HGT'22 | 9 Days Of Driving Bliss In The Alps

Author: Malcolm Nicholson

Hello and welcome to our 2022 road trip to Alps! But before we start, we need a little history.

Cast your mind back to pre-Covid times of Summer 2019 and when going for a road trip was super easy. I'd just got back from my 2019 Road Trip when a member of Bimmerpost, Dackelone, took an interest in my previous road trip write ups and invited me to join the next 1Addicts tour. Of course, i said i'd love to. Six months later, all plans were on hold due to Covid. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2020, @Dackelone passed away to illness (not Covid), thus all planned trips were shelved.

Fast forward to July 2021 when Dutch based 1Addicts member, Joao Toscano approached me and asked me if i was interested in joining a road trip he was planning for 2022. We swapped a few messages, i gave him some route ideas from my previous trips and set things in motion. Before i knew, i was part of a Whatsapp group of around a dozen driving enthusiasts doing a 2022 road trip. As to be expected, a few people dropped out, a few came in, and in the end, it was 8 cars. A nice manageable number.

Joao Toscano planned the route for 8 days and then it was a mad scramble to book all the hotels and make sure we had everything we needed; covid jabs, walkie talkies, vignettes, travel insurance, channel crossings, etc.

Unfortunately, a few weeks before departure, one member had to drop out due to work commitments. It couldn't be helped, but he was certainly missed.

So, there we have it, 9 days, 7 cars and a few thousand miles of driving. Here's some pictures of our fun during all tour.

The line up;

Joao Toscano and his M140i (F20)

Alexander Sebastian and his 440i (F36)

Oliver and his M2 Competition (F87)

Anthony Price and his M3 Competition Velocity Ed.(F80)

Richard and his M6 (E63)

Alex Martin and his M2 (F87)

And of course, Malcolm M3 (E90)

Day 2 | Meeting everyone at Andermatt, Switzerland

Here we are, the group all together for the first time.

Time to tackle some mountain roads. We were due to drive the Furka Pass "loop" however, some of the passes were still closed, so we did what we could.
First up, the Susten Pass. We drove as far as we could before the road closure sign.

Next, the Furka Pass. Again, closed, but we went as far as we could.

Then on to the San Bernardino Pass, which was open.

Time for food and beer.

Day 3

Another early start and our first stop is the Spluga Pass between Switzerland and Italy.

A fleeting stop at the Oberalppass.

Stopped at Silvaplana for some food.

Then on to the Julierpass.

Then the Passo del Bernina.

Food n beer at the Sunset Pizza place in Bormio.

Day 4

Day 4 sees us tackle the highest pass on the tour, the Stelvio pass. We'd been keeping an eye on the weather and traffic via the webcam, and both looked good.

Then on to the Albula Pass.

With a parking space right outside for Malcolm.

Gathered round the laptop for the F1 with some beers.

Day 5

First things first. It was decided that the cars were dirty and needed a clean, so off to the car wash.

Once clean and fuelled, onto the Timmelsjoch Pass. At the top, the well known museum burnt down a couple of years ago. But they're slowly building their collection again.

We also ate at their new restaurant.

A little wet n windy at the top.

Then it was the Passo Giovo / Jaufenpass for cake n coffee.

Then the weather turned. The fog got so thick we couldn't see the car in front!

To the hotel, via the Passo Sella

Day 6

Today we broke the group. Malcolm headed further into Italy as he wanted to drive Lake Garda. The rest of the group continue the tour going over towards Garmisch‐Partenkirche, passing lovely Selva di Val Gardena.

Malcolm's fun:

Rest of group route:

Day 7

Malcolm planned to take his time and firstly head from his hotel to his accommodation in Austria, at the top of the Grossglockner. Weather reports weren't looking good; snow, 0 degrees, wind, etc.

But first, he had to head back over the Passo Sella and Passo Gardena and they were both extremely wet n foggy.

The rest of the group had a interesting morning at the local gas station at Garmisch‐Partenkirche. From there we were heading St.Gallen going through Fern Pass and the last pass at Ruppenpass.

Time for the last schnitzel :)

We just finished the last pass … Ruppenpass. Heading to Hotel now for and giving the cars a well deserved rest.

Time to relax and enjoy the last moments of our tour.

Day 8

Not sure what to expect after yesterday's blizzard when Malcolm looked out of his bedroom window but was pleasantly surprised.