My M4 Journey & European Delivery Adventure

[m4recruiter]

Originally Posted by firedown31

What level of warranty was that for?

Platinum Warranty.

[m4recruiter]

[UPDATE]

Well here we are, I depart in just 7 hours from now at 8:45pm (PDT) direct for Munich. I'm obviously very excited, but I'm also a little numb with disbelief. I have been all over Bimmerpost and Bimmerfest engaging in conversation wherever I could. What I discovered is there is really nothing to substitute my time except WAIT.

This morning my wife said, "Take the Z to work... it might hold you over for a few hours." It helped, but with desktop wallpapers spread across three monitors with a front view, rear view and interior cockpit view of my own beast... it's just plain too hard!

So what do you do with your time, besides hanging out on the forums? Let's see, I worked out like crazy and lost 10 of the 12 pounds I was aiming for before the trip (damn Its-Its). I checked and rechecked my baggage to make sure I had everything. Carefully selected any albums I had with the title "greatest hits" or "best of" from my iTunes library (I have more than 30,000 songs, so it's the fastest way to ensure I have most of my favorites). Finally, I reminded everyone at work I was leaving for vacation every day since April 4... you could say they're a bit annoyed. I promised to make it up by sending pictures

So here we are - can't believe it's finally happening. GoPro is all fired up!

Thanks to everyone for all your support and ongoing conversations!

I will see you on the other side!

[SD ///M4]

Have a great trip!

I've been doing most of what you've been doing! I also have that feeling of this whole thing being somewhat surreal. My wife and I have talked about doing it again since we returned from our 2011 trip five years ago. Our trip has been in the planning stages for about 2.5 years and we're leaving in 10 days!

This Saturday we're stopping by AAA to get our International Driving Permits, then going to the dealer to pay for the car. Then it's just another week of waiting, and then we're gone for three weeks. My wife has a haircut, massage, and a pedicure scheduled for next week, I'm just getting a haircut. I keep going over my list of things to take, and keep addings things I forgot about.

Enjoy! Post lots of picture!

P.S. Are you going to Oktoberfest in Monterey in August?

[m4recruiter]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

Have a great trip!

I've been doing most of what you've been doing! I also have that feeling of this whole thing being somewhat surreal. My wife and I have talked about doing it again since we returned from our 2011 trip five years ago. Our trip has been in the planning stages for about 2.5 years and we're leaving in 10 days!

This Saturday we're stopping by AAA to get our International Driving Permits, then going to the dealer to pay for the car. Then it's just another week of waiting, and then we're gone for three weeks. My wife has a haircut, massage, and a pedicure scheduled for next week, I'm just getting a haircut. I keep going over my list of things to take, and keep addings things I forgot about.

Enjoy! Post lots of picture!

P.S. Are you going to Oktoberfest in Monterey in August?

That's funny, I got a haircut last weekend. I've had my International Permit for a couple months now. I even have my vignettes already.

Oktoberfest? Didn't know about this. Do tell!

[hanszilla]

Originally Posted by m4recruiter

[UPDATE]

Well here we are, I depart in just 7 hours from now at 8:45pm (PDT) direct for Munich. I'm obviously very excited, but I'm also a little numb with disbelief. I have been all over Bimmerpost and Bimmerfest engaging in conversation wherever I could. What I discovered is there is really nothing to substitute my time except WAIT.

This morning my wife said, "Take the Z to work... it might hold you over for a few hours." It helped, but with desktop wallpapers spread across three monitors with a front view, rear view and interior cockpit view of my own beast... it's just plain too hard!

So what do you do with your time, besides hanging out on the forums? Let's see, I worked out like crazy and lost 10 of the 12 pounds I was aiming for before the trip (damn Its-Its). I checked and rechecked my baggage to make sure I had everything. Carefully selected any albums I had with the title "greatest hits" or "best of" from my iTunes library (I have more than 30,000 songs, so it's the fastest way to ensure I have most of my favorites). Finally, I reminded everyone at work I was leaving for vacation every day since April 4... you could say they're a bit annoyed. I promised to make it up by sending pictures

So here we are - can't believe it's finally happening. GoPro is all fired up!

