rmorin49
04-17-2007, 05:09 PM
Day 1: Departed IAD on Lufthansa bound for Munich. Arrived in Munich at 11 am, proceeded directly to the Lufthansa bus for the Nordfriedhof U-Bahn station, cost E10. Bought a U-Bahn ticket for E2.20 and rode to the Freimann stop. Made the short walk to the ED Center, arriving around 12:30. Checked in, ate some food, and was called about 1:30. Bernhard did a fine job going over the car with me, programming my NAV and encouraging me to take pictures. Departed around 3 for MADA, top down and smiling. Filled out the paperwork and then headed for the Renaissance Hotel. Met up with jfulcher and headed downtown for a nice dinner at the Paulaner Bavarian restaurant. Since I had only slept about an hour on the plane I was ready for bed about 9 pm.
Day 2: Got up about 8 am and headed out to Dachau. A very sombering experience but worth the trip to remind us that we can never let this happen again. Headed out on the autobahn toward Wuerzburg to pick up the Romantic Road. Drove down to Garmisch so I could see the Edelweiss Lodge that the US Forces now operate. All of the former hotels have been given back to the Germans. Had a leisurely drive back to Munich, stopping in Weildorf for a nice dinner. Had a message when I arrrived at the hotel form miketx as he had arrived without luggage. Went with him to dinner at a Bavarian restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Drove the whole time with the top down as the weather was in the mid-70s and sunshine. In bed around 10 pm.
Day 3: Mike and I went to the BMW dealer to check out the cars and progress on the Welt. Then we headed west toward Salzburg on the autobahn, getting off and driving south to Tegernsee. Put the top down and drove the Alpine Road and then north back to Munich, stopping in a small town for dinner and beer.
Said goodbye to Mike as he was picking up his 335 coupe in the morning.
Day 4: Got up very early for the drive to Regensburg for the factory tour at 8:30 am. Had an awesome tour of the entire factory. Saw the 8000 ton press that forms the body panels, robots welding the body together, painting of the car, assembly of the entire car, mating of the body and drivetrain, and final assembly and inspection. All of the 3 series coupes, convertibles, M3, and Individual 3 series are built in Regensburg. They build about 800 -1000 cars per day, Unbelievable! Hit 130 mph on the way back to Munich with the top down as the weather is still in the 70s with sunshine. I can tell you there is considerable wind buffeting at 130 with the top down. Arrived at MADA around 12:30. Turned the car in, made the short walk to bus stop to Unterschliessheim. Caught the S-Bahn to the airport for the trip home. Arrive at IAD at 6:30 pm after a very rough landing.
Again I want to thank Adrian, my awesome CA, and all of the folks at bimmerfest for your advice and assistance. I had a blast and am already thinking about buying a 1 series next year and doing another ED.
Day 2: Got up about 8 am and headed out to Dachau. A very sombering experience but worth the trip to remind us that we can never let this happen again. Headed out on the autobahn toward Wuerzburg to pick up the Romantic Road. Drove down to Garmisch so I could see the Edelweiss Lodge that the US Forces now operate. All of the former hotels have been given back to the Germans. Had a leisurely drive back to Munich, stopping in Weildorf for a nice dinner. Had a message when I arrrived at the hotel form miketx as he had arrived without luggage. Went with him to dinner at a Bavarian restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Drove the whole time with the top down as the weather was in the mid-70s and sunshine. In bed around 10 pm.
Day 3: Mike and I went to the BMW dealer to check out the cars and progress on the Welt. Then we headed west toward Salzburg on the autobahn, getting off and driving south to Tegernsee. Put the top down and drove the Alpine Road and then north back to Munich, stopping in a small town for dinner and beer.
Said goodbye to Mike as he was picking up his 335 coupe in the morning.
Day 4: Got up very early for the drive to Regensburg for the factory tour at 8:30 am. Had an awesome tour of the entire factory. Saw the 8000 ton press that forms the body panels, robots welding the body together, painting of the car, assembly of the entire car, mating of the body and drivetrain, and final assembly and inspection. All of the 3 series coupes, convertibles, M3, and Individual 3 series are built in Regensburg. They build about 800 -1000 cars per day, Unbelievable! Hit 130 mph on the way back to Munich with the top down as the weather is still in the 70s with sunshine. I can tell you there is considerable wind buffeting at 130 with the top down. Arrived at MADA around 12:30. Turned the car in, made the short walk to bus stop to Unterschliessheim. Caught the S-Bahn to the airport for the trip home. Arrive at IAD at 6:30 pm after a very rough landing.
Again I want to thank Adrian, my awesome CA, and all of the folks at bimmerfest for your advice and assistance. I had a blast and am already thinking about buying a 1 series next year and doing another ED.
