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I did start writing up a big holiday report with a detailed, long write up on every pass I drove, but seeing as no-one would probably read it, here’s a truncated version: (You can click on the Pictures to enlarge) France:
I really enjoyed Driving through France – it was my favourite country to visit as a tourist, even if the Alps were partially ruined by rain. People were really friendly and the food was great. The usual picture of car on the Reims GP pits: 
N19 (Reims - Epernay - Sezanne – Troyes) Bit of a disappointment really. Too many straight sections not enough curves. Stupidly empty and better than taking the Autoroute, for sure and you can still make decent progress! Straight and empty roads of the N19:
 N71 (Troyes - Châtillon-sur-Seine - Dijon) Much more like it. Similar to the N19 in nature, but more curves, punctuated by fewer villages and with better scenery. Another deserted road in Northern France in September. Well recommended. Roads get more interesting on the N71:
 Route Napoleon (N85) Another disappointment, this time due to heavy traffic causing very slow progress. Sure it would have been more fun if it was as empty as the N19 or N71. Only use out of peak times in the future! Route Napoleon (no traffic for once!)
 La Mure – Mens. Coming off the congested N85, this was heaven. Completely empty, this is simply fantastic road that you can really attack. The amount of fun I had on this road was off the scale. The memory of my exhaust popping and banging and echoing off the cliff face to the left of me, as I hussled the car from corner to corner, will stay with me for a long time - I almost felt like a rally driver on a tarmac stage. Best road I drove in France, without a doubt. Only thing I can fault is that it seemed too short! No Pictures as I didn’t want to stop, as I was having too much of a good time! Tourist route to Carpentras (D4) Simply bonkers! Tree lined with the cliff faces each side, about 15-20 minutes of non-stop 90 degree bends and hairpins. Power steering fluid must have been very hot after this one! Found this one by accident. Not one of the greats, but just worth doing for how crazy the number of extreme bends there are! No pictures here either... Mont Ventoux – one to visit again. Had a great amount of fun at the foot of the pass, nice and wide, with a great selection of bends to attack. It was raining, but I was still having a good time. Rain got harder and the clouds descended over the pass as I got half way up, which ruined the rest of the drive. I reckon it would be one of the best roads to drive in France, all the way to the top, if the weather wasn’t so miserable. Mont Ventoux – must be a great road, if it’s not raining: 
Grand Canyon Du Verdon – Fantastic scenery and some brilliant sections of road which are a bit too hard to fully enjoy as the corners are blind after the apex. Scenery makes it worth the visit. Pictures of the Canyon Du Verdon:
 
Col De Lombarde (Col du Bonnette was closed, sob) The road is too narrow coming out of the Isola 2000 ski resort (fantastic views though) it gradually gets better as you head down and turns into an enjoyable tree lined Alpine pass. Would have preferred to do the Bonnette though. Fantastic views from the start of the Col De Lombarde:
  Lamborghini tractor spotted at the bottom of the pass:
 Col Du Galibier – frightening on the way up the south ramp! You lose it here, you're in a world of hurt.. Massively imposing scenery, no crash barriers, heavy fog and driving on the outside, meant I ended up losing my bottle and drove like a granny to the top! The peak of the pass was closed so I took the tunnel. Northern ramp was great – the road is far less intimidating, wide and well sighted, well worth doing. The tunnel near the top of the Galibier:
 North ramp is less extreme, but was a better drive:
 Col Du L’Iseran – great fun. Travelling north it just keeps getting better. Look out for goats, sheep and Marmots. Not only the highest pass in Europe, but also one of the best to drive too. 
Goats, sheep and a very large Marmot were a few extra points of interest on the ascent up the south ramp:
 
