Porsche Days - Zell am See

[bavaria911]

The good weather is to die for when living in Europe, you were very lucky to have such fantastic late summer weather for the event !

[Mike911SC]

Zell am See – Stelvio Pass (385km)

Well, Sunday was expected to be the highlight of the trip and it delivered - in spades.

We awoke to a crisp alpine morning and managed to get underway about 09:00am leaving Zell am See to the north. We wound our way along some beautiful valley roads eventually picking up the motorway at Wörgl for a fast cruise down the A12 past Innsbruck before turning south near Lansdeck. That’s when the fun started.

Once off the A12, we were back on the so-called “B” roads taking Route 180 south toward the Italian border and the approach to the Stelvio Pass. The ride was lovely as we wound our way through a beautiful green valley bordered by mountain peaks between over 3000 meters high.

As we were running low on fuel, we decided to stop in Nauders which is the last town before entering Italy. It was a pretty routine stop, and as with most gas stations near borders, had a long line of cars looking to top up. While waiting our turn in the queue, we noticed an unusual car sitting at the pump just ahead of us which in the end turned out to be another Wiesmann. This one was a GT Coupe not a roadster like the one we had spotted in Zell am See.

I know we are all Porsche fans here but in the end we are all car guys, and you cannot help but admire something unique like a Wiesmann when you see one. When I looked these up on-line that night to learn more about them, I had no idea how expensive they were.

A base roadster goes for nearly $250k with the coupe coming it at around $400k. For a car running BMW engines and transmissions, that seems like quite a lot. I have no idea whether they are worth it or not, but at least two wealthy people in Austria (a country with a population smaller than Indiana) seem to think so.

If you want to read more about Wiesmann, check out this Wikipedia link: Wiesmann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

So much for the distraction.

Once topped off, we were back on the road and entered Italy about 3km further on. Crossing over a slight rise as we entered Italy, we were presented with a breathtaking lake sitting at about 2,500m and stretching for about 5km. The water was spectacular with the midday sun glistening off the water and there was a beautiful church steeple sticking out of the middle of the lake. It was apparently buried when the lake was formed after the south end of the valley was dammed up. There were also at least 30-40 kite surfers running from one end of the lake to the other as they took advantage of the constant mountain breeze. It was an absolutely pleasant surprise and something we never expected to see on our way to Stelvio.

After spending about 30 minutes enjoying Lake Reschensee, we got back on the road and turned off after about 20km at Spondining as we began our ascent toward Stelvio. We knew we were on the right track as we began to encounter numerous motorcycles, bicycles and soccer moms in mini vans. We also feared that the experience we had read so much about was about to be overrun with obstacles. Unfortunately, our worst fear proved to be the case.

The road up to the Stelvio Pass from the north side (our route) is narrow (barely allowing two cars to pass each other in many cases), steep (sometimes rising several meters in a single curve), and packed with inexperienced drivers in mini vans. There are roughly 45 switchbacks on the way up and as you get closer to the top, many of the turns are 180o numbers that literally turn right back on themselves.

Needless to say, traffic backs up at several of these points which obviously takes the fun out of what could be a fantastic run if you could have the road all to yourself. Obviously something that is only possible if you are Top Gear.

In any case, we made it to the top and still enjoyed the nerve racking run despite the challenges which I think in the end added as much to the excitement as the road itself did. Despite these challenges, I would still recommend the experience to anyone having the chance to do it. The view, the road and the final arrival at the top are all unmatched experiences you have to do at least once in your life.

Now, of course, arriving at the top is somewhat anti-climactic as there is not much there aside from about a thousand motorcycles, a dozen T-Shirt shops and a spattering of bratwurst stands. By the way, you have to eat one of these – they are fantastic.

