Europe India trip - Day 2: sightseeing at Abu Dhabi, Sofia and riding from Leuven (Belgium) - Munster (Germany)

This post is part of my Europe - India solo motorbike trip . You may like to read that post first for context

I had mentioned in the previous post that I had parked my motorbike at Leuven, at my friend’s place & took flight to India to have a week long catchup with my wife. 

For the return trip, I again used Kiwi app but this time, booked the cheapest option that has layover between hops as long as 12 hours. During my onward journey to India, I faced challenges because of flight delay but then, I thought of using the long layovers to do some sight seeing. I had 12 hour layover at Abu Dhabi & equally long one at Sofia, Bulgaria. I really enjoyed the Ferrari World, specifically the ‘Formula Rossa’ ride which gave real F1 feeling with 0-240 kmph acceleration in a few seconds. I must have sat on the ride for like 4 times. I also went to the Warner Bros & the sets etc were nice, but I missed Ferrari World so I quickly dashed back to it to take one more ride of Formula Rossa :). 

Most UAE is desert which I had heard but then looking at this, I felt like, maybe I should ride in a desert too .. hmm .. next bucket list maybe

Ferrari World is very close from Abu Dhabi but there are no direct bus. I had to change bus & then stand in scorching heat without any shade. I walked to a nearby tree & stood there to beat the sun.

The most impressive ride in Ferrari World for me

This view of Ferrari World is visible from the plane when you reach Abu Dhabi. Keep an eye out. On my onward journey to India, I was desperately trying to see Burj Khalifa but it is not that clearly visible in the night.

The most impressive thing about Warner Bros for me were the sky colour depiction

It seems there are times when cartoon characters come out & are willing to pose with you. I happen to only see Superman & Supergirl (I dint even know she exist)

I reached pretty late night in Sofia & slept in the airport itself. I took morning metro to the city & then went for the free walking tour. I liked Sofia city centre. It felt like a pretty nice, laid back town which was pretty cheap as well. I had to leave the walking tour midway as I had to catch my flight. 

Sofia city center view

The Sofia orthodox church

Building looked nice but dint know what it is. I was in Sofia early & the walking tour was slated to start at 11. So was generally passing time roaming around.

Liked the views around Sofia city center. It felt like a very laid back town.

I reached Charleroi (Brussels) by like 3 PM & took a bus to Charleroi Youth Hostel which was walking distance from the Charleroi Central. It was a nice hostel & 29 Euros fetched me breakfast as well, although I left pretty early next day without having it :). I went out for evening meal to a place nearby that have lots of cats. 

I slept off early that day so that I can leave early to Leuven where my bike is parked. I was up at 4 AM or so and boarded 6 AM train to Brussels Midi & had connecting train to Leuven. I had to take a bus from Leuven station to my friend Sreeman’s place, where I reached by 8:30.

View from Charleroi to Brussels train

Bus ticket from Leuven station to my friend’s place. Every bus ticket typically cost 2.5 Euros in Brussels irrespective of distance I guess.

Belgium countryside is pretty nice

Sreeman was nice to offer me breakfast at this place & then he had to leave for some work so I was with my bike, readying it up for the ride. 

I quickly realised that front disc brake has gone too soft. I had noticed this in London itself after the leak problem was fixed but as I continue to ride, the brake used to go normal. This time, it has gone completely soft & I was like - I am not riding this bike without taking it to a mechanic. I asked Sreeman if he knows someone around but being a non biker, I quickly resorted to finding a place on Google Map. The nearest place was like 20 miles away. I decided to load up the bike & then take a call if I want to see the mechanic (or not). 

After Sreeman rode it for a small distance & took a few pics on it, they left for the work & I start to load the bike up. I also did a bit of pooja (Indian ritual). I realised I am carrying a coconut which I could not break in London (it is an Indian thing) which I did this time. It took me so long to do all this that Sreeman was back by the time I was about to leave :). Being a bit embarrassed, I hurried to leave. With some riding, I realised the brake has become all right. I decided to anyway head to the mechanic for a quick check. 

Sreeman insisted on a pic before he left with his family for work while I stayed behind getting my bike ready. He is the one of the left.

Got this decal printed in India & then stuck it on my top box as part of the prepping up for the ride.

Sreeman clicked this pic before I left. Could you spot the ‘Anjaneya’ decal in the front :)

I reached the mechanic place by 1:15 PM & as Google Map had rightly pointed - 1-2 PM was lunch time & the garage was closed. I waited a bit & then decided to skip meeting the mechanic as I felt the brakes are working fine. The challenge this detour has created, is that, it was already 1:30 PM & I am pretty far from Munster. I still decide to take the countryside road as I was not sure if I can ride on the German motorways (also called Auto Bahns) as they dont have speed limit. 

On the way to Munster, I passed a motorbike accessory shop. I have not passed any & it piqued my interest. I quickly turned around & decided to have a go at it. I realised that my left hand is paining a bit because the clutch being too hard & I felt my gloves were a bit too tight. So I decided to buy a new pair. I met Miriam, who is sales person at the shop. Miriam is a biking enthusiast & took her time to explain various options she got. I was pretty impressed with her interest & passion. It was also my first time seeing a motorbike accessory shop that is so ‘complete’. It had everything that you would require for your ride. I ended up buying a leather gloves but I kept using my old gloves itself. 

Thats Miriam

The newly bought gloves are on top of the rucksack .. if you can spot them :)

On the way, I stopped for breaks & was checking places to stay in Munster. I found two hostels. I emailed one & called another, primarily to check if they have place to park motorbike. I had read online that in most Europe, including Germany, you can park motorbike on the side walk (foot path) in a way that it should be obstructing anything (pretty much like a cycle). Paul from Hostel Munster said that they have public parking places nearby & I can try my luck. So I decided to head to the place. 

By the time I reached Hostel Munster, it was pretty late & I was reasonably tired. The hostel was at city centre with one ways & I had to go around a few times to be able to find a place to park my motorbike temporarily to go talk to Paul & then find a permanent place. At reception, I found another guy Ahmed who suggested that I can park it at the side walk or further down, there is a pub & the owner parks his motorbike there & I can park next to it. I chose this option. I unloaded all the boxes one by one & brought in all my luggage & then parked the bike at the place Ahmed suggested. This was my first time unloaded all the stuff & I was fairly tired. In this entire process, I ended up dropping my gloves somewhere which I figured only next day when I was looking for them. Anyway, the one that I had bought from Miriam came in useful. Guess that was the destiny anyway :). 

Hostel Munster was a bit expensive at 30+ Euros but was a pretty nicely designed one. I also figured that 30 Euros is a standard hostel cost in Germany. I went for a take away dinner from a Nepali restaurant opposite it called Maro Buddha. I talked to the lady on reception in Hindi & it was a good conversation. I retired to bed hoping to leave for Bremen (or Hamburg) the next day, after doing a quick Munster sight seeing.