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ED E89is 8/5-21 Ritz/Camping itinerary opinions please

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  neve1064 
#1 ·
Actual delivery date: 8/13, 3:40 p.m. - Factory tour not an option due to its closure.
car: E89is Atacama fully loaded. First ED, Second BMW.

Luggage: two roll-on bags, two personal bags with a large tent in one and sleeping bags in the other. We fit everything into the trunk with top down possible. :thumbup:
I will take pictures to show how amazingly compact and small these items are for camping.
No extra charge for bringing them on plane. Delta allows one free checked bag for each of us and one carry on for each, free as well and her purse, of course.

Itinerary:

MIA-Berlin TXL arrival on
*Monday Aug. 6 - Ritz Carlton, check out on the 8th.
*Wednesday Aug. 8th to Leipzig via train, Hotel Fuernstenhof, check out 10th.
*Friday Aug. 10 train to Prague via Dresden(hotel to be determined as of yet).
*Sunday Aug. 12 arrival in Munich via train. Staying with friends outside of the city. Dinner somewhere to be determined.

ED pickup
*Monday Aug. 13, tour Munich, pick up at the Welt at 2:10 sign-in, 3:40 delivery.:thumbup:
Drive from the Welt to Berchtesgaden to commence the ALPENSTRASSE ROUTE (Thank you Alfred G - see his thread on the route). Monday night we camp near Berchtesgaden in Reit in Winkl at Seegatterl camp site. TIME OF DRIVE ESTIMATED: 3 hours 15 minutes
*Tuesday Aug. 14, 8 a.m., Head west along route (see our map on the link below). Short stops at Linderhof for certain, possibly Neuschwanstein and the other castle which I can't remember the name of at the moment. End up in Ravensburg by 6 p.m. Stay with family over-night. TIME OF DRIVE ESTIMATED: over 6 1/2 hours
*Wednesday August 15, visit Weingarten Basilica and relatives near/around Ravensburg.

The next 5 days are undefined. I figure we will know by then what we want to spend the next five days doing. Ideas are Luzern, Some of those famous mountain passes, Basel, French wine country, flying out of Friedrichshaven airport to other cities, etc... ideas are welcome.

see out Alfred G map but altered for our itinerary:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msi...&ll=47.635784,11.453247&spn=1.839606,4.927368
 
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#2 ·
I started off with a similar plan to yours: First night planned, the rest no reservations. The 6.5 hour drive is going to be long as all hell. We had a tent and sleeping bags in the trunk during ED, and wound up couch surfing with extended family and buying hotels on Groupon, but that was in October and not August. YMMV. We also planned on "undefined Switzerland and France" and decided, at the border to turn left and stay in Austria (originally the plan was Sweden... I blame my youth on that one). Innsbruck and Tyrol then Salzburg. Great hiking and just enough of each city to not rush through. I am glad we stuck with Austria, I found (Eastern) Switzerland to be incredibly driver un-friendly and generally like a really expensive and less friendly Vermont. The Zürich Polizei missed no opportunity to interrogate us on the origins of the car in Schwiizerdüütsch. I can't say I recommend driving either. Once again, YMMV.

One place we were planning to camp was the Nurburgring. No clue the status of the track given their recent bankruptcy, but that cancellation was due to snow tire laws. I would highly recommend that, especially if you were to route up the Rhine valley/Schwarzwald, BeNeLux, etc.

As far as going without a solidly outlined route, I can't recommend it enough. Randomly hiking an Alp, Fußball matches and venturing into the first town in (German speaking) Italy would have never happened if we were checking cities and tourist attractions off a list.

I would buy a tent and other camping gear in D if I were you, but if you're bent on bringing your own stuff go for it. I wanted to get some Mammut gear while I was in Europe, and there was a store at Alexa (under the S Bahn just north of S-Alexanderplatz) that was more than happy to help out. I would also be hesitant to take a large tent through US customs coming back, because that could be a big slow down.

If you're taking an "EC" train through Dresden, make sure it's a DB. Got stuck on a Hungarian train which was second only to a Polish discount train in fearing for my life.

This kind of trip is the perfect way to start off with a new car. I know that I have this weird emotional bond from it being my "travel buddy" and shelter for 8 days. Can't wait to see what you decide, and how the trip goes.
 
#4 ·
Is it possible to finish transaction while in Europe?
Anything is possible - if your CA and dealership agree to it. So best to ask them what you want to do and have them approve it.
 
#5 ·
Actual delivery date: 8/13, 3:40 p.m. - Factory tour not an option due to its closure.
car: E89is Atacama fully loaded. First ED, Second BMW.

Luggage: two roll-on bags, two personal bags with a large tent in one and sleeping bags in the other. We fit everything into the trunk with top down possible. :thumbup:
You can take all luggage to the local dealer to check for fitment before you go. Z4 trunk is surprisingly roomy, even with the top down. I had a 30" suitcase with me last summer, top down motoring with room to spare. Enjoy your trip :thumbup:
 
#6 ·
We took everything to a dealership to make certain we could get our luggage and tent and extra bags to fit with the top down. It did and I'm surprised to say the Z4 trunk with the lid down has MORE room than my 328i convertible. When I say more room I mean height not width. Althought the width was equal. I believe the depth is similar too. We were able to fit the tent behind our seats with them reclined all the way. :thumbup:

Sent from a HTC EVO
 
#8 · (Edited)
Things chänged surprisingly. Täking delivery in 4 minutes...

Well, we leave tomorrow and our trip is going to be great sans ED. We will be renting a car in Munich and I will be posting pics when I return. I will not get into names but I will offer a word of advice to those dealing here - No matter what kind of notoriety someone has, all business deals are like chess. Don't trust anyone and make sure things are taken care of and finalized before you commit to travel arrangements. I will be purchasing a car in the U.S. for the U.S. price but I will not pay the U.S. price for an ED.
 
#11 · (Edited)
It's midnight here on France and we are enroute to Paris from Metz. We have 1300 clocked in 6 days. I'm amazed how close everything is in Europe. I've been 15 times but never by car have I travelled much throughout. I love the freedom. The first week we did trains. Now I wish we would have have the car for all two weeks. We have seen Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Munich, Alpine Strasse, Ravensburg, Mainau Isle on lake Konstance, meersburg, Innsbruck, Lake Garda, Milan, Lucerne, Basel, Mulhouse, a castle enroute to Strasbourg, Champagne region and Metz. I will take pics of the car in Paris tonight. Drop-off is tomorrow.

Edit:
We did it all from the ritz to camping... A full report with pics soon. Oh, drove through the heart of Paris during night and day including rush hour. Not a scratch! Leaving in the morning. 1600 miles.
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