Extremely Late Trip Report: May 4th, 2007

The following is the trip report for the ED of my wife’s 335i. My wife was in charge of the trip report…hence the month long delay Here is her report:

We are very delayed in our trip report but here goes! ED Pickup May 4, 2007.

First, special thanks to:
1. Adrian: who made our ED buying experience a pleasure. Great to deal with and cannot recommend him highly enough.
2. Bernard: the best 50 dollars we ever spent. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the Navigation Disk loaner program.
3. Jspira: Provided us with great information on a purchase we needed to make as well as shipping advice. Also, learned about the Hotel Intercontinental in Berchtesgaden from his posts.
4. And to everyone else on Bimmerfest for all the great information and advice.

Our flight was from Newark to Munich with a connection in Paris. We were very lucky to get bumped up to business class for the flight over which was great because we were able to sleep, but the 4 hour stop over in Paris was brutal. Charles DeGaulle is difficult to maneuver in and seating is limited. If we had it to do over again, we would have definitely gone direct. We arrived at Munich Airport and took the train right into Marienplatz where our hotel was within a few blocks. We stayed at the Platzl Hotel which we found to be extremely friendly with a great breakfast. It is well placed and easy to tour Munich and is one block away from the Hofbräuhaus. We spent the first night in the city eagerly anticipating our ED on Friday.

On Friday morning we took the train to Freimann and made our way to the delivery center. Used the excellent directions found on Bimmerfest and it was an easy walk from the train station. We checked in at the desk and headed up to the Bistro while we waited. We signed the Bimmerfest book and waited for slightly over an hour before we were called. Finally our ED rep came up to meet us. We went over the paperwork very quickly and it was time. We walked out to our waiting 2007 335i Black Sapphire with Terra Interior. She took me through all of the bells and whistles, paired our phone and programmed both the Harms address and our hotel address in Salzburg. We were uncertain of the time we would arrive back in Munich to drop off the car for shipping so we wanted to have all of the paperwork done beforehand. Our GPS lead us right over to the Harms office where we met with Thomas and completed the paperwork.

On a side note, I had a temporary lapse of reason at Harms and insisted to Thomas that the door was locked, when all I needed to do was push instead of pull. I am sure he must of thought I was very challenged, but nevertheless he was excellent to deal with. We took his picture and he immediately asked if we were members of Bimmerfest...

Next stop was Salzburg. We got on the road and started to test the car, my husband made it up to 120/130 but the opportunity was limited. We stopped at a roadside store/ gas station and picked up the vignette and vest. That was my first excursion into the pay restrooms. In Salzburg we stayed at a great place, the hotel Rosenvilla just outside the city (http://www.rosenvilla.com/en-rosenvi...senvilla.shtml). It has a neighborhood setting right outside the city. Extremely friendly, clean and has a great breakfast but the best part is that you can park your car right in the driveway with no worries and keep your eye on it from the room. We had a beautiful walk into the city that night, approximately 10-15 minutes along the Salzach River. We spent most of the time walking around the shops and stopped to eat at a trendy place called "Carpe Diem" where all of the food is served in cones. (http://www.carpediemfinestfingerfood...2.php4?lang=en). Nice place for a quick bite but if you are truly hungry probably not the best choice.

The next morning we wanted to take the Sound of Music Tour but we missed the 9AM and the next one wasn't until 2, so instead of waiting around we decided to do it next trip. We headed off to the GrossGlockner to have some quality time with our new car. At the entrance to the park, we paid for the round trip toll. They give you a map, and we asked if they had a book of attractions. They sold us one but it was more history than anything else, no need to buy it if you decide to go. It was a sunny day and the temperature was about 70 degrees when we entered. It's a maze of winding roads that you climb and climb. When we finally got to the high point it was about 20 degrees and snow flurries. The views were spectacular and the car handled fantastic! If you get a nice day, we highly recommend that you do this.

After leaving the GrossGlockner, we headed to the Hotel Intercontinental in Berchtesgaden. My husband first heard of the hotel from reading a post by Jspira. This was our splurge of the trip and it did not disappoint. It is a hotel that simply has to be seen to get the full effect. It is nestled up in the mountains and the scenery cannot be described in words. It is built around Hitler's bunkers and in the distance you can see Kehlsteinhaus - Hitler’s Eagle's Nest. The room was beautiful and there were some very nice restaurants on the property. The bar was insanely overpriced; we learned our lesson and bought some wine outside the hotel for our room. Not to be missed is the spa, with an enormous pool that opens to the outside through sliding glass doors. It must be phenomenal in the snow. We opted for the self-parking in the covered lot. While staying here, we took the tour of the Eagles nest. I nearly came unglued at the altitude and the fact that the bus was hauling its way up this mountain road at a fairly rapid pace with no barriers to stop us from plunging to our death. We made it but the weather was overcast so the normally spectacular views were not so great that day.

