Worthersee 2019
Written: May 2020
After taking a break in 2018, the initial plan had been to drive again in 2019. After some logistical issues, we settled on flying to Munich, for a slightly shorter 5 day trip.
With a shorter trip planned, the only option was to fly. I booked a cheap rental through Sixt Leasing in work and on arrival, we got a tasty upgrade to a business spec 530i touring. The perfect autobahn cruiser.
The drive down was every bit as stunning as the previous three years. We cruised down in just under 4 hours, hampered by a big accident crossing the border into Austria. The car had self drive and air conditioned seats. Ideal.
Once again, we stayed with our new elderly friends in Haus Habernig in the hills above Velden. These chalet apartments could not be more ideal for what we needed. Less than 5 minutes from town, clean and quiet. The owners are the most lovely pair, too.
As always, we spent the first evening in Velden, watching the cars cruise up and down the strip. The little town was wedged, queues snaking up the hill towards the fuel station, 100’s of cars in length.
It’s become a bit of a tradition that we eat pizza on the first evening in the amazing Pizzaria Moro in the centre of Velden. There’s a little balcony you can sit on and enjoy the scene below.
Further down, outside the casino, the tarmac is blackened with rubber. Once night falls this little stretch turns into a burnout box for anything that makes it through the crowds. Gummi!!
We managed to time our trip so we were by the lake right at the peak of the activity. I’ve never seen Faakersee so full. It’s about 15KM from Velden and we honestly hit the traffic jam 5KM out. We ended up parking and walking.
This huge carpark is unique in that it is almost a constantly changing car show. Once you’ve one complete lap done, the cars have been replaced with different ones. You could easily spend a full 10 hours here and rarely see the same car twice.
This is gonna sound proper wierd but I love how the guys park over there too, just randomly scattered all over the place. It’s a photographers dream as it’s difficult to take the same shot twice. The back or foreground is always different.
For the first time in three years we got to experience proper Worthersee car meets. The first was the ILB Drivers Club meet up in the Villach alpine pass. The tolled mountain road snakes up into the Alps and has various carparks where meets regularly occur.
The ILB meet was cool, there was a lot of retro machinery on show, my kinda thing. It didn’t last long, though. The cops arrived as soon as eejits on the main road started ripping burnouts.
This pair of type 19 small bumper GTi’s stood out. I’d love to have photographed them more, those Ronal racing wheels are so good.
The next day we travelled over to neighbouring Ossaicher See, a smaller lake just like Worthersee. On the shores, nestled in a little campsite, the annual Swissbox Meeting was taking place. The standard of car on display was, of course, second to none.
One of my favourite cars from the week was this tastefully modified MK1 Golf sat on the pavement in Reifnitz. The big Pirelli P-Slots against immaculate red bodywork works so well and couple that with a purposeful interior and you've a perfect car.
The infamous fuel station is probably the best location at the lake to watch the endless flurry of cars coming and going. I particularly liked this pair of MK2 Golfs, the contrasting styles standing out.
As always, any amount of time at the lake is too short and I can't wait to go back. It will be a long four year hiatus before we get to go again in 2023 and this time I plan to make sure a car of my own is there.
Event: Worthersee 2019