andreas_dharmawan

Have you ever felt that you have been called? It is the unexplainable calling from within you. If you try to explain this calling to your families and friends, they will think you have lost it. The Alps that span across Switzerland and Italy are not as colossal as the inspirational but deadly K-2 in Tibet. But once you witness the grandiose view before me, you too will hear that calling from within you.

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<img src="http://www.driving-vacation.com/contents/gallery2/d/4709-2/Audi_A4_Driving_Vacation_at_San_Bernardino_Pass_Sw itzerland_IMG_0432.JPG">

I still could not believe what I was seeing even after I had been staring at the spaghetti road draped on an Alps before me for a long time. I was awed by this Photoshoped-like view. I thought the view like this existed only in the land of Harry Potters and Lord of the Ring. I was not hallucinating due to the thin air of the 2,113 meter elevation. I had to make sure that my digital camera was working because I needed a proof that I was here.

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<img src="http://www.driving-vacation.com/contents/gallery2/d/4485-2/Audi_A4_Driving_Vacation_at_Splugen_Pass_Switzerla nd_IMG_0613.JPG">

This time, we were equipped with the new 2009 Audi A4 2.0 TDI for this mission. The whopping 258 lbs. ft torque of the diesel engine, available at below 2500 rpm, provided us with such a great ease and fun when we serpentined through hundreds of very tight hairpins of this spaghetti road. The car had the 6-speed manual transmission which made the trip much more fun. I shifted from three to two and trail braked to reduce the momentum of the car as I entered the hairpins. I rarely needed to shift to one to accelerate out the hairpin and climb up the Alps without any hesitation. This legendary Le Mans Audi R10 inspired engine was mysteriously quiet too when it accelerated.

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<img src="http://www.driving-vacation.com/contents/gallery2/d/4836-2/Audi_A4_Driving_Vacation_in_Splugen_Switzerland_IM G_0545.JPG">

One hairpin after another, mile after mile dreamy perfection; this road is built to test brake, steering, power, handling, and driving skill. The A4 transferred the road feel into pleasurable tingling sensation up my arms and my spine. Thousands of hours of Grand Turismo experience could not replace the heavenly feeling of driving through this road. If there was a road to eternal bliss, could this be it?

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Tanner

Hmmm, wasn't that one of the roads that Clarkson and gang used for their review of the Lambo, Aston and 911?

bunn

Those are some beautiful pictures!

rbt

on the Stelvio Pass road (which was part of the TG drive mentioned by Tanner below).
this day started in Como, and ended in Fussen. one of the all-time greatest driving days in my life! obviously all those mountain pass switchbacks would have involved a lot more 'involvement' with a standard tranny such as in your case, but alas we were in a borrowed AT S5. i think we spent a total of about 20 minutes in Switzerland as the route skirted it for just a little bit. otherwise the mountain parts mostly in Italy.

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_sWmySpDMMYQ/SPtkiLlyaII/AAAAAAAABO0/LVKtIMPLIyg/s640/361.JPG">

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_sWmySpDMMYQ/SPtkn-bQOvI/AAAAAAAABO8/KXtPx3tWguY/s640/362.JPG">

<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_sWmySpDMMYQ/SPtksmoukeI/AAAAAAAABPE/zGm_ZupTf0k/s640/363.JPG">

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_sWmySpDMMYQ/SPtkwAkvsqI/AAAAAAAABPM/H9r7hlTD1V0/s640/364.JPG">

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_sWmySpDMMYQ/SPtk8dkI3nI/AAAAAAAABPU/6Z9S1PNQ9Og/s640/365.JPG">

last Italian town before entering Austria
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_sWmySpDMMYQ/SPtlFWM0R2I/AAAAAAAABPo/423DphnoFOk/s640/367.JPG">

andreas_dharmawan

RBT:

NICE!!! Do you live in the region?

If not, did you do European delivery?

Very nice car!!! I love Lake Como too!

I bet the drive on those twisty roads was blissful!

Which other regions have impressive roads such as this one?

/Andreas

andreas_dharmawan

Tanner:

RBT did the TG route! Splugen was southwest of Stelvio just north of San Bernardino long tunnel.

/Andreas

andreas_dharmawan

Thanks bunn for your kind feedback.

rbt

we had set up an ED trip for a B8A4 similar yours, but rather the gasoline 2.0T. however there was a delay in the A4's production, of which we were informed just a few days before our departure to Germany. so Audi kindly rectified the situation by handing us the keys to a factory S5 for the duration of our European
vacation ;-). pretty cool eh? eventually we got our A4 back here in the USA with 9 miles on the odometer and still a virgin.

as far as our trip, we did a loop from Ingolstadt-Innsbruck-Padua(+Venice)-Modena-Maranello-Firenze-Siena-Milano-Monza(see sig, heheh)-Como-Fussen (those castles)-Munich-Ingolstadt. it was wonderful. In addition to the Stelvio pass area, the rolling Tuscan countryside was also a treat to drive. and of course winding around lake Como's shoreline...kinda like the opening scene from 007/Quantum of Solace...lol. and of course, testing out the S5's top end on the glass-smooth Autobahn was a real treat! I really wish we had the driver lane discipline on our hiways here that I saw on the German/Italian highways. it makes for a pretty safe feeling whilst in traffic, even at very high speeds.

TwentyValveB5+S4

did the Top Gear episode bring you to that location?

wellused

<ul><li><a href="http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3833683/Top.Gear.S10E01.WS.PDTV.XviD-RiVER">torrent link</a></li></ul>