Tyrol by Scooter
A small but fine group got together in Seefeld to explore the probably one of the most beautiful parts of the Alps. Anahid and Areg, Susan and Roman had been with Edelweiss on scooters before - they explored the beautiful Tuscany. So they were looking for a change! From hills to mountains, from wineyards to tense forrest, from the Mediterranian Sea to big Bavarian lakes. At the welcome briefing Tourguide Markus showed and explained what to exspect for the upcoming week - twisty roads, outstanding views and landscapes, a lot of history.
Checking the weather radar and different weather forcasts it did not look that good. Some rain coming in from the Northwest in in between little sun was announced, so the decission was: let's visit Innsbruck and climb to 6000 feet afterwards in Kühtai. Innsbruck has so much to offer, there would not be enough place to mention it all. We walked around in the old part of town, learned about the special architecture, heared about the history, visited the newly renovated dome and had finaly some coffee. Leaving the town towards West we started to climb pretty soon. Surrounded by spectacular mountains, some of them hiding in clouds, we reached the top of the pass. Sattisfied with a lunch consisting of local specialities we continued our trip. After some twisties guiding us back to the River Inn Valley we climbed to Seefeld. A successfull first day with not getting wet (only some sprinkles for about 5 minutes)
Blue sky and no cloudes, we haven't experienced this until now. A wonderful morning promised a great riding day, but after 10 minutes we stopped: flat tire on the tourguide bike! No leak was found, so we waited in Waidach for the replacement of the scooter. Everything worked out fine and after approx. 45 minutes we could continue our trip. Through beautiful Leutasch we crossed into Germany. Our first stop was at the monestary in Ettal. Everybody was impressed by the baroque paintings and sculptures dated back to the 17th century. Next stop: King Ludwigs Castle Linderhof. Very well explained through the guide we learned about King Ludwig and his short life. Quite excentric and strange, but he lived his dream of copying the French King Ludwig the 14th. One hour later we got to see Castle Neuschwanstein, one of King Ludwig's other castles. As it was our "castles and culture day" our next stop was the Wieskirche, a church planed and built in Bavarian Baroque. Full of all these impressions we rode back "home" to Seefeld
Compared to the forecast the weather was not that great. But nevertheless we decided to ride our scooters to the Kauner Valley to see the huge damm and to get aglimpse at the glacier. After foloowing the River Inn Valley for a while we turned off into the Pitztal to ride the shortes connection to Kaunertal. This road takes you up to viewpoint called "Gacher Blick", which translates to "quick look". Maybe because you cannot stand it for a longer time to look down into the River Inn Valley deep below. Getting on the toll road towards the very end of the valley we did not ride all the way up to the glacier, motorciclyst coming from there reported temperatures around 0° Celsius and slight snowfall. After having a great lunch at the restaurant next to the dam we headed back to the hotel leisurely.
Since lunch yesterday the search for two typical local hats was became a mission. But lets start the day. After leaving Seefeld down to the river Inn Valley our first stop was Hall in Tirol. As it is Markus' home area he showed us around in town. A beautiful church, lots of history and obviously a laidback place to live. Having coffee, watching a wedding party and - right - looking fot hats was on our schedule. Markus knew a small shop with so many hats you barely could see the owner. And he had the hats we were looking for! The owner found emidiately the right sizes for Areg's and Roman's heads. He only said: "Fits on the milimeter!" Swarovsky Cristal World - what a place to see! For sure, we have not been the only ones who had the idea to visit this place, but even with the amount of visitors you get absolutely impressed. Christals and glitter whereever you look, all arranged by artists and illusionists. Beautiful Achensee is not only attracting visitors doing watersports, it is also a magnet for fans of old locomotives. "Theodor" one out of three operating steam cogwheel maschines was standing at the station, waiting to get to go, blowing black and white steam into the air. While having lunch the train went puffing by. Unfortunatelly the road to Tegernsee was closed and so we took a shortcut to get to beautiful Lake Walchensee and finally back to the Hotel.
The first real summerday this week! A little fogy in the morning but pretty soon the sun came out and turned the day in one without any clouds in the sky. Passing by Innsbruck we went towards Brenner Pass and after a cappucino at the border we headed for the next pass, Passo Giovo or Jaufenpass. Susan was counting the curves on the south slope to Sankt Leonhard and got one hundred. After an excellent lunch at the Sandwirt we headed for the highest point today, Timmelsjoch (2509 m). A twisty road climbing up the mountain led to the top, offering breathtaking scenery. The motorcycle museum has bikes on display you may never had heard of, it is fascinating. Finally we cruised through the Ötz Valley and ended up at the Edelweiss Garage, where we got a glimpse beheind the curtains.