However, the one admiration I had after arriving, which I did not appreciate on the way up, was for those who did the route on bicycle, especially those who did it on a tandem bicycle. This is a road that climbs nearly 2,000m over a span of less than 10km. Doing it in a car is exciting, a motorcycle is no doubt harrowing, on a bicycle – you have to be nuts or in tremendous physical shape. My hat is off to all who made this route under their own power. Congrats!

I will break this post here and will create another for the ride off the south side of Stelvio and on to Passo di Gavia (Gavia Pass) and Lake Garda.

Enjoy,
Mike & Chris

[Mike911SC]

A few more pictures associated wiht the past post.

Mike & Chris

[djk_wff]

What a great thread....
thanks for sharing.

And life does have background music when in a carrera!

_______________
1988 Carrera Coupe
triple black

[Mike911SC]

Stelvio Pass – Gavia Pass – Lake Garda (190km)

After about an hour at the top of the Stelvio Pass enjoying our bratwurst and the dramatic view, it was time to head off the south side and eventually down into Lake Garda some 190km away. We initially viewed this as just a “nice drive” with maybe a few good roads along the way. It proved to be much more than that with several very pleasant surprises around almost every corner.

Since Chris had driven us up the north side, it was now my turn to take us down the “easy side”. Good choice and obviously the benefit of years of experience. Chris on the other hand simply attributed it to dumb luck once we realized the road down the south side is wider, less steep, less crowded and offers a much better chance to experience the handling and power of the Porsche.

We were fortunate to have very little traffic on the south side leg and enjoyed pushing the Porsche through some wide sweeping turns and short straightaways. As with the ride up, there are roughly 45 turns on the way down but many are slight curves with only a few at the very top being of the 180o variety. After about 15-20 minutes of very pleasant driving on a road we would have preferred to take up versus down, we rounded a corner and the road began to stretch out before us on the run into Bormio.

No sooner had we started down this straight stretch and we noticed a group of cars pulled off the side of the road near a small church. So, we decided to stop to see if they were having problems and if we could lend a hand. It was a lovely setting but one the owners of the four cars were probably not enjoying. There were three Austin Healey 3000’s and an old Alfa Romeo Spyder – all experiencing their share of problems. The Alfa and one of the Healey’s were overheating and one of the other Healey’s had a more serious leak in the hydraulic clutch line.

The good news was that these guys had plenty of tools and hands between the 8 of them. The bad news is that they did not look like they were having any luck resolving the hydraulic leak. We offered our help but they felt they were fine, se we decided to get underway. Before leaving, they asked how our Porsche was running. Of course, we could not resist – “Just fine. Air cooled and a mechanical clutch!” With that we were on our way and wished them well.

The rest of the run to Bormio was wide open and began gently dropping in altitude. Once reaching Bormio, we decided to head east through the Stelvio National Park. We had read nothing about this area and were quite unexpecting as to what lay ahead given that the map showed the road through the park as relatively straight. Little did we know that the surprise of the trip awaited us.

We switched drivers as we entered the park and Chris was able to take advantage of the lightly traveled road and the sweeping turns. However, this quickly gave way to a less well maintained road and one that began to climb steadily toward the Gavia Pass at more than 2600m. Of course, as the map showed this to be a straight road, we had few expectations. How wrong we were as the scenery become more dramatic, snow became more common on the peaks, and the view of the glacier became ever closer.

After about an hour, we reached the top of the Gavia Pass and were awestruck. It was like a moonscape with nothing but large loose rocks everywhere and only a single stone building sitting in the middle of a field of rocks with nothing else around aside from an old WW2 monument commemorating a battle fought for this peak.

It was an amazing place and much more impressive than Stelvio had been – at least once we arrived. It is one of those places that you stumble upon and will remember for a long time to come. Fortunately, we have the pictures which only capture a portion of the awe the Gavia Pass had to offer.

