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09-04-2009, 03:00 PM
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#1 (permalink) |
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German Reimport
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 622
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Getting ready for my three day drive to.......the ALPS - pictures added :-)
I just finished my preparations for the longest and most exciting trip I've ever taken in the Lotus.
Start will be tomorrow morning at around 8:00AM local time. The car is washed Fluids - checked Tire pressure - checked Brakes - checked / replaced Detailed map for the route - checked Clothes - packed (well, at least a few  )Automatic cat feeder - installed (well, they need to eat while we are gone). The plan for day one is to take back country roads all the way to southern Germany and from there cross over into Austria. Up the Oetztal over the Timmelsjoch pass and into Italy. Find some place to sleep somewhere in the area of Merano and get some rest for the next day. Day two will take us from there over various mountain passes into Switzerland, along the Swiss National Forest thru St.Moritz and somewhere towards Zurich, where we plan to stay the second night. Day three will be time to drive towards home thru the Black Forest in Germany, over to France, up to Strasbourg, back into Germany and then home. I haven't had much time to drive my car since I got here, but I'm sure this trip will make up for the lag of driving in the past few month  The weather is supposed to be good and sunny, and temperatures should be above freezing at pass levels (2500m, roughtly 8200ft) Here are some pictures of what to expect:      I think I need to get some sleep now... I will post some of my own pictures when I get back...
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If I die, my biggest fear is that my wife sells all my toys for the price I told her I bought them for... Last edited by Mr.C : 09-10-2009 at 11:34 AM. |
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09-04-2009, 03:01 PM
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#2 (permalink) |
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Registered User
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*jealous*
Have a great trip!
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* V E R I T A S * A E Q U I T A S * No Longer the ADMIN here, please do not PM me asking for help. Thanks! http://www.facebook.com/randychase 1991 Toyota MR2. AutoX Beast 2006 Noble M400. Track weapon. 2009 Rossion Q1. Monaco Orange. Canyon Carver. In build: 2009 Toniq R (300whp? 1100 pounds?). Chrome Orange. Lexus GX-470 tow vehicle. On Order: Lotus Evora Next: McLaren MP4-12C |
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09-04-2009, 06:53 PM
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#3 (permalink) |
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 204
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Very nice!
Reminds me of my trip in 2005 with my late wife from Bonn via Müenchen (at the end of Oktoberfest) to Salzburg. It was raining when we left Müenchen after dinner and by the time we got up in the mountains it was snowing. It seemed like we were the only car on the road and what seemed like a blizzard driving a rented Seat Leon. We passed Innsbruck around 10pm and was at Salzburg around midnight. I remember we passed a very long tunnel that ran about 15 kms. Definitely not the back roads. One of my very many trips to Germany (that was the year where we saw 7 countries in 10 days--crazy) My wife used to live near Bonn and her sister lived not far from her. Tony
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'05 ELISE Storm Titanium LSS/TP/HT/Dual Oil Coolers/Starshield/Raptor Racing exhaust XP111 (LBH)/BWR 7/8" Anti Roll Bar "Smooth is fast, but fast is quicker" |
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09-04-2009, 07:48 PM
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#4 (permalink) |
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Serial Thrilla
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 236
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Sweeeet.
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05' Elise - BWR supercharger, Quaife LSD, Nitron Race Triple Adjustable, LETSLA, Larini Decat, Larini Exhuast, ACT HDSS, Fidanza flywheel, V2 Fuel Tank, V2 Steering Arms, BWR sway bar, desnorkled, ForcedFed CF splitter, Manly's engine mounts, S111 harness bar, Schroth harness w/ S111 seat grommets, Oil Drain Valve, Painted Black Diffuser, Braille battery, Custom Battery Switch 05' Corvette - Z51 Convertible - 630hp 6.6L [DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!!!] (SOLD!) |
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09-05-2009, 06:50 AM
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#6 (permalink) |
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Denuo Volatilis
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,716
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...looks like it'll be a joy - safe journey!..
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2005 Federal Elise | Touring | Storm Titanium ...73,000 miles and aging beautifully... 2000 New Beetle | Turbo | Reflex Silver ...107,000 miles of steadfast service... |
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09-05-2009, 01:12 PM
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#7 (permalink) |
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Fort Walton Beach FL
Posts: 74
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Sweet. I was at Ramstein for 3 yrs and Zweibrucken for 2. Wish I could get back over. Enjoy it while you can and be sure to hit the Ring!
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Previous--66 Austin Healey 3000; 79 Alfa Spyder; 72 BMW 2002; 85 944; 86 MR2; 89 944S2; 89 944S2 w M030; Current--01 Audi S4, modded twin turbo;07 Lotus Exige S Lucky enough to have driven the autobahn for 5 years |
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09-05-2009, 06:33 PM
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#8 (permalink) |
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TL
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: White Plains N.Y.
Posts: 2,420
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Enjoy, and take a hairpin for me while you're there!
