The Alps 2014 – Part 2: Grossglockner High Mountain Road

Welcome to Austria

Friday, 18.07.2014

Today there are only 200 kilometers left so we can have an extensive breakfast in the morning and enjoy the sunshine.

Around noon we are leaving the RV park at the Steiner farm where, by the way, every summer the “Chiemsee Summer Festival” takes place, and are heading straight towards Austria. Since our destination Kals am Großglockner is accessible completely without the use of a motorway we refrain from buying a vignette. Motorways cost money in Austria, toll is about 8,-€ for a couple of days. Not much, but we have our principles. 😉

The Pass Thurn road gives marvelous views towards the Alpine mountains, which makes several short rests mandatory.

Via Felbertauern-Road and the Felbertauern Tunnel we first pass the small mountain town of Matrei before reaching the hamlet of Huben, from where the 13 kilometer long mountain road to Kals am Großglockner branches off.

After the check-in at the local campground we head down to the registration for the “10th Großglockner VW-bus-convention” with more than 400 Volkswagen buses (mainly T1 and T2, but also some T25 brothers and sisters of the Didimobile) from all over Europe. Highlight of the day is a drive up Kalser Großglocknerstraße all the way to Lucknerhaus from where there is a fabulous view of Mount Großglockner, Austria’s highest mountain at a height of 3,798 meters, a group photo of all vanagons included.

We let the evening end happily with some delicious food and one or two beers. Tomorrow will be the grand Großglockner round trip for all buses.

Großglockner-Roundtrip

Saturday, 19.07.2014

Today the highlight of this Alpine tour is going to take place: A tour around Mount Großglockner with more than 400 Volkswagen buses. So at nine in the  morning a neverending chain of vanagons slowly crawls down the 13 kilometers to Huben, just to wait there for over half an hour for the police to block off the main road. Great idea, but not actually realizable with more than 400 vehicles, and so the once united field of Volkswagen is slowly torn apart.

There is a major delay in front of the Felbertauern Tunnel since the main road has been blocked by a mudslide some months ago and now a provisional, single lane road with block clearance has to cope with all the traffic.

After about an hour we reach the beginning of the actual Grossglockner High Alpine Road. At 25°C in the shade and perfect sunshine the buses struggle to climb up the mountain pass for about 30 kilometers until the peak. Especially the older air cooled models seem to have some trouble. Luckily the Didimobile is one of the latest T25 models and already fitted with a water cooling system.

Next to the magnificent mountain road with overwhelming scenics, signs remind the driver to beware of marmots over and over again. We are cautious, but nevertheless don’t see a single one. Nonexisting animals shall become a fixed component of future Didimobile tours.

We park the Didimobile at the bottom of Edelweißspitze, the highest reachable point by car, and climb the last 300 meters of hight by foot, because we are afraid that the parking lot on the very top might already be overcrowded by other vanagons. We shall prove wrong, but mountain climbing is a welcome relief at still over 20°C at an altitude of 2,500 meters.

After a short break at Edelweißspitze we decend back to the Didimobile. Meanwhile we became the taillight of the vanagon group and have lost connection to the rest of them, mainly because the  detour was not part of the round trip.

Without finding connection to the rest of the group again we enjoy the rest of the day on Grossglockner High Alpine Road, do a snowball battle and finally visit the Pasterze, Austria’s biggest glacier and at a length of eight kilometers the longest one in the Eastern Alps. Due to high temperatures it unfortunately gives a kind of gray and dreary impression. On our way we also pass some waterfalls along one of Austria’s most scenic Alpine crossings.

The decend from Großglockner High Alpine Road past the church of Heiligenblut is rather unimpressive, and so we are back on our campground in Kals at shortly past eight in the evening.

Malta-Hochalm-Straße and Kölnbrein Dam & Reservoir

Sunday, 20.07.2014

The weatherforecast for today promises nothing good, after several midsummer days rain is actually forecast for today. Instead, the morning starts like the last days with bright sunshine. Thus we decide to explore some of the area and head toward Austrias highest dam, the Kölnbrein Dam at the end of Malta-Hochalm-Straße, a fabulous mountain road along the Malta River Valley.

The small road along Malta River Valley already is a minor attraction of its own. Originally built only for internal traffic to the dam, the partly single lane road clings to the cliffs, featuring sharp curves and narrow tunnels. Near the end of the road at Kölnbrein Dam it offers great views of Galgenbichl reservoir and the impressive Kölnbrein Dam.

The dam itself features another attraction, the Skywalk. This walkable metal construction is a kind of balcony about 200 meters above ground. Nothing for people with fear of heights!

We are attracted by a small tavern, about 600 meters up the lakeside. There are dark clouds gathering, and since the weather is rather unpredictable in the mountains, we decide to have some lunch there. No twenty minutes later this decision turns out to have been a more than wise decision.

The further route today leads us back down into the valley and over Katschberg Pass with inclines of up to 1 in 5 (20 km/h in first gear) to Schladming, where we visit an acquaintance of the son.

Towards the evening an uncertain question comes up: Where will we stay for the night? The local campground charges nearly 50,-€ a night, so after doing some research on the internet we decide to drive to Bad Aussee where we find a small cosy campground at Bauernhofcamping Temel. Only the sheep next door are – unfortunately – some early birds. 😉

So we let the day fade away with a cool beer at the nearby lake.