Thanks to everyone for all your support and ongoing conversations!

I will see you on the other side!

Cheers! You'll have a blast, I just got back from my ED late last week and I would totally do it all over again (even with the crappy street parking all over!). If you are driving to Stuttgart (which it seems like you will) give your car a nice stretch on the unlimited portion; 70% of the autobahn to Stuttgart is unlimited. It might be a boyish thing to do, but the last time I went on the unlimited I was with a friend of mine and all we could afford at the time was a 3 cylinder Polo.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by m4recruiter

That's funny, I got a haircut last weekend. I've had my International Permit for a couple months now. I even have my vignettes already.

Oktoberfest? Didn't know about this. Do tell!

Since we're arriving in Munich on Sunday and our delivery isn't until Friday, I plan to stop by the ADAC office near the Sendlinger-Tor U-Bahn station for our vignettes while we're sightseeing.

The BMW CCA (BMW Car Club of America) puts on an annual Oktoberfest and this year, the centenary year of BMW, it's being held in Monterey again. I starts of Friday, August 9, with the Legends of the Autobahn Concours at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club. Saturday and Sunday are the BMW CCA Festorics, vintage racing at Laguna Seca. The BMW CCA Oktoberfest actually starts on Tuesday, August 23 and runs through Sunday, August 28 and includes a multitude of events, including two days of autocross and four track days at Laguna Seca. You must be a BMW CCA member to register.

Full details can be found here: www.celebratebmw.com. If you want to go, don't hesitate, as rooms are selling out fast! If you join BMW CCA, please use my membership number, 444697, as a referral.

[m4recruiter]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

Since we're arriving in Munich on Sunday and our delivery isn't until Friday, I plan to stop by the ADAC office near the Sendlinger-Tor U-Bahn station for our vignettes while we're sightseeing.

The BMW CCA (BMW Car Club of America) puts on an annual Oktoberfest and this year, the centenary year of BMW, it's being held in Monterey again. I starts of Friday, August 9, with the Legends of the Autobahn Concours at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club. Saturday and Sunday are the BMW CCA Festorics, vintage racing at Laguna Seca. The BMW CCA Oktoberfest actually starts on Tuesday, August 23 and runs through Sunday, August 28 and includes a multitude of events, including two days of autocross and four track days at Laguna Seca. You must be a BMW CCA member to register.

Full details can be found here: www.celebratebmw.com. If you want to go, don't hesitate, as rooms are selling out fast! If you join BMW CCA, please use my membership number, 444697, as a referral.

Thanks, I'll check it out!

[KevinM]

Congratulations and have fun! I'll be doing the same soon, so will be living vicariously through you for the duration of your trip...Post often!

[ssuene93]

Congrats and have a great trip. Post a lot of pictures!

[M P]

Have fun! I've done all the same things during the long wait. And crazily enough, I even have the haircut planned! Looking forward to the pics.

[m4recruiter]

[UPDATE]

Woke up at 4am and so freakin' excited!!!

The direct flight from SFO to MUC was very smooth. We arrived at 5pm. Going thru Passport Control we enjoyed a brief chat with the Officer. With a grin he exclaimed, "An M4!?" He proudly told us he drives a 330d. He knew we were BMW fans when my wife told him she drove a "Zed 4".

After going thru Customs we were met by our Sixt driver in a 2016 750iL. What a beautiful vehicle. While the driver was kind enough, there was not a lot of conversation. We did find out one thing - the driver seemed confused whenever I said "BMW". That's because the German pronunciation is "BMV". In the end we had a good ride. The driver eagerly carried our luggage in the hotel and we tipped 10 Euro, which seemed appropriate.

The Leonardo Royal Hotel Munich is only a few minutes from the Welt. We can see the tower from the Olympic Park from here. We didn't venture out because we knew we needed to get some rest for our big day. The food in the hotel restaurant was good, we shared a nice tenderloin steak, caesar salad and asparagus soup. For dessert we each enjoyed a cappuccino and pistachio chocolate. Our room at the hotel is nice enough, but a bit on the small side. It seems more like a business hotel. I took a quick look at the parking garage and it seems to able to accommodate our needs.