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Laser blue,biscuit, micro mirror, "Blue knob"  ,HID lights,modded rear lights,rear badge,blue starter button, replaced speakers,perma grin, Club111    The Sith lord of the LB's loyal henchman
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09-06-2009, 10:26 PM
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#10 (permalink) |
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I <3 chicken, I <3 liver
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Land of da 1000 Oaks, CA
Posts: 15,058
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wow!
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** save ~10 lbs gain 1 hp ** EQ: Y=(190*X) / (1984-X) where Y is (HP) and X is (lbs) '07 EXIGE S ** MY CAR ** VIDEOS! '08 ACURA TSX 6-speed http://www.makeNYNYagain.com |
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09-09-2009, 02:46 PM
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#12 (permalink) |
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German Reimport
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 622
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I’m back from the trip and all I can say is WOW, what a great experience!
Three days of driving, between 9 and 10 hours a day behind the wheel, a total of 788.9 miles, and less than 60 of those miles were on the Autobahn. The rest was back country roads and mountain passes. The car ran great the entire time, and I had no issues except for my front license plate being a little scratched from a driveway (which I couldn’t care less about… )After a cloudy start the weather turned more and more sunny, and once we entered the mountains we had sunshine the entire time. But it sure is fall already, and temperatures dropped below freezing at night with frost on the car in the mornings. But we still didn’t drive a single mile with the top on. Warm cloth and the tiny bit of warm air from the not all that great heater had to be enough  The trip took us from Germany into Austria where shortly after crossing the boarder we decided to take a detour right away to go up one of the pass roads and back, which cost us a couple of hours. At around 5:00PM that day we arrived in Soelden (a famous ski town) where we stayed for the first night. Soelden lies in a valley called the Oetztal, and some of you might have heard of the “Oetzi”, a roughly 5300 year old mummy they found there in the ice. Also interesting was that in that valley I passed a car rental place, and they had two Opel Speedsters in their lot for rent. So if you ever come to visit the area and want to go for a drive – there are ways to do that… The next day took us over the Timmelsjoch pass over into Italy and to Racines. Just to give you an idea: this is how that road looks on the map:  From there we headed west towards the town of Merano . Merano is very interesting because within a few miles you can feel how the climate changes into a very moderate Mediterranean climate . All of a sudden there are apple orchards and wineries everywhere. From Merano it was further westwards, back into Germany and the plan was to make it into Switzerland for the night. But the unimaginable happened and a few miles before the Swiss border, I was just going thru a set of hairpins, I looked over to my wife and told her “I’m tired of turns, I’m tired of driving fast. Let’s just go back to the last little town we passed thru and call it a day”  So we stayed that night on the German side before heading into Switzerland the next day. Once we got into Switzerland we drove over to St.Moritz (the Swiss ski town where the rich and wannabe rich take their winter vacation) and from there we worked our way over the Julierpass and back towards the Lake of Constance. Got home at around 8:00PM on Monday night. Tired, but also very excited and with tons of great impressions of the beautiful countryside and the amazing roads. Some interesting cars I saw on the trip (besides about 10.000 Motorcycles): 3 Audi R8 3 Lambos (A Murcielago, as well as a Gallardo and a Diabolo, both decorated with flowers as wedding vehicles) 3 Lotus seven 2 Elises (both MK2’s, a StTi and a GG) A few nice old Alfa’s, and of course Porsches, which were a dime a dozen. Here are some of the pictures I took: Just at the foothills of the Alps  Into Austria  Tunnel  On the detour 
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If I die, my biggest fear is that my wife sells all my toys for the price I told her I bought them for... |
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09-09-2009, 03:01 PM
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#14 (permalink) |
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German Reimport
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 622
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 At 2509 Meters (8231ft)   At the Boarder to Italy  The zigzag wall on the side of the mountain is where the road goes up 
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If I die, my biggest fear is that my wife sells all my toys for the price I told her I bought them for... |
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09-09-2009, 03:08 PM
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#15 (permalink) |
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German Reimport
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 622
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Road ahead
   Getting into the valley  The tunnels are barely wide enough for two cars 
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If I die, my biggest fear is that my wife sells all my toys for the price I told her I bought them for... |
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09-09-2009, 03:19 PM
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#17 (permalink) |
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German Reimport
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Posts: 622
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Italian flag
  Alpine inhabitants with interesting hair due   Merano with its orchards and wineries 
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If I die, my biggest fear is that my wife sells all my toys for the price I told her I bought them for... |
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09-09-2009, 03:25 PM
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#19 (permalink) |
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Registered User
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Great pictures!
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* V E R I T A S * A E Q U I T A S * No Longer the ADMIN here, please do not PM me asking for help. Thanks! http://www.facebook.com/randychase 1991 Toyota MR2. AutoX Beast 2006 Noble M400. Track weapon. 2009 Rossion Q1. Monaco Orange. Canyon Carver. In build: 2009 Toniq R (300whp? 1100 pounds?). Chrome Orange. Lexus GX-470 tow vehicle. On Order: Lotus Evora Next: McLaren MP4-12C |
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