Ising, 25th of September - 2nd of October, 2021 |
So fast forward to 2021 and the second year of the global pandemic and a postponed meeting in Germany
that was intended earlier this year but was delayed to the end of September when fortunately, the
circumstances allowed it to happen. |
After a cheering welcome and the first dinner the convoy left the Chiemsee early on Saturday morning
direction Austria for a short stint to East Tirol and a light lunch in the Hotel Goldried. |
After the break we went back to the main pass to the “Hochtor” that separates Kärnten and Salzburg. On the
way back we went down the northern descend of the pass that also serves for the Großglockner GP Hill
Climb last held in 2017. Unlike back then we did not go up to the cobblestone paved “Edelweißspitze” but
even without that it was a great day’s drive and after the lunch stop near Zell am See the cars arrived back in
Ising. |
Monday was the day of change as some owners left having only driven the prologue, others stayed for the
main event and new cars showed up during the days. As mentioned, before we have followed a few
International Meetings over the year and so we know that the Bugattisti attending the meetings are a big
family. Whenever an entrant arrived, he went through a lot of hugs and welcome cheers before making it to the
check in, especially after the year off the welcome was even more cordial than usual. Some unfortunately
arrived without the car but the fact that they showed up nevertheless showed that these meeting are not only
about driving but also about social life. |
About 40 cars took the road on Tuesday morning, unfortunately the weather changed overnight and the next
two days should be dominated by rain. Unsurprisingly a few cars lacked a passenger as they preferred to
stay in the warm and dry hotel instead or driving in the open cars. |
Wednesday the weather was even poorer than the day before and so a few cars were never seen that day as
the owners took their trailer cars to go towards the lunch destination, the Königssee. Very self-confident the
locals call this the “Nicest Lake in the World” as the second deepest lake in Germany behind the Bodensee
is surrounded by the mountains. With no lake front there is actually no way around the lake and so the boats
are the only way to explore it. The entrant entered on of the electric ship for the 30-minute ride to St.
Bartholomä at the foot of the famous East-wall of the Watzmann with the picturesque chapel reflecting in the
lake. Unfortunately, the weather made this a little bit less picturesque that day although the guides on the
boats really did their best to entertain the crowd with their trumpets echoing from the steep cliffs. On the way
back only, a few cars followed the road book, most of them took the direct way back to the hotel to get into
dry clothes for the evening. |
Fortunately, the weather changes fast in the mountains and on Thursday morning the sun was out again, a
great sunset the day before over the lake already was a signifier of the great sunny day to come. After the
morning leg the cars were parked at the saline in Bad Reichenhall and finally a nice set-up made a few static
shots possible. Soon after we crossed the border to Austria in direction of Salzburg where the lunch was
taken at Schloss Hellbrunn. Hellbrunn is famous for its water garden as well as the zoo and the 40 pur sang
(not to confuse with the Argentinian Pur Sang!) made a welcome attraction to the visitors. This was also the
opportunity to take a group shot of all the cars and their drivers as there was enough space as well as a great
background. |
We hope that we are welcome back to another week with friends and all that is left to say is |
Report & images ... Peter Singhof |
Friday morning started with a few miles in the fog before the sun was out again making the Alps a nice
background while heading towards the first stop of a day at a small inn. After the coffee in the sun, we headed
towards the Museum dedicated to another charismatic automobile company founder beside Ettore Bugatti,
Ferdinand Porsche. His grandson Ernst Piech founded the Fahr(t)raum world of experience dedicated to the
work of his grandfather before Porsche became his own manufacturer. His early achievement was the
Lohner-Porsche, a 4-wheel electric hybrid about 100 years before this theme became relevant again. He then
joined Austro Daimler and developed the successful sport and racing cars like “Sascha” that is displayed in
the Stuttgart Porsche Museum. But the collection of Piech might be the most significant Austro Daimler
collection including Prinz-Heinrich race cars, ADM Torpedos but also a supercharged Mercedes as Ferdinand
moved to Stuttgart to develop the straight-six cylinder for Mercedes. In the underground one does find all the
tractors that paved the way for Porsche to build the street and race cars the company is famous for. |
So, what is the conclusion of this meeting? Certainly, it is very difficult to judge a meeting in your own country
as the meetings live off the experience of new countries and landscapes, so as a German travelling to the
Ring of Kerry in Ireland or to Sardinia might be more exciting. But looking back at the landscape including an
epic drive over the Großglockner or the very picturesque Königssee certainly showcased the best of the
region and so not only foreign visitors got their money´s worth. The organization looked flawless what we
could see from the observer’s point of view and the team spirit within the Bugatti family is out of question.
Whenever a car stops others stop as well to help out, road books in the past even had an “OK” sign to be
shown if you just had a pee or a cigarette, something rarely seen on tour of more modern cars. |