In keeping with one of the highlights of the first outing of the JDOST WEST section, the weather on Sunday, September 10th, 2023 was extremely imperial from the start. In bright sunshine, 24 Jaguaristi with 13 cars met in the morning at the Manro Classic Auto & Music Museum in Koppl.

Hannes Schaffer, head of the WEST section and organizer of the planned day trip, welcomed the assembled crowd. We were particularly pleased about the participation of the Balken family – Mr. Dr. Gerrit Balken (former president of the Jaguar Association Germany – JAG member no. 16). Shortly afterwards, junior boss Therese Rotschne welcomed the curious participants. Fantastic exhibits and interesting vehicles made the time pass far too quickly.

After the enjoyable sightseeing tour, the convoy set off through the beautiful Salzkammergut. Passing Lake Wolfgangsee, we reached the first destination in good time – the imperial villa in Bad Ischl. Hannes Schaffer was able to organize that the automobile gems were allowed to park directly in the park in front of the Imperial Villa – an experience for the participants but also for the astonished visitors to the attraction.

While the British classics attracted the astonished looks of the visitors, the participants took the slow train to the nearby spa gardens. This was followed by a walk to Café Restaurant Zauner on the Esplanade for a delicious lunch. Instead of the 1000 steps to digest, the fed-up spirits rested – again on the slow train back to the imperial villa, where Markus Emanuel Habsburg-Lothringen welcomed the participants. After the entertaining tour of the imperial villa with lots of historical background information, we started again.

The entourage set off through the imperial park. The group at the Gasthof zur Post at St.Gilgen came up with a timely idea of the picturesque route through the Weissenbachtal and winding curves past the Attersee and Mondsee. At this point we would like to thank our member Franz Mayrhofer very much for the reserved parking spaces at Mozartplatz directly in front of the Hotel Restaurant and the warm champagne reception.

This Sunday’s evening ended with a delicious dinner and a cozy atmosphere. Hannes Schaffer and Wolfgang Schöbel found the right final words before the participants reflected on the successful day during stimulating discussions.

Text: Andreas Icha

Photos: JDOST©