Alps 2026 / DAY 1

Across two borders

Mon 28 Sep

Munich → Garmisch → Innsbruck → Brenner Pass → Vipiteno

235 km▲ 1,370 mTOGETHER
DAY 1

At nine in the morning I picked up the R 1250 GS from a rental shop near the airport. The low version puts the seat at about 800 mm, but everything about it was different from my CBR650R E-Clutch at home. I practised pulling away and stopping in the car park a few times, getting used to working a clutch lever again.

My partner for five days, a BMW R 1250 GS. My friend’s bike is behind it
My partner for five days, a BMW R 1250 GS. My friend’s bike is behind it11:21 · km 0

His bike was loaded with the luggage that had crossed Eurasia; next to it, my freshly rented and spotless GS. Side by side, the difference in the length of our journeys was obvious. We headed south on the autobahn and stopped for our first fuel before Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

First fuel stop
First fuel stop12:56 · km 95
Below the cliffs of the Karwendel range
Below the cliffs of the Karwendel range14:12 · km 110

km 115Austrian border

Into Austria. The motorways here need a vignette
Into Austria. The motorways here need a vignette14:21 · km 115
The Karwendel peaks beyond the meadows
The Karwendel peaks beyond the meadows14:29 · km 120

At a viewpoint on the way down, the Inn valley suddenly opened up below us: the towns around Innsbruck, and beyond them peaks close to 3,000 m. We had left Germany less than an hour before.

Looking down on the Inn valley
Looking down on the Inn valley14:55 · km 140
A short break at the viewpoint
A short break at the viewpoint14:54 · km 140
South of Innsbruck, with the Nordkette ridge across the valley
South of Innsbruck, with the Nordkette ridge across the valley16:34 · km 175

Past Innsbruck the road climbs toward the Brenner Pass, a crossing of the Alps since Roman times, at 1,370 m. We took the old road rather than the motorway.

km 219Brenner Pass 1,370 m · Italian border

Over the pass, and into Italy
Over the pass, and into Italy17:11 · km 219

Germany in the morning, Austria at midday, Italy by evening: two borders in a single day. By the time we reached our hotel in Vipiteno (Sterzing), the late sun was turning the rock walls gold.

At the hotel in Vipiteno. Day 1: 235 km
At the hotel in Vipiteno. Day 1: 235 km17:54 · km 235