The guidebooks make the Grossglockner Road in central Austria sound like a not-to-be-missed experience. Anybody ever driven it? <BR> <BR>Is it worth the extra driving to include it in our still-deveoping itinerary for next summer? (Current thoughts: Munich to the Salzburg area to the Innsbuck area to the Garmisch area and back to Munich... in 7 or 8 days.)

<BR> <BR>Bill, <BR> <BR>I've driven the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse several times. Actually, it is not a highway but a normal mountain road: windy, moderately steep ( 12% ) but rather broad. Under normal road conditions, the drive should not be a problem for an experienced driver. Please note that the road is open only in summer. It is a great drive if the weather is good, especially when combined with a short hike in the mountains. In bad weather, however, you are likely to see nothing but clouds ( or snow, even in August ). <BR> <BR>You could make a sidetrip to the Grossglockner road on your drive from Salzburg to Innsbruck. The route would be Salzburg - Bischofshofen - Bruck an der Glocknerstrasse - Grossglockner road to Heiligenblut, then back to Bruck - Zell am See - Saalfelden - St. Johann in Tirol - Woergl - Innsbruck. The driving alone would take about 6 hours, as opposed to less than 2 hours for the direct drive on the motorway. <BR> <BR>Further informations can be obtained from <BR> <BR>http://www.grossglockner.at/grohage.htm <BR> <BR>Hope that helps. <BR> <BR>Regards, Jochen <BR>

<BR>Jochen - <BR> <BR>Thanks for the good advice and informative website. I think if we drive the road we'll take our time and over-night in Heiligenblut at a gasthaus recommended in the guidebooks. <BR> <BR>I was reading on a website that the tour buses can be a problem on the Grossglockner. Is there a time of day when they might be particularly intense? I'm assuming that an early morning start will avoid this problem.

<BR>Bill, <BR> <BR>I've never had much trouble with tour buses, but I've always been there in late September. I don't know how bad it is in high season. Anyway, it's reasonable to go in the early morning or in the late afternoon in order to avoid the buses as well as the very slow drivers. I wish you a joyful journey ! <BR> <BR>Regards, Jochen

I would also count the Grossglockner Road as a must-see. One suggestion though - I would recommend staying in the charming town of Lienz, just south of the road, instead of Heiligenblut. Lienz is a pretty little town surrounded by mountains (Austrian Alps to the north, Dolomites to the south) and quite inexpensive, since it's pretty much undiscovered. Heiligenblut does have a wonderful setting but seems to be made up entirely of that one church and hotels. It's more of a resort than a town of any substance IMHO. <BR> <BR>Lienz is only 2 - 2 1/2 hours from Innsbruck through Italy, so you wouldn't need to backtrack. I'd recommend a quick lunch stop in Brixen/Bressanone. You can also get to Innsbruck through Matrei and the Felbertauern. <BR> <BR>Munich - Salzburg, Salzburg - Lienz via Grossglockner, Lienz - Innsbruck, Innsbruck - Garmisch, Garmisch - Munich.

<BR>Rob - <BR>Thanks for the suggestion about cutting through Italy. I did some quick research and found a couple nice places along the road from Lienz to Innsbuck that would be nice to stop for the night. There's an inn listed on the Karen Brown site in the town of Sesto (Sexten) that is nestled against some incredibly dramatic mountains in the Dolomites. <BR> <BR>Anyone have suggestions for other places in the Dolomites? We may have to come back some other time to do this area justice, getting just a tiny taste in our Austria/Bavaria trip next summer.

If I am ever within 100 miles of the Grossglockner again, I will do whatever it takes to drive it again. I just hope I can drive it northward the next time to see what I missed the first time! <BR> <BR>It's one of Europe's best-kept secrets as NO ONE that I have mentioned it to has ever heard of it. There is a toll..app. $30.oo in 1996, but worth far more than that. I was there in early June right after it opened and it was not crowded at all (buses OR cars). <BR> <BR>I agree with the writer who suggested Lienze...very pretty and you MUST see the Dolomites while you are that close. I drove from Salzburg to Cortina, Italy, and if you just go part of the way from Lienz to Cortina you will see the tremendously impressive Dolomites. <BR> <BR>But whatever...DON'T MISS THE GROSSGLOCKNER!!!

If you have a week to return to Munich, you may indeed wish to squeeze a couple of night stays in your route in addition to the 3 cities you mention. I must have made the route from Val Pusteria (where you'd pass if you enter Italy) to Salzburg more than a dozen times, including a couple over he Grossglockner. <BR> <BR>As Jochen puts it, if the weather isn't nice one shouldn't do it. If that's the case, one alternative would be to go through very nice Kitzbuhel. <BR> <BR>If I were to spend a night in the area, I would also prefer Lienz over Heiligenblut. <BR> <BR>Departing Lienz, if you plan to spend a 2nd night before reaching Innsbruck you'd have time to explore a lot. You could drive to Cortina, and from there to Ortizei, over the Falzarego, Pordoi and Sella passes. From Ortizei to Innsbruck it's a short drive. <BR> <BR>Instead, you could also explore the Val di Pusteria with ease (maybe with a detour to Lago di Braies and/or into Val Aurina, spending he night maybe in quaint Sterzing (Vipiteno) or Brixen itself. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>