A visit to O iO (Oldtimer in Obwalden) is well suited to disproving a whole range of prejudices. Because it turns out that there is no shortage of newcomers to the classic car hobby; in addition to sports cars and convertibles, you can also see limousines from bygone days that have long since been forgotten, and even in wet and humid weather, visitors and drivers don't stay away from the event.
The O iO is actually a huge party, a two-day festival that takes place at three locations and brings together almost 10,000 enthusiastic spectators and well over 500 classic cars of all shades with their crews.
There are probably few similar events that are able to mobilize such a wide range of vehicles. Whether steam-powered vehicles from the early days, pre-war classics or sports cars from the sixties and seventies, almost everything that has been on our roads over the last hundred years is covered. Even high-wheelers, post buses and construction machinery make an appearance.
Proven process
The program has proven itself and is only varied slightly from year to year by organizer Ruedi Müller. On Saturday, the participants meet in Sarnen and exhibit their classic cars. After the public rides and the Corso, the route continues to Giswil, where there is another march stop. In the evening, the visitors disperse to various overnight locations. On Sunday, the journey then continues to Engelberg, where the vehicles will once again be demonstrated to the visitors there.
As a special feature in 2013, participants can choose from various routes from Sarnen to Giswil and, as in 2011, a special route before Engelberg can be taken on Sunday.
Peter is a classic car fan
Just a few days before the O iO, meteorologists were predicting cool and damp weather, but on Saturday morning the weather gods surprised the O iO participants with golden morning light and blue skies. The snow-covered mountain peaks create a backdrop that could not be better for a classic car meeting.
Early in the morning, an almost endless stream of old cars heads towards Obwalden and if you look through the side windows, all you can see are happy and smiling faces.
Many participants have not only cleaned their classic cars and carefully prepared them for the trip, they have also dressed themselves in clothes that they would have worn 30, 40 or 60 years ago.
There is a lot of waving and a great sense of togetherness between the participants even on the journey. Many of them know each other because they have been attending for years, every year at Whitsun.
Sarnen as a classic car mecca
On May 18, Sarnen becomes a gathering place for over 500 classic cars. Every space is blocked off, there is hardly any room to get through between the enthusiastic visitors. There are rarities to be discovered everywhere, be it a Marmon, a De Soto or an Austin A35.
It is not the highly priced rarities that make the O iO so special, it is the everyday cars of the past, which today are often rarer than the expensive Italian gems sold at auction. Many a visitor discovers the car whose back seat they rode in as a child or in which they themselves learned to drive.
Promenade, see and be seen
Even newcomers to the event quickly realize that O iO places great emphasis on tradition and history. The participants present themselves in authentic clothing that matches the respective vehicle. Large and small hats adorn their heads and provide the necessary shade, the ladies wear long dresses, fan a little wind in their faces, squint through their sunglasses and give all spectators the best smiles.
Time quickly slips away or seems to stand still. Time and again you discover something new and are amused by what is happening: Two young girls have made themselves comfortable on an old Ford pickup, visibly enjoying the sun and the attention they attract.
At another location, a lady with two children is just getting out of a vintage car - obviously they were allowed to ride along for a short distance. Another lady gets in, the car is half full again and off we go. The public rides are very popular, you feel like you're in a museum, but everything around you is alive and moving.
Old postbuses, decorated VW Bullis, a moped with sidecar, even almost 130 year old high bikes meander through the crowd ...
20 kilometers instead of 1000 miles
You don't want to compete with the Mille Miglia. The Saturday afternoon ride from Sarnen to Giswil on several different routes only covers a distance of 10 to 25 kilometers, but the climbs are comparable to the Futa Pass and the participants are also offered a lot of scenery. Beautiful forest passages, narrow roads, winding sections, it's all there.
While the easiest route variant leads largely on flat terrain from Sarnen to Giswil, the longest route offers winding challenges but also special views on mountainous roads through Ronenwald and Schmandenwald.
Even the high-riding bikes took the 10-km route to Giswil under the huge front wheel. The ascent through the Feldmooswald forest is too steep, however, and the capable cyclists push their vehicles up the passage with wit and composure: "We'll take it easy! We've got time, haven't we!" they shout to the spectators along the route. They laugh and to prove that they are not lacking in strength, they start to run a few meters further, swing themselves back into the saddle with a sweeping, elegant movement and cycle on.
Every period of good weather has an end
The second day is not quite as nice as the first. The roads are wet on Sunday morning and it's raining. Ruedi Müller says that we now have to "pay" for Saturday's beautiful weather.
Nevertheless, around 300 (out of 420 expected) vehicles and their crews arrive at the starting point to tackle the route to Engelberg, which is quite challenging for older vehicles.
Once again, however, everyone reaches the finish, even if one or two participants decide to take a short cut at the end. Arriving was not such a matter of course in the past either, as the ascent from Wolfenschiessen to Engelberg brought many a car to its knees with signs of overheating 50 or 100 years ago.
The weather did have a change of heart around midday, the sun came out and the roofs could be folded down again and the side windows opened when Elio Crestani presented the classic cars in the Kurpark.
Every year again
Although the preparatory work and organizational effort are enormous, Ruedi Müller doesn't let up. There will be another meeting in Obwalden in 2014 ... and anyone who has never been should make a note of the date for next year - June 7-8, 2014 - and start shopping for the right outfit as well as the classic car.