As Chris still felt fresh and looking to reclaim a nice sweeping downward run, he decided to continue driving. This seemed fine to me as I was thoroughly enjoying the view and the ride. That was the point where things really started to go downhill – literally. Again, we thought we were looking at a straight road on the downside but as the ride up Gavia had proved far less than straight, we quickly accepted that a twisty ride lay ahead.

Little did we know that twisty was the least of the worries. The southerly run off the Gavia is not only in worse condition that the northerly run up, it is even narrower, with steep drop-offs and room for only one car in many places – usually on curves. We filmed a good part of this and will post a link on YouTube at some point. You will enjoy the parts where I am yelling “Left – Left” as we creep closer to the edge.

After what felt like forever, we finally reached bottom and saw the valley stretching ahead as it wound through the mountains on either side. The downside is that we were still hundreds of meters up the mountain and the road wound around the edge of the mountain side as it dropped elevation before reaching the valley floor.

Unfortunately, several of the tunnels we had to pass through were literally ONLY wide enough for one car. We were fortunate to follow a local Italian who honked all the way through every tunnel. After the 3rd tunnel we understood why when we encountered someone coming the other way. It was then a Mexican or maybe Italian Stand-off until each of us backed to a point where the tunnel was barely wide enough of two cars.

Once out of the park and onto the “B” roads again, we made good time but it was now approaching nightfall. With roughly 50km to go before reaching the north end of Lake Garda, we did the last hour in the dark along some rather twisty and dark back roads.

We eventually reached a clearing where the lights of Riva del Garda began to shine through and eventually approached the city and our hotel. We quickly dumped all of our gear in the room and headed off for a few well deserved beers and a good Italian pizza.

All in all, Day 5 was a very long day having us on the road for nearly 12 hours. However, given all that we saw and experienced throughout the day, it can only be summed up in one word – WOW!

More later,
Mike & Chris

[Mike911SC]

Below are a few more pictures from the ride off the south side of Gavia Pass and on to Lake Garda.

Enjoy,
Mike & Chris

[will hung]

Very nice pictures. The pictures of the kites with the Alps in the background are very humbling.

[Mike911SC]

Lake Garda – Venice (200km)

We had always expected this to be a straightforward motorway drive but not exactly the version we encountered.

We took the opportunity to sleep in a bit after the long Day 5 we had experienced but eventually loaded up the car after breakfast. We were on the road by about 10:00am and on our way to Venice. The plan being to arrive by noon, drop our stuff at the hotel and for me to pick up my wife (Vera) at the airport. The plan was to then spend an enjoyable last evening together before Chris headed back to the hectic pace of his work in the suburbs of Chicago. Vera and I would then drive home to Budapest via Austria.

Upon leaving Lake Garda, it looked like the drive would maybe not be too busy and potentially offered some nice scenery. That was quickly washed away once we crossed over the mountain to the east of Lake Garda and entered the A22 motorway. Not only was it busy, it had the ugliest rusted chunk of ironwork guardrail running down the center of the motorway all the way to Verona where the only thing that changed was the color of the ugly ironwork guardrail. At that point it went from ugly rust to ugly silver.

The other problem was trucks. Non-stop trucks from the time we entered the A22 until we left the A4 motorway at Venice. You could have literally walked across the rooftops of trucks all the way from Lake Garda to Venice without ever touching the pavement.

I had realized that the northern part of Italy was very industrialized and had even traveled this road on at least two other occasions. Somehow it was different this time but certainly did not leave Chris with an impression of Italy as the charming old country it is. In any case, it was what it was and we eventually made it to Venice pretty much on schedule.

I dumped Chris at the hotel and headed off to pick up Vera at the airport where she had flown in from Budapest. Once I wound my way through the maze that usually surrounds most airports, I found her sitting at the curb, patiently awaiting my arrival. After a return to the hotel, we quickly got ourselves settled, showered and ready to head off to explore Venice.

For those who have not been to Venice, it is a city about the size of Hyde Park with wall to wall buildings separated by small canals and walkways, and of course – tourists. If the number of people visiting the city could be limited to those you could house in the local hotels, it would be a lovely city to visit.

