pedelon. travels by ebike

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1 BASQUE COUNTRY +++ to Bilbao and in Guggenheim s picture cosmos +++ tradition and avant-garde of the Basque +++ Euskera, Archaic language riddle +++ country of opposites +++ green mountains, lonely valleys and the magnificent beaches of San Sebastián +++ Guernica for the peace +++ Art is a lie that shows us the truth. (Picasso) +++ old fishermen s harbors, lonesome mountain valleys, picturesque old towns full on authenticity and originality +++ high-level cooking art in taverns, gourmet restaurants and in the cooking men s club +++ designer hotels, Royal Parador and rural comfort +++ with the ebike through the memorable North of Spain on picturesque paths +++ Our tour through the Basque country and Navarra in 7 days, up to 14 persons. Hotels Gastronomy Culture Nature ***** **** *** *****! FRANCE San Juan de Gaztelugatxe St Jean-de-Luz Getxo Bilbao Gernika Sare San Sebastián Travel dates 2018 EBA1: Saturday, 26-may-2018 to Saturday, 02-jun-2018 EBA2: Saturday, 02-jun-2018 to Saturday, 09-jun-2018 EBA3: Saturday, 22-sep-2018 to Saturday, 29-sep-2018 Travelling price Price per person in the DR for 7 nights with half-board, ebike, entrance free, transfers, guided tours: 1850 Single-room surcharge: 390 Does not include lunch, drinks and your personal expenses as well as travelling there and back. SPAIN Lekunberri Vitoria Gasteiz Parque Nacional Urbasa y Andia Pamplona Estella by ebike by Bus Olite 10 km 1

2 Flight Target airport Bilbao from/to Munich (as available): 370 Surcharge for other German airports: 50 Flights from airports in other contries on request. Train From Germany, Austria and Switzerland, you can reach Bilbao by train in 9 to 12 hours with several transfers. 12 hours from Hamburg and Berlin, two transfers cannot be avoided. Car Direct motorway connection to Bilbao. From Berlin 2000, Frankfurt 1500, Munich 1600 and Hamburg 1800 kilometers. You can leave your car at the Bilbao airport during the bicycle tour (approx. 80 /week). Participation conditions The arrangement contains the above services. Our terms and conditions apply. With your booking confirmation, you will receive the pedelon travel information, which contains useful notes on travelling to Bilbao and other advice around your trip. 2

3 BASQUE COUNTRY An ebike travel with rich culture, tradition and wild beauties of nature. Green mountains, lonesome valleys and magnificent beaches, esteemed by queens, painters and poets. Passion for high waves and rich art, old fishermen s harbors, lonely mountain villages, picturesque old towns full of authenticity and originality. By ebike through the memorable North of Spain on picturesque paths. Travel to Bilbao by plane or in your own car. You can reach the city in just under half an hour by shuttle bus. The bus stop is just a few meters away from the hotel. The pedelon partner Gran Hotel Domine is one of the best inns in town. It inspires with its unique design. All rooms for pedelon guests have a view of the Guggenheim museum. Its continuous exhibition presents nearly only 20th century art. At 6 PM, you will be met in the hotel hall by a local tourist guide who will invite you to a round trip of the old town. The walk ends at a restaurant that is known for its outstanding Basque specialties. tour as well as the palace of the Dukes of Granada de Egat. The magnificent building from the 12th century now serves as the Gustavo de Maeztu Museum. On the way to the hotel, you will see the impressive main church of Estella, San Pedro el Mayor, from 1st day, Sunday: Bilbao Estella, 42 km After breakfast on the roof of hotel Domine with a view of the Guggenheim museum, the bus takes about one and a half hours from Bilbao to the Sierra de Urbasa. On the lonesome plateau, the bicycle path meanders through the 100-year-old beech forests, green meadows and bizarre rock formations. With a little luck, the local griffon vulture will turn up. It has a wing span of nearly three meters and can reach a weight of up to twelve kilograms. You will leave the De Urbasa mountain range in a comfortable downhill ride and reach the dryer climate zone of the Zona Media. Fantastic views of the grotesque rocky landscape of the Sierra de Santiago de Loquiz and small picturesque villages are constant companions on the leg to Estella, which you will reach late in the afternoon. Explore the old town by bike. The only maintained Romanesque profane building of Navarra is part of the sight-seeing the 13th century. It has a particularly decorative Baroque altar. Your biking day will end at the hotel Tximista, a skillfully converted grain storage with comfortable rooms in an interesting design. For dinner, you will meet in one of the best taverns of Estella. 2nd day, Monday: Estella Olite, 50 km In the morning, the bus will take you to Sierra del Pérdon in about half an hour. Today s bicycling section starts downhill by ebike. It will take you through a diverse landscape between lakes, seemingly endless meadows and pine forests to Puenta de la Reina, an important pilgrimage town on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela. With its glamorous churches and richly decorated patrician houses, it is one of the jewels of Navarra s cities. Across the powerful Romanesque bridge, with spans the river Arga with four arches, you will continue on to Artajona, a legendary medie- 3

