Saturday, October 7th, 2023: Driving from Stuttgart onto the no speed limit Autobahn, lunch in a Bavarian Chalet high up in the Alps, and the renowned Interalpen Hotel.
Miro, our luggage logistics manager, was in the lobby collecting and registering all our large luggage and loading it into our luggage van, waiting outside. Gerald and Miro had all the cars lined up in the courtyard behind the hotel. Last night Gerald and Miro also spent a couple hours programming all the Porsches NAVI Systems with all destinations for this trip. At 9:00 am, I promptly announced, “saddle up” and we departed from the Hotel Graf Zeppelin in two driving groups, connected with our walkie talkies on two separate channels.
We departed downtown Stuttgart neatly in two teams, and we headed south on the B-27 until we reached the Autobahn A-8. Driving past the Stuttgart airport and under BOSCH Parking Structure we finally saw our favorite Autobahn sign – the speed limit of 120 is lifted, and we are now in the last vestige of automotive freedom: NO SPEED LIMIT. Of course, it’s not at all a “free for all.” It is highly disciplined, regulated, logical and safe. In fact, the fatality rate at US Interstates is 2½ times that of the German Autobahn!
We made our first “pit” stop in Gruibingen Süd on the A-8 – we didn’t need gas, but everybody wanted to take a few-minutes break, ask questions about some of their car’s features or just stretch their legs. We then arrived, as scheduled, high up in the Bavarian Alps for our lunch. Flowers are everywhere this time of year. Every home in this region not only features this quaint Austrian/Bavarian architecture – but they all have balconies or window boxes with flowers cascading from them – it is simply magnificent. Even the balcony of our second hotel, the renowned Interalpen Hotel has beautiful flowers underscoring the magnificent view south to the Tirolian Alps separating Austria from Italy. It is truly a 5-star hotel. Mark and Eileen Fischer vacationed in Dubai before this trip. Dubai is known for its incredible luxury. Their comment was that the Interalpen surpasses anything they enjoyed in Dubai. This is the feedback we love when we get to spoil our guests. The meals at the Interalpen are simply amazing. There is no other breakfast buffet in the world surpassing the Interalpen.