We left Koln on Monday morning, knowing that it would be our last day on the road. While we were elated that we could soon give each other a huge high five, it was bittersweet. We knew it was going to be strange to stop and stay still for a while, as we figure out what to do next.
You’ve probably seen that north-west Europe was hit by a big storm on Monday. And that’s what we were riding in. The wind was nuts, with gusts that test even a Wellington motorcyclist. But we pressed on, knowing that we would have a warm place at the end of the day. Later we saw on TV that the storm brought down trees and disrupted public transport all over the country, and even caused some fatalities in Amsterdam as trees landed on people.
Postponing our arrival just a little longer, made a detour to Essen to visit Edelweiss motorsports, a company that specialises in tuning BMWs like ours to get the best out of them. Dirk is a really enthusiastic guy, with such obvious passion for these bikes and what they’re capable of.
We crossed the border into Holland, and shortly afterwards pulled up to our surrogate home in Nunspeet with Igor’s extended family. Joep and Liesbeth are on vacation at the moment, but their son JP and his wife Mirella welcomed us with open arms (and delicious Indonesian food!)
It’s going to take a while for us to work out what we want to do next. It would be easy to slot back into ‘ordinary’ life, but we both know we are different people to those who set off over 5 months ago (although one of us still has a thing for shoes and roller derby…). We’re not sure where we’ll settle yet, or even if we will settle. For now, we’re doing laundry, giving the bike a thorough check-up and looking at work opportunities through contacts we’ve made along the way.
We’ve become a really tight unit, able to sustain days in a row in constant company of only each other. We always said that if we made it here still married, we’d be together for life. And here we are.
Thanks for sharing the ride with us.
x
Stay tuned for our potential new expat blog – Oranje is the new Black.
igor&penny hit the road 
Congrats guys, awesome thing to have achieved. You’re ace.
We’ve become a really tight unit, able to sustain days in a row in constant company of only each other. We always said that if we made it here still married, we’d be together for life. And here we are. That says it all………… lots of love…
I could not agree more with the above. What a wonderful ending to all your story telling. Got tears in my eyes.
Love to you both.
Well done Pinny & Igor. You guys were good fun when you visited us in Bulgaria. Your biggest problem now (from one who knows) is a thing known as “Wanderlust” – coming to the “end” is only the beginning of plans for the next adventure ! Love Martin & Gina, Idilevo
Congratulations you 2 and thank you for sharing your funny and interesting stories!
Hey guys, what an awesome effort!
I’ve loved getting your updates along your journey and am a little sad that they might end now you’ve reached your destination. You’ve certainly done it with style and I feel privileged to have been along for the ride with you without leaving home!
😥 Hard to believe you’ve been on the road since we got back in July – Seems a lot longer for us than I’m sure it did for you!
I admit we have some catching up to do on your blog… but we knew you’d be Europe-side by now.
Congratulations to you both!
And if you ever find yourselves in Scotland give us a call.
All the best and good luck.
Robbie and Hazel.