Alpine Run 2026 - a 3,257 km First Impression

[midnightdorifto]

Howdy PH - I have always wanted to do one of these write-ups and I can't believe I actually get to do one. This is awesome.

Abstract:
Nearly 20 years ago, I sat down at a lunch break and sketched out what I considered my ultimate Alpine road trip. Over the last couple of years, I started running out of excuses to bolt this thing together; and, with a milestone birthday added to the mix, 2026 was destined to be Alps-bound come hell or high water. Thanks in part to the help of this forum I was able to lock in the route: an 11-day, clockwise tour of some of the greatest tarmac hits I've been filling my imagination with since I learned how to read.

The Route:
https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/display/map/20260705...



Happy to provide the GPX file should anyone want to reproduce this (or provide some really nuanced critiques, I'm going to run parts of this back in the future so I'd love to get started on documenting what I missed!)

The Itinerary:
Day 1 - Stuttgart to Gaimberg, Austria - Großglockner Hochalpenstraße
Day 2 - Gaimberg to Merano, Italy - Loop of Piz Boe, Jaufenpass
Day 3 - Merano to Como, Italy - Passo Stelvio, Passo Gavio
Day 4-5 - Explore Lake Como
Day 6 - Como to La Giettaz, France - Nufenenpass, Furkapass, and a special shoutout to the roads from Megève to La Giettaz
Day 7 - La Giettaz to Jausiers, France - Cormet de Roselend, Col de l'Iseran, Col du Mont Cenis, Col d'Izoard, Col de Vars
Day 8 - Jausiers to Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur, France - Col de la Bonette, Col de Restefond, Route Napoleon
Day 9 - Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur to Bern, Switzerland - Route Napoleon, Col de Porte
Day 10 - Explore Bern
Day 11 - Bern to Stuttgart, Germany - B500

The Car:
2026 Porsche 911 Carrera T 6MT, sourced from the great folks over at Porsche Drive who took delivery of the brand new car a couple days before I showed up. Would highly recommend the experience - not the cheapest way to see the continent but the service is excellent and I'm not sure there's a better long-distance rental that's available.

The Food:
Reckon I'd be doing y'all a disservice if I didn't include some of the culinary highlights:

Merano - Ristorante Pizzeria Kirchsteiger - https://maps.app.goo.gl/vjAEmGYorGfRKTwy5
Como - Di Puglia un po' - https://maps.app.goo.gl/27Vis7YHZPcPA5a3A
Como - Ristorante COMI107 - https://maps.app.goo.gl/DaGdxoU2DRH1Jf7c8
Torno - Il Sereno Al Lago Restaurant - https://maps.app.goo.gl/REZUEU5rxbURGJqs9
La Giettaz - Restaurant Le Chalet Savoyard - https://maps.app.goo.gl/sdrjKoQqBnJUs5FG9
Bern - Ristorante Pizzeria Da Bucolo - https://maps.app.goo.gl/4hp5PzMEEzLCYPb2A
Bern - Volver BarTapasCafe - https://maps.app.goo.gl/Hy5VRRBNY3Addetu9
Stuttgart - Caffè-Bar - https://maps.app.goo.gl/me9oDwSVeS8TevY1A
Frankfurt - Im Herzen Afrikas - https://maps.app.goo.gl/UM1zN8vofYo2oYrL6
Frankfurt - Bar Shuka - https://maps.app.goo.gl/2uonrdNB6XSLJgaZA

The Trip (56k warning):






































The Conclusion:
Somehow - this trip exceeded expectations by a wild margin. I cannot believe I'm lucky enough to have had the opportunity to do something like this in my life - my heart is full of joy and gratitude to everyone who helped get me to a spot in my life where I could do this. I'm still processing this - and I reckon I will be for some time to come - but man I'm glad I finally took a swing and realized a dream. If you're reading this and have a trip like this in mind - please take this as your sign from the universe that you need to just book the damn trip.