CA12501-Alpenmaster
Thursday afternoon, the tension mounts. Who are the people we want to introduce to the concentrated beauty of the Dolomites over the next few intensive days? What expectations do they have, what previous knowledge? We wait for our team in the lobby of the well-known Hotel Henry in Erding with slight tension. The first is Gary, it turns out, a half-American who emigrated to the USA at the age of 18 and wants to brush up on his German. The next one is John. Both realize that they used to serve in the same military unit. Crystal and Steve arrive next, a young couple who are attending Edelweiss for the first time. Finally Steven arrives too. He appears well prepared and has already been in town for a few days. He has just returned from a visit to the BMW Museum in Munich. We had agreed in advance with our tour guide colleagues Heiko and Felix that we would combine our welcome briefings with their BOE group because they are also starting tomorrow. This would also give them an impression of what their next tour might be like. After the welcome briefing and dinner together, it is clear that the group harmonizes and everyone is looking forward to the next few days, which are sure to be exciting.
Starting in Erding - Bavaria, we hit the road towards Austria. Our first stop leads us to Wasserburg am Inn a pituresk Village which dates back to the 11 century. After Wasserburg am Inn we ride to Lake Chiemsee, the Bavarian sea. Famous not only for its beauty but also for the castle on one of the islands build by King Ludwig II. Bavarians love to spend there summer there. The riding through the Bavarian hills is the perfect introduction for the Mountains in Austria which we will soon conquer. The Highlight of the day is the Großglockner, the highest Mountain in Austria. It lays in the beautiful Provence of Salzburg. It has an altitude of 12400 ft. and 36 switchbacks. From the highest point of the Route the so called Edelweisspitze one has a great view to more then 30 Mountains with an altitude above 9800 ft.
Rain gear on or off is Crystal's anxious question at breakfast. Good question, the rain radar doesn't give a clear answer. Optimistic as we are, we set off without rain gear. With a closed cloud cover, we discover a military cemetery from the First World War. At our first coffee stop at Lago dei Misurina, the sun is already shining. We tackle the first Dolomite pass through the sophisticated Cortina d'Ampezzo, venue of the 1956 Winter Olympics. The photo stop is very brief, as a heavy hailstorm quickly drives us back onto the piste. But a little later we are in luck. The Passo di Falzarego is soon reached, and the summit of the Lagazuoi peeks out from time to time between the clouds. The group clearly decides to have lunch at the summit restaurant. Crystal and Steve are so enthusiastic they do a little dance. Well-fed, we make our way over the Valparola and Pordoj passes to the absolute highlight of the day. The Passo di Sella offers a view of the Three Peaks, the rock formation for which the Dolomites are famous the world over. Still deeply impressed, they are still the topic of the day at dinner. The rain gear, however, no longer plays a role.
Riding from Bozen to Jaufenpass and return via Pennserjoch was a cool riding experience what made our day. Starting at 7.30 turned out to be a great decisions, because we had the streets only for us!. Up and down we went towards Jaufenpass. On the way there we passed beautiful Meran. Weather was cloudy but no rain. On the road we met some other motorcycle enthusiasts and we had a great time riding up the pass. From Jaufen pass we went down to Sterzing, where we took a sharp turn to the right up the Penserjoch. Again a fantastic ride and countless curves. On top of the pass we felt a bit hungry so we went for some delicious dumplings with salat. We knew weather will change soon so we hit the road towards Bolzano. Again fantastic riding on empty roads. What a beautiful riding day!
The clouds rained off overnight. In the morning, the sky is blue. A few white-washed residual clouds give us a view of Monte Penegal, our first stopover. We work our way over the Passo della Mendola, which is still less frequented at this time of day, through low-hanging clouds to the first coffee after breakfast on the sun-drenched terrace of the summit café. Of course, the obligatory group photo is a must. Freshly fortified, we roam through seemingly endless apple orchards, which have already produced plenty of fruit. Immediately after a lunch stop at an organic farm with an attached restaurant, we climb the Passo del Tonale. The panorama of the surrounding 2000-metre peaks is phenomenal, but it gets even better: the Passo del Gavia demands everything from our team. It's not for nothing that the Gavia Pass, with its extremely narrow bends and hairpin bends, is considered one of the most difficult asphalt passes in the Alps. Shortly before Bormio, we treat ourselves to a last coffee stop in a typical iced coffee shop. One last smooth pass, the Passo d'Eira, separates us from duty-free Livigno. The rest of the day awaits us the next day, and all participants are looking forward to a relaxing day at our wonderful Hotel Lac Salin.
On the Restday we explore the surrounding area of Livigno and ride up to the Torre di Fraele and to Lake Canzano. it is a pure enjoyment riding up the switchpacks. The view is astonishing and the dam and the reservoir are impressive.
An anxious look at the webcam on the Stelvio Pass in the early morning reveals good news: no fresh snow and the pass of all passes is open. But things turn out differently than expected. At 10 a.m. we are faced with a temporary road closure. The pass is only open for an hour from 12:30 due to clearing work. So what the heck, let's take a short tour of the pretty town of Bormio. Eventually we reach the top, and the route naturally leads us to Bruno, the original rock with his world-famous bratwurst stand. Gary makes friends with him immediately. Then come the countless bends, which have already caused a few scratches in the paintwork of many a motorcyclist. But everything goes well. Everyone gets through, some faster, some slower. After a successful descent, we cross a wide valley with seemingly endless apple orchards. And in the middle of it all, a surprise: a picnic! Finally, a last highlight awaits us in two senses. The Timmelsjoch, which is over 2000 meters high, forms the border between Italy and Austria and is also home to one of the most legendary motorcycle museums in Europe. Completely burnt down in 2021, it now shines again in new splendor, like the faces of our guests looking back on a successful day.
On our last riding day we again enjoy riding up and down the switchbacks in the tyrolean alps. Our first stop leads us to Kühtai, which is a famous ski destination close to Innsbruck. Leaving Tirol we ride through charming bavaria until we arrive at our final destination Erding. Thank you for this great Tour and see you next time.