Our driver confirmed this part of Munich is definitely BMW central. Besides the HQ, Welt, and Museum, there are other office buildings for BMWFS. We saw a large BMW dealership, as well as a large Rolls Royce dealership.

It's time to get up and hit the gym. I'll try to post where I can. I'll leave you with this brief video I captured while on our way to our hotel.

Cheers!

[u2b]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29_v6OEPl2k[/u2b]

[m4recruiter]

[UPDATE]

[ssuene93]

Originally Posted by m4recruiter

[UPDATE]

Congrats! The MG looks beautiful! Have a safe trip and have fun.

[M P]

Congrats! Great looking car. I imagine that smile is going to be stuck there for a while!

[m4recruiter]

[UPDATE]

Just trying to keep up with a few pics:

Outside the Welt, at Maria Alm, and somewhere on the way to Berchtesgaden to visit the Salt Mines. Posting from Swarovski Kristallwelten.

Cheers!

[Bluex]

Beautiful car and what looks to be a beautiful trip! Congratulations and enjoy every moment of it.

Coming up on a year anniversary of my ED just in less than a couple weeks.

Love seeing these photos.

[M_Schmidty_3]

Hello. I do not post on here much but I mostly just enjoy reading and lurking. I am looking forward to lots of pictures and a write-up m4recruiter! I appreciate your writing style and hope to be making a thread of my own similar to this one day!

[MN2///M]

Congrats. Just at 2 weeks for my pickup now. We previously talked about Lindau and I saw your pictures of the garage there. Is the garage available if you are not staying at your hotel? Our hotel does not have its own parking. Was planning on just using the public lot, but if this is available, I'd do that.

Any other options you've seen now that you've been there?

Thanks in advance; have a great trip. Looking forward to the full write up.

[m4recruiter]

Originally Posted by MN2///M

Congrats. Just at 2 weeks for my pickup now. We previously talked about Lindau and I saw your pictures of the garage there. Is the garage available if you are not staying at your hotel? Our hotel does not have its own parking. Was planning on just using the public lot, but if this is available, I'd do that.

Any other options you've seen now that you've been there?

Thanks in advance; have a great trip. Looking forward to the full write up.

I think the garage is only for guests. The hotel has indoor and outdoor parking, but on a first come, first served basis - again it's probably for guests only.

We were there on May 5, a holiday in Germany. The place was packed with cars and parking was at a premium. I got lucky that I could come and go, but I made certain to lock the garage when I was leaving for fear I would come back to find another car there. The hotel only has 6 such garages.

When you arrive, may I suggest arriving in the evening or early morning either before or after the day traffic arrives/leaves. I would have been frustrated trying to find parking when it was busy. I assume weekends are very busy too.

If you do make it to my hotel for dinner, try to grab a seat at the café and enjoy the fish platter (I think around 24 Euros) - delicious! It was enough for my wife and I to share.

Enjoy your trip!

[m4recruiter]

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Neuschwanstein Castle Photo Spot

First of all, I want to thank all those that have posted their various stories to these forums. All those hours of reading and researching definitely paid off with this fabulous vacation. I really appreciate all the posts, information and engagement with fellow community members. Of course a big shout out goes to my lovely wife who not only supported me, but outright encouraged me to go for the ///M, put up with my regular updates, and my use of every creative means to bring the car up in conversation!

Like most European Delivery write-ups, this is long. However, like most write-ups, it helps to feed the passion. Enjoy!

The Video

The Story

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Our route

Days 1-2 - TRAVEL

We departed at 8:45pm on Wednesday, April 27 from San Francisco aboard a direct flight on Lufthansa headed for Munich. We managed to procure a pair of great Economy seats directly behind the Premium Economy section - We had so much leg room we couldnÂ’t reach the seats in front of us. This made for a relaxing flight that allowed us to get some rest.