4 val fortress. The defensive castle from the 11th century towers majestically over the small village. After an extended climb that is Basque, a regional almond cake specialty, the difference between the Spanish, very original and slightly poor Basque country, and the French accurate, wealthy pays Basque becomes quite clear. In the afternoon, you will reach Ascain at the foot of the 900 meters high Rhune, a popular excursion destination in the country behind the Atlantic coast. It is worth staying here. Many richly decorated manors, old frontons and the playing fields for the Basque national sport pelota decorate this picturesque town. The last bicycle kilometers to St. Jean de Luz lead past nine mills that line the small path to the sophisticated harbor town of South-Western France. Before the charming La Devinière with its friendly management ends today s section, you can visit the quite fun on the ebikes, the last kilometers today will lead across intensely agriculturally used areas to Olite, the former seat of Navarra s court. The magnificent King s palace has been protected as a monument since 1925 and is one of the most important Gothic profane buildings in Europe. Today, it is a high-level inn with comfortable rooms in its historic buildings. Dinner will take place in the Parador s historical restaurant. 3rd day, Tuesday: Olite Vera di Bidasoa, 85 km After the Royal breakfast in the Parador, the visit to Navarra will end by bus, which will take you to the Aralar Massif, in the middle of Basque country, in about an hour and a half. The view is unique. The 12th century monastery facility San Miguel in Excelsis is no less impressive. The Romanesque retabel in the choir is considered one of the most magnificent European enamel works of the Middle Ages. The following kilometers to Vera di Bidasoa are great fun on ebikes. The impressive downhill section to the original Valle del Río Ezkurra leads to a particularly authentic part of this region that is striving for independence. The Etxeak, the classic Basque houses in the original mountain villages, or lonely farms with blood-red Bundwerk carpentry - you can see and feel the archaic, independent culture of the Basques here everywhere. The shut-down train route is a traffic-free bicycle path to Vera de Bidasoa. The day s destination is the hotel Churrut, a tasteful 18th century building with refined cuisine typical for the area. 4th day, Wednesday: Vera di Bidasoa St Jean-de-Luz, 41 km In the morning, you will leave Vera di Bidasoa on a continually rising route. The 150 elevation meters will be pure fun on frequently charged ebikes. The small pass offers a wide view of the French part of the Basque country. In cozy Sare, the first town on the French side, known as the place of birth of the gateau famous town church. This impressive church is where Louis XIV. married Maria Theresia of Spain. Dinner will take place in one of the best restaurants in the graceful old town. 5th day, Thursday: St Jean-de-Luz San Sebastián, 41 km From the slowly awakening St Jean-de-Luz, the morning s bicycle route will lead towards Hendaye. Always staying near the coast of the Gulf off Biscay, you will reach Spanish Basque country again after about two hours of cycling and a ferry transfer to Hondarribia. From the 543 m high Jaizkibel you will continue across a long downhill segment with memorable views of the wide-spread Atlantic ocean until you reach Pasaia. The picturesque harbor town is clearly a center of Basque nationalists. Innumerable Basque flags and political graffiti decorate the houses and balconies. The natural harbor basin is crossed by ferry. A small hiking path will take you up the Monte Ulia. From here, you will have a wonderful view of San Sebastián and the famous Concha-bay. After the downhill ride and passing the most important sights of the town, such as the Buen Pastor cathedral and the Palacio Miramar, the former Summer residence of Spanish Queen Maria Christina of Austria, you will reach the day s destination, the luxurious hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra. For dinner, you will walk into the lively old town and enjoy tasty food in a typically Basque taverna. 4

5 There is a reason why San Sebastián is considered the culinary center of Spain. 6th day, Friday: San Sebastián Bilbao, 36 km In the morning, the bus will take you from San Sebastián to Gernika. In the holy city of the Basques, council meetings have been held since the Middle ages. The Castilian kings swore under the oak of Gernika, the honorable national symbol that they would honor and maintain the autonomy laws of the Basques. In the Spanish civil war, the town was bombarded by a plane of the German Legion Condor on 26 April Pablo Picasso processed the horrors of this attack in his famous picture Guernica. Today s short but hilly route leads us mostly along the wild Basque coast towards the unique chapel of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. It sits spectacularly on a rock in the middle of the sea and can only be reached by a long, difficult footpath on a stone staircase that winds up the rock to the chapel in serpentines. The last few kilometers of today, which are subjected to traffic loads, you will be transferred to Getxo, our destination for today. If you have only booked a later flight home, you can go for a walk along the roughly two kilometers to the Puente de Vizcaya, which was opened in It was declared a UNESCO world heritage in the area industrial heritage in If your schedule permits, you might also want to see the permanent exhibition of the Guggenheim museum. Not far from the old port of Bilbao is the comfortable Ercilla Embarcadero. The modern rooms have almost all sea view. For dinner, you will meet in one of the best restaurants of Getxo, a fitting end to this pedelon ebike travel with its many great impressions. 7th day, Saturday: Bilbao Depending on which flight you booked, Getxo or Bilbao will offer lots of interesting sights to pass your morning or, if you aren t leaving until later, all day. Early flights and the airport of Bilbao can be reached easily in about one hour by public transport (metro and shuttle bus). By taxi, the distance is approx. 14 km from Getxo. The cost of a taxi to the airport is about 20. 5