The Grossglockner Pass, Austria

Yesterday I had a long driving day. I drove 500 kilometers through the Austrian Alps and enjoyed every bit of it. I wanted to end the day with driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, although I have been warned by other bikers that the road would be full with traffic (including a lot of tourist buses). Therefore, despite the warnings and the 33 degrees Celcius, I went to the foot of the mountain and arrived at the tollbooth just after 18:00. I had to pay “only” €18,50 instead of the regular €25 because it was after 18:00. Still expensive, but my visit to Austria would not be complete without visiting the Grossglockner.

After paying the toll, the road got more twisty and I was spoiled by the views. The Grossglockner mountain is on the west side of the road and therefore it was difficult to take photos because of the position of the sun (also in the west).

By this time I already knew that I was very lucky. The road was empty. Seriously… EMPTY! Everyone was warning me for traffic and the complete opposite was the case!

At the highest point there were only a handful other bikers but that was it. There were not more than 10 people and the souvenir shops were also already closed. I got a brilliant view on the mountain and the glacier. It was beautiful!

I continued my way in the direction of Zell am See (to the north) and had the sun in my back for a while. This was amazing!