Grand St Bernard – much better than the Petit St Bernard. Wide, very well surfaced and fast on the Italian side, you can have a great time throwing your car round. The Swiss side tightens up and your progress slows. The sun had come out at this point, for the first time in 3 days, so I was happy either way. Some Pictures of the Petit St Bernard:
 Grand St Bernard:
Approaching the pass on the Italian Side
 Swiss side:
 Near the top of the Italian side:
 Switzerland:
Somehow my least favourite country on my trip. The people were less friendly than elsewhere. But that still doesn’t distract from the fact that it is a beautiful country. Masses of road works everywhere. The passes were busier but generally better surfaced than in France, when they weren’t being dug up.
 Furka Pass. Seemed to take forever to reach. The western section was great. Well surfaced and no traffic, I had a great time. Nice and long, relatively easy to drive too. Fog and slow traffic on the eastern section unfortunately. Fluela Pass – what a great drive! Found myself behind a Swiss registered new shaped Scirrocco on the approach to this pass. The driver was going for it, so I decided to keep up. Great fun. A pass you can properly attack. It’s challenging, entertaining and definitely the best road I drove in Switzerland. Bikers making their way up the Fluela:
 
Ofen Pass – didn’t really seem like a proper mountain pass. Too wide and straight. Still, you can make a decent amount of progress along this pass as it’s fast, quieter than most passes in Switzerland and there’s masses of opportunities to overtake. Wouldn’t actively seek it out in the future, but it is an enjoyable road to drive. Umbrial Pass – didn’t really want to do this one, as I heard that part of the pass is unsurfaced. TomTom had a spaz when heading towards the Stelvio, so I decided to take it. Pass starts off well and does keep getting better. The unsurfaced part is nothing to worry about. The pass would be fantastic if it was properly surfaced throughout. 
After the Col Du L’Iseran, the Klausen and the Umbrial, my car was covered in cow poo:
Stelvio. Western side is a decent ramp. Well surfaced with a great series of bends, you can have a decent amount of fun here. Eastern ramp is just a crazy series of hairpins. It’s a good test for your brakes and it does get better towards the bottom, nothing special though, especially if you compare it to the utterly fantastic Fluela pass, which isn’t that far away. Top of the Stelvio:
 The customary picture of the eastern ramp:
 Looking up the eastern ramp:
 St. Barnardino pass - a long pass that seemed to go on forever. Didn’t mind though, as it was is very, very good pass. Northern ramp is a bit too narrow to really go for it, but once you reach the southern ramp, you can really go for it and it keeps getting better, right the way to the bottom of the pass. 
Gottard Pass. I’d been looking forward to doing this one for years and years. Not what I expected though! Basically a fast wide A road strung over a mountain. Nothing wrong with that though as there is a huge amount of satisfaction taking a very wide series of tight bends and hair pins as fast as you dare, at higher speeds than you normally do on mountain passes. Much better prospect than the clogged-with-traffic tunnel. Klausen Pass. The western section of this pass is enjoyable. It’s nothing particularly special, but you can attack the road inbetween the various villages that dot along the western ramp. As you get towards the top, the road narrows considerably and you start to back off, as it isn’t quite wide enough for two cars going opposite ways quickly. The view from the top of the pass is fantastic and as you head towards the eastern section of the pass, you can attack what turns out to be a brilliant pass which is right up there with the greats. Watch out for cows! 
Austria:
What a wonderful country. Stunning scenery, great roads, great food and really friendly people. Hotels, food and fuel were cheapest here as well. Zell am See was a fantastic town to stay in. Clean, well kept and with a lovely tranquil lake, it was a great place to chill out and relax. Pulling over at a busy service station in Austria:
 Peek through some trees and bushes, and just a few feet away from the busy service station was a beautiful fast flowing river (beautiful scenery is never far away in Switzerland and Austria)
100 Ron V-Power didn’t make a massive difference, seemed to give a bit better mid range, which helped on the steeper sections of the mountain passes I tackled:
 Gerlos pass. If you ever visit the Grossglockner pass, make sure you do the Gerlos pass too! The traffic near Zell Am Ziller at the weekend can be pretty frustrating, but once that’s all melted away, what’s revealed is a hum-dinger of a pass, which you can thrash your car along and have a great time. Once you’ve paid the toll at the top for the Krimml waterfalls, the road just keeps getting better. A fantastic pass which I’d recommend very highly. One of the best I’ve driven. If you’ve got the time, you can visit the Krimml waterfalls. Apparently the best in Europe. I didn’t have the time and chose to continue along one of the best roads I found in Europe. Heading towards the Gerlos Pass:
 One of the waterfalls on Krimml pass:
 Roads are wide, and well surfaced throughout:
 
