Nik Berg, Detour Founder
Eric Micotto
Detour co-founder Nik Berg reckons that the best driving road in Europe isn’t in Italy, but Austria.
“It was a busy week’s drive that would inspired me to start Detour.”
“In five days I hit five of Europe’s best mountain passes in the then-new Mazda MX-5. Picking up the car in Nice I headed to the Col de Turini, then over into Italy and the Stelvio Pass. Next it was the Furka and Flüela passes in Switzerland before finally reaching Austria’s Grössglockner High Alpine Road, which would turn out to be the highlight of the whole trip.
Arriving in Fusch, like many riders and drivers planning to tackle the Grössglockner, I stayed at the basic-but-charming Hotel Wasserfall with an early start on the agenda. I woke to a persistent drizzle, hoping that the gloom would clear as I paid the €37 price for a day ticket. The Grössglockner is a toll road, built purely as a tourist attraction back in 1935 so you’ll find no trucks to get in your way.
But, if you’re unlucky like me, the weather can seriously hamper progress. As I climbed higher the cloud became thicker and thicker. I slowed to a crawl, barely able to see past the little Mazda’s nose. Pulling over at the Haus Alpine Naturschau I killed time, studying an extensive and bizarre array of taxidermy, waiting for the cloud to lift. It didn’t.
I had two choices, press on, or turn back. I kept climbing at little more than a walking pace, finally passing through the tunnel at the summit and seemingly arriving on a completely different day. While the Salzburg side of the mountain was a white-out the sun was shining on the Carinthia side.
Peter Jan Rjipkema / Unsplash
Descending through sweeping corners, hairpins and the few straight sections I simply couldn’t believe it was the same road. Largely because, of course, I hadn’t been able to see it five minutes earlier. The Grössglockner is wide enough for supercars and wonderfully smooth, suffering none of the shoddy surfaces you find on French, Italian or even Swiss mountain passes.
I drove the MX-5 as quickly as I could, maintaining as much momentum as possible, but wishing for more power. Especially when I reached the bottom and immediately turned round to go back up again.
I drove this section about half a dozen times and still I wanted more, which is not something I’d say of the legendary Stelvio Pass.
Through the Detour project I’m really hoping to get back soon.”