BMW Motorrad Days - Alps & Dolomites SPTSM25018
Before we welcome our guests from the Far East, we transport some of the motorcycles to our start hotel, take delivery of the motorcycles from BMW, give them a polish and prepare them so that everyone can find theirs straight away. Afterwards, of course, there is a welcome briefing and the motorcycle handover, which works without any language barrier thanks to our Chinese tour guide Kim. The anticipation for the coming days of riding is great and even at dinner we talk about it and exchange experiences.
Today we finally set off on our adventure and, full of anticipation, we met for a short briefing after breakfast. We leave the tranquil town of Erding and head south. We took it a little easier and used the first few kilometers to get used to our bikes and made our first photo stop with a great view over Wasserbung am Inn. Our route then took us through the beautiful Bavarian countryside to Lake Chiemsee, which is still a remnant of the last ice age. There are three islands in the middle of the lake. We take the steamer to Herreninsel, visit the castle there and enjoy our lunch. Refreshed and invigorated, we start the afternoon and enjoy the winding roads and the view of the mountains, which get closer with every kilometer. As we are already in this area, we enjoy a coffee and cream puffs at the Windbeutelgräfin before arriving at our hotel for the day in Reith im Winkel.
The country shows its most beautiful side again today! The sun bathes the landscape in breathtaking colors. Of course this also puts every rider in a great mood. Austria's most famous and highest pass road is our riding highlight today! We will spend a large part of the day discovering every nook and cranny of this fantastic road. Especially, of course, its highest point, the Edelweiss Spitze, and the glacier at Franz-Josefs Höhe. Our hotel today is in Lienz, Austria.
After an enjoyable breakfast in Lienz, we start the day. We leave Austria and cross the border into Italy. We have barely left the border crossing behind us and can already catch our first glimpses of the Dolomites. With every meter we get closer to the impressive mountains, the roads become more winding and make our motorcycle-enthusiastic hearts beat faster. After the Three Peaks, we take a coffee break at Lake Misurina and can now relax and take in our first impressions of this world-famous mountain world. Curious to find out more, we don't linger too long and continue into the mountains. Our route winds its way higher and higher up until we arrive at Passo Falzarego. But that's not all, for our lunch we take the cable car right to the top and are almost speechless at the view that awaits us there. You probably have to see it for yourself. But even the breathtaking view can't keep us off the road and we get back on our bikes and continue through this unique UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our route takes us over the Gardena Pass to Bolzano, where we have our hotel for the night.
We are leaving the South Tyrolean capital again and are headed for the longest village in the Italian mountains. What a coincidence that the second highest pass road lies on our way to Livigno :) After the morning briefing, during which we learned how to best tackle the tight swichbacks of Stelvio pass, we saddled our steel horses and went for the ride. Later in the afternoon every rider in our chinese group enjoyed our beautiful hotel in Livigno and the view from the terrace.
Today we are spoiled for choice and have to decide between a relaxing day in Livigno and a rest day tour through Switzerland. The group didn't quite agree either, so some of us opted for a relaxed day and a short tour of the area, while others decided to do the rest day tour. After breakfast in the sun on the terrace, we set off and leave Livigno heading south. Our route takes us through the beautiful countryside over the Bernina Pass to St. Moritz, where we make a short photo stop by the lake with a perfect view over the world-famous resort. But we can't stay there for long, we want to get back on the road and have a few more stops on the agenda for today. So we get back on our motorcycles and leave the town and ride up to the Albula Pass, where we are greeted by a breathtaking panorama, which we take in over a cup of coffee. From there, our route winds its way back down the mountain and then leads us back up to the Flüela Pass, where we stop for lunch. There is also time for a short photo shoot with the Chinese flag and BWM flag. However, darker clouds are slowly gathering in the sky, so we don't stay longer than necessary at our lunch stop and enjoy the scenery again as we approach Munte la Schera via the Oven Pass. Shortly before the tunnel, we are caught by a few raindrops, from which we manage to escape into the tunnel. On the other side, we are greeted by a bright blue sky and arrive back at our hotel in Livigno dry, happy and satisfied.
Bye bye Ilaly - hello Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Austria. Even though it is a very tiny country, Liechtenstein still is an independant country. And adds to our list of countries to ride trough on our tour. Along the way we pass by Heidiland, the movie setting of the popular story about the little Swiss girl. Via the beautiful and scenic Furkajoch and Hochtannbergpass we arrive at our hotel amidst the Alps.
It's a strange feeling - today is supposed to be our last riding day, but the tour still has two days to go!? What does that mean? Of course - The BMW Motorrad Days in Garmisch are waiting to be visited by motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the world! Including, of course, our group from China! But until then, let's enjoy the mountains a little more. We ride through the Lech Valley to the King Ludwig castle, where our large group naturally attracts a lot of attention while taking photos. Before we continue to the Edelweiss Bike Travel headquarters, we stop for a coffee at Heiterwanger See with its stunning scenery. At Edelweiss Bike Travel, we are greeted with open arms and meat loaf sandwiches for lunch. Everyone enjoys the guided tour through the sacred motorcycle halls! We then ride up to Seefeld, where we will spend the next two nights.
The BMW Motorrad Days! What a great event! Not only are there lots of informative stands (like the one from Edelweiss Bike Travel), but also some really great “motorcycle finishers”, as well as other interesting events. At the Edelweiss stand, Rebecca and Melanie welcome motorcycle travelers. Meanwhile, we tour guides are out and about outside the tents, because fascinating events are taking place both in the Motodrom and on the course. Standing on the wooden planks, when the wild riders thunder along the wooden wall in the Motodrom, you can feel it directly as a spectator! And the American policeman shows us his riding skills on the tight course. For many, however, the highlight is the dinner and the party in the beer tent! What a great experience when all the nationalities at the tables started singing ;)
Everyone slept a little longer than usual this morning and after our hearty breakfast, a coach picked us up at our hotel in Seefeld and took us directly to Munich. But we didn't want to rest for long, as the whole group naturally wanted to sightsee Munich. In keeping with our motto, the main focus was of course on visiting BMW Welt and the BMW Museum.