IN AUSTRIA ON TAURI HIGHEST MOUNTAINS
15.06.2005
AUSTRIA - Carinthia - June 2005
The beautiful season invites us to travel by motorcycle, and up to now Lola has already covered more than 10.000 km: the motorcycle has got for her any secret at all.
The new journey will last one week and for Lola this is completely new: up to then max. only three-days lasting tour. The first difficulty is to stow Lola’s goods (bowl, brush, etc.), her food tins and croquettes, necessary to face the journey. Even if capacious, our motorcycle bags are not sufficient to contain both our things and Lola’s ones. Eventually we decide to give up to bring some of our things.
LET’S START OUR JOURNEY AND A NEW PAIR OF MOTORBIKER’S GLASSES FOR LOLA
The journey foresees three nights in Alto Adige Tires valley, in province of Bozen , 2 nights in Austria ( Heiligenblut ) and other two nights in Alto Adige (always Tires valley).
In comparison with the journey in 2004 on the Dolomiti alps , there is something new: Lola has got first a new pair of light-blue lenses glasses to protect her eyes from high altitude sun and second a new business card: we have reprinted a famous Lola’s photo, in a dimension similar to an identity card and in the rear part of it the insertion of her name together with her (now...old..) web-site “viaggiarecolcane”. In this way, we advice those who have some questions to visit the web site.
Lola’s business card is soon completely sold out: all our 150 copies, a real success!
The goal of our journey is the mythical Grossglockner Alpenstrasse: the most famous Austrian panoramic road and the most European highest road.
The beauty of this road is the altitude over 2000 m, as for the highest point, 2576 m: the “biker point” of Edelweissspitze, a unique and suggestive place.
IN AUSTRIA : A VERY ROMANTIC HOTEL
Our Austrian base is fixed in the village of Heiligenblut, over 1.600 m, the Hotel Chalet Haus Senger whose owners are very keen on dogs. This village represents a starting point of the alpine road and the most characteristic place of the Moelltal valley, with its gothic shaped church and its sharp tower, all surrounded by the Tauri mountains.
From Heiligenglut the Grossglockner Alpenstrasse, after 40 km of curves and breath-taking views, ends in Fusch leaving some unforgettable memories.
We arrive at the hotel in the afternoon and without any hesitation we decide although our tiredness, of our Alto Adige travel to rise up the alpine road. At the entry there is a tollbooth stop where the nice lady inside, owner of a dog as well, looking at Lola does a lot of questions and takes some photos.
AT HIGH ALTITUDE
Immediately the road rises up as if it was a long fissure beside the mountain: straight roads, large curves, ups and downs and hairpin bends follow without interruption; the asphalt is perfect and Lola realizes that she is doing a very special thing. Since the departure she sits inside her basket and looks proud at the alpine landscape, including the snow.
Briefly we reach over 2000 m and from here the village of Heiligenglut, appears as if it was a small point inside the green fields of the Moelltal valley.
The trees leave space to a landscape of a wild and breath-taking beauty. Lola is perfectly at her ease with this road; she tries to anticipate all the bends and to position herself in order to make the motorcycle riding easier.
She always makes me wonder. At the horizon, ever more nearer the Glossglokner, the white pyramid appears; it is the Austrian highest mountain over 3.500 m with its peak always covered by the snow.
We stop for a photo in front of a very cool waterfall. If Lola could, she would have taken her bath.
Near the fork of the di Posthaus Guttal, from the Glossglokner Alpenstrasse begins at left another ramification of the Gletscherstrasse, a fantastic road which leads to a panoramic place – the most crowded of the entire alpine road; this place is called Franz – Josef Hohe, 2369 m, while on the right the road arrives to the Hoctor tunnel, 2540 m, and then to the Edelweissspitze.
We take on our left the road which leads us to the Franz – Josef Hohe Belvedere and after several hairpin bends we stop for a picnic along the shores of a small alpine lake, where Lola as you can imagine, does her bath in a stream created by a waterfall, coming directly from the glacier and moreover she comes in contact with the snow along the lake shores, a great entertainment!
ON THE PASTERZE GLACIER
From the Franz – Josef Hohe, we can admire the Pasterze Glacier, a large icy tongue which fascinates Lola as well, immediately attracted by the numerous marmots, standing at the mountains sides, below the panoramic place.
During that evening Lola is very tired but fully happy for the experience she’s living.
The day after we take the Glossglokner Alpenstrasse again and we ride towards the highest point: the Edelweisspitze.
The road at the fork of the Posthaus Guttal starts to rise up, without creating any kind of problem: the day is fantastic, the air is so clear and the sky so blue and pure: it seems untrue.
Once reached the Hoctor Pass, we stop for some photos: a signal says that we are near 2540 m; the Pordoi Pass seems to be very low. Lola is fascinated by the snow aside the road and the numerous cows wandering in the fields.
We go beyond the Hoctor pass, into a fascinating tunnel, which was built at the beginning of the century, where in the inner part you can touch the heart of the mountain for just a hundred meter.
LOLA ON THE EDELWEISSPITZE BIKER'S POINT
At the tunnel exit, your view can reach the infinity and from far away you can see the Edelweissspitze peak, our goal, a rocked peak which with its 2580 m represents the highest point of the alpine road but must be conquered peacefully and prudently. A tortuous and narrow road leads to a parking place where it is possible to admire in all its beauty, more than ten mountains, whose height reaches over 3000 m.
Lola, during her climbing to the Edelweissspitze, is very cleaver: she never gets upset as if she was at knowledge of that moment.
The parking place is full of motor bikers coming from every European countries; everybody asks information about Lola and takes some photos and as imagined, everybody wants Lola’s business card!!
LET’S GO BACK HOME
On this journey Lola has covered more than 1.800 km and touched 13 alpine passes between Italy and Austria: on every pass, when available, we have bought a pin to attach to Lola’s bag as a memory of her passage.
We have spent our last day journey on Dolomites, in the fields around the Fuciade Refuge, on the San Pellegrino pass which for Lola represents a real special place, but not only for her...
It was a week full of emotions and we promise Lola to come back again to the Tauri Highest Mountains!
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