Three years ago, Mrs Whip and I took “the trip of a lifetime.” It really was! Driving a Porsche through four different European countries, staying at five-star resorts, with a group of wonderful people. How does it get better than that? We couldn’t have enjoyed it more.
Can one do a “trip of a lifetime” – twice? We’re in the process of finding out. The incredible tour operators we went with last time, Autobahn Adventures announced a new tour last October, which would be similar to our last trip but different. The same four countries – Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Some of the same resorts. But this one would be called the “Drive the Dolomites” tour, with a particular emphasis on driving incredible mountain passes in the Italian Dolomites, and staying in some incredible new five-star resorts along the way. Hmmm.
I talked to Mrs Whip about it when I first saw it announced. There are dozens of places we’d love to travel to, all over the world. Should we travel to those, or do a similar trip to the one we’d done before? Remembering how perfect the trip was last time, her answer came easily. “Let’s do this one, one more time, then we’ll visit those other places.” She sold me! I didn’t need much convincing, since it was such a perfect experience before. So, we contacted Mark and Tina, and signed up.
Last time our trip was late September – early October. This time it would be late August – early September. We’d fly in and out of Frankfurt, Germany. The route would take us from Wiesbaden, Germany, to Andermatt in Switzerland, then Pinzolo and Bolzano, Italy. Then we’d head up to Tyrol, Austria, then back to Wiesbaden and home. Two weeks total, with about 1,700 kilometers of driving along the way. We flew to Frankfurt, then made the short drive to Wiesbaden, where we’d spend the first couple of days, mostly recovering from the jet lag. We enjoyed walking around the village, where they have so many nice little shops and restaurants.
By the second day, we were feeling at least a little bit adjusted to the new time zone. In the afternoon, we finally got to meet up with all our group. Our hosts, Mark and Tina, along with Miles
and Stacey, who would drive the luggage van and help make the trip awesome for all of the guests. There were nine couples from all over the USA, and they were all super nice and friendly. And of course, they all love Porsches.
Mark and Tina gave the group a briefing about what to expect during the trip, with particular emphasis on driving safely in these countries. Then the really fun part – we got to pick out the Porsches we’d be driving during the trip! They had them all lined up in the parking garage. All very new 911’s, in various trims and colors. They had us choose in the order in which we’d signed up for the trip, and we got to go first! That was pretty cool. We looked at all the options, and settled on a completely awesome 911 Targa 4 GTS, in a nice gray color.
The next morning we headed our of Wiesbaden in our cool new Porsches, and drove to Stuttgart, where we got to tour the Porsche museum. Even though we’d been there just a few years ago, they changed the exhibits quite a bit, and it was just amazing to see all of the incredible cars from over the years.
Of course, driving from Wiesbaden to Stuttgart and then on to Switzerland means lots of time on the Autobahn. Wow is that fun! I am so impressed with the German drivers. They could be in some little crummy sedan or a delivery van, and they are super comfortable driving at VERY high speeds, even tailgating. If you’re in the left lane, you’d better be flying, because someone will be on your tail very quickly if you’re not. No texting and driving here, everyone must be at 100% concentration.
Next we drove into Switzerland! We stopped in Lucerne, which is a beautiful city with tons of high-end shopping opportunities, especially for watches and jewelry. So many beautiful (and expensive) things. We found a nice place to grab some sushi, then we headed to our final destination for the next two nights, in Andermatt. The Chedi! The most incredible hotel we’ve ever stayed in. We remembered it from the last time we traveled here, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. So incredibly comfortable and luxurious. We wished we could have stayed longer! Andermatt is really close to some of the greatest driving roads in Switzerland, including Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass, Susten Pass, and more. The next day many in the group went on a driving trip on those incredible, twisty stretches of tarmac, high up in the mountains. As you’d expect, of course I’d brought my drone along. I really wanted to capture some cool video, chasing the cars around those brilliant corners. We stopped at a classic location, by the Hotel Belvedere along the Furka Pass, and I grabbed an aerial photo. Once the skies cleared a bit, the group headed down into the canyon below, and I chased them with the drone. Andermatt is a really charming little village. I couldn’t help but snap some photos as we walked around while we were there. All of the shopkeepers were really friendly, and spoke just enough Inglese to make things easy for us. The Chedi is five star, first class, all the way. The brunch buffet there each morning is absolutely spectacular. Everything you could possibly want, and so good. We sure didn’t need to eat again until dinner on the couple of days we were there.
