1997 European Motorcycle Tour
June 03, 1997 BMW Museum, München, Germany.
A taste of what to expect within the BMW museum; the motorcycle that started it all, the 1923 BMW R32.
June 03, 1997 BMW Museum, München , Germany.
The BMW Museum is open daily from 09:00 till 17:00; no admission after 16:00. The museum displays automobiles, motorcycles, concept vehicles as well as many of their developments. There are numerous video screens with narrations in four languages. Headsets are loaned out upon entry to the museum. If you require storage for helmets, riding suits, etc, lockers are provided in the lower level with a key deposit.
June 04, 1997 Deutsches Museum, München, Germany.
This is the technical museum of all technical museums, period. You name it; it's there. With a floor area of over 46,000 square meters, I've been told that it would take about four weeks to see it all in detail. The motorcycle displays are quite extensive.
June 10, 1997 Salzburg, Austria.
I am on Mönchsberg overlooking the old part of Salzburg. Directly behind me on the hilltop is a partial view of Festung Hohensalzburg (castle). There are numerous pathways on Mönchsberg that extend from the castle to beyond Cafe Winkler, the restaurant on the edge of the cliff pictured in the next photo.
June 11, 1997 Salzburg, Austria.
I'm standing on Makartsteg, a pedestrian bridge over the Salzach river. In the background on the hilltop; to my right, Bürgerwehr, from where the previous photo was taken, and to my left, Cafe Winkler. An elevator that runs within the vertical rock face can be taken to reach this cafe, otherwise you are looking at a bit of a walk from either side of Mönchsberg. The old part of Salzburg is located on the far side of this bridge. Directly ahead of me, you'll find Mirabellgarten, pictured in the next photo.
June 12, 1997 Salzburg, Austria.
This is a view of the Mirabellgarten with the Festung Hohensalzburg (castle) on the hilltop in the background. If I had my choice of cities to live in, this would be it. My mom had the pleasure of living here and studying music at the Mozarteum back in the late 40s and 50s. Things weren't quite so rosy back then though. Is this home? Yes, its also heaven.
June 12, 1997 Salzburg, Austria.
And now, for a bit of history. Pictured here is the middle window of three in the church at Stift Nonnberg. In 1480, one of my ancestors was the town councilor of Salzburg. He commissioned Peter Hemmel to create these stained glass windows for the new church. On the bottom right, our family coat of arms.
June 12, 1997 Salzburg, Austria.
This is the view of the main entrance to Festung Hohensalzburg (castle). The castle can be reached either on foot or by the Festungsbahn, a cogged rail car.
June 13, 1997 Hallstatt, Austria.
This picturesque little town is located approximately 50 kilometers South East of Salzburg on the Hallstätter See (lake). The town is closed to traffic, but there are numerous parking lots along the tunnel carved through the edge of the mountain as well as at the far side of town. The road from Hallstatt to Bad Aussee is quite nice with some very steep (23%) grades. Beware, a short section of this road is cobblestone and quite slippery on those damp days.
June 14, 1997 Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, Austria.
This is the view of my 1980 BMW R65 on the Edelweiss Spitze (2571 m asl) on top of the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. I drove this pass back in 1995 and had so much fun, I forced myself to take it again. The weather to the North was sunny with clouds, and to the South, cloudy with rain. What a drastic change.
June 15, 1997 Heinfels, Austria.
This is what I call a Bed and Breakfast, or at least the view from the one I stayed at. This view of Burg Heimfels was taken from the balcony of my room. The town in the background, to the lower right is Sillian. A few more kilometers and you have crossed into Italy. From this location, Cortina d'Ampezzo is a mere 50 kilometers away and right in the middle of some really great mountain riding.
June 15, 1997 Staller Sattel, Austria / Italy.
A small road, 8 kilometers to the East of Bruneck, Italy leads northbound over the Staller Sattel (2052 m asl) into Austria. This road, although not on par with the Stilfserjoch is quite nice in that the road is nicely treed.
June 17, 1997 Passo di Falzarego, Italy.
The road heading West out of Cortina d'Ampezzo takes you through a series of passes arranged in a horizontal figure eight loop. Passo di Falzarego (2117 m asl) is the first one along the way before reaching Passo Pordoi, Passo Sella, Grödner Joch, Passo di Campolongo and Passo di Valparola.
June 17, 1997 Passo Pordoi, Italy.
Passo Pordoi (2239 m asl) lies just West of the town of Arraba, also a good home base if you choose to take a Bed and Breakfast there.
June 17, 1997 Between Passo Pordoi and Passo Sella, Italy.
This is the kind of road and scenery you can expect. As you near the passes, be prepared for countless hairpins.
June 17, 1997 Passo Sella, Italy.
Passo Sella (2244 m asl) is the furthest West along the horizontal figure eight loop around the Cortina d'Ampezzo area. Unfortunately, not much of a photo as far as scenery is concerned, as I was short on a riding companion this year and I therefore couldn't get too picky as to where the photograph was taken.