Grossglockner Pass. The 28 Euro charge to drive the Grossglockner may seem expensive. It may put off a few tight people from doing it. Ignore the fee, you need to do this pass! It’s one of the greats, for sure. Brilliant all the way along, even the road approaching the pass is great. Once you reach the pass, the real fun begins though. It’s worth paying for the drive as it’s a long pass with no dull bits. I know that Porsche use this pass to develop their cars, and it certainly felt like my car knew this road. One fantastic corner after another, I could happily drive this pass all day long. Make sure you get there early though, as at about 10.30am, the traffic heading onto the pass looked pretty heavy. Cyclists, bikes, cars and coaches aplenty, whereas at 9.15am, I had a fantastic clear run all the way along to the Franz Josefs Hohe. The roads approaching the Grossglockner are brilliant too:
 Onto the main pass, which is utterly fantastic. Scenery is epic.
 
Grossglockner mountain (peak is cloud covered) and the Pasterze glacier:
 
Dietner Sattell. I only did three passes in Austria, and all of them were absolutely brilliant. The Dietner Sattel road isn’t a high mountain pass, but that doesn’t matter as it’s one thrilling road to drive! A mass of wonderful sweeping bends which flow magically from one to the next - there’s massive satisfaction to be found by nailing each corner in succession. An engaging road which draws you in with its smooth tarmac and beautiful tree lined scenery. Without a doubt, it’s a proper driver’s road. Fast sweepers and some tighter technical sections, the Dietner Sattel road is fantastic throughout:
 
968 felt great on this road:
 
Onto Germany for the final part of my trip, I visited the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, which was a fairly small museum, with a great selection of cars. Entry is fairly cheap (€8 inc parking) The Frankfurt motorshow (very large, very busy) and the Nurburgring. I only put in one lap of the Nurburgring, as I wanted to get the car home in once piece after all the miles it had done. After all the great roads I’d driven I didn’t really expect much from the Nurburgring. I’ve been there before, albeit nearly 5 years ago. Seems I almost had forgot how great a track it is to drive! I think I had more fun this time round than I did the first, even if I did only do one lap. I also nipped across to Spa, where there was a load of Brits preparing their 1960’s classics (Astons, Alfas, Mustangs, Corvettes) for the 6 hr race. Was nice seeing them being thrashed through eau rouge! So what were my favourite roads? If you’ve read upto this point and aren’t yet asleep, you probably realise what my favourites are. The La Mure – Mens road was without a doubt the stand-out road of my holiday, closely followed by the Fluela pass in Switzerland. After that it’s a close run thing between the 3 roads in Austria. Tough decision, but I think the Dietner Sattell road gets the nod for 3rd place! So, how did my 16 year old Porsche fair? It was pretty much perfect throughout. Could have done with a bit more power for the really high mountain passes, but the way the car handles really shined through on this holiday – to me, it’s almost pushing perfection. It used about a litre of oil, but nothing else needed touching, which is great as those mountain passes can be very tough on a car. After nearly 5 years of ownership, I still feel this one’s for keeps. I feel like a bit of a mountain pass junkie now and I’m already thinking of my trip for next year...going to stick to just doing France, I think. Scale things down a bit, try to do the roads I missed and maybe make the schedule a little more relaxed!
Updated 03 October 2009 at 3:25 PM
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The older I get, the faster I was
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