Part 1 (2 parts) Day 1: This time we went from the location of our accommodation in Spittal/Drau over the nearby Alpine passes of Slovenia and Italy. After a real downpour with storm and hail, we started our 350 km journey to Spittal/Drau in the province of Carinthia. After a little over 3 hours of dry riding (@Mrs Visor) on the highway, we moved into our holiday accommodation. Upon arrival we explored the city and enjoyed a lovely iced coffee at a patisserie in the center of town. The city itself is very ambivalent. Partly beautiful historical areas, which are interspersed with unsightly buildings or industrial plants on the outskirts. There is a lot of through traffic on the main road. The surrounding area with its numerous mountains is beautiful, but the panorama from the city is always obstructed by some industrial buildings. Some views of the city Porcia Castle After our tour of the city we just came back dry. As soon as we arrived at the accommodation, an unbelievable thunderstorm with storm, heavy rain and hail broke out that lasted for several hours. In the early evening, however, the sun came out again and the weather calmed down. We then used the beautiful evening to dry our bikes and go for another walk. Day 2: Around 7 o'clock in the morning we started our first tour of the Alps and crossed the border to Italy at Tarvisio. Below the Italian motorway, the path led us through parts of the Canal Valley and over numerous mountain roads to the alpine border crossing at the Predil Pass in Slovenia. Within the next 3 hours of driving there was hardly a straight stretch anymore. We drove via Tolmin to the tourist town of Bled on Lake Bled. Hundreds of bends and hairpin bends lined up one after the other. A real biker curve paradise! In Bled we enjoyed the view of the lake in a lake restaurant and of course a local specialty, Bled cream cakes. A real treat! After this further break we went via Kranjska Gora to the Wurzenpass with its wonderful pass road past the Bunker Museum there (WW I and WW II) back to Austria. We finished our first day of touring after about 8 hours, about 120 bends and 350 km of driving. At the lake restaurant at Lake Bled The local highlight: Bled cream cake A view of Lake Bled Somewhere in the mountains
Part 2: Day 3: Again around 7 o'clock we set off for our 2nd tour of the Alps. This time we drove straight to Kranjska Gora in Slovenia and made a stop at the "Russian Chapel" built by Russian prisoners of war. The mountain road away from Kranjska Gora is amazing. All uphill bends are designed with cobblestones. In our dry conditions and our direction of travel, that wasn't a problem. In rainy weather and going downhill, these hairpin bends certainly pose one or the other slippery challenge. From the top of the pass, we continued on to Trenta on the “normal” road surfaces there. In a small town, a brand new Porsche model suddenly drove in front of the camera, a Porsche 911 DAKAR that has only recently been on the market. After this car highlight, we drove through the beautiful Soca Valley via Bovec to Lago del Predil in Italy. The brand new Porsche 911 DAKAR Lago del Predil Soca valley impressions After a leisurely break, we drove to the Sella Nevea, a pass with historical significance from WW I. The route is an impressive mountain road with numerous hairpin bends, some of which lead through unlit (!) tunnels. It gets exciting when two changes of direction occur immediately in such a tunnel due to a combination of hairpin bends and then there is oncoming traffic. Then we continued via Via Pramollo to the Nassfeld Pass, where we took another break in the wonderful landscape on the Austrian-Italian border. A small lake at the Nassfeldpass at the border Italy to Austria Some mountain impressions on the road After a refreshment, we went down the pass road into the Carinthian Gailtal, where we took a 2-hour swim break on and in the lake Pressegersee. Refreshed, we went back to our accommodation via the Windischhöhe mountain road. This day also came to an end after about 8 hours and about 270 km of covered distance and hundreds of bends and hairpin bends. Day 4: Early on Sunday we went back home at 6.30 a.m., where we arrived home happy after an eventful 4-day tour. We made it! Hundreds of curves and bends. We rode nearly 1.300 km in those days. It was great!
Wow @Markus that looks incredible!!! Thank you for sharing your photos and descriptions, what amazing scenery. I wouldn't fancy the cobblestone hairpin bends in the wet much, so I am glad that you had such lovely weather for your tour. You'll be pleased to know it's rained here for a week .
@Markus. Brilliant, that's 3 more places I've just added to my Bucket list. The Wurzenpass, Bunker Museum, and the Nassfeldpass. Glad you both had a great trip.
Wow, Markus! What a wonderful report. Thanks for taking the time to take photos and share your travels. Such gorgeous views and landscapes. I loved the photo of the Russian Chapel. I'm glad you two had such a fantastic trip. It sounds terrific, other than the hail, anyway!
@Sandi T: Thanks Sandi. It was great. We were lucky with the weather during our touring. Afterwards we often had really bad weather.
Great write-up and superb photos, Markus. Out of interest, how did your other half's Tiger perform, as I never had a chance to tour on it in the end (before chopping it in for the Harley). All day comfort?
@learningtofly: We had to "soften" her seat twice. She rides the Tiger 900 Low Edition with the additional "low seat". This seat is horrible!!! Nearly a piece of wood with some millimeters of inlay. Therefore we corrected it with a comfort gel inlay and a 3 cm thick foam. Now it is fine for her.
I had the GT Pro with the low seat, which was returned after one rise as unfit for purpose. It really was was nothing more than a covered plank.
Another great travel log, It is fun looking all those places in google maps Thanks for sharing it My son is living in Munich, when I visit I'll make plans to rent a motorcycle.
@Armando Morales: That's a good idea! You will love it to ride here in Europe. Around Munich you also have no speed limit on the highway!
