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      08-06-2018, 11:25 AM   #27
caustics
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Drives: M140i
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Near Frankfurt/Main, Germany

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hey guys, so here I am back again, as promised yesterday. I was in Switzerland for the last two weeks, from 21st of July until August 4th. We were based in the heart of Graubünden in Lenzerheide, which is almost on the front door of the Albula and Julier Pass (which I covered in my blog earlier this year and which was featured here - thanks again).

Since I suggested to go two Switzerland, and because I was there on holidays, and because I needed more material for my blog, my girlfriend and me drove some of the passes we suggested. My first suggestions was based on my "passes-I-need-to-drive" list, so now I can, at least for the first half, give real experience of how they are. Togethere with this experience, I'd also tweak the tour slightly.

Oh, one thing up front - it's necessary to pay about 35 Euros to drive an Swiss roads. But that's it, no more tolls at the passes.

So, let's begin.

Day 1, Davos to Locarno, 317 km, 5 1/2 Passes)



The first pass is the Fluela Pass. It connects Davos (where that famous World Economic Forum takes place each year - not a beautiful city) with the Swiss National Park and the Endgadin and goes up to 2833 m. In late July, there were two road constructions, one on each side of the pass. It felt as if they'll be finished in a few weeks (I guess they have to before it gets too cold).
The pass is an awesome drive, there are only few sharp curves which need to be taken slow, other than that it can be a quick drive. I really enjoyed it.



After Fluela Pass, we headed for Albula Pass. For that, we had to cross two more road construction sites, but as with the Fluela Pass I expect them to finish soon. The drive to the pass is really scenic.



Albula Pass is definately my favourite pass. We drove it a few times these past two weeks (since we went to see Morteratsch Glacier near St. Moritz, and Albula Pass was the direct way from our holiday flat). The climb from the Engadin side is rather short with a few sharp corners, but it opens up quickly. There are usually always cows on the road on the top. There is also another road construction, but it's also not really big and in the area where they fix the road at the moment, it's impossible to drive fast anyway (due to the world hertiage of the Albula Railway). It's one of a kind, I suggest not to speed past it anyway. (Photos from last years drive, I already posted them in Spring). I can almost drive that pass blind now, and still love it.



After Albula Pass, I suggest to head left towards Savognin, the Marmoera Lake and Julier Pass. Julier Pass is by far the best pass to drive in terms of surface quality and broad roads. It can be driven fast - if there is no traffic. And there is usually some traffic, since it's the main pass towards engadin. (Photos from last years drive aswell.)



I'd now suggest a lunch brake with execellent pizza at the Pizza Beach Club Sils.

After Albula and Julier Pass, I suggest to drive towards Maloja Pass and Splügen Pass. But, now I have to be honest - Maloja Pass is nothing fancy. It does look fascinating, and there are awesome winter photos, but it's just corner corners corners. It's just necessary to get further south, but I'd lie if I wanted to sell it as a fun drive. Usually lots of traffic, but not construction at the moment.



Splügen Pass on the other hand is something else again. The climb from the south is pretty steep with lot's of tunnels. I imagine making some sounds with our cars might be a nice idea. I like it, road surface is alright, just one construction on the north side. See the pictures. It's the second time I've driven there (we came from the north this time), I think I prever climbing it from south.



So, when I first suggested going to Switzerland, I suggested to head back towards Thusis after Splügen Pass and stay there over night, then continue towards central Switzerland via Oberalp and Furka Pass. Now, I think we better not do that. Problem: It's about a 40 minute drive to Thusis, and then about 1,5-2 hours until the next pass.



Instead, I'd go from Splügen Pass to San Bernardino Pass, which is about 5-10 minutes away from Splügen. The best thing about San Bernardino - there is a big tunnel going through the mountain, so whoever drives San Bernardino Pass does it for fun, not because he has too. I really really liked that pass, the scenery is amazing, and after the first sharp climb with lots of corners, the road layout is simply awesome. Here are some photos, more soon to follow on our blog.



San Bernardino was the last pass I can give hands on experience from this year (I drove Furka, Grimsel a few years ago).

After San Bernardino Pass, I'd go towards Locarno and the Laggo Magiore for the evening.

The next day, I'd suggest (about 300 km drive):

- Lukmanier Pass (no experience)
- Oberalp Pass (nice pass)
- Devils Bridge Andermatt (maybe)
- Furka Pass (like it)
- Grimsel Pass (like it)
- Susten Pass (no experience, but with Klausen Pass I expect it to be the most beautiful passes besides South Tyrol)
- Klausenpass

A few things:

- They do check for speed mostly in villages, towns and citys. On the passes, it usually feels like "Oh you want to go fast there - ok, here you go, have fun, we even removed those saftety barriers, so go ahead kill yourself". So nobody who tells you how to drive, but you need to be aware. I got a ticket once for going 63 km/h instead of 50 km/h in a village - it cost me 200 euros.
- Road surface is 98% pretty much awesome.
- Switzerland gas prices are similiar to Germany. Diesel is more expensive then Super Plus, but who needs Diesel?
- Switzerland is expensive. Pizza about 20 Euros (but great Pizza). But since it's only a short trip...
- Vignette for about 35€ required, but no tolls for passes.
- If you want to, I could lead the drives, but while I'm not a slow driver, there might be more experienced and faster drives in the group and I sometimes tend to get carried away by scenery... But it's not hard to drive down there anyway, not much wrong turns to take.
- While I drove most of those passes already, I'm fine to drive them again, but with more people who share the passion for great roads.

Ah, and here I have a map with my suggestions for the 2-day tour. Maybe you guys with more experience of those multi-pass-tours can have a look and evaluate if the tour is feasible in 2 days.



I hope you liked my small write up. I will do a thorough blog post for each described pass for the blog and also have a small video in the making, so there will be more (but not in this thread, this was just to help deciding).

So, what's the plan now? Any other tour ideas so far? My schedule at work changed, I'm now available earlier than expected, starting from 17th of September until late October.
__________________
- David, from the Frankfurt/Main Area in Germany.

http://www.drivescape.de - roadtrips through beautiful landscapes (mostly with a BMW M140i)
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