The last couple of years have brought many changes to the yearly gathering of cars at the Wörthersee. Not only do most people nowadays visit a week or two before the GTI meet, the actual event it all started with, but there is also a shifting presence in what kind of cars are attending. While Porsches and predominantly Audis have been coming alongside the many Volkswagens, now a couple of Mercs and a solid amount of BMWs started trickling through during the last years.
Unfortunately there has never really been an offering of Japanese cars because mainland Europe does not have that many that are nicely made. So a couple of guys took it upon themselves to roll down, even if only for a weekend, and show that they can look just as good as their European made counterparts.
First we met with a handful of cars in Munich, had a nice breakfast and fueled up for the way ahead.
It was raining cats and dogs but finally we reached the Austrian border via the good old Autoahn. Having fought through the weather and a traffic jam we stopped to pick up the Vignette that is required to be allowed to drive on Austrian motorways. Nonetheless we decided there was only one sensible thing to do; drive down to the Wörthersee via normal roads!
As we turned off the motorway the weather started to become substantially better and suddenly it was entirely dry. So instead of a 2 hour drive through Austria to the Wörthersee we ended up taking a 6 hour detour, and it was the best thing we could have done!
We stopped over and over to take in the amazing views and landscapes, and not to mention taking pictures! At some point we were surrounded by snowy mountains yet it was so warm you could run around in a T-shirt. It was the utmost perfect scenery and weather for a drive through the mountain passes.
Having finally arrived in the evening we met up with a couple more fellas that already been waiting for us, so we lit up the barbecue and had a nice amount of burgers and a cold beer.
After a good night’s sleep we got up at around 9 to sound of reving engines and tire squealing. Stepped outside the door and found dozens of people buzzing around and cleaning their cars, getting ready for cruising through the area. So that’s what we did, the owner of the hotel permitted everyone to use their lawn to wash the cars on.
Took us several hours until everyone was done but it was well worth it; the weather turned out to be amazing and sunny against all odds. So naturally we’ve had lots of fun, also thanks to the perfect bunch of people.
After we were done we started rolling through towns along the Wörthersee and we were rather surprised with the overwhelmingly positive feedback on our cars! There were people showing us thumbs up and taking quick snapshots as we rolled past. I must genuinely say I did not expect that at a traditional VAG event, I pull my hat to the people coming to the Wörthersee for being so open and welcoming to brands that are not their own – this wouldn’t happen at a JDM event in Europe sadly.
Having had enough once more of just slowly driving around we decided it was time to do the right thing. Take these rides to the mountain passes and do what they were meant to do!
While most roads were perfectly fine and we were able to slide and skid through the passes, some side roads were only to be beaten in walking speed. That did not stop us though from having a day filled with driving fun leaving us with the feeling that this will have to be repeated.
It was already getting dark again by the time we came back and it was time for me to split to venture further south to stay at Matt’s place for a couple of days. The next day the guys rolled back north towards home and thus finalizing an epic trip that will not be forgotten by any of us.
Thanks again to all that ended up joining our convoy, you guys are awesome and I hope to be doing this again soon. I’m glad everyone made it home safely!
If you live in Europe and would fancy joining in for a trip like that in the future, do not hesitate to hit me up FB.
I can honestly say this was one of the most awesome trips I’ve done and I hope we can inspire more people to do so in the coming years, it’s well worth it!
On top of that we’ve had also had the man behind ‘Eightbills’ with us who was doing a brilliant job at capturing our trip on film.
Please enjoy the video!
Words by: Alex Gut
Photos by: Philipp Berndt
Video by: Eightbills
6 Comments
Anyone know what wheels are on the white 32?
they are completely custom 18″ 3P wheels
I would be really interested to join your convoy next year, I was at worthersee with some friends this year and we was wondering why no one never had the idea to show up with some japanese cars.
I am sure we are doing this next year. Hit Alex on FB.
Great write up, looked like a really good trip with some amazing cars.Some amazing scenery for you all to enjoy. I need to visit europe in my car at some point Not sure about washing cars with sponges though, thats not good at all.
[…] It’s been a long time coming – but hey, good things take time! Philipp’s BNR32 is one of the most beautiful examples in the world and I am proud to call him a good friend of mine. Earlier this year we have taken a trip to the Wörthersee together which you can have a look at again if you click HERE. […]