If you're a first-time visitor to this page, you should start with the original announcement. This page is mostly just last minute details...

Here's the URL for the outfit doing the tour for us. Just choose World/European tours, and then EUROPE HIGH ALPINE ADVENTURE:

http://www.edelweissbiketravel.com/

To confirm some important details, here are the dates for each group:

Group 1:	Plan on arriving at the Sauerlachen (sp?) Post Hotel by 3pm on Sunday, July 22nd. Your reservations are covered for the nights of the 22nd thru (and including) the 28th.
Group 2:	Plan on arriving at the Sauerlachen (sp?) Post Hotel by 3pm on Saturday, July 28th. Your reservations are covered for the nights of the 28th thru (and including) August 3rd.

Saturday night, July 28th we will all be staying at the Sauerlacher Post and having dinner together. Both groups can swap lies, try to drink one another under the table, and barter for jet-lag medications. :-)

Arriving early or staying late? You can book rooms at the Sauerlacher, which are roughly $80/single and $110/double, or you can stay in nearby Munich. There is a train from downtown Munich to Sauerlach that runs every 20 minutes and will deliver you to within about 300 meters of our hotel. Needless to say, there is way more to do and see in Munich. I will get the names and addresses of some of the larger Munich motorcycle and accessory shops and post them here later. My guess is you can get Held gloves for 50% or 60% of what Helimot's charges...

I don't think you can rent a car in Sauerlach, but you sure can at the airport or in Munich. European car rentals aren't as cheap as they are here in the USA, so be prepared. Automatic transmissions aren't common in rental cars either, so practice your clutch work if necessary.

You can rent BMW motorcycles in Munich, and I believe the BMW website has links to how to do this. Unfortunately, it's in German. :-) BTW, the German word for motorcycle is "motorrad". In most European languages "moto" means motorcycle (easier to remember). I'll also try to find actual contact info for Munich area motorcycle rentals.

BTW -- everyone riding has a VALID MOTORCYCLE ENDORSEMENT on their license, right? That is an absolute requirement -- no endorsement, no bike. That's Edelweiss' rule, not mine. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND taking your license to a nearby AAA office and getting an "International Drivers License". This official looking document is in reality just a translation of your real license into the various languages of Europe. MAKE DAMN SURE YOU HAVE THEM INCLUDE YOUR MOTORCYCLE ENDORSEMENT. Most likely they will not, unless you ask. Even if you do ask they may not do it so check it yourself. Don't expect some Cop in Austria to know that the tiny little "end 3" on your WA drivers license means you have a motorcycle endorsement. This is very important.   DO NOT FORGET TO TAKE CARE OF THIS MATTER !

Here are the groups (group leaders are shown in bold red text). The names of the folks who speak German are shown in dark green. Roommates are indicated by the color of the row.

Most questions are probably answered on the Web page mentioned above, or by calling Mary Etta at:+1 (800) 582-2263 (she's our travel agent). Otherwise, email: wizard (at) micapeak (dot) com">H. Marc Lewis, the reluctant cat wrangler, but be prepared for a terse reply if you haven't RTFM...