On Monday, June 26, 2023, around 9:00 p.m., the majority of the participating Jaguar-Daimler-Owners met at the loading point at Vienna Central Station to load our four-wheeled cats onto the passenger train to Feldkirch. Unfortunately, the condition of the ÖBB sleeping and couchette cars and the alarm systems on two motorcycles that were not deactivated did not allow for much sleep.

Despite the restless night, we arrived in Feldkirch happily around 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday. The first stage led us to the address of the car concierge Stefan Oberhuber. After Stefan’s favorites were hired elsewhere, we were directed to an air-conditioned hall and Stefan introduced us to his services.(www.stefanoberhuber.com)

In the second stage we drove to the Käsekeller Lingenau and enjoyed a gourmet meal with an interesting moderation about the region, development and the regional cheeses.(www.kaesestrasse.at) Interrupted by a break for coffee and cake in the Propstei St. Gerold, it went through the Eastern Alps, the Silvretta High Alpine Road up to the dam of the Silvrettasee using all horse (cat) power. We spent the first evening of our summer trip, which for some of us lasted until just after midnight, at the Hotel Dorfwirt Lenz in See with very good food and excellent wines from Austria.

On Wednesday we went to the Ötzi village (www.oetzi-dorf.at), one of the most popular excursion destinations in the Ötztal, where science about the discovery of the Iceman is made accessible to the public in an understandable way. The next stages led us to a coffee break at the Timmelsjoch toll booth, across the border to Italy, along the Adige in the direction of Bozen to the Blumenhotel Ansitz Angerburg. Dinner took place in the nice guest garden, in which Wolfgang and I were able to fix two problems of my Jaguar in the “McGyver” way – thanks again to Wolfgang!

Thursday we started at 09:00 AM to continue driving along the Wine Route and other beautiful winding roads with beautiful views. After a break at the Golfhotel Carezza we drove to the Pordoi pass, some teams also took the cable car up to the pass. After a snowball fight and admiring the beautiful view, we had a little snack. Via Passo Falzarego, Cortina d’Ampezzo and many “tornante” it went to the next well-deserved break at Lake Misurina, especially for the drivers of the oldies without power steering. Thursday’s fourth stage took us north to the Falkensteiner Hotel Rasun Anterselva. Under the motto “JDOST goes swimming” we relaxed in the pool. Dinner 20:00 – as usual, for some teams until after midnight…

For Friday, our organization team had planned the return journey via Stallersattel, the state border and further via Felbertauernstraße to Prägraten am Großvenediger. With two horse-drawn carriages we were taken to the snack station that was specially opened for us. From there we started a hike along the Natur-Kraft-Weg, up to the Umbal Falls. Along the Isel, in the direction of Matrei, via the Glocknerstraße, we drove to the panorama restaurant & Kaiser Franz-Josefhaus on the Glockner, at the official end of the summer excursion, in heavy rain at times. After dinner in the restaurant, we ended the evening in the common room of the Kaiser Franz-Josefhaus with wine, music and a good mood.

Saturday after breakfast and saying goodbye to some of the participants, we visited the automobile and motorcycle exhibition in the Großglockner visitor center. (www.grossglockner.at/gg/de/hochalpenstrasse/ausstellungen) The remaining participants then started through Mölltal, via the Katschbergstraße to Dellach am Millstättersee, where we had lunch in the boathouse. At this point, other participants said goodbye. Three visiting JDOST teams traveled further to Landskron for a tour of the four-hectare monkey mountain enclosure for the free-roaming macaques.(www.affenberg.com)

Finally, the three remaining teams drove about 100km on beautiful Carinthian country roads to a coffee and thirst quench for our cats, then we went home on the motorway towards Vienna.

A very special thank you to the organizing team for the great organization and all the effort involved in planning such an excursion and thanks also to all participants for the success and the beautiful days together.

Text: M.Brockmann

Photos: JDOST©