Last Updated on: February 9, 2026

The journey northwards took us across the Grossglockner mountain pass. But as it turned out, we weren’t going to see much of it.

Along road 107, Taxenbacher Fuchs, Austria.

Grossglockner High Alpine Fog

Leaving our hotel the weather was pretty good. The forecast for Grossglockner high alpine road wasn’t directly terrible but definitely not great either. Weather forecasts in the Alps aren’t worth much during July especially. At best it’s an indicator, that may offer surprises.

I’ve had my fair share of sudden weather changes. The sort that quite literally happens within mere minutes, and conditions go from reasonably pleasant to torrential rain.

View of GrossGlockner at Kaiser Franz Josef’s Hôhe.

We got to Kaiser Franz Josef’s Hôhe in the dry. First time for my friend Truls-Erik, I’d been there a few times before. Most recently in 2021, during Corona. Worth a first time visit, when or if you’re planning to ride the high alpine road. The mountain view is spectacular in all respects!

The plateau and parking at Kaiser Franz-Josefs Hõhe.

Half an hour later we rode back down and began the ascent up to the Hochtor Tunnel. The weather conditions rapidly went from cloudy with light rain, to the densest fog I’ve ever experienced in the Alps. We hardly saw the opening of the tunnel tunnel before passing into it. Coming out on the other side was a bit creepy, with only a few meters of visibility.

Progress plunged to turtle speed as we made it from the exit of the tunnel, down towards and past Edelweißspitze. Without the GPS it would be almost impossible to know where the road was or led. To make it even more exciting the riding experience was topped with super slick pavement.

View from Taxenbacher Fuchs, Austria, no mountains in sight.

I was glad I had relatively new Michelin Anakee Adventure tires. Know for excellent handling on wet pavement. Truls-Erik on the other hand, had more worn tires and did feel slip. Excellent electronic packages and low centre of gravity definitely also helps under such conditions.

Down from the mountains we continued north to Zell am Zee and later crossed the border to Germany.

Journey northwards – a split-up

Sometimes when you travel with others it might be a good solution to split up. People are different and may not share the same interests. Truls-Erik wanted to ride in direction of Munich, to see some WW2 stuff. I continued the journey northwards through Bavaria, mostly on small roads.

I like roaming around, or bimbling as some say. Without any plan, just turn the front wheel on impulse. It was later afternoon when I realized it was time to look for a place to stay. So I stopped at a gas station. While there suddenly, around the corner of building, came an old tractor.

Turned out to be an old Eicher, a company that was founded in 1936, just an hours ride away from where I was. It’s these little things I find amusing. Unplanned events, small things to later recall in life.

As the tractor vanished I got on the bike and rode up to my accommodation for the night. Schlappinger Hof in Reisbach turned out to be a very nice place, newly refurbished, with history dating back to 1693. Great food, and a nice Biergarten. Their Bavarian style Schnitzel was great, a couple of beers then took a little walk around town before heading back to bed.

Marktplatz in Reisbach, Bavaria, Germany late evening.

If you ever come through Bavaria I can recommend and overnight stay in the little quaint town of Reisbach, as well as the Gasthaus or Hof. They had done an immaculate job with refurbishment, neatly kept history intact while upgrading everything.

The following day I continued the journey northwards in direction of Harz mountains. And more bad weather I was blissfully unaware of that evening.