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      04-12-2011, 06:24 AM   #2
MNavigator
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Drives: EJ207
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Canada

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Day 2

We left our hotel in Mittenwald Germany, with snow still falling from the sky, it would melt on the ground but with the freezing temperatures we trekked on very carefully. Our planned route had us going to the Stelvio pass in the Italian Alps and then through Monza and Milan and down for a dinner meeting in Piacenza, Italy.

The day started well, we got our required highway toll vignette and were off into Austria. Along the way we ran into a young man driving a new white 3 series in a round about. He pulled in behind us and started taking photos as we were driving so I pulled into a parking lot and had a quick little car show and conversation before parting ways, nice meeting you Alexi. Our route was scenic and after passing through into Italy we made our way to Stelvio. Or at least tried!

We stopped and set up some cameras on the car before heading up Stelvio. It wasn’t long before we ran into a sign that said the pass was open the pedestrians and bikes, but we thought that could have been a mistake and trekked on. The road was pretty dirty with pine needles and other debris and small rocks scattered on the road and as we made a few hairpins there were a few snow covered patches. Michelin PS2’s are not friends with snow so we were uber careful. Well by the time we cleared turn 43 we found a gate closed and a tractor blocking the pass. Totally disappointed we took a few pictures and sat and thought how we could make it better. Although it would be a long detour we decided to go up through the Swiss Alps and drive on those roads. This proved to be a fantastic idea. We got inspected by the Italian and Swiss patrol when leaving Italy, they were courteous, and even helped with a good route. Having watched the videos of Stelvio and driving the bottom set of switchbacks, the Swiss roads vary in that they are more flowing and technical. Stelvio is spectacular but becomes a large series of switchbacks. The Swiss side had an array of corners and they were all different, the drive will be unforgettable. Wish I had time to go back and set up the cameras as we weren’t expecting it to be as good as it was. We stopped for lunch at a local dinner, picked up some Swiss Chocolate and were on our way to Italy (again). There were endless turns, rock overhangs, and fun to be had while still being mindful of the local traffic laws. On the decent back into Italy we came across a road that was filled with switchbacks, cleanly paved with tight banked corners rather than 180deg switchbacks you could actually carry some speed and flow through the descending switchbacks like a leaf falling through the sky. By the time we came through the Italian customs, we were grinning ear to ear. Up until this point the car only continues to impress me, the chassis stiffness, the handling, the great suspension that is stiff but very comfortable all with something that is easy to drive in traffic.

The rest of the days drive had us stuck in Monza and Milan traffic, although bad not even comparable to the traffic in Toronto. You will hear me say it over and over that Europeans can drive and I feel much more comfortable with the drivers around me here then at home. After dinner we tossed up the idea of driving toward Genova so we could get an earlier start to our plans for today. On our way into Genova the highway is quite fast and the last 10 kms into the city and major airport are ridiculously fun.We were pretty much alone when a VW GTi came blazing along, we let him pass and saw that he was content using both lanes of the road (no oncoming lanes) taking proper racing lines through the corners. Between the dark backdrop and the directional turn arrows being lit up by the 1M’s projectors it seemed like a scene right out of a video game. This went on for probably 10 minutes and left me thinking that the saying is very correct “when in Rome do as the Romans” ;-)

What we were not prepared for as the fact that the hotels were either full or closed for new customers by the time we had got there. You are probably wondering why we didn’t book something first, this whole trip for us is about deciding things on the fly, we are not going to limit ourselves if plans have to change. We ended up traveling another 45min to nearby Savona to find a place at 3am.

The day was long we put another 750 kms on the car, fed it gas twice and are averaging about 11 liters per 100 kms. The drive was better then we could have expected and both I and my co-driver are happier with the car. I’m more comfortable with the car, the steering is precise, we were still keeping the throttle in check so as the day progressed we worked higher into the RPM range as well as more throttle input. I’ll post up the note from the supplementary manual soon.
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Last edited by MNavigator; 04-15-2011 at 07:24 PM..
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