Our time at The Chedi was far too short (just two nights), but we knew the other resorts we had coming up would be amazing too, so off we went. Another pretty long drive, this time from Andermatt, Switzerland, down into Italy. About 6.5 hours, using the route we chose (which would be more scenic and twisty than just taking the main highways). The whole route was really beautiful and curvy, and the driving was quite intense! I’ve never, ever seen so many motorcycles. Easy to see why. These roads are just motorcycling (and sports car) heaven! And, it was a Sunday, so lots of people from around the region, having a blast just as I would if I lived here. The roads are incredibly narrow, too, so you’re constantly squeezing past other cars (and buses) going the opposite direction, often at pretty high speeds. Not for the faint of heart!
We crossed the border into Italy, and it was pretty amazing how the whole vibe changed. This was particularly noticeable with the driving. Speed limits were quite a bit higher, and everyone seemed to want to drive (or ride) even much higher than the limits (which of course suited me fine). Still a zillion motorcycles, lots of Ducatis and BMWs, super narrow and twisty roads, which required my full attention. Despite the long time behind the wheel, there was no way to get drowsy on this trip, too intense! As we got closer to our destination (Pinzolo), the Dolomites started coming into view. Incredible! So imposing, vertical, and majestic! Photos can’t do them justice. Again I just had to stop to capture some photos.
The resort we’d stay in for the next three nights, was a new one we didn’t stay in on the last trip. This was the Lefay Dolomiti, which was yet another incredibly nice, five-star spot. A beautiful location up on the hill above the cute little ski town of
Pinzolo. Awesome views from our room, and the restaurant (and the gym, and the pool, and…).
It was a beautiful, and perfectly relaxing place to spend three nights and days. The food was great, and the pools and spa facilities were absolutely first class. And, just like we’d experienced a few years ago in Austria, the saunas and steam rooms were all “no bathing suits allowed” – au naturel. So, what could we do? When in Rome…
We had a really excellent dinner that night with our new friends from the group at the resort. The next day it was forecast to rain most all day, so I figured it’d just be a relaxing day at the spa, reading, or working out in the gym – but when we woke up, the sun was out! So, we decided to take advantage and take the nearby gondola up the hill at the ski resort. Not just one gondola, but two, all the way up to the top. The views were simply astounding! I did my best to get some nice photos, but they really don’t do proper justice to what we saw. Incredible. The next day, we headed east to our next amazing location in the Italian Dolomites – near Bolzano! After starting the tour with a couple of long drives between resorts, the next couple of trips were much shorter. First, we left the LeFay Dolomiti in Pinzolo, and headed northeast to the Bolzano area, to the amazing My Arbor Hotel. The shortest route takes about 2 1/2 hours, but a bunch of us decided to go a slightly longer route (adding about 45 minutes or so), so that we could enjoy some more scenic and twisty roads, most notably the Mendola Pass. My hope was that we could get some cool drone video there, maybe with the drone tracking the first car down the hill from in front, with the other cars trailing behind. What a cool road! So many amazing roads in the Dolomites, and this one was a real highlight. Nice that we could get so many in the group to be willing to help us produce some videos along the way. I can’t say enough about the great friends we made on the trip! Fun, nice, super quality people, all of them. We continued on for a bit further, and wound our way up a big hill, where we found the most amazingly cool hotel we’d be staying in – like a giant treehouse! As you would expect, the views were absolutely stunning, too! The weather couldn’t have been nicer, so I decided to fly the drone and capture the hotel and valley below.