Our plane touched down in Munich at 5pm on Thursday, April 28. I couldn’t help myself when going through Passport Control when we were asked for the reason of our trip. When I told the Passport Officer I was picking up my car, he asked which one. After I told him it was an M4, he smiled and handed us our passports, “Good choice!” After gathering our luggage and passing through Customs we were met by our Sixt driver who led us to a 2016 7-Series. We traveled to our accommodations for the next two nights, Leonardo Royal Hotel Munich. I selected this hotel out of the BMW European Delivery package. A few fellow forum members recommended it based on its parking garage. Due to its proximity to the Welt (10 minutes by car), I thought I could always leave the car at the Welt for one night if I didn’t like the parking situation. As it turned out I found a great end spot.

The hotel had the feel of a W Hotel with some pretty quirky decor. The restaurant was decent and breakfast was included. After a light dinner in the restaurant we turned in around 10pm.

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Lufthansa Economy with legroom upgrade (directly behind Premium Economy)

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Sixt 7-Series

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Leonardo Royal Hotel Munich
This thing scared the crap out of me whenever I entered the fitness center

Day 3 - MAGIC

We woke up early (no alarm necessary). We hit the gym and with all the excitement I ran 6 miles like it was nothing. Shower and breakfast, and we were on our way. We decided to take a taxi to make it easy on ourselves.

Upon arriving at the Welt, it looked exactly like I imagined (just like all those forum member photos and European Delivery YouTube videos). My wife stepped back so I could soak it all in. When we entered the building I went straight to the Information Counter and we were directed to the glass elevators to the Premium Lounge. Since it was just 8:45am, the Welt was empty and quiet.

As we passed through the maroon ropes to the glass elevators, the tension was mounting. Up to the third floor and the doors opened - straight ahead the gate to the Stairway to Heaven, and off to the left was the entrance to the Premium Lounge. After checking in we were asked to wait a few minutes. I quickly spotted ‘Das Buch’. Thumbing through the pages I recognized some signatures that I had seen in other member photos and videos (OMG someone pinch me!) After leaving our own personal message we were met by Patricia who went over all the paperwork. Because we had booked a factory tour at 11:45am, she made a call and moved my actual delivery up 20 minutes to 10am (no complaints here). I signed some paperwork and she handed me a folder of documents, and then guided us to the Premium Lounge refreshments. We put our coats and bags in a locker, grabbed some food, and walked out on the balcony where I immediately spotted my vehicle. I swear, if I wasn’t walking around the Welt with a stupid grin on my face by then, I certainly was after spotting my new toy. We hit the store - souvenirs for the boys and the engraved keychain for me. Ok, so I bought an ///M hat and an ///M t-shirt as well (DB moment over). We soon returned to the Premium Lounge where we were met by our Delivery Specialist, Bernd. I think the Deliver Specialists are trained in making small talk - they know how to string you along. Before presenting the car he took us downstairs for a special presentation. If you have watched some of the European Delivery videos, you have seen the white touch screen table and simulators - these are no more. Instead we were met by a large monitor with my name on it, and led to a large 4k touch screen monitor for a full presentation of my new car and all of the options I selected. This new presentation area had only been opened for a couple weeks at the time of my delivery.

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Welcome to the Delivery Center

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Das Buch
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Patricia went over all the paperwork and bumped up my delivery by 20 minutes

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Our schedule for the day

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I spotted something from the balcony off the Premium Lounge - I was so excited!

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Delivery Center with my new toy on the far right

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Brand new for the delivery experience

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4K touchscreen where Bernd, my Delivery Specialist, went over vehicle highlights

Next it was back up to the Premium Lounge and straight to the Stairway to Heaven. Bernd noted that because the stairway goes down, BMW proves that Heaven is a place on Earth. Through the swing-gate, we began our descent. On the way down Bernd told us about the tornado shaped building, the museum, and the 4-Cylinder, which is the nickname for the BMW headquarter building. When we got to the landing where the stairs make a 180 to the left, we stopped to look at my brand new Mineral Gray Metallic M4 from above, while it slowly spun on the turntable. IÂ’ve seen dozens of other vehicles do this in video, but to see your own in person is awing.

