I am trying to organize all files on my external hard drive and found a lot of photos from the 2012 road trip that I have not published here. Sure, the photos are from 2012, but Stelvio Pass looks beautiful and it is nice to have these photos in the blog archive as well. In October 2013 I drove a Stelvio with winter landscapes (see my post “Nice to meet you again, Stelvio“), but these photos are actually taken in October also – that is how different the weather can be!
Back in 2012 Stelvio Pass was my next stop after driving the first Swiss mountain passes on my route – Grimsel Pass, Furka Pass and Oberalp Pass. That route is by the way amazing, I highly recommend it! The Grimsel landscapes look like they do not belong on this planet, it is truly stunning and a rainy day actually made that place look even more mysterious. From Arosa I continued to Davos and then to Flüela Pass. After driving Flüela I crossed the border to Italy and arrived in Livigno. The night before Stelvio I stayed in a place called Alpen Hotel, located in Valdidentro that is very close to Bormio (and Stelvio). It is so nice to wake up to a mountain view! I also love the ski chalet feel the hotel had. Plus food was good, I adore good hotel restaurants. That “Buckwheat tagliatelle with potatoes, cheese, cabbages, garlic and butter”… Heavenly. Now when I think of it I actually might have to call them this year and see if it is still on the menu – I am going back for food (and Stelvio, third year in a row, of course).
I wanted to do the real “Top Gear route”, Davos to Stelvio. So from Davos to Flüela Pass to Livigno to Bormio to Stelvio Pass, as seen in the map. Which direction is better to drive from? Hard to decide. The side of Stelvio you can see in the photo below was closed this year because of snow, so I only got up to the top from the other direction. But they are both good, I say drive both… up and down, maybe with a coffee break at the top. Cars are made for this, right?
On my 2012 Stelvio day I started the driving from the direction of Bormio, drove Stelvio from start to finish almost all the way to the village Gomagoi, and then back to Bormio again… Yes, I drove it two times so I could experience it from both directions. Very important. Last year I had more fun driving – 300hp Z4 was a better car for this experience, obviously – but these 2012 photos deserve their place here as well. Good memories – and this was when I fell in love with Stelvio for the first time!
