Useful bits of info for ED first timers

[macagain]

Was in Munich Aug/Sep with my buddy to pick up his M4. First time ED for both us, and even with what I thought was thorough research before the trip, there were some bits of info we were missing, but wished we knew before hand, so I figured I'd post it here. Useful for all ED first timers, but I had to pick one forum, so here's it is... (note: info as of Sept 2014)

- International Driving Permit: this is required in some, though not all, countries in Europe. Italy, for one, requires it for non-EU drivers license holders. An IDL is not a drivers license, it goes with your drivers license. If you need one, you can get one from your local AAA for about $15.

- Hotels: We stayed at the Hilton Munich Park which is maybe a 5 min drive to the Welt. We were initially a little concerned that it was a bit far from the city center, but it turned out that it's was quite convenient to the street car/tram. Just walk out the front of the hotel, turn right, follow the road as it curves till you get to Tivolistrasse, and you can catch the tram straight to Marienplatz in about 15 mins. You can buy tickets from the hotel concierge; if there's more than one of you, you can buy a Partnerticket for only a couple of Euros more than a single, and it's good for all public transport for the entire day for up to 4 people. The Hilton BMW rate (call directly) also gets you an upgrade if available; we got bumped up to the concierge level which included lounge (booze and breakfast!) access.

- Airport pickup: We only found out when we dropped off the car that free pickup for ED customers was available, provided by Sixt car rentals. Various other forum members have reported great experience with using Rolf rolf.pickupservice@yahoo.de. We contacted Rolf, but he was on vacation in Spain, so he sent his buddy Peter. The Sixt service will probably be just be a ride. Rolf and Peter also serve as a bit of a guide and source of lots of useful info. We had Peter do a few other trips for us, e.g. to the Welt, and back to airport.

- Factory tour & museum: There is only one English factory tour per day, at 11am, and it takes 120-150 mins. So if you want to do it the same day as your delivery, you'll need to schedule your delivery for after 2pm. The museum is self guided, so you can take as much, or as little time as you want. Since there is only one English factory tour each day, and has limited capacity, you'll want to schedule it ahead of time, i.e. before you show up day of!

- Driving around Europe: Most countries will require a standard issue safety vest (bright florescent thing) to be in the car. Some countries will require road tax disks (aka Vignette) on your windshield. Both these things are available at an ADAC (German auto club). There is a ADAC Reiseburo (travel agency) at Frankfurter Ring 30 which is real close to the Welt. They will be able to tell you which countries require Vignettes and sell them to you. The Vignettes are also available at gas stations near borders, but that's a pain, and if you get stopped w/o the right Vignette sticker, the fines are stiff (>100 euros)! You can also get maps, which are free if you can show (or convince them) you are a AAA member. We had Peter drive us from the hotel to the Welt, with a detour to the ADAC.

- Maps and Nav: Get paper maps from ADAC and map your journeys ahead of time! And don't blindly follow the Nav in the car. We were both armed with iPhones and iPads, but they were no substitute for being able to open up the paper map and tracing the whole journey. We scoffed at first when Peter suggested we get maps, but after a few Nav incidents, we were quite happy to have them. Now to the Nav... based on recommendations from other posters here, we planned to arrive at Trafoi, at the base of Stelvio Pass, in time for dinner, spend a nice night, and drive the pass first thing in the morning. Well, our Nav thought otherwise, and routed us the other way, and had us going over Stelvio Pass at dusk! It was just a bit scary driving Stelvio and seeing the fog start to come in! We finally figure out *my* error... the hotel was on Stilfersjochstrasse, which is a tiny street that the Nav knew nothing about; but it did know about Stilfersjoch, which is on the other side of the summit! My bad though... I thought "close enough"!

- Stelvio Pass: everyone tells you to hit it early, before it gets crowded. Based on our experience (see above point), if you hit it really late, there are *no* other cars around! Just make sure you don't get stuck on the ascent or descent after dark, there are no street lights.

- Drop off at Munich airport: The drop off point is as good as attached to Terminal 2 (Lufthansa), across from Hotel Kempinski. Just head for the Kempinski and you will see a bunch of BMW's and Merc's, and you'll know you're there. They require that you wash the car before you drop it off (US Dept of Agriculture requirement apparently), but don't tell you where to do that! There is an OMV Tankstelle on the other side of the airport where there's auto and manual car wash. Just put "Erdinger Strasse 2" into your Nav. The drop off is run by a 3rd party logistics firm and is by appointment. If you show up much before or after your appointment, there'll be a good chance that there is nobody there, but there is a phone number to call posted on the office door. Drop off paperwork takes maybe 30 mins. so you can totally drop off and head for your flight. (If you look at the pic of the bldg, you can see a reflection of the Kempinski!)

[apexes]

Thanks for the info, this is great!

[GrussGott]

Nice!

I would add it you're going to stay at a Hilton, Munich City has a train station right in it. It's about 15 min to the Welt and also a 2 minute walk from the farmer market.

[X2Board]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Nice!

I would add it you're going to stay at a Hilton, Munich City has a train station right in it. It's about 15 min to the Welt and also a 2 minute walk from the farmer market.

Thanks GG. That's where I'm staying for the first night.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by X2Board

Thanks GG. That's where I'm staying for the first night.

if youre honors they have a good exec club and cover your full breakfast downstairs, great deal imo. they also have secure parking

[Doctor///M]

Great post!

I'd definitely recommend the IDL for those going to Austria. I was stopped at a checkpoint in Austria last week and would've probably had to pay a fine if I didn't show it to them.

[X2Board]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

if youre honors they have a good exec club and cover your full breakfast downstairs, great deal imo. they also have secure parking

Diamond for the past 14 years.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by X2Board

Diamond for the past 14 years.

Nice - you'll get on the exec floor then which is pretty good and away from the noise, although it's mostly a business hotel so it's pretty good anyway.

As an FYI, the Hilton Evian les bains on lake geneva is great, and well located. The exec club is rooftop with fantastic views. Great use of points, but the food isn't even close to Munich's breakfast