However, lately cruise lines have discovered the city and often roll in floating hotels housing 3-5k people each. Unfortunately for us, while we were visiting, three of these monsters were berthed in the harbor. This filled the city to the brim with people which kind of took the edge off the specialness of this charming city.

Despite the crowds, we managed to work our way through most of the usual sites and after our third trip to Venice Vera and I actually managed to find St. Mark’s Square. How we have managed to miss it on our two previous trips is a mystery as we clearly must have walked near it on several occasions. In any case, the city was its usual lovely self and we enjoyed some relaxing time over coffee and cakes at a few sidewalk cafes.

We wrapped up the evening with a fantastic dinner at a terrific little restaurant I would highly recommend. It was a place called Osteria Oliva Nera (The Black Olive) located at Castello Street #3417. However, as Vera developed a case of motion sickness (despite the fact that the buildings actually do not move), we decided to head back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep after a long but fun day.

Ciao!

Mike, Chris & Vera

[caitov]

Awesome trip report!
We'll be in Venice over the winter holidays - I made note of your restaurant recommendation.
Thanks

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by Mike911SC

After what looks like a great three days in Zell am See, we then head north to cross the Stelvio Pass - 10km 45 switchbacks.

I hate to break it to you, but if you head North from Zell Am See, you'll never make it to Passo dello Stelvio.

BTW, Passo dello Stelvio has 87 hairpins and is about 50 km long from Bormio to Spondigna.

[Mike911SC]

Alex

I guess it is all a case of where you choose to start or stop counting both in number of turns and kilometers.

The northern side is well documented on several websites (e.g. Stelvio Pass - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, etc.) as to how many truns there are with each turn being numbered from the bottom to the top. It starts with #48 at the bottom counting down as you climb.

On the other side, the numbers count up as you descend and seemed far less than the number of turns we took on the way up. In any case, the south side is a much better driving road than the north side from my perspective.

Regardless of how you look at it, it is still a drive worth doing.

Mike

[Traveller]

Mike, that is the trouble with the internet, even Wiki is not always accurate.

The pass runs more SW to NE with 48 hairpins on the "east ramp" and 39 hairpins on the "west ramp" as Denzel puts it. Denzel publishes the "Grosser Alpen Strassen Führer" if you are ever looking for the book on alpine roads. If you do any driving in the Alps, it is a book worth having.

Just mentioning the details for those who have not been there.

No need to sell me on the Stelvio; been over it many times on my motorcycle. Great road...they all are!

You might want to post a map of routes taken highlighted or links to ones created on Google Maps.

I wish you would have driven the SS46 from Rovereto towards Schio. If you drove up the A22, you drove right by.

[Mike911SC]

Alex made a great suggestion that I post maps of the routes we took during our trip. So, here are copies from start to finish.

Enjoy,
Mike



Day 1: Budapest – Vienna (240km)



Day 2: Vienna - Zell am See (120km)



Day 3: Zell am See - Grosslockner via the Hochtor Pass - Zell am See (120km)



Day 5 (Part 1): Zell am See – Stelvio Pass (385km)



Day 5 (Part 2): Stelvio Pass – Gavia Pass – Lake Garda (190km)



Day 6: Lake Garda – Venice (200km)



Day 7: Venice – Stainz, Austria (400km)



Day 8: Stainz, Austria - Budapest (350km)

[wasserkuhl]

W i c k e d.

[Mike911SC]

Venice – Stainz, Austria (400km)

Well, Day 7 started with a clear blue sky just as has been the case for nearly the entire time we have been on the road. However, the one dark side to Day 7 is that it is the day Chris heads back to the USA and I head home to Budapest.

We all met for breakfast and a final goodbye before checking out of the hotel. I then left Vera in the lobby sitting on her luggage while I ran Chris to the airport for a final goodbye following the best time we have spent together in probably 25 years.

