Grossglockner

Austria’s high alpine road, the Großglockner, was purpose built as a tourist attraction in the 1930s. At 2,500 m, it is the highest road in Austria and attracts over 350,000 vehicles each year. The biker hotel Birkenhof served us a great breakfast. They also sold us a discounted ticket for the Grossglockner, which is a toll road. The sun was out and a few clouds scudded around the alpine foothills. The weather was almost perfect. Warm without being hot. Dry and clear.

We were heading north. The road wound up a range of hills with tantalising views of the alps in the distance. Then we dropped down into the Drautal valley, a beautiful area of mountains, forests, waterfalls and rivers. Popular not only because of the road but also for skiing, biking, hiking and climbing. At Dölsach, we left the main valley and started following the Möll river north to the foot of the Grossglockner mountain. Here we could skip the queue at the toll booth with our pre-paid ticket and started the climb up to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe visitors’ centre at 2,369 m.

Apparently, Emperor Franz visited here in 1856 and quite liked the place. I could see why. The views are spectacular although the glacier has mostly melted now. An impressive collection of old cars was coming down the road. They all had badges indicating an organised rally. In fact, the whole place was busy with many drivers out enjoying the weather. After seeing an enthusiastic motorcyclist nearly make a spectacular mess of a corner, we resolutely decided to keep it slow and safe. There are a few places on this road where if you came off it would really spoil your day.

We hung around the observation platform for a while and spotted some marmots. A couple of real, live animals at the bottom of a wall and hundreds of stuffed toys in the enormous souvenir shop. There were many motorbikes parked up in a large parking area exclusively for bikes. The road is particularly popular with bikers. We reckoned we saw more big motorcycles in this one day than we saw in the whole of the rest of our trip.

Heading higher up we passed through a small tunnel which crosses the Alpine divide. On the north side of the Alps we followed a side road up to the Edelweißspitze viewpoint at 2,571 m. This involves a sequence of hairpins bends on a narrow, cobbled road. Care and balance required. With a fully loaded bike and a pillion this can be a bit tricky. We succeeded without embarrassing ourselves and parked up with the other bikes.

More beautiful views. Majestic mountains. Snow and glaciers fuelling the many torrents cascading down precipitous, craggy walls. Far in the distance is a glimpse into the lush valleys. A lovely little mountain hut, the Edelweißhutte, is here. They were doing a roaring trade serving bikers sat around in the sunshine. It was not just bikers up here. But it was mostly bikers. We discovered that you could stay overnight in the Edelweißhutte. An excellent adventure, at 2,571 m, for another time. We needed to press on.

Descending the cobbles was a little easier than getting up. Back on the road we began negotiating the seemingly endless sequence of hairpins that bring you down off the Hochtor pass. The air got warmer. Steep, rocky walls gave way to forested slopes. Amongst fields of cows, we passed the northern toll booth on our way to Bruck in the Salzach valley. We had been in this area last winter for some skiing. It looked hugely different now. The ski runs were green tongues lapping down the hillsides and the frozen lakes were blue and alive with birds. Late afternoon we bade goodbye to the Alps and crossed into a bit of Czechia that sort of protrudes into Austria.

Next day, we started the trek back to the UK. North through Czechia. Pilsen. Carlsbad. Then into Germany near Leipzig. From there, pretty much due west to Rotterdam and the ferry. Five days of steady riding. Each morning, we would breakfast, get our riding gear on, pack the bike and set off down the road. In the evening, we would arrive, relax for a while, have dinner and go to bed. After six weeks on the road, we had totally settled into the rhythm of it. The last few days were thoroughly enjoyable although there was nothing spectacular. We took very few photos. I often find that at the very end of a trip you start looking backwards more than forwards. Reflecting on everything that happened. 14,000 km. 12 countries. It had been a good one.