Porsche 911 European Delivery Part 3: Touring + Departure
After the Nürburgring, this time, it was back down to Switzerland to pick up my buddy in Zurich. We were going to head back to the Swiss passes, and I touched on this only briefly in the first leg of the trip, because, honestly, we were just moving our way through at that point. We hit some weather, and then we had to rush to get to Munich to drop him off. So this was really our opportunity to just relax and spend some time in the Swiss Alps. And this is what I would highly recommend for anyone if they reopen Switzerland to ED. You should just spend time in the mountains, where you have nothing to do but drive. We decided to base in Andermatt, Switzerland, which would set us up to hit several passes in the area. And, honestly, we started running our own loop of sorts that connected Susten, Grimsel, and Furka passes, a big loop for us, leaving from Andermatt and returning back to Andermatt.
From a practical perspective, the Radisson Blu in Andermatt is everything you’re looking for in a hotel as a driver. It has really nice, secure underground parking with wide spots that enable enough room for you to get in and out of your car without any fear of door dings. The rooms themselves are nicely appointed, with a great breakfast and decent restaurants. There are a lot of other resorts in the area, but the Radisson Blu was perfect to home base, with good Wi-Fi as well. Note, they don't have american levels of air conditioning.
Second tip: for all your driving, try to leave early. Ideally, leave before sunrise to hit the passes. This is the best time to go. You’ll have the freedom to drive at your own pace and enjoy it. If you get out early, you’ll likely have until about 10 a.m. on the passes without too many issues/ traffic, then you can come back for lunch and relax before heading back out in the early evening.
Some fun cars in the garage.
Met lots of Porsche Friends
All in all, we drove several passes, including Susten, Furka, Grimsel, Oberalp, St. Bernard, Albula, and Stelvio. Out of all of them, Susten Pass was the best. It has the perfect combination of curve, speed, and flow. Some passes, like Stelvio, are so packed with switchbacks that you’re constantly correcting and adding inputs. Susten flows—it feels like the road unwinds before you with the right mix of curves, straights, and switchbacks, all with breathtaking scenery. If you can only do one, make it Susten.
Me and my buddy, shot a video for each of the Big 3 passes that we loved. We will be posting those up from the YouTube Channel in seperate posts as part of The Road series.
After this final leg in Switzerland, it was time to head back toward Stuttgart for drop-off. We coordinated drop-off with Semalmvik Transportation Services. We gave Sal both a call and an email, and he made it easy to set up. Beforehand, we washed the car ourselves to give it a good detail.
Drop-off went smoothly, and we rented a car to go from Stuttgart back to Frankfurt, which turned out perfect for carrying souvenirs without dealing with public transit. We drove to the airport, checked into our hotel, and then it was back to America.
All in all, an incredible European delivery, arriving in Europe on basically the 1st of July and leaving at the end of July. Reflecting on it, July is the perfect month for European delivery—all passes were open, roads beautiful, and mostly great weather. I think three weeks is the ideal trip length, as the mileage restrictions make it hard to drive every day for a full month. My next European delivery, I’ll plan for three weeks.
If you’re ever thinking about doing this, go for it—even if it’s only four or five days. It’s worth it. At some point, I’ll make a full video about everything and share it. For now, I just wanted to give back to this forum and write up my experience. Cheers!