While Chris was facing 14 hours in flights and layovers, Vera and I still had 750km in front of us before arriving back home in Budapest. Unfortunately, none of us saw the coming travels as offering the joys we had just experienced over the past 6 days but all good things must end at some point.

Chris and I said our goodbyes and agreed to look forward to our next trip which will take place on his side of the pond - Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. The tentative plan is to do this in the fall of 2013 or spring of 2014. Timing will depend on when his 1978 Targa is ready to go as it is currently being completely disassembled and rebuilt from the ground up.

After dropping Chris and taking a deep breath as he stood at the curb, I headed back to the hotel to pick up Vera for the homeward bound leg of our journey. We packed up the car, cleaned the windows, pulled off the top, adjusted her pony tail and were underway.

We headed back to the motorway jumping on the A4 heading east toward Austria and Slovenia for about 80km before turning north. Once turning north we began to lose the heavy truck traffic and, although on a motorway, the drive started to became a bit more relaxing. We settled down to a steady run at about 130km/h for the next 110km stopping in Tarviso for an “ok” lunch.

Since we left the motorway at Tarviso, we had to re-enter but somehow ended up heading south instead of north. Faced with possibly driving 20km south before finding an exit, we were fortunate to come upon a group of Italian police chatting in the center median just before the toll booth.

Against Vera’s advice and at the chance of having them question my US registration, I decided to ask where we could possibly find our way back toward Austria without traveling another 20km. Fortunately they were clearly glad to see that I was interested in leaving their fine country and then stopped traffic directing me to make a 90o turn shooting from the center lane across to the right hand shoulder and then down a service road that ran under the motorway popping up on the other side.

So, after our little detour, we soon across the border into Austria after only a few minutes delay. We then began to veer eastward toward Klagenfurt and our eventual exit near Lannach. The run from Venice to Lannach was pleasant from a weather perspective and somewhat lighter in terms of traffic than what we had experienced around Venice.

The pleasant surprise was when we turned off the motorway. The Deutschlands-berg area south of Graz is probably one of Austria’s best kept secrets. The area is dotted with lovely hillside homes and vineyards, and honestly rivals scenery reminiscent of Tuscany. It was just stunning and some of the nicest country roads you could ever desire to cruise in a Targa with the top off on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

As we were both a bit tired, we headed for our hotel in Stainz with the goal of enjoying a nice dinner and a little local wine. After checking in and unloading the car, I went back down to put the car into the car park and the top on for the night. That was when everything went wrong. Mind you, by now I had taken the top on and off at least a dozen times during the trip without incident. Not so this time.

I carefully reorganized the car before pulling the top out of the boot and felt all was going well. Then came the rather routine process of unfolding the top and dropping it in place. Unfortunately as I was not paying much attention to how I was opening the top, the rear bar managed to pinch my middle finger in place when the bar snapped into place.

Needless to say, it hurt like hell and I quickly began worming around while screaming my head off while trying to extract my finger without leaving a piece behind. In the process, I managed to bang the top into the right front fender taking a chip out of the paint.

Somehow despite the damage to the car, I managed to extract my finger without leaving any pieces still attached to the top. However, I did end up with a nasty blood blister which burned like crazy for hours.

Despite the pain and as nothing appeared broken, we decided to eat at the hotel’s restaurant which proved a lovely choice. A few glasses of wine later and my finger was hardly noticed.

Vera’s response, “So, how does the targa top on a new Porsche work?” Obviously she knows that you simply push a button. How hard can that be? Arrgh!

Mike & Vera

[Mike911SC]

Stainz, Austria - Budapest (350km)

We woke to another stunning crystal clear day for our last day of driving. After breakfast and a short walk around the town of Stainz including a stop at a charming bakery, we checked out of the hotel, loaded up the car and “gingerly” removed the villainous “finger monster” Targa top.

