THE GROSSGLOCKNER STRASSE: FOR YOUR RIDING PLEASURE ONLY!

It’s strange that a mountain you don’t see most of the time becomes so well known that people all over the world are familiar with its name. And by only mentioning its name you see sparkles in the eyes of car/bike aficionados. We admit. It wasn’t until a while ago that we too found out about this road; as soon as we arrived at the bottom tollgate we knew we were in for something special. By turn 6 we were completely in awe.

Unfortunately on that last day of August 2010 turn 15 surprised us with early snow so we rushed down to the south gate without seeing the full road. However, there was a promise that we would be back. 

It took us till 2018 to come back; this time we spent almost a week between the tollgates, becoming close friends with the 26 hairpins, and all the corners in between. And in those 5 days the Grossglockner High Alpine road managed to find its way to our hearts.

The Grossglockner road counts 36 hairpins.  That is what most people will remember, but the many ‘nameless’ corners in between have left a bigger mark on us than we could imagine. Like the blanks between the words in a book or the silence between the words. I was taught to read between the lines. Then you will understand. The Grossglockner Strasse proved to be all that. This spring there’s a lot of road works, executed with a speed that puts regular roads works to shame. Efficiency is what counts here. The toll road needs to earn its costs. No less than 7 stretches are being resurfaced this spring. Ready to welcome the big crowds of summer. Cyclist, mopeds, bikes, cars, caravans, busses, whatever, every tourist seems to be attracted to this road…