small in size but big in character.

Saturday night was much busier than the night before. Many villagers also joined. A really nice atmosphere.

Erwin and I had a lot of fun with 'the Ossies' ...

... the Status Quo cover band did a good job ...

... and suddenly there was the 'schönstes Bike' award. :)

With a trophy and a bottle of schnapps. And many enthusiastic congratulations.

We celebrated with Der Bürgermeister and the Ossies; of course we were 'die Holländer'. Names don't matter at all. ;)

Sunday, August 21: you'd think I'd be pretty wrecked after three nights of drinking. But that wasn't too bad: practice makes perfect, or just the hangover-poor German beer? Long live the Reinheitsgebot!

Again breakfast was lavish.

Well, where do you put that trophy? Leaving it behind is not an option.

I disassembled it so I could transport it in parts.

A pose with Olaf Hentrich, who I think is the brain behind the Bikerfreunde. Which are not an association, not a club, and certainly not a motorcycle club. Olaf may not have an official status, but he was firmly in control during the weekend.

Really nice people, in Langenstein.

Der Bürgermeister insisted that Erwin and I payed a visit to his 'Stolz', his pride: a historic barn that has been completely converted into a party space, just great.

Then I 'earthquaked' towards home. To finish this ride in one day, was a bit reckless …

... because it was scorching hot again.

I ended up at a strange campsite just outside Bielefeld, with albino kangaroos.

'Just outside Bielefeld' ... Bielefeld ... rumor has it that Bielefeld does not really exist. I can neither deny nor confirm it. ;)

Pitched my tent for the last time ...

... and took a long dip in the almost deserted lake next to the campsite; couldn't be better.

Or could it? Because photographing desolate caravans is a secret passion of mine.

In the evening I went for a walk around the lake. The picture says it all.

Monday, August 22: straight home, full force to the west. On the way I discovered that Bielefeld has a museum: too late, bad luck, and Bielefeld does not exist after all. ;)

A second bite from a Blandford Fly, this time in my hand, confirmed my choice.

Cruising Autobahn A57, direction Nijmegen ...

... with slightly increased speed.

Immediately upon returning home: TLC for the bike. Drained the oil ...

... mounted a fresh oil filter ...

He also has a USB stick with photos and a video compilation of the meeting. A crane item.

Quote: 'The award for the most beautiful bike went to Oli, who had come to Langenstein from Holland with his buddy to take part in the 18th biker meeting, with a clear lead. The machine, with TÜV approval, is made entirely of stainless steel, without switches or mirrors - but with cameras and a display. "A really complex in-house development by the Dutchman, which has now been appreciated by the Bikerfreunde", reports 56-year-old Hentrich.'

Thanks, Bikerfreunde Langenstein. Und auf Wiedersehen! :)