Before jumping on the motorway again, we decided to tool around the area enjoying the rolling hills and charming houses. We also tried stopping at a few wine cellars but apparently they all close on Wed which left us stopping at the local Billa food store to pick up a few bottles of local wine.

In the end it was a bit disappointing that we could not find a cellar that was open but as the area is only a four hour drive from Budapest, we vowed to come back again for a long weekend in the fall or spring. So, stocked up with local wines, we headed for the motorway – again.

Not wanting to spend the whole afternoon on a motorway through Vienna and then on to Budapest, I brilliantly decided that we should take a more “direct” route home exiting at Furstenfeld then on to Vesprem, Szekesfehervar and eventually Budapest.

Dumb idea! I had forgotten that this route from Austria to Vesprem is a two lane road packed with nothing but big slow trucks. It is also not the prettiest part of Hungary to boot.

After a frustrating two hours, we finally approached Vesprem. We then decided to turn toward Lake Balaton for lunch at a local Csárda (old Hungarian term for tavern) in Csopak where we enjoyed a nice lunch, friendly service and a well deserved break.

As the run from Csopak to Budapest usually only takes about an hour, we were once again on our way around the lake where we picked up the motorway for the final 80km. At that point the weather started to look a bit ominous the closer we got to Budapest. I tried to stretch it but about 35km out we hit rain and it was time to attach the “finger monster” to the top of the car.

Now dry and anxious to get home, we covered the remaining distance without incident hitting the usual end of day traffic in Budapest. Feeling that welcoming feeling you get when entering your hometown, we began to look forward to seeing our little dog and sleeping in our own bed.

However, we had one more surprise before we reached the center of the city when a brand new Mercedes SLS Gullwing pulled in front of us. Yet another car that tops out at over $300kfor a base model. Again, a ton of cash for a something without a Porsche logo on it.

Finally home. A bit tired but all in one piece, and no incidents to report - success by any definition!

Mike & Vera

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by Mike911SC

Alex made a great suggestion that I post maps of the routes we took during our trip. So, here are copies from start to finish.

Enjoy,
Mike

Mike, other than your first and last legs (I can't comment on those) and the pass roads you took, it seems you took far too many major roads and missed out on some great back roads with far less traffic.

You will want to look these up for your next trip...people who really know the area can confirm. I know these roads like the back of my hand.

From just south of Vienna, the 21 through Gutenstein to Mariazell, then down the 20 a few clicks to the Wildalpen road (24), then the 25 and 115 to Altenmarkt to take the Hengstpass and then 138 over the Phyrnpass to Liezen. From there, nothing exciting till you get to Bischofshofen and the 164 (Dientner Sattel) to Saalfelden.

From Saalfelden / Zell am See, the 168 (boring with lots of traffic) to Mittersill, then the 165 over the "old" Gerlos pass (not the newer highway), then continue over the Zillertaler Hohenstrasse (very worth it - toll road) and then the 169 to the boring A12 autobahn. Past Innsbruck on the A12 to Kematen and the backroad to Oetz over the Kühtai pass. From there down the way you went over the Timmelsjoch.

From Rovereto the SS46 to Schio and then down to Vicenza...although a short run towards Trento to Levico Terme would have taken you over the Kaiserjaegerweg (should never be missed), then onto via some great roads through Folgaria and the SS46 and onwards.

Motorcyclists know where the best traffic-free, twisty and scenic roads are.

[Mike911SC]

Alex

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, this nasty thing called work had us on a bit of a schedule. Plus with the 3 day Porsche Days event in Zell am See, we would have needed at least 2-3 more days to do it right. Maybe next time.

Thanks,
Mike

[Mike911SC]

1885km - 8 days – One fantastic time!

This was without a doubt one of the most fantastic holidays I have taken in ages. The opportunity to spend 10 uninterrupted days with my son, to drive some of the most iconic roads, in an iconic car, with stunning scenery, the opportunity to meet some great people, attend a great event, etc., etc.

