Life's a party
More than 120,000 visitors experienced six days of fun and action at the European Bike Week
• Unique atmosphere around the lake
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Test rides , expo tent, custom bike show and lots of music • Large parade with over 13,000 participants
No wonder that the European Bike Week is an integral part of the calendar of European two-wheeler fans; it is simply an event of superlatives. Normally, 8,643 people live in the small market town of Finkenstein, to which Faak am See – the epicenter of the event – belongs. But during European Bike Week the number increases by more than tenfold. Visitors flock to the beautiful south of Austria from all parts of Europe and from overseas. All age groups and all social classes are represented. They come to celebrate a mega motorcycle party in a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere, which is probably unique on our continent.
This year Harley-Davidson invited people to Faak from September 8th to 13th. More than 120,000 fans of the US heavy metal accepted the invitation and populated the “Harley Village” and the event locations around the lake. Around 85,000 shiny chrome machines lined Seestrasse - most of them “made in Milwaukee” and no two of them identical. be just as individual as the motorcycles , and wherever you looked, the men and women had big grins on their faces.
They made friends that transcended boundaries and had a lot of fun at the numerous sales and catering stands in the huge Harley Village, as well as at the free test rides right next door. Together with like-minded people in the expo tent, we marveled at the latest Harley models for 2016 and perhaps the best custom bikes in Europe, which competed against each other at the custom bike show. Lots of live music in the large tents and on the open-air stage rounded off the event. The icing on the cake were, of course, the small “lake tours” to see and be seen, as well as the many large trips on the breathtakingly beautiful motorcycle routes in Carinthia and its neighboring countries. It's good that Peter had insight and was extremely well disposed towards the celebrants this year!
The crowning conclusion of the event - the big motorcycle parade on Saturday around the Carinthian lakes - could be enjoyed to your heart's content. More than 13,000 machines took part in the impressive parade. And one thing is certain for most visitors: Faak, we'll see each other again - from September 6th to 11th, 2016 at the next European Bike Week!
Photo gallery
Text and photo: Copyright Harley-Davidson Austria GmbH
