Our hosts in portrait

Today we would like to introduce you to our colleague Filippo. At Heym Collections, he is part of the reception team and responsible for the IT infrastructure that makes our workflows in the hotels and flats possible. In his spare time, Filippo is a passionate cyclist. He enjoys clearing his head in the fresh air, feeling the speed and being able to freely explore the region.

That he would make it to 2000 metres in altitude on his bike is something Filippo would never have thought, though. Especially because the tour actually started as a joke. A fellow student sent him a photo of his new racing bike, to which Fillipo jokingly replied that they should ride on it to Italy. “I wasn’t serious at all!”, Filippo recalls laughing. However, his friend was so fond of the idea that a few weeks later the two of them actually set off for Italy with their bikes. Equipped with GPS and plenty of snacks, they started off from the heart of Salzburg. From Mozartplatz to Lake Garda, 400km in three days. For Filippo, who was born in the region around Lake Garda, this meant returning to his homeland from his second home in Austria.

As you can imagine, it was not a relaxing bike ride. From the first stop in Innsbruck, the tour continued towards Bolzano, over the Brenner Pass and up to 1,400 metres in altitude. They didn’t take time for longer breaks on the way. How did you get the energy needed? “From bananas, apple juice and power bars, all stored in the pockets of our cycling shirts,” says Filippo. However, the short journey did not go quite as planned. After overcoming the Brenner Pass, the ride towards Sterzing should actually have been more leisurely. A tour along the river and thus, above all, flat. A good compensation after the route in the Eastern Alps the day before. But when it suddenly went steeply up again, Filippo noticed that his friend had unnoticed decided on a completely different route. Now the route suddenly went up the Jochpass and thus up to 2200 metres. “I’m sporty, but if I had known that beforehand, I would have turned around again.” The tour clearly took Filippo to his physical limits and beyond. He concludes, “I never thought I could do this. Standing up there, I will never forget that feeling!”

Eine gemütliche Fahrradtour war das nicht, wie ihr euch sicher denken könnt. Von der ersten Station Innsbruck, ging es weiter Richtung Bozen, über den Brennerpass und damit rauf auf 1.400 Höhenmeter. Zeit für längere Pausen unterwegs haben sich die beiden nicht genommen. Woher nimmt man da die nötige Energie? „Aus Bananen, Apfelsaft und Powerriegeln, alles untergebracht in den Taschen des Fahrradshirts“, so Filippo. Ganz wie geplant verlief die kurze Reise allerdings nicht. Nach Überwindung des Brennerpasses hätte die Fahrt in Richtung Sterzing eigentlich gemütlicher werden sollen. Eine Tour am Fluss entlang und damit vor allem flach. Ein guter Ausgleich nach der Strecke am Vortag in den Ostalpen. Als es auf einmal aber wieder steil nach oben ging, bemerkte Filippo, dass sich der Freund unbemerkt für eine ganz andere Route entschieden hatte. Jetzt ging es plötzlich den Jochpass hinauf und damit auf 2200 Meter. „Ich bin sportlich, aber wenn ich das vorher gewusst hätte, wäre ich wieder umgedreht.“ Die Tour brachte Filippo klar an seine körperlichen Grenzen und darüber hinaus. Abschließend sagt er: „Nie hätte ich gedacht, das zu schaffen. Dort oben zu stehen, dieses Gefühl werde ich nie vergessen!“  

If you are now also hooked on cycling, we asked Filippo about the most beautiful tours in and around Salzburg. But you won’t have to climb up to 2000 metres in altitude, we promise you that. Have fun cycling!