Perfection! Autobahn Adventures has a way of finding the most wonderful five-star resorts you can imagine. The food at My Arbor was some of the best we had on the whole trip. It was pretty typical for us to take full advantage of the huge and
exceptional breakfast buffet at each of the resorts, and then just have a snack in the afternoon which would tide us over until the great dinners we enjoyed with our friends.They had a great spa at My Arbor as well, and of course, like we’d seen at the Lefay, most of the spa facilities (saunas, steam rooms, etc.) were again very European in nature:
On our first full day in this new location, there was an optional driving trip planned to yet more nearby mountain passes. It’s kind of funny to me that they call these optional. There’s no way I’d go on this trip with Porsches in these locations, and consider any sort of driving opportunity “optional!” However, I’m sure Mrs. Whip liked the option of hanging out at the spa and pool, rather than being the passenger while I drive like a maniac, and stop frequently for photos. So, that’s what we did.
I had a feeling it would be tough to keep the group together for photo or video opportunities. The passes are super narrow, with very few parking spaces, and lots of bicycles, motorcycles, cars, buses and so on. Because of that (and because I’m impatient), I got up super early, slammed a quick breakfast, and headed out for adventure. The highlight of the day, and one of the absolute scenic highlights of the trip, was Gardena Pass. As I got closer, the views got better and better.
Leading up to the trip, studying airspace maps to know where it was legal (or not) to fly my drone, I was bummed to find that the entirety of Gardena Pass was off limits to drone flight. Apparently, the area is a National Park. So, I’d just have to look for opportunities to shoot photos with my small Leica camera or iPhone from the ground. It was an absolutely beautiful weather day, and the landscapes were beyond spectacular. Some of the nicest vistas I’ve ever seen. This is why we came on a trip called “Drive the Dolomites!”
There weren’t a ton of turnouts from the narrow road, and the further I went, the more busy it got with cars, buses, motorcycles, and bicycles. So many bicycles! Once again I was super impressed with the climbs these cyclists were doing. Super steep, long, narrow and congested. I was glad that I came earlier than the rest of the group, since I knew it would just get more and more busy. Because there wouldn’t be many opportunities to pull to the side of the road for photos, at the top of the mountain I decided to mount the GoPro on my windshield, and just have it do a time-lapse, where it would snap a photo every five seconds as I descended the other side. I was bound to get a few decent shots that way – and I did.
Gardena Pass was amazing. Not the best road for a “driving” experience, but incredible for sightseeing, that’s for sure! It was killing me not to be able to fly the drone there. I decided that rather than just returning on the same road (which was
getting really busy), I’d just continue on, and create a loop to the north, back to the hotel. I hoped it would wind up giving me some more great roads and views. And it didn’t disappoint! When I got to the next pass, with a beautiful, twisting ribbon of tarmac descending into the green valley below, I pulled over and grabbed my iPad. I pulled up the Italian drone map, and found that I was in a safe zone for flying! Time to fly. I grabbed some nice shots while there, then continued my route.
Such a great road! The further along I went, the less crowded it became, making it easier to have some driving fun in this amazing Porsche, while enjoying the unreal views all around me. The little villages I passed through were super charming and were just completely classic European ski resorts, with lots of hikers and bikers enjoying the beautiful late-summer weather. Such a dream to be driving through the Dolomites in Italy, top down in the Targa 4 GTS, enjoying the sunshine and incredible scenery. Wow, how did I get here?
The next day we left the My Arbor, and had a short drive north to Austria, where we’d stay at another beautiful Alpine resort up on a hill overlooking a valley – the Interalpen Hotel, near Innsbruck. We had stayed at this one in 2022, on our previous Autobahn Adventures trip, and we really enjoyed it. It was a rainy day, one of just two or three we had on the trip. We really wound up being quite fortunate with the weather, as the forecast before we left the USA was for continuous rain on almost the entire route! Thankfully it wasn’t that way at all, and we had warm, beautiful weather, allowing us to enjoy time by the pools, and driving with the top down on the Porsche quite frequently. Unbelievable views, to say the least.
While at the Interalpen, I flew the drone around the resort to show just how special the location is. Wow! Even from our balcony, the view was amazing, with the pool down below, and the valley and mountains in the background. We were there for three nights, and enjoyed every minute. We walked around the cute little village of Seefeld. We drove down to Innsbruck, and did some shopping. We had remembered a really great chocolate shop there, so we stopped in to buy some of their great stuff. On the way back from Innsbruck, we decided to drive over to the cute little village of Mittenwald, which is actually just across the border in Germany. So charming! We walked around a bit, and got some gelato. The village was having some sort of goat festival, which was pretty cool to see, with all of the locals in their classic German lederhosen and dirndls.
