High Alpine Tour 2505 -
A shiny sun give a warm welcome in München to John and Darcy, we visited the "Altstadt", the old center of München. it's sunday, so suddenly most shops and markets are closed, but on the other and the city is not crowded and easy to visit. After watching the Glockenspiel at the new town hall with our noses turned up, we enjoyed the beauty of the city center, with its centuries-old history and elegant buildings and shops. A cool and refreshing Bavarian beer with Weisswurst is a must-try. Happy to have learned more about this beautiful city, we return to Erding where the rest of the group awaits us. After the welcome briefing, we all got together for dinner, which was a great opportunity to break the ice.
The first day is not just any day, but the day on which we will experience one of the highlights of this tour: the king of the Austrian mountains, the Großglockner, with its pass at an altitude of over 2,500 meters. After a coffee break on the shores of Lake Chiemsee, it's time to cross the Austrian border and climb to the summit, where you can enjoy a 360° panoramic view of the Hohe Tauern National Park. After this challenge, we descend to Lienz and enjoy the pleasant evening breeze.
We leave Lienz and immediately take the Pustertaler Höhenstraße scenic road – the sunny terrace – which offers a splendid panoramic view of the Lienz and Sesto Dolomites. Once we arrive in Italy, we should have an espresso. And what better place than Lake Misurina, above the Cortina d'Ampezzo valley, the exclusive ski resort that will host the 2026 Winter Olympics. Today we eat al fresco, at over 2700 m, in the Lagazuoi mountain hut, which can only be reached by cable car. Towards evening, as we walk towards our hotel in Collalbo (near Bolzano), we find ourselves in the middle of a thunderstorm. Fortunately, the rain stops in the evening and leaves a rainbow in the sky, a good omen for the success of this tour.
On the restday Everyone is free to do as they wish, but basically we are all bikers and so we ride! A beautiful day and a superb ride through orchards and vineyards, the Mendel Pass and the Palade Pass. We'r back to the incredible Klobenstein to rest a little, make an evening stroll and diner out, without missing a spectacular sunset.
We will travel over two of the most spectacular Italian Alpine passes: the Stelvio Pass, at 2,758 meters, is the second highest in Europe, and the Gavia Pass, at 2,618 meters, is no less impressive, with some single-lane sections without barriers, not suitable for the faint of heart. To finish in style, we will cross the Swiss border and climb the Bernina Pass to reach Pontresina, with its perfect asphalt, panoramic curves, and the famous red trains accompanying us.
Today we are going back in Austria, our destination is the Famous ski resort of Warth in Vorarleberg. Heavy rain accompanies us throughout the journey, during which we also have the opportunity to visit another country, the small kingdom of Liechtenstein. Finally, at the end of the journey, the sun comes out, allowing us to enjoy the Furkajoch pass on our way to the hotel, where a surprise awaits us: “bootbeer.”
It's the last day of this super emotional journey. Even though it's the last day, it won't be boring, quite the contrary... After a quick photo with one of the legendary castles, Neuschwanstein, the castle that inspired Walt Disney, we deal with the heavy weekend traffic to get to Plansee where Christoph has prepared a delicious picnic for us with a spectacular view. Returning to Germany, we drive along roads that wind through the rolling Bavarian hills, but to avoid further delays due to traffic, we opt for the fast German "autobahns", arriving in Erding in time to enjoy our farewell dinner.