30th of May, 2018. An unreal feeling. Less than 48 hours in a foreign country, I see myself on my own newly-purchased bike!

Explored my options with my German mate, Konrad, around the city of Cologne in search of my new bike, and found a 2017 BMW R Nine T Racer in mint condition at an official BMW dealership that I couldn’t pass on for anything else. The bike was a former corporate vehicle which needed to be cleared off the showroom at a massive loss to make way for more stock.

The dealership needed it gone ASAP; I needed a bike immediately. The opportunity was a marriage of commerce that was meant to be. As soon as I left the dealership with the bike, however, it began to rain! What are the odds. The last time I took delivery of a bike from a dealership was when I bought the Panigale. None of this bad weather wasn’t gonna be harshing my mellow, as I rode on my merry way back to base in Gummersbach. 🏠

Karl and I were pretty much running around as we frantically set out to get as many other non-bike stuff sorted, only because I so highly insisted that they were important. Motorcycle insurance was a big deal, as goes mobile services. All services that I went for were recommended by Karl as he’s had no issues with the providers, and he’ll be able to give me pointers if I run into issues as he’s familiar with them.

I applied with DEVK Versicherungen for full comprehensive cover for the BMW, and it will cover me through all the European countries, including non-EU territories. Bring on the arsonists, bike thieves and road accidents. Mobile service will be via two different SIM cards, with Congstar and Aldi Talk. Usage will depend on their respective reception availabilities.

I didn’t want to be constantly ripped off by Commonwealth Bank for using their ‘affordable’ Travel Money card as their conversion rate was unfavourable against the market going rate. I signed up with the German bank, Sparkasse, then used the highly-recommended and incredibly affordable online currency service, TransferWise, to send my AUD to my German account converted to EUR.

 

Expenses: