The European Chronicles 2024.16 - Pitztal, Part One
Is Moving An Option???
She's ready...in more ways than one!
The Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum on Timmelsjoch Pass, in addition to the extensive motorcycle museum and great restaurant, now has a "ride simulator"...riding up what I think is Timmelsjoch from the Italia side. Krisanne gave it a go...pretty realistic; it leans more in the tighter turns, you feel the bumps in the road and the visual is a good representation.
Nice form too! 😎
To get there, we head north and out of the Pitztal valley toward Timmelsjoch on a beautiful, sunny day. Perfect.
Some low hanging cloud drama adds to the spectacular scenery.
You then head east and south again into the Otztal Valley, also pretty, but a bit busier than Pitztal because it connects to Timmelsjoch and leads to Italia; Pitztal is a dead end and much quieter because of it.
Starting the climb.
And here we are, the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum...amazing that they were able to rebuild it in only 10 months after it burned to the ground a few years ago.
Leaving our mark. 😂. I wonder if it will still be there when we come back...
The Crosspoint monument
It sits out at the edge.
First, some lunch at the very good restaurant.
Pizza on the patio...yum!
The OG
Thank you Herr Daimler! 😎
They've got a collection of micro cars too.
Krisanne wants one... 😂
They had video of someone actually riding this Suzuki...yikes!
Mine was a 900 ss/sp
The original Sophia... 😍. Gone but not forgotten.
Forza Italia!
Exit thru the restaurant...
Getting ready to head back down.
So were they...never saw them again... 😂
I don't know...any guesses?
Back to Pitztal...ahhhh...Relive 'Timmelsjoch'
A fun ride and a very special place. 😎
The Pitztal Glacier
The highest glacier in Tyrol. The highest mountain in Tyrol. The highest view in Tyrol. And the highest mountain lake in Austria.
To get there, you walk about 500 meters from the Vier Jahreszeiten to the Glacier Express, a funicular built right through the mountain that takes you from 1740 meters to 2840 meters. That's step one.
That takes you to the mid-point; step two is the Wildsptzebahn, the cable car up to the top, 3440 meters, 11,286 feet. High.
The ride up is spectacular...someone I know who is a bit afraid of heights might choose a different adjective...
And then you climb to the viewing platform...gingerly, perhaps without looking down...step three.
The reward feels like the top of the world.
Walk back down to Cafe 3440...
It was somewhere around 11 am. Krisanne had a vodka and bitter lemon "stress reliever." I had the strudel. 😂
Time to head back down.
The mid-station is solar powered.
Neither of us had ever seen this before: glacial melt meets snow melt.
The river behind the hotel changes color through the day. Overnight, it turns clear by morning...I'm guessing because the snow melts faster. By mid-day, it runs cloudy; the higher temps and sun causing glacial melt. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it... 😂
This is the river that changes color, right behind the hotel.
Time for a sauna and...
Ciao!
Oh, and the highest lake: the Rifflsee...more next time.
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