On our second afternoon at the Interalpen, we decided to get a Couples Massage at the spa there. I didn’t quite know what to expect. The only other one I’d ever had before was a couples massage we’d been gifted at a little massage place in Idaho. It was okay, but the one at the Interalpen was quite next-level by comparison. Two very strong and capable lady masseuses, who worked us over pretty hard, head to toe, front and back. It was intense, and pretty awesome! It lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. I’d do it again for sure.
Of course, while at the Interalpen we made several visits to their spa, which was amazing. They had all sorts of different experiences, with a saltwater grotto, saunas and steam rooms of various heats and intensities, a misting shower you walk through, and an infrared sauna. Very relaxing and therapeutic. Yes, and naked.
On the morning of our final day there, I decided I had to just get one more great driving/photo opportunity in before our trip drew to a close. I looked on maps to see where the nearest noteworthy mountain passes might be, but they all seemed to be hours away. I didn’t want to take all day, just a half day while Mrs. Whip slept in a bit. I asked Mark from Autobahn Adventures for any recommendation he could offer, and he said there was a route not too far from the resort – less than an hour, that was really good. I decided to get up early to go check it out. It wound up being quite awesome!
The road down the hill from the resort was incredible, with some fun driving bits, and incredible views. The best part of the drive that morning, was a road that headed east from the little village of Stanzach. Wow! This was one of the most fun roads I’ve ever driven, and the Porsche was well up to the challenge. A group of motorcyclists came up quickly behind me just as I turned onto the road. I thought about letting them past, since they seemed to be in a big hurry, but then I decided to see how well they could hang with the Porsche instead. 😊 They hung closely for a while, then I started to just rip through the corners.
My four fat Pirellis, gripping the tarmac with everything they had, easily dispatched the bikes, which had tiny little contact patches gripping the road by comparison. It didn’t take long until I wasn’t seeing them in my mirrors at all. The road seem to go on and on for many miles (or kilometers), and was just so much fun. I got to the end of the road, and decided it was time to turn around and head back to spend
the rest of the day with Mrs. Whip. Shortly after I turned around, here came the motorcyclists, all pointing at my car and giving me thumbs up.
That was pretty cool! As I headed back on the same route, the road was getting more and more busy with bikes, motorcycles and cars, with lots of hikers and bikers enjoying the beautiful Sunday morning. I was glad I got out early to be able to drive fast and stop for photos. On the final afternoon in Austria, we took a nice hike, and had a bit more spa time (of course!). We had a lovely dinner with our friends once again, and we got a group photo. Lots of happy, friendly people! Impossible not to have a big smile, considering the amazing experiences we’d been having, and how nice everyone was.
The next day would be our last one in the Porsches, making the drive back to Wiesbaden. I did my best to make it shorter by taking full advantage of the Autobahn, with its completely awesome lack of speed limits. Man I love the Autobahn! We’d already done 260 kph on our way to Switzerland, so I decided to be a bit more conservative on this drive, and kept it to a max of around 240 kph. We made it back to Wiesbaden, and sadly relinquished our amazing Porsche. We had so much fun in that beast, and made so many great memories! The group had all been sharing the photos we took along the way in a Google photo gallery, and they were super complimentary of the ones I’d contributed, which was really nice!
Just like in 2022, the overall trip was all we dreamed it would be, and more. A perfect mix of some of our favorite places and experiences from the previous trip, along with new locations, resorts, and driving and photo opportunities. Our hosts, Mark and Tina, are just the best. It would be hard to imagine any other provider of a trip like this doing a better job of taking care of every tiny detail, to make sure their guests have the trip of a lifetime. And we were blessed to have Jared and Stacey along as well, taking photos and schlepping the luggage from place to place, since there’s not much room for giant suitcases in a Porsche 911!
We couldn’t be more thankful to have been able to do this! So many great memories, cool photos and videos, and a bunch of awesome new friends. The trip of a lifetime – twice!