As our ED vacation started to wind down, we sadly left the Hotel Intercontinental at Berchtesgaden, and headed for the castles for our final night before heading back to Munich. We stayed at the Hotel Muller Hohenschwangau. The hotel staff was extremely friendly and the room very clean. Like the Rosenvilla we were able to see our car directly from the hotel window. It is clearly on the touristy side but I would still recommend it if you are planning to spend time in that area. We got there in the late afternoon and walked around a bit. We had dinner right at the hotel. The next morning we took the horse and carriage ride up to the castle. The entrepreneurial carriage driver packed us in like sardines and gave the horses a work out. Give the horses a rest, walk or take the tour bus. After the castle we made the walk up to Mary's bridge where we were able get some great pictures.

In the late morning we drove to the Zugspitz. This was a highly touted thing to do so we paid the high fee and took the Cog Wheel train up the mountain. This was the only real disappointment we encountered on the trip. We took the train up to the top where we were supposed to get off and take a cable car to the top of the mountain. We got off the train and headed for the Gondola only to find out it was closed, something the ticket salesman failed to mention. We basically turned around and came back.

Finally it was time to head back to Munich. We made arrangements to stay at the Hotel Kempinski at the airport, so we plugged the address into our GPS and got on the Autobahn. The Autobahn was empty and we had plenty of opportunities to get the car up to the speed limiter. We have some great video of our Autobahn driving. We were able to maintain these speeds for quite a while before traffic started to occur as we neared the Munich city limits. The car is fantastic! We did drive by the new BMW Welt on the way back to check on its progress. We checked into the hotel, dropped off our luggage and headed back to Harms for the drop off. We dropped the car, removed the front plate, first aid kit and warning triangle. We made the 5 minute walk back to the bus stop with the directions that had been posted on Bimmerfest. This couldn’t have been easier and we found it an adventure instead of using taxis. We took the bus back to the train station and went into Munich and had our last meal at the touristy but very fun Hofbräuhaus. Couple of pretzels, beer and pork knuckle was the final meal before we were back on the train to the hotel. Hotel Kempinski is a nice alternative if you are flying out in the early morning because you can walk right down to the terminal. It has some nice architectural features as well with some great views of the planes at night. The next morning we were on our way back to NJ!

A few anecdotal things worth mentioning:

(1) You can get by without speaking German but it's really worthwhile making an effort to do it. They really do seem to appreciate the effort and generally answer you in English, but give it a try.

(2) You MUST have the GPS in the car. We would have had issues (major fighting) without it.

(3) There seem to be many posts about getting gas, what type etc... We really didn't find this to be a big issue. We just looked for SuperPlus and told them the # of the pump. Funph

(4) If you are in Austria abide by the law and get the vignette and vest, we did go though a road block and they checked.

(3) If you are spastic like me, pushing and pulling doors will be a real challenge.

It's a fantastic experience and we can't wait to do it again. Thanks again to Bimmerfest for all of the tips!!

We took over 500 pictures. Below is a random sampling.

More Pictures...

More Pictures...

the best picture is of the cows hahah. awsome advice btw. Thanks and congrats on your new ride!

Congrats on the car and thanks for the write-up and pics. I hope you had as good a time as the cows appear to be having.

How much are these: vignette and vest?

Thanks.

Excellent write up!!

I will agree with the Intercontinental Berchtesgaden. Beautiful beautiful resort, excellent spa! I see you got a picture of the food from the breakfast buffet! My wife and I did not want to leave that resort!!

Thanks for the wonderful pictures! brought back some great memories!!!

Congrats on a great trip. May 4th- what a day for EDs - we're sorry we arrived late and missed everyone. Great pics of your trip - thanks!

Thanks for the report and you´re most welcome.

I esp. enjoyed the breakfast photos from the InterCon´s 360 restaurant. The Koch gave me her recipe for making Müesli - her secret ingredient to add.

Originally Posted by fszatko

Congrats on a great trip. May 4th- what a day for EDs - we're sorry we arrived late and missed everyone. Great pics of your trip - thanks!

+1 I wish we all could have met and taken a group photo. It looks like you guys had a great trip. Is it just me, or is that cow a little gender confused? Even the cows get excited about the Berlin Love Parade! Hopefully your car will be back with you in the next couple of days (spoken with more than a small hint of jealousy).

Erik

Originally Posted by Jspira

Thanks for the report and you´re most welcome.

I esp. enjoyed the breakfast photos from the InterCon´s 360 restaurant. The Koch gave me her recipe for making Müesli - her secret ingredient to add.

Do share!!

On a side note...
Danke Herr Spira for the recommendation on getting the nockerl at the Goldener Hirsch! Yum!!!!

Originally Posted by guppyflyer

+