All-in-all, experiences you can only imagine but will cherish forever. My only regret is not having done something like this much earlier in life or - more often in life. You can be sure that going forward, these are the type of holidays and trips I will plan and enjoy from now on.

However, next time it will be without a schedule, without hotel reservations but definitely with good company. Next year’s plan is to tackle the Transfagarașan Highway in Romania. Any takers?

The other trip I want to do is a loop around the whole of Europe but that will have to wait until I stop working as I will surely need 6-8 weeks to do it right.

As for this trip, it would have been good to have had more time. More time with Chris, more time to explore the alpine regions of Austria and more time in the Stelvio region of Italy. But then there is never enough time.

As for the car, it could not have performed better. It is a 1982 Targa 911SC with 132k miles on the odometer which has had a fair amount of work done to it since I purchased the car from a guy in Romania about 3 years ago.

I recently had the suspension completely reworked with new Bilsteins all around, new polypropylene bushing, new wheel bearings, discs, pads and tires. I also had the steering rack rebuilt which made a world of difference. In addition, the 915 transmission was rebuilt last year and a new clutch and pressure plate installed.

During the trip, the car never failed to start on the first turn of the key, pulled hard in every situation and only lost slightly less than 1 liter of oil over the entire 1885 km. The only complaint I had is with the Targa top and that comes more from the usual wind noise when it needs to be on. However, when it is off, the car is everything I have ever wanted it to be.

The only other issue we experienced came during our climb up the north side of Stelvio and that was a slight rubbing of the outside edge of the left front tire on the inside lip of the fender well during hard right turns under power. We never experienced the problem with the right front tire, only the left. It ended up scarring the side of the tire slightly but nothing structural.

Other than this one problem, I could not have asked more from a 30 year old car that has lived up to everything I have ever read in the numerous threads throughout this forum. I will continue to work to refine and improve the car to as close to new as I can get without throwing too much money into the pot. In the end, our cars could always be better but the primary objective is to drive them and enjoy them.

As a final note, I want to thank everyone who made this trip possible and who contributed along the way.
- Special thanks go to Karl Steiner from the Porsche Club Austria for inviting us to participate in Porsche Days – Zell am See.
- I also want to thank Zoltan Himar and his team at Mash Motors in Budapest for their professionalism in setting up my car.
- Most of all I want to thank Chris for taking the time to join his father on a memorable once in a lifetime trip and a promise of more to come.
- Of course, I cannot forget the one who made me do this in the first place, and that is Vera. She encouraged me to make the trip and enjoy myself. She also helped to encourage Chris to come to Europe. Without her, this would have never happened.

All-in-all, the best trip ever!

Hope you all enjoy this thread as much as we enjoyed the trip itself.

Thanks again,
Mike, Chris & Vera

PS: In the coming days I will load the videos from Stelvio and Gavia on YouTube and will share the links in a follow-on post to this thread.

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by Mike911SC

Alex

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, this nasty thing called work had us on a bit of a schedule. Plus with the 3 day Porsche Days event in Zell am See, we would have needed at least 2-3 more days to do it right. Maybe next time.

Thanks,
Mike

I thought that may be the case which is why I visit there for five to six weeks every summer. Two to three days of the Alps is like only getting one scoop of ice cream.

You'll find the Freytag & Berndt maps, available at most stores and gas stations, really excellent. I always use folded maps with a scale of 1:200 000 or better (to find the good roads...they are thin and grey in color), but this summer I picked up a spiral bound F&B Österreich Supertouring atlas that is about 6"x 10". It doesn't give you an immediate overall picture, but it is compact and very detailed at a 1:150 000 scale.

I really hope you get to spend more time in the Alps. If you ever need any road suggestions, PM or e-mail me. I've been touring there eighteen years in a row over some 200+ passes.