Part 1: The cultural journey to Vespa World Days: Switzerland  | RALLERY

We have certainly been spoilt with the destinations recently for the annual gathering of Vespisti in Europe. with the Euro Vespa in Portugal last year and now a chance to ride down to the stunning Swiss Alps for Vespa World Days, I didn’t need much persuading to load up the scooter and head south.

My usual riding buddies, along with most other sensible folk riding down from the UK, set off the weekend before the event which started on the Thursday. Unfortunately for me, the thing that pays the bills meant I couldn’t leave until Tuesday night. A blast down to the Chunnel and I crossed over at midnight into Francais.

Hundreds of spray cans and not one matt black in sight…

There were a couple of benefits to me having to ride down on my own, firstly it meant I could pick my own route. So I was able to arrange to meet up with a top street artist who kindly allowed me to see the monster new piece he was painting over the Rhine. Secondly, it meant I could just ride and stop to suit my derriere and weary eyes. 

Al fresco sleeping

Having ridden across Northern France many times I decided to jump on the motorways to get the first 150 miles under my belt, eventually pulling into the services for a kip stop and in search of some high-end “accommodation.” I pulled together a few tables outside the restaurant, creating a cosy single room and curled up under them.

After a few hours of sleep, I woke up to grab a bit of breakfast and noticed a biker had a similar idea, but he was roughing it under a tree, the heathen.

Inkie meets SLUK legend, Shaun during a break from ruining an old dam

The rest of my journey down to Interlaken would avoid motorways. It’s certainly the best way to travel across Europe on two wheels as you can discover some amazing places and roads. One being the D415 over the Vosges Mountain Range, not quite the Alps, but it certainly beats seeing miles of crash barriers.

I had arranged to meet Inkie, a legend in the street art world who learnt his craft as a kid in Bristol alongside some other street artist from there that you might have heard of. He had been commissioned to paint the full length of a hydroelectric dam stretching across the Rhine from France to Germany. 250m of art applied using a spray can is no mean feat. It certainly provided an impressive backdrop for a few pictures.

Small world

Coincidentally, he mentioned that the night before he had been in a bar in the local town of Marckolsheim and it was full of Vespa memorabilia. It turned out to be the home of the local Vespa Club, with several visiting there as they also set off down to Interlaken, it’s a small world.

It was such an honour to be allowed to meet up with Inkie and to view the work up close and behind the scenes, huge thanks to him and the Mausa team.

Mausa Vauban

After walking between France and Germany a few times, it was time to let the great man get on with his momentous task. I rode down the Rhine (well at the side of it at least) popping into Germany to grab a few photos and then on to an amazing walled town in France, Neuf Brisach. The place is surrounded by three, star-shaped walls all staggered to provide defence to a town laid out in a grid of streets inside. You need to see it on a map to really appreciate it.

The town also housed a museum of urban art, Mausa Vauban, in a series of vaults under those defensive walls. It was amazing to walk through the corridors and discover some of the world’s top artists’ work all around you incorporated into the surroundings perfectly. It was the Mausa team that had arranged for Inkie to paint the dam. If you’re into street art keep a watch out for their name as you will be hearing a lot from them in the future.

The hotel in town proved scooterist friendly and allowed me to park the scooter in a barn so I could relax and sample a few local cidres with them, before the final ride down to Interlaken the next day.

Buttisholz

I’m sure I’m not alone when looking at a map to search out an interesting route and a place name just jumps out at you and gets added to the route. I took a meandering ride across into Switzerland around Basel and down towards Lucerne, ignoring Wiliberg and Grosswangen as I only had eyes for Buttisholz. The locals must have thought me strange as I took a photo of the sign and entered Buttisholz with a big grin on my face.

Vespa snake

From here the roads were stunning, twisty, single lane at some points and unusually full of Vespas, considering there were still 60 miles to go and many routes to choose from. Often the main ridden contingent are the Brits, however this time I stumbled across large groups of German, Austrian, Swiss and some French and Italian riders. Coupled with the ever-impressive, snow-capped Alps as a backdrop this was a fantastic stretch of the journey.

Dropping down onto the road running alongside the lakes, Lungeresee and Brienzersee, I joined a constant stream of Vespas snaking along to Interlaken, another impressive sight.

Bargain hunt

I headed straight to our digs for the weekend to meet the others, an apartment in a typical Alpine-style chalet that only a month or so before was probably being used by skiers. Our very own travel agent, Helen, always finds us some proper accommodation (no sleeping under restaurant tables when she’s booking). We stocked up on supplies from the “cheap” supermarket nearby and then found a “cheap” restaurant and bar next door. One thing Switzerland isn’t, is cheap, however, it wasn’t as bad as I think a lot of us feared, although the lines of scooters parked up outside the local Aldi spoke volumes.

Words and photos: Shaun