On 28 June 1519, Charles I of Spain became Charles V, The Holy Roman Emperor. His kingdom spanned the Iberian peninsula to Italy and north into Germany and the low countries. There are some great roads in his former empire and I’ve been fortunate enough to ride many of them. The mountain roads of the Pyrenees between Spain and France are especially nice and quiet; the Alps between Italy, France, Switzerland and Austria are legendary; the heavily forested areas of the Ardennes in southwestern Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg are the scenes of much of the 20th century’s history. All are full of great roads, food, and hospitality. Go!

Charles V was also credited with one of my favorite quotes,

I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse.