Bluex's 2015 SO F80 M3 European Delivery Pictorial

[OneRib]

Wow! What a great trip and car. SO looks fantastic and really does go well with the M3. I also noticed that AY M4 in the background.

My heart rate increased reading about the parking lot. At least I have an AM delivery and can book it out of there after the tour.

Thanks for the report on the flight. Looks like US Air's plane livery has been changed over to American. Hope I find the seats more comfortable, but in July I expect the flight to be booked full.

I guess I'll try and learn a few phrases, but I am going to butcher it big time.
The closer I get to July, the more I love reading these threads. Keep it coming.

[AYTifosi]

Looks really awesome! That must have been a really fun trip! Thanks for sharing.

[Dimitri]

Congrats on the car, I absolutely love the ED threads, ED is such a great experience. They had the motorcycle show at the Welt when I was there, which was very cool. Love the SO color, car is looking sharp! Enjoy the rest of the trip!

[Bluex]

I apologize in advance for the somewhat somber nature of this part of the ED Journal....it is what it is

We woke up the next morning, surprisingly not hung over at all from all the decent food and good beer at the Hofbrauhaus and had a fantastic breakfast at the Platzl Hotel. Probably the best breakfast of anyplace we had stayed. Fantastic. Checked out (again, the staff was beyond friendly), navigated the parking garage and headed out towards the small quiet town of Dachau.

To say this location is humbling is an understatement. It's also very confusing, almost a paradox. It lays in the beautiful countryside north of Munich, in a quiet little town with beautiful woodlands, quiet streams....but obviously within this deceptively quaint town lay something far far more disturbing. It was this paradox I had a difficult time with throughout this portion of the day.

It's a place of reflection and empathy. You learn much on the tours, about the overall plan of dehumanization from the moment prisoners stepped foot off the trains. I don't want to comment too much more in this part. The photos speak volumes...but I wanted to say that I have left out more than a few photos that I just don't think belong here as they took place in a part of the camp that had a far more sinister purpose than the rest of it (if that can be). Just a bit too macabre. I'll leave those photos out.

It was an important place for us to visit, and neither my wife and I regret it at all. In fact, it's the most powerful part of our trip. We both felt that we were extremely fortunate to be in Germany picking up a beautiful M3, and this wasn't something we should ignore. This will stay with us far longer than the M3 ever will, to be sure. It's WELL worth visiting while on your European Delivery. Don't miss it.

It's no more than 13 miles north of central Munich, and took us only about 30 minutes or so. There is plenty of parking in the gravel lot, and your car is safe. Parking is 3 EU. Taking a guided English tour (highly recommended) takes about 2.5-3 hours and is only 3 EU a person.

I found myself (prior to entering the camp) thinking as I was walking: "I wonder if my car will be ok...will it get dinged, scratched". As I walked in, I felt pretty shitty for even having that thought in my head. It's good to gain perspective.

[psuwcc112]

Looks awesome man, i miss my ED trip already. Thanks for sharing!

[Bluex]

After our day stop was over, we got back on the road and headed about an hour and a half south towards Hohenschwangau/Neuschwanstein.

What a fantastic drive....it was also the first time I was able to truly open her up as the route takes us on the A96.

A little bit about Autobahn driving:

My wife and I both had a few misconceptions: she had this assumption that the autobahn was like this "race track" and was quite surprised when she stated "It's really just a highway, like anyplace else. A clean highway, but a highway anyway".

My misconception was that it's this highway with no speed limit whatsoever. That's just not the case. Through much of Bavaria, at least on the A96, A7, A8 and A5 there are restrictions everywhere. It's common for there to be long sections of it that have 130 kmh, 120 kmh, 100 kmh and 80 kmh restrictions.



The bottom image is what you want to see and means you are free to open her up to your content. Unfortunately, these zones are not as often and don't last as long as you'd think or hope!

The autobahn is pristine...just perfect. The road conditions are smoother than anything i've seen in the US, but it comes at a price I think as there are quite a few construction zones. I made the assumption that the Germans never allow this road to ever get into disrepair, so they are always in a perpetual state of construction/repair.

German drivers are also very very good. They follow the rules (that I noticed). Driving in the middle to right lanes, passing on the left.....NEVER swerving in and out of traffic. If there is someone flying up on the left lane, you'll see their lights flashing you....and they certainly won't go and pass you on the right side. Drivers don't seem to pull out into the left lane ever without signaling (I think it would be suicide to on their part) and never just hold up traffic while in this lane. It seems to be a very logical driver base that does what they should...does what makes sense.

Btw, the M felt VERY much at home driving in the left lane. There are more BMW's in Bavaria than I have ever seen in my lifetime. The autobahn is littered with them, lol. The BMW here is almost like the ubiquitous Honda Accord or Toyota Camry back in the states. I saw more BMW's on the road than anything.

Unfortunately the time on the A96 was all too brief before it exited to B17. B17 was like this quaint little storybook road in southern Bavaria. Filled with hills and valleys, quaint little towns....you'd swear you were in Hansel and Gretel or The Sound of Music.

We arrived in Hohenschwangau mid afternoon and went to our hotel, Villa Ludwig Suite Hotel. This was our absolute favorite hotel on the trip. The hotel itself is fairly new (a year or two) but it's location is at the base of Castle Neuschwanstein and has the most amazing view. The owner of the hotel is incredibly hospitable and tends to your every need. She also speaks almost perfect English. The rooms are all comfortable and new and she made reservations for a castle tour the next day, and dinner that evening. This is important for a couple reasons. You can only see the castle via tour, and tickets are usually sold in town at their welcome center. Lines develop and often times you wont get the tour time you hoped for. Additionally, restaurants in the town of Hohenschwangau go by the way of tourists...so when the castle tours stop towards the end of the day, the restaurants tend to close down. At least in May we found this to be true. The latest you can get a reservation anywhere is 7pm, with most places closing down by 6pm. Again, the owner of the Villa Ludwig helped us out with all of that. She had tickets for us for the tour we wanted, and got us great reservations.

The town is quaint....a tad bit touristy, but beautiful nonetheless. There is a second castle here as well, Castle Hohenschwangau.

We just walked into town after we checked in.......(the hotel has both underground parking and an above ground lot...the underground garage is secure, much wider lanes to travel and has plenty of spots...loved parking here). The walk from the hotel is about 10 to 15 minutes and a very nice walk down towards the lake. As per suggestion by stressdoc we dined at the Alpenrose Am See which is this beautiful building right on the lake itself. It was quiet (we were one of the only people there), but they gave us this great private little dining area by the window overlooking the sea. I had the wienerschnitzel and it was unlike anything i've ever tasted....just amazing. The applestrudel wasn't too bad either.

All of course with beer!

We headed back to the hotel, nice little walk to work off the calories and as we sat outside for a bit, the owner came up and offered us beer and coffee. What a great little nightcap.

I cannot recommend this portion of the trip enough.



















































Tomorrow: Day 3--- Neuschwanstein/Heidelberg!

[JNoSol]

Great photos. Congrats

[Bluex]

Originally Posted by RowanBuds

Congrats Bluex, car is gorgeous! I just love the Sakhir - between you and vonmayr you're really rubbing in the non-availability of this stunning hue. It just fits the F80 oh so perfectly. Enjoy it safely!

Ah, but it's coming back for 2016, so no worries it seems! I love how it changes color based upon lighting. In direct overhead sunlight it definitely shows its metallic orange nature. But when overcast, or in late day sunlight it gets this almost blood red way to it. It's like I have two completely different colored cars at times, and both I love!

Originally Posted by ///bproden

Congrats man! Love the car! Looks like you also had a great time. I laughed so many times reading your write-up. I remember I felt the same so many times and this just reminded me of all the little things you didn't anticipate for. It's probably the same for all of us ED Americans that go over... All the restaurants and how awkward it always felt. I remember the first few days, we sat and sat and sat. My wife and I would be like "are they gonna bring the check or what should we do?" Hahaha. The driving and how stressful it was a couple of times. I remember getting to a stop light trying to turn right and I was like, crap is this legal? My wife and I were "those" Americans that really didn't know any German. :/ Thank god they are all so nice and welcoming there.

Now's the hard part. It's one thing to wait for ED, but damn, it's hard now waiting for delivery.

Hah, yes, so many things you learn that I never even thought to ask about before leaving! My God, we would have waited forever to get a check...it took us 3 days before we figured it out, lol. And btw, we didn't know German either.....I just tried to figure out a few phrases that's all. One waitress just didn't care for us being there at all....was friendly to all the other german tables she had, but when she came up to us....just a cold blank stare. She even yelled at my wife for taking a napkin from another table. "No, you do not do that please! I will get you one!" and was shaking her head walking away and I distinctly heard her mumble "Englischer...." lol. She did NOT get any additional tip.

Local german city roads were sometimes difficult to decipher the best way to drive. I would almost go into panic when the light turned red and I was first in line to make a turn, with a bunch of german traffic right behind me. I should be following traffic, not leading it! Autobahn's I LOVED though.

Originally Posted by OneRib

Wow! What a great trip and car. SO looks fantastic and really does go well with the M3. I also noticed that AY M4 in the background.

My heart rate increased reading about the parking lot. At least I have an AM delivery and can book it out of there after the tour.

Thanks for the report on the flight. Looks like US Air's plane livery has been changed over to American. Hope I find the seats more comfortable, but in July I expect the flight to be booked full.

I guess I'll try and learn a few phrases, but I am going to butcher it big time.
The closer I get to July, the more I love reading these threads. Keep it coming.

Thanks! Yep, that was an AY M4 being delivered right next to me to an older gentleman. I also noticed other families taking deliveries of either X series cars or a few 3 or 5 series and some of them were straying from their own delivery to go and look at mine. I particularly remember the wife of one gentleman who was taking delivery of his car (think it was a 3 series) who just left his car and walked over to mine looking. It was hilarious....if that was my wife, i'd be pissed as hell....

And yes, US Air is now owned by American Airlines.....so that's the aircraft you get. Flight back wasn't any different (just about 2 hours longer....headwind)...seats still uncomfortable. But if you want non-stop, that's the only chance you get from PHL. I think anyway. All Lufthansa or British Airways have 1 stop.

Now, I wait. But it's a good thing to wait for.

[justinco]

Great stuff, looking forward to day 3 Also, the SO is a great color, well configured M!

In regards to the wait staff that don't bring you the check until you specifically ask. I noticed this in the UK as well, on my recent trip to Cambridge/London. They rarely check up on you, only if you ask, and if you want your bill you have to ask for it (otherwise like you said, you will wait forever ).

Interesting to experience the differences in cultures. In the States it is normal (and mostly expected) to be checked up on regularly, drinks refilled, and often our bill dropped off before we are done eating. In Europe I guess that is considered rude in a way, like they are interrupting, so you see a lot less of it. Tipping at 5%-10% was also normal, in fact 10% was really high.

[AIRPOWER]

Originally Posted by Denk

Very nice, congrats! Three most important german words are, "ein mass bitte"

I prefer "ohne gummi bitte"

[LuxAngelEyes]

I was at Neuschwanstein 2 year ago while visiting Munich and Oktoberfest. This brings back so many memories!

[Lalit@autocouture]

Thanks for sharing

[Denk]

Originally Posted by AIRPOWER

I prefer "ohne gummi bitte"

Haha, after the beer that's a good one.

[RowanBuds]

Originally Posted by Bluex

Ah, but it's coming back for 2016, so no worries it seems! ..... But when overcast, or in late day sunlight it gets this almost blood red way to it. It's like I have two completely different colored cars at times, and both I love!

Yes I saw it available once again and am happy to see that. The dual character of the color really stands out in the SO. The blood red----let me tell you -- if there were a color that looked like that all of the time I may have broken a personal creed to not ever drive a red sports car (That wasn't Italian) for that shade. Maybe the next individual car will be a full color to spec....

Originally Posted by Bluex

Local german city roads were sometimes difficult to decipher the best way to drive. I would almost go into panic when the light turned red and I was first in line to make a turn, with a bunch of german traffic right behind me. I should be following traffic, not leading it! Autobahn's I LOVED though.

You can't leave us there. What do you do on red in Germany? I believe there will be large green arrows if you are allowed, and if you don't see that then you can't turn. Any other tips for driving in traffic/etiquette on roads you'd like to share?

Originally Posted by Bluex

I particularly remember the wife of one gentleman who was taking delivery of his car (think it was a 3 series) who just left his car and walked over to mine looking. It was hilarious....if that was my wife, i'd be pissed as hell....

Originally Posted by Bluex

Now, I wait. But it's a good thing to wait for.

Sorry for the mass multi-quote, but that's hysterical. That poor older guy... And yes, certainly the wait is a good problem to have, isn't it? I've been trying to keep that mindset all the way also (I got my order/allocation in December too, so it's been 6months for me). Now, waiting for my car service to the airport as I type the excitement is almost uncontainable.

[Bluex]

Originally Posted by RowanBuds

You can't leave us there. What do you do on red in Germany? I believe there will be large green arrows if you are allowed, and if you don't see that then you can't turn. Any other tips for driving in traffic/etiquette on roads you'd like to share?

Well from what I recall in Munich, there weren't many (if any) large green arrows for left hand turns, just flashing yellow...which I found confusing a bit. The regular light turns yellow first, then green, but the left hand turn light is a flashing yellow. I believe that right hands turns do have a green arrow. What was a pain was that there are few lights that are out in front and high up to view...as in, they are right off to the side. So if you're first in line when you stop, sometimes it's near to impossible to see when the light has changed. I found that to be a pain in the ass.

Etiquette is basically what it should be like here. Stay in the right hand lane unless passing, keep up with traffic, no passing on the right...always signal lane changes.

Some roads in old munich are literally one lane, but handle both directions of traffic. I found that to be stressful...lol.

German driving is a piece of cake compared to italian driving, from what i've read here...but even so, it's good to have as much knowledge as you can going over.

It's pretty intuitive driving in Germany, for the most part.

Originally Posted by RowanBuds

Now, waiting for my car service to the airport as I type the excitement is almost uncontainable.

I bet! That excitement is the best part!

[Deja_Vu]

Originally Posted by RowanBuds

Yes I saw it available once again and am happy to see that. The dual character of the color really stands out in the SO. The blood red----let me tell you -- if there were a color that looked like that all of the time I may have broken a personal creed to not ever drive a red sports car (That wasn't Italian) for that shade. Maybe the next individual car will be a full color to spec....

Exactly my thought. I've always been partial to dark/black cars but I wanted something that carbon fiber would stand out against. The SO in the sun is just a little too orange for my taste but that blood red it gets when it's overcast is perfect. I've also never been keen on a red car but am strongly considering it now. The best red I've seen is Stryker Red:



But I can't see BMW approving that...or paying $10k I'm sure it would cost. However if they would approve it and it wasn't ridiculously priced I'd be all over it. I'm thinking for now I'll likely go with Imola Red. Now just trying to figure out the interior color.

[Bluex]

We slept very peacefully that night and woke up fairly early in order to get to our 9:23 am tour time at Neuschwanstein Castle.

It was raining. Not just light rain, but a pretty steady rain.

We had purchased the tickets for the tour (btw, you can only visit the Castle with a tour....you can't just explore it on your own) from the owner of the hotel the day before at check in, so we were pretty set still on heading up, despite the rain.

Tickets are 12 EU each, btw.

Due to the rain, we took a bit of a relaxed, admittedly American, approach...lol. As in: "oh well, if we get there, we get there....no worries". Our german hostess didn't quite get that sentiment.... Again, as seen before, the Germans really believe in punctuality (admirable...truly), so when you have an appt for 9:23, you GET there by 9:23...and if you're not, they WILL leave. We stroll down for breakfast at around 8:15 and she's looking panicked. "You will not make it in time! You must go! Schnell!" She really looked alarmed....we appreciated her concern, but still had a bit of a quick breakfast (which was great, btw)....we both needed our coffee.

She handed us both umbrellas (very nice of her) and off we went for the walk....if we made it, great...if not...oh well.

The thing of note about getting up to Castle Neuschwanstein is that there are two walking paths. There is a longer one, around the welcome center area that takes roughly about 1 hour. It's a fairly easy hike this way, not too many steep inclines. If we went that way, no way we'd make it. However, there is a secondary path...a shortcut that exists right behind parking area 3. It's a very STEEP pathway and steps that basically goes right to the top. Instead of the hour hike the normal way, this method takes about 30 minutes, if you can keep up the pace and handle the steep incline.

We decided to go this way, all while it was raining hard on us. That was our workout....holy crap that was tough. We literally got to the top of the castle, where our tour was at 9:20. Sweating profusely and fairly wet from the rain. No joke, at 9:23 the tour group left and nope, you can't get in if you miss it.

The castle itself is amazing, even if it was never properly finished. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures while on the tour. Only on the balconies at the end.

We walked back to the hotel afterwards (far easier going down), had some coffee, jumped into the M and headed off, in the rain, to Heidelberg.

The car really takes on a whole different character (visually) in the rain as well....I swear, it's like having multiple colors.

To be continued....next post: Day 3 (pt 2): Heidelberg

[Brosef]

awesome thread. my ED plans include pretty much all of the stops you've made thus far, including Dachau.

Quick question - is the pork knuckle as good as it looks?

[Bluex]

Originally Posted by Brosef

awesome thread. my ED plans include pretty much all of the stops you've made thus far, including Dachau.

Quick question - is the pork knuckle as good as it looks?

Thanks...much appreciated

The pork knuckle is ubiquitous in Germany... It's EVERYWHERE. At Augustiner-Keller I saw more people get the pork knuckle than anything else.

And yes, it was one hell of a tasty dish. Even at Hofbrauhaus, which the food tends to be decent but nothing to write home about. It really tastes just like a pork roast. My wife lived on the spaetzle.

[TI.3VOM]

Congrats Bluex! M3 looks amazing in SO. I especially liked the pictures in the rain. And it will become somewhat of a rarity now that it's D/C'd.

I agree on the parking garages. You see marks all over the walls/curbs/ramps...

[lsturbointeg]

Wow! Love all the photos... it's like being on the trip with u! Thanks for that and Congrats!

[Bluex]

Originally Posted by TI.3VOM

Congrats Bluex! M3 looks amazing in SO. I especially liked the pictures in the rain. And it will become somewhat of a rarity now that it's D/C'd.

I agree on the parking garages. You see marks all over the walls/curbs/ramps...

Thanks and much appreciated. SO will be back with 2016 (it seems) so there will be more of 'em back on the road.

The rain pics are my fav's so far as well, but the colors I got while parked in Heidelberg were really cool as well. In shaded sunlight.

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Wow! Love all the photos... it's like being on the trip with u! Thanks for that and Congrats!

Thanks....just bringing you along for the trip