Our Alpine jaunt!

[RemarkLima]

Hi all,

I thought I'd share our recent holiday, taking the M Roadster to the Alps, the route we took was:

Click here for Google Maps

So, quite a long route to cover in 11 days but well worth it! I'll list out the days below with a few selected pics, but all I can say is that it's was so worth it!

[RemarkLima]

Day 1

Was a very early start, needed to leave home at 5:30am on the Friday, sadly for me, that Friday morning was pouring with rain, so trying to pack efficiently in the dark whist being soaked wasn't much fun and a fairly grim start to it all... The temptation to just climb back into bed was growing exponentially with how wet I was getting! Still, we managed to fit everything in, and get to Dover in good time.

As you can see, we had quite a bit packed in there:


Day 1 was really just a slog down south as far as possible, and we stopped in Turckheim, just past Colmar (France, near Strasbourg)... However, one of things I found, travelling at 130kmph sat the revs right at 3500rpm which is where a VANOS mode kicks in and the car just drank fuel... However sitting 115 - 120kmph literally changed the range from about 230 miles to about 350 miles! So it took a little longer than planned otherwise we'd have to stop all the time, which was definately slower when we noticed we'd overtaken the same traffic a couple of times

Anyway, as we approched Colmar the heavens opened!


So after a long day, we arrived at Turckhiem, ate and collapsed into bed!

[RemarkLima]

Day 2

Started with a mooch around Turckhiem (there's me writing a postcard):


It was back on the road, and time to head into Switzerland.



Having to pay 40CHF for a Vignette, a sticker that means you can travel on Switzerland motorways was a surprise, but meant we could get about in the country, and the sat nav saying a 3 hour drive will become a 7 hour drive to avoid the toll roads we thought best to just cough up

Now we're heading up the campsite, the first night of camping! Eek!



And here we are, setup and ready...



That day was a 36 hour run around Mount Blanc, and it came through the village of La Fouly next to the campsite, so all night we could see headtorches coming down the mountain opposite and the cheers of encouragement in the village.

Now, my wife was OK in her down filled sleeping bag that she had in Napal... I however, only had my cheapest of the cheap sleeping bag, that's about 10 years old and filled with about 2 oz of shredded carrier bags, and my good god, I was soooo cold!

[TaffZee]

Exellent, keep the post going more Pics please.

Me and some friends are planning a route next year down to Rome for two weeks. Taking in Monaco, Portifino, Rome, Rimini, Lake Garda Stelvio pass, Nürburgring, on the way back, so looking for Recommendations on places to visit and stay..

Too old for camping though

[RemarkLima]

Exellent, keep the post going more Pics please.

Me and some friends are planning a route next year down to Rome for two weeks. Taking in Monaco, Portifino, Rome, Rimini, Lake Garda Stelvio pass, Nürburgring, on the way back, so looking for Recommendations on places to visit and stay..

Too old for camping though

No problems, we stayed at Porlezza on Lake Lugano ( kinda near Garda), but I'd say definately stay in Bormio before you cross the Stelvio pass, really nice and has some great Thermal baths to relax the ol' bones And has a great feel.

We stayed at Hotel Eira, who plied us with food, wine and grappa... Great hospitality there

I'll post up pics and details when I get to that day, just trying to go through the 1000's of pics at the moment!

[maurice the martian]

Geat pics Remarka,i like the sound of those thermal baths ,my old bones need relaxing Roll on next year,cant wait

[RemarkLima]

Day 3

So while I lay contemplating if my feet will need to be amputated due to frostbite, we lay there waiting to see if the sun will hit the tent... The moment it does on the top it's time to get up and bask, to try and restore some of the core temperature I've lost!

And the morning did not disappoint!





And then off through the Swiss valleys;





Over a pass (not sure which one):





And finally into Italy:



To our campsite in Porlezza, on the edge of lake Lugano (in between Como and Maggoire):

[TaffZee]

Geat pics Remarka,i like the sound of those thermal baths ,my old bones need relaxing Roll on next year,cant wait

Your wrinkly enough without spending hours in a thermal Spa, you will look like Madge out of Benidorm!

[Badman gee]

looks like a great trip, id like to go soon.

[RemarkLima]

I'd say it's well worth it, and if you could do it over 2 weeks then you could take a lot more time.

That said, we didn't have the roof up except for the long journeys on the first and last days, and so great to be out there in the mountains!

[RemarkLima]

Day 4

So, we setup camp in Porlezza, and while the campsite was lovely, this time sleep was somewhat hampered by the terrible Italian band... Well, the band was excellent, the singer however should have been shot... From a cannon... Into the sun.

So now, a little sleep deprived, but able to not freeze to death at night, it was nice to have a couple of nights here to take a breather.



So we took a wee jaunt into Como, which was "OK", but a bit of a city break feel and so we just had lunch and a bit of a wander around and then headed back.

However on the way back, we took a small detour to find this view:



Which was from the courtyard of this Hotel:



So if you fancy a very fancy looking hotel (it had a M5, S8 and a big Merc all parked in the customer car park), with a fantastic view then this may be worth a night or two!

Than back to the campsite, a swim in the lake, a nice hot shower afterwards and off into Porlezza for a meal... The lowlight was sat with a meal watching an Italian do some italian style parking and reversing into our car, followed by pulling forward into the car in front Still, no damage and seems to just be "the way"...

[RemarkLima]

Day 5

So after a couple a nights at the lakes, it was time to head back to the mountains, first over the St. Bernardino Pass (careful here, as there's a tunnel under it which it's easy to take instead - From the south, just before the tunnel there's an Esso petrol station, and round the back of this is the start of the pass):







The Sat Nav having some fun!


And I guess we'll be going into a Tunnel right?


So then we stop for a late lunch in St. Moritz, as we were so close we thought we really should see where the posh hang out... We were pretty underwhelmed and a bit baffled by the number of "oh so posh" tottering around in the "off season", but at least lunch was nice. This sign in St Moritz says it all really:



Finally, through several more 6km long tunnels (kinda loud, smogy and boring when they're that long!), and some more aline roads we arrive in Bormio, to lux it up in Hotel Eira:



And not a bad view from the Balcony:



As said, a discount to get into the Thermal pools which was very very welcome. Then a quick bake in the Sauna, before taking a nice relaxed stroll back to the hotel, where we had a very nice pizza, very nice wine and some grappa on the house, can't fault the hospitality, the food or the wine! The price was all pretty good as well, and the novelty of a bed was good as well

This is where we now just luxed it up in 2* accomodation all the way! Everywhere we stayed however was great.

[RemarkLima]

Day 6

Day 6 was the crux, to head over the Stelvio pass and into Austria, and Bormio is a great starting point.

Getting up into the clouds!


Some of the tunnels a pretty tight!


The Bormio Side of the pass:


The "other" side:




One or two hairpins to contend with!




There's still a long way down from here and the scenery really changes from the sparse aline highs to pine tress, followed by aline medows, and cows with their dinging bells!




So then, into Austria (don't forget the next Vignette - You can get a 7 day one for about €12), and again onto stunning smooth roads.

We stopped for lunch in Innsbruck, again a very pretty town and my god, it must have been incredibily wealthy, as the cathedral is testament to:



Finally to Zell am See for the night, and again came to the last night of the Summer festivals held each Wednesday night of the summer, replete with Austrian folk music:

[RemarkLima]

OK, that's halfway! I think I'm going to need a break before tackling the rest of the trip!

[maurice the martian]

Geat pics Remarka,i like the sound of those thermal baths ,my old bones need relaxing Roll on next year,cant wait

Your wrinkly enough without spending hours in a thermal Spa, you will look like Madge out of Benidorm!

Bloody hell Jim,thats a bit harsh,Andrea says i look for my age

Anyway back on topic keep the pics comming really enjoying this.
Will be doing it next year with my ex mate Taff
Mozza

[TaffZee]

Great pictures RemarkLima Keep them coming, looks like you had a brilliant time (Except for the camping) I notice snow on some of the roads

Mozza, apologies for the remark, Yer dont look bad for an old un

[RemarkLima]

You do see correctly, that's snow on the side of the road! And this was at the end of August... Mad that it hadn't all melted, and to think it'll start snowing again there soon!

As for the thermal pools, fear not, the Roman's used to use them for their rejuvinational (is that a word?) properties, so you could come out looking like a teenager again

[Ragtop]

Great pictures RemarkLima.

Those roads look really good as does your M Roadster. Looking forward to seeing more of your trip.

[freds dad]

Looks like you had a great time and fantastic pictures. How long did it take you to plan and did you book the hotels in advance or just wing it as you went along?

[TaffZee]

You do see correctly, that's snow on the side of the road! And this was at the end of August... Mad that it hadn't all melted, and to think it'll start snowing again there soon!

As for the thermal pools, fear not, the Roman's used to use them for their rejuvinational (is that a word?) properties, so you could come out looking like a teenager again

Gonna book me a weeks worth then

[RemarkLima]

Cheers all,hopefully this will be inspiration for everyone to get out there, and go for a nice looong drive

Looks like you had a great time and fantastic pictures. How long did it take you to plan and did you book the hotels in advance or just wing it as you went along?

We worked out a rough plan, but only booked the first and last hotel before we left. The campsites you can rarely book in advance, most are first come, first served and have tons of pitches!

Also, there's a lot of them that have chalets / static caravans, so can be cheaper than hotels but without the tent hassels.

But from there, everywhere else had wifi, so we were able to work it out as we went along... Generally we stuck to the plan, I think Bormio and Zell am See were on the cuff stops, and again just went onto Booking.com and found the cheapest place with parking.

We also had a few books, the Cool Camping Europe, AA Campsites Europe, Swizerland Guide book, the Austria Guidebook and all the campsites and whatnot in the TomTom as POI... So we could look at the maps of the route, have a read up and go from there.

If you had a couple of weeks or longer you could really wing it, especially if you were happy to camp, and it would be fantastic Maybe we'll just have to do it again

[zedwheels]

Well that was a real treat for me this wet and windy morning here in Wales. Great pics and story of your hols. Been skiing in Zel am Zee, loved it.
Gonna do this sort of trip myself next year, maybe i can get an invite off Taffzee and Maurice, thier adventure sound exciting too.

[hornel Z3M]

Superb photos looked fantastic.. excellent write up as well. thanks for the trip

[Desiro]

What a fantastic trip RemarkLima it brings back lovely memories.

Just what these cars were made for, or so I thought

Keep the photos comming, I'm sure you will inspire other zedders to do the same

[RemarkLima]

Thanks for allt he kind words, as you all say, well worth it, and I'm sure it would have been cheaper still if the rear brakes didn't start to seize towards then end (not major but dragging), and I think there's a wheel bearing going... So these no doubt didn't help the fuel bill.

But really, an 11 day "standard" holiday would cost as much I'm sure

[RemarkLima]

Day 7

So after a good continential breakfast, we went for a stroll around Zell am See (I can see it would be great for Skiiing!), in it's normal guise:





The next destination was Klagenfurt, but heading off over the Grossglockner Pass (http://www.grossglockner.at/en/)... Sadly, this was the worst weather other than the travel days, but as we'd had great weather up to this point we weren't too dissapointed, and we really did try to keep the roof down the whole time.

Doing this, I have found one major disadvantage of Rain-X, the wipers push all the rain to the drivers side, which goes on the side window and Rain-X gathers it all up and then it goes over the top and stright into the face! D'oh!

Also, this road is 'kin expensive to go on, €29 in fact... However there is a Marmot museum







And the view from the high car park, at 2571 meters, or 8485 feet... No wonder we're sat in the clouds!



And spotted this on the way down:



I can't recall the name of it, any guesses out there to what it could be?

So then off to Klagenfurt, and instead took the scenic route around the Worthersee, apparently the warmest lake in [Austria/Central Europe/Somewhere else?] but that it does get to 27C in the summer!

For the Eagle eyed, you may spot our wee car in the car park below the viewing tower.



Then we arrived at Klagenfurt, to find the hotel parking was just some public bays with a tow away sign out the front or some down a small side alley... We were a little purturbed, but then had so far noticed that Austria has no grafitti, no litter and there was a Porsche Panamera around the corner, a couple of 911's on the same road and a few other expensive cars about, so while a little tense we just left it out the front!

[RemarkLima]

Day 8

So, we now head into our "City Break" section, so I'll keep the pics to a minimum as it's mostly the usual city break stuff, endless photo's of churches, statues, endless walking (usually up hill - how can you walk uphill all day and still end up at the same point!?) and finding all the shops sell the same touish tat... Or is it just me that feels this way?

Anyway, the car was still there all nice and safe, as were all the more expensive cars... I guess Austria is pretty wealthy and crime isn't too bad...? Maybe?



And if you like Giants clubbing wyrms / dragons to death with spikey clubs, then Klagenfurt is the city for you!



And with a new pair of Birkenstocks to replace my wife's sandals which had flallen apart, we heading from Klagenfurt to Salzburg, and en route we spotted the signs for the Porsche Museum, so we thought why not (€7 each - Same as the viewing tower - ouchies!):

[RemarkLima]

Day 9 - 10

So onto Salzburg (All you Need Hotels, in Salzburg, Klagenfurt and Vienna - Bascially University dorms during summer holidays that are ran as Hotels, the on in Salzburg was really nice!).

More walking, Mozart, more churches, Mozart, opulent buildings, Mozart, a Palace, Mozart and some nice gardens... Also, did I mention Mozart lived in Salzburg?









Just a selection, it's a very beautiful city, and even if you flew in for a couple of days and hired a car then it's worth getting out and seeing the Austrian countryside.

Also, of a slightly more geeky nature, well I thought it was kinda cool, a new copper roof before it's oxidated and tarnished:

[RemarkLima]

Day 11

So we leave Salzburg, and the next destination is the Nurburgring, so another long drive and the roof is well and truly up now... We had a good run tho'.

However, Germany wasn't kind to us, literally as soon as we crossed the border a truck flicked up a stone and cracked the windscreen, so new windscreen is on the list to get sorted... Also it was the last Sunday of the holidays so the Autobhans were stuffed, only a couple of small jams but just tons of traffic.

Add to that, when you get into the "fast" lane, you really are doing 130 - 140 mph just to flow with the traffic, and then need to try and find a gap big enough to pull back into... I can't do those speeds for 3 hours myself

Added to that, we get to the 'ring for 6pm, so still an hour of tracktime, plenty for a lap or two, but it was closed as there was a huge accident, 1 person killed and 5 more in a critical situation in hospital, absolutely tragic for a bit of "fun".

So instead we head to the B&B, then to Adenau for a meal and back to collapse.

The next morning we go and check out the actual Nurburg (burg is Castle I think):



And then off for Dunkerque and the ferry back to Blighty.

I think it's harder getting used to driving on the left when you get back, mainly as it feels so right... But so wrong

As said, I hope this is some inspiration to get out there and enjoy, at the moment it's all too easy to get caught up in the "Global Economic Downturn" and forget that we all still need to live, and if your living, you may as well try to enjoy it still

[muppet]

Stunning pics thanks for sharing

[Hard Top]

Day 7



I can't recall the name of it, any guesses out there to what it could be?

Yep, its one of these, same company that made my hard top.

http://www.wiesmann.com/en

Looks like Titan Tim was out and about as well..









What, no pics of sheep for Maurice and Jamzee.

Brilliant pics, thanks for the virtual road trip.

[RemarkLima]

Yep, its one of these, same company that made my hard top.

http://www.wiesmann.com/en

That's the kiddy! Sadly we didn't get to hear it giving some beans as we were all stuck behind the slowest pair of Boxsters I've ever known, literally having to hit the brakes all the way down... Even my wife was starting to get irate

What, no pics of sheep for Maurice and Jamzee.

Brilliant pics, thanks for the virtual road trip.

We didn't see any sheeps at all (my wife is a kiwi so has the same Welsh innate sense for spotting them!!), just cows and a few goats (which have high pitched bells - pub quiz fact there)... They'll just have to settle for cows

It's stange but we'd both happily do it all again - If we had 3 weeks to do it, it would be even better!

[shantybeater]

Thanks for posting, i'm hoping it will get me to finally do something similar. The big question is how much was the overall fuel cost?

[RemarkLima]

Thanks for posting, i'm hoping it will get me to finally do something similar. The big question is how much was the overall fuel cost?

Good question... I've kinda not wanted to look to be honest and just accept it's whatever!

But you've made me man up, and have an addup... It looks to be £371.29, but I may have missed one or two fillup's of stations with weird names

So I'd say £400 all in, but as said with my brakes binding I'm sure that hammered my economy towards the end!

[shantybeater]

Thats not bad at all! I expecting far worse! Well worth it for a trip like that.

[zedwheels]

£400 notes for that trip is very reasonable. Couldnt you have got a bit of that copper off that roof and sold it to cover expenses!!!
It wouldnt stay on a roof over here, had someone nick the lead flashing off the conservatory roof recently, and their pinchin the manholes out of the road!!
Sign of the times eh?
Great trip i feel i have been abroad now and had me some

[Jamezee]

£400 on fuel reasonable.

No sheep, unreasonable.

Fantastic thread RemarkLima.

Keep them coming

[TaffZee]

£400 on fuel reasonable.

No sheep, unreasonable.
Fantastic thread RemarkLima.

Keep them coming

Is that all you have to say Dave. Was waiting in anticipation for you remarks

[RemarkLima]

LOL! Thanks guys

That's just juice tho', and a lot of the time it was nice to just cruise along with the top down, in no hurry and no desire to go mental

But also, by the time you add food, drinks, hotels (probably the bigger expense I'd think), fridge magnets and generally getting stripped of those tasty touist € it does add up

[RemarkLima]

£400 on fuel reasonable.

No sheep, unreasonable.
Fantastic thread RemarkLima.

Keep them coming

Is that all you have to say Dave. Was waiting in anticipation for you remarks

All is not lost! My wife obviously did use her innate Kiwi senses





Phew!!!

[TrickyZ1]

Great pics RemarkLima

Reminds me of the trip I did a couple of years ago, very similar to yours - 11 days and 3000 miles. Fortunately, I did get to drive the 'ring too - shame you couldn't do that. If I remember correctly, my fuel bill for the trip was nearer the £700 mark

[RemarkLima]

Cheers

Yeah, was gutted that I couldn't do the ring (but at least I've been there before a couple of times), but more that I'd been racing the clock the whole way, to then make it in time but to find it was closed because of an accident

Hmmm, I may need to check the fuel bill again, and I didn't count the UK side...