Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Elegant motorcycles inside the Old City

Yesterday I felt a strange need to visit the Old City of Jerusalem. Immediately upon entering the old Jaffa Gate, I understood what had "called" me there. Look at these BMWs!!

(You see, when in college in America my mode of transportation was a Honda 50. I loved it and always dreamed of crossing the country, ala John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, on a black BMW.)
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I circled the bikes, trying not to drool on them. I sat next to them, took pictures, read the stickers, wondered about the license plates, marveled at the helmets. Then finally I figured out that man in black was the rider.

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Click on the photo and you'll see the Austrian eagle and the name of Innsbruck.
The American man leaning on the post explained he and a small group were touring Israel with these and six other motorcycles with Edelweiss Bike Travel (http://www.edelweissbike.com/). Because motorcycles cannot be rented in Israel, they had to be brought in from Austria for this first-of-its-kind-in-Israel trip.
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They had wanted to ride to Petra also but the Jordanians did not allow the bikes into the Kingdom.
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The lucky man gave me permission to post this and I wished him happy trails. His lucky lucky wife returned from her shopping spree in the bazaar along with the second couple.
And off they drove.
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The powerful purr of the BMW engines was just as I remembered it from the 1960s.
Sigh. . .
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10 comments:

  1. wow! i can imagine people giving way to those elegant motorcycles.

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  2. pretty bikes indeed, we have a bike and love to ride. I am glad to see the helmuts. Here in Fla they dont have to wear them but we still do!

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  3. I'd like to have one of those please ... Nice, sturdy, powerful, and speedy looking motorbikes. I like them.

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  4. My hubby and I used to dream of touring the country on a motor bike. It looks like so much fun. And BMW's are the best.
    *hugs*

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  5. I was right, wasn'y I? You're an adventurer in your heart.

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  6. Ah yes, Dina, may those dreams still be fulfilled someday....honestly, one really never knows.
    They are beauties!

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  7. Nice bikes... But I never ride bikes like those...

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  8. My brother still rides his motorcycle to work without a helmet. It makes me so crazy. I can imagine you on a bike, Dina WITH a bike helmet.

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  9. This took me back too...until I dumped the darn things on some stones in the road..that was the end of that..but we had some fun...

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