During the past 24 years, the Harley-Davidson enthusiast has clocked up more than 450,000km on motorcycle tours across Europe, the eastern United States, Russia, India, Madagascar, Thailand, Nepal, Australia and now New Zealand.
It was welcome relief from his work at the state-funded helicopter base in Hohenems, where much of his time was spent in the air searching for, and rescuing, avalanche victims, he said.
"When you work as a helicopter pilot, it's nice to do something land-based for a change.
"I like to have my feet on the ground when I'm on holiday.
"For me, motorcycle is the only way to see the world."
Mr Albrecht was in Dunedin yesterday with his wife Kari and son Laurin on a 1997 Fat Boy Harley with side car and luggage trailer.
The family arrived in Auckland on Boxing Day and immediately began their tour south on the motorcycle, which was shipped from Austria six weeks earlier.
Mr Albrecht said it was the first time he and his wife had taken their son on a tour.
"We figured, before he [Laurin] goes to school, we need to do this trip. Otherwise, we may not get another opportunity.
"The summer holidays in Europe are during winter here, and touring on a motorbike during winter is not so much fun."
The family were bound for Invercargill yesterday, and Mr Albrecht was looking forward to visiting the Burt Munro exhibit and seeing the famous Indian motorcycle which set a land speed record.
"Burt Munro is quite cool. But the highlight for us, we have enjoyed the nature and landscapes most of all - the wide open spaces. And the people here are really friendly."
They would eventually make their way up through Fiordland, Milford Sound and the West Coast, back to Wellington, before returning to Austria at the end of this month, Mr Albrecht said.