Descending the rest of the way, I was presented with my vehicle. After a journey that began 4 years ago when I started shopping for a used 3-series had come to fruition as I stood before my own ///M. It took my breath away for a moment. I wanted time to stand still so I could savor every second, while at the same time I wanted to get to the victory lap as quickly as possible. Bernd went over the major features of the car (under the hood, opening of the trunk, gas tank, and interior). Bernd installed my music, and put all my vignettes on the windshield. It was time to start the engineÂ… Then to make some adjustments to put the throttle in Sport+. I will admit I was surprised at the throaty sound coming from the quad-exhaust.

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Delivery with my BFF

Soon enough it was time for our victory lap. I was told we could go around as many times as we liked and the record is 19. After we were done, the record was still 19Â… we made 4 laps. Upon exiting, we turned to the right and valeted the car for our factory tour.

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After the Victory Lap lining up for the valet

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Gratuitous BMW Welt photo

The factory tour was 2 hours and jet-lag was setting in. We enjoyed the tour, and my wife was especially impressed with the entire build and QA process. We were both impressed with how well BMW treats its employees. Since both of us work in HR/Recruiting, we really appreciate companies that take good care of their employees.

After we were done with the tour, we picked up our new car and headed back to our hotel. We took a short nap and then headed to Marienplatz. I decided that since my wife has had to listen to me go on and on for the past 4 years, and even more so over the past 6 months, I should take her shopping. We arrived at the LV store in Munich where I suggested she pick something out for MotherÂ’s Day (which would be the day after we arrive back home). She picked out a new handbag and wallet, and then we decided to grab some food. We stumbled upon Augustiner Keller where we managed to find a couple seats among some Bavarian folks having a good time. I will admit, this was probably the worst thing we could do - to go here when we were hungry, and out of steam on full jet-lag. We didnÂ’t know what to order, and we both had headaches by this time. Due to this, the experience was not as enjoyable as it could have been and we did not enjoy our food. We ended up going back to our hotel for a cheeseburger and chips (fries) in the bar. My recommendation for finding food in a foreign land is this - when you are jet-lagged, find comfort food and leave the exploring for later. Needless to say, we did enjoy watching everyone belt out in random Bavarian tunes as they banged their hands on the tables in unison. That part of the experience was fun.

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Marienplatz

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Took care of MotherÂ’s Day a little early

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Augustiner Keller

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Way too jet-lagged to enjoy this...

Days 4-5 - DACHAU, SALZBURG, MARIA ALM, BERCHTESGADEN

The next morning we headed to Dachau Concentration Camp. Although this is closer to the airport and would have been more convenient to visit at the end of our trip, thatÂ’s not how we wanted to leave our vacation. Dachau was sad, but interesting. We visited long enough to go through the museum, watch the film, and walk the grounds a bit. We did not visit the gas chamber. Instead we decided we had seen enough of this atrocity and headed out.

On the way to Salzburg we visited Café Winklstüberl for lunch. This was recommended by another forum member. It’s quite a busy little place off the main road to Salzburg, and through some little towns. We shared a salad, roast beef, and potatoes followed by one of the best desserts we ever tasted, Holländer Kirschtorte, or Dutch Cherry Gateau. Absolutely a must for anyone traveling on the A8 between Munich and Salzburg.

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Cafe Winklstüberl

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I donÂ’t remember what it was named, but I called it delicious!

At Salzburg, we visited Mirabellplatz, where many scenes from the Sound of Music was filmed. We walked through the park and took some pictures and then headed to the Makartsteg Bridge. This is where couples leave their “love locks”. It’s pretty amazing how many locks there are on the short span. We left a lock of our own at the center of the bridge. From there we visited Mozart’s house, but did not take a tour. Aside from it being closed, I personally don’t see the value - it is a relatively small house with just two rooms to visit. Going back to the car, we spied a couple of young guys eyeing the car from every angle. Even when they walked away, they kept looking back. My wife especially saw that many people really stopped to take notice of the car.

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This woman is one of a kind

Driving to Maria Alm, which is a small town nested in the Austrian Alps South of Salzburg. We used timeshare points to book this for 2 nights. Unfortunately it followed some strict timeshare rules, so we did not have any wifi while we were there. The hotel catered to seasonal travelers, and we were there off-season. We were a bit bored. The hotel restaurant (like many other restaurants in town) served pizza. We took advantage of this down time to do some laundry - enough to get us through the rest of our trip. The weather was cold and damp.

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We went to Berchtesgaden to visit the Salt Mine. This was an interesting and enjoyable experience as well. You are brought nearly 1,000 yards into the mine and descend about 4 stories where you get to tour the still active salt mine. The tour was in German, but we had English listening devices. Going to and from Berchtesgaden and Maria Alm, I became quite comfortable with the car and found myself passing a lot of other cars on the narrow, two-lane roads in the region.

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Sliding down inside the salt mine

While the hotel and people were nice enough, we couldnÂ’t wait to leave.

DAYS 6-7 - SWAROVSKI, AQUA DOME

As much as my wife loved the Welt, she really loved Swarovski Kristallwelten. There is a restaurant the serves delicious food, where my wife swore up and down they had the best Red Curry she ever tasted. The museum was fun and interesting to visit. Inside the museum, you never get tired going from room to room to see what the various artists have come up with. The tour ends at the gift shop where I happen to come across another must-have gift for my wife. She asked if we could purchase a nice watch for my mother-in-law, who is absolutely fantastic and was taking care of our youngest son. I told her yes, as long as she got the watch I picked out for her. We picked up a few other souvenirs as well and decided to leave without walking the grounds. It was just too cold and wet.

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Outside the Swarovski Kristallwelten Museum

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MotherÂ’s Day Part 2 - sheÂ’s a terrific mom all the time

Next we continued our journey West to Längenfeld. This is where the Aqua Dome is located, and the site of our favorite place in Austria. I managed to purchase a package that included two relaxation treatments for each of us, half-board (breakfast and dinner) meals, and full access to the Therme, Sauna World, and Spa 3000. From the hotel you take an underground passage to the Therme where no shoes are allowed once you leave the hotel. Instead you use the included flip flops, robes and towels. The Therme is a large swimming area where the pools are heated to 90 degrees. It’s so warm that you can swim outside (via an indoor/outdoor) pool. There are three large wading pools. Just imagine soaking in the pool with nothing but your head out of the water surrounded by the snow-capped Alps.

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Aqua Dome - view from our room

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WhatÂ’s that out front? Must be they have some pretty high-class guests that stay here

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But, the help leaves something to be desired LOL!

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Fine European dining

Sauna World was another experience we enjoyed. Shedding our Puritan/American traditions and embracing the Central European way to relaxation, we left our bathing suits behind and shed our robes to relax in any of the twelve or so saunas. Our favorite was the damp sauna, rather than a traditional dry sauna. The rooms are dark and steamy with various instrumentals piped in. Another sauna was the ice cave, where the walls were covered with ice. While uncomfortable at first, acknowledging the social aspects of the European Spa helped us to really relax. The fitness center was first rate, and the gourmet food was delicious. We will be returning.

Spa 3000 offers a couple relaxing warm pools, a waterfall and an area of lounges large enough to hold two looking out cathedral style windows while resting beneath fur blankets. It was a great place to take a nap and shed any remnants of jet-lag. As part of our package, we received two spa treatments. We each selected a body wrap and full massage. Two words = total relaxation.

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Settling down to rest in Spa 3000

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I was completely relaxed after our spa treatments, a body wrap and massage

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While someone took pictures of the view

Recommendation for the Aqua Dome is to stay mid-week. Weekends are packed from what I have been told by all the locals.

DAYS 8-9 - HOHENSCHWANGAU & NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLES, LINDAU

We changed our itinerary a bit to catch the castles on our way to Lindau, as opposed to visiting on our return to Munich. The drive was fantastic. The only hiccup came in Fussen when the road was completely closed to through traffic. Thankfully the “Alternate Routes” feature worked like a charm and we arrived at the castles in just 20 minutes (only 10 minutes longer than anticipated). Once we got to the castles, the first thing we noticed were the number of Asian restaurants (Chinese, Korean, Japanese) in the area. After parking the car in a paid lot, we realized why - this was a tourist haven. We never saw so many organized tours throughout our trip than we did here. We managed to purchase English tours to both castles. We learned a bit of history and enjoyed visiting both of King Ludwig’s homes. While at Neuschwanstein, I peeked out one of the windows and immediately recognized our next stop - the very famous European Delivery photo spot! In fact, I could see another visitor with his or her car parked in a conspicuous manner that would only suggest they were trying to get some cool angles on a recent pick-up.

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I didnÂ’t GPS this location, so I drove on instincts. I missed the turn the first time, but after pulling off to the side of the road, used the GPS maps to get my bearings and quickly found the magic spot.

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After a quick photo, we headed to Lindau. This little island was a real treat. I knew that everything on the island was quite old, so I inquired with Hotel Bayerischer Hof about parking months before when I made our reservations. Upon checking in, I was given a form to sign - basically a promise that I wouldnÂ’t lose the key to my own personal garageÂ… whaaat!? Yes, thatÂ’s right! I had my own personal garage with a key that looked to be at least 100 years old! IÂ’m glad we had the key because the very next day (May 5) was a european holiday. The island was packed with people. This was also the same day my wife and I decided to venture out to Switzerland and drive around the Bodensee.

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Hotel Bayerischer Hof

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Fish Platter & Dessert (we shared)

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Best European Delivery parking ever!

The drive was nice enough, but upon crossing the border, we remembered that we were supposed to pick up some Starbuck’s Mugs for some of our collector friends. The nearest Starbucks was about an hour away in St. Gallen, so we decided to check it out. Once in town, the GPS kind of failed us. We kept circling one area, but couldn’t really find the location. GPS kept wanting us to turn down streets that were closed to vehicle traffic. At one point I ended up driving up a very narrow street until we hit a dead end. Imagine backing down the same narrow street with a wall on either side. Must say that at that very stressful moment, I loved the back-up camera! I managed to back into (a very poor excuse for) a driveway and turn around. It was at this point we decided to just park the car and walk. We found Starbucks and there we learned that Switzerland is not necessarily “Euro friendly”. You can pay by Euro, but no coins, which means you will overpay for anything you purchase. We opted to use our credit card instead, since it was much easier. On the way back we passed by a small pastry shop and picked up some snacks. We gave up trying to drive around the Bodensee at this point and decided to head back to Lindau.

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Once we were back, my private garage parking really paid off. Most cars were continually circling the blocks, while I just backed in and locked up. We at at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof cafe and found the Fish Platter to be absolutely delicious. We spend a lot of time walking around and just looking at shops. We enjoyed some gelato as we walked around. It was a very nice and relaxing atmosphere for the final days of our trip.

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View from our room

DAYS 10-11 - BACK TO MUNICH, DROP OFF

Leaving Lindau was bittersweet because it signified the conclusion of our vacation. I was also slowly coming to the realization that I was really going to miss my car. While I wanted to savor the drive, I was having too much fun on the Autobahn. While I could have taken it much faster, my Delivery Specialist told me not to take it over 107mph… I went to 120mph. It was fun and while my wife warned me to slow down at the beginning of our trip, she was encouraging me to pass everyone by now. I think she loved hearing the engine roar in Sport+. We stopped at a McDonald’s to pick up some fries… or excuse me “Pommes Frites” and a Cola Light. At the drive-through a young guy said something to me that I didn’t understand. He repeated it, “Horse power?” I responded with 400. “Wow!” The rest of the drive was fun, including playing a little cat and mouse with a Lamborghini. He won because I wouldn’t take it over 120 and we were hitting the outskirts of Munich.

We stopped at the BMW Museum because we missed it on the start of our trip. After the museum closed we ate at Bavarie in the Welt. We were in the mood for some comfort food so we shared some sushi and a barbeque sandwich with sweet potato fries. After dinner we headed to the airport to check in at the Munich Airport Hilton Hotel.

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In front of the 4-Cylinder and BMW Museum

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The car she fell in love with that inspired her to want a Z4

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For some reason we both fell in love with thisÂ… Need to work on that disposable income!

Finding the hotel was easy and as we pulled into the drive, we also found LogInOut right across the street, along with the adjacent Lufthansa terminal. I was kind of bummed knowing I would have to say goodbye to my new toy the next day.

After breakfast I headed to the car wash. Somehow I transposed some numbers and the GPS wanted to take me 26km away. I just used the gas station symbol in the GPS to guide me. It was easy to find. I brought a wash mit and a couple microfiber towels with me. The Agip wash only takes a single 2-Euro coin for 2 minutes of wash time. I spent 2 Euros on the wash and 2 Euros on the dry. After washing I tried with the two towels. It wasnÂ’t perfect, but it was good enough. I left a couple papers with instructions in the car to save the plates and not to remove any of the vignettes. Turning it into LogInOut only took about 20 minutes. The representative carefully inspected the vehicle for any body or paint damage, which there was none. He looked beneath the rear, front, and each side of the car as well. The rep had me sign some papers and told me to check back in 10 days for a status and ship name. I walked back to the Hilton to take a quick shower before checking out of the hotel and heading to the Lufthansa terminal. After checking out, I could already see that my car had been moved from the front of the building.

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It was a sobering moments when I had to walk away

Upon checking into Lufthansa, we learned that our seats were bumped up to Premium Economy class. This provided more standard legroom with a footrest, wider and longer seat base, bottled water, and a travel bag full of little amenities (toothbrush/toothpaste, eye mask, ear plugs, towelette) and better food choices. Additionally, this gave us each an extra free bag to check in, which worked out perfectly because we needed to add one more bag. The flight was smooth and uneventful, and we landed about 25 minutes early.

OBSERVATIONS BASED ON OUR TRIP

If I had it to do over again, I would have waited one more day before taking delivery to allow for jet-lag to settle down. While itÂ’s likely my excitement will get the best of me next time as well, the delivery followed by the factory tour was exhausting.

Using GPS to enter navigation coordinates worked out perfectly - just make sure to double check before going on the trip. Entering transposed numbers can greatly affect your final destination.

Staying at least 2 nights at each location worked out great. Initially I was going to plan for a new location every night, then I dreaded the thought of packing every nightÂ… ugh.

We only had to do one load of laundry during our trip. We chose a day when the weather was the worst, so we could just go to the restaurant while the wash was being done. We brought a few single packages of laundry detergent with us.

Petrol was not outrageous. We purchased gas three times during the trip and spent about 50-60 Euros each time. The tank was between a quarter to half-way full.

We only brought a GoPro and our iPhones for pictures. We are not photographers, but we wanted to capture certain events. We use Facebook as our photo album.

Aside from picking up the car, I see the European Delivery experience as an opportunity to see things that one would not normally see on a european vacation. We got to see a lot of back roads and focused our trip to our liking - relaxation. Driving was kept to no more than 3 hours a day between locations, with full day rests at each location. Again, our focus was relaxation. I would happily repeat this itinerary again, with the exception of Maria Alm, which was a little too much down time for our tastes.

Feel free to comment or ask questions - I really learned a lot from other forum members and I will gladly pay it forward for others, based on my experience.

For the next few weeks, this is where she is parked:
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The waiting game begins again...

[snareman]

pics don't seem to be working

[m4recruiter]

Originally Posted by snareman

pics don't seem to be working

Yeah, not sure what is going on with the inline pics. They can be clicked on and opened in a new tab, but the inline images are not showing up. I've tried both Google Photos and Flickr with the same results.

Very frustrating.

FIXED!