Day 12: Tirol (Austria) –> Salzburg (Austria)
Today we travel to Salzburg, a meaningful destination for us, since my co-driver and I were married there in October 2005.
Naturally, we avoid the direct motorway route, favouring the mountains—particularly since the weather is so favourable. When we plan our route in the morning, surprisingly going via the Grossglockner again makes the most sense! So we’re heading back, but this time using it as a route through the mountain to get to other mountains.
This kind of driving isn’t particularly fuel efficient so we top up again at the same service station as yesterday.
And an hour later we’re back on the Grossglockner.
While we‘re just using this as an actual route today, we take our time to capture photographs from earlier in the day than we were here yesterday.
The switchbacks on this road are just as enjoyable as ever.
We stop and look towards the mountains we’re heading for today.
As we are passing the Porsche-orientated Mankei restaurant during the morning when it is opening, we of course plan to stop off for a visit.
It is bright but chilly this morning.
We sit on the terrace and enjoy a hot chocolate.
Where the views are excellent as are the coffee and cocoa.
No fuel for the car to be had here, only the body!
Old fuel pump at the entrance to the restaurant
We have a long trip today so we push on.
We see many cars in camouflage being tested on the Grossglockner. This is the original connection with Porsche to this road. It is a legendary testing ground for Porsche sports cars since the brand's earliest days
Today we see a different kind of testing being performed. From what we could glean, it was a brake manufacturer testing either rotors, pads or perhaps both on an old Opel diesel car.
It was interesting to observe the car moved at a consistent 45 km/h speed down the 13 km steep incline and never once released the brake. We could see the brake light on the entire time, even when we – following directly behind them – did not need to apply the brake.
We can only assume they had their left foot on the brake pedal the entire time and then used their right to control the throttle.
Once we leave the Grossglockner we continue on in the direction of Zell am See.
Where we park up in a large underground and grab some lunch at a beer garden in the warm sun by the lake.
Stopping for some lunch at Zell am See
The town is always lovely; we stayed here previously and probably would choose it again when next in the area.
You pay for your parking using your registration number, and it is good that on leaving the screen clearly shows your plate and confirms you are good to leave as you approach the barrier.
We leave the town behind and again head towards the mountains.
We pass a sculpture that looks to us like a man peeing into the roundabout!
We stop off for a quick toilet break and to give our windscreen a good clean from the road grime it has accumulated over the past few days.
This area is beautiful and is home to the Krimml Waterfalls – Europe’s highest and largest falls.
We wish we had more time to explore them and walk to the base of the falls.
We drive up the alpine road alongside the falls and get a look at them from a higher altitude.
We make it to the top of the Gerlos mountain pass, where there is a toll to pay to cross over to the other side of the national park.
There is an observation tower here that we climb.
The view from the summit is now familiar, leading us to concentrate on the road instead of the landscape. Perhaps in winter the view is less obstructed by tree foliage.
We stop off at a nice viewing point and have a look at our route left to do.
We still had about 200 km to go to our hotel in Salzburg, and it was getting late, so it was time to push on.
We zig-zag our way down the mountain.
Heading down the mountain pass
Where we eventually reach the motorway network towards Salzburg.
Eventually arriving in the heart of Salzburg to heavy traffic. We make our way to the giant Linzer Gasse parking garage.
The Parkgarage Linzer Gasse was constructed inside the rock face of the Kapuzinerberg mountain and officially opened in 1994 to resolve a critical shortage of parking for Salzburg’s right old town (Rechte Altstadt).
Initiated through a partnership between the city administration and the local merchants' association, the 400-space underground facility was designed to boost foot traffic to the Linzer Gasse shopping district while keeping vehicles off the narrow historic streets.
By routing traffic through the mountain via Glockengasse, the project effectively preserved the area's historic character while providing direct elevator access straight into the pedestrian zone.
We walk through two tunnels to the nearby pedestrianised area.
It is now dark and getting late, so we head quickly to one of the few late-night eating places in the Altstadt and order some delicious local dumplings, goulash, and beer.
Stats
| Location | Litres | €/litre | Total € | Fuel Type | Octane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matrei, Austria | 36.38 | €2.169 | €78.91 | Super Tech+ 100 | 100 |
Today we did 387 km over 7:23 hours, with an average speed of 53 km/h, consuming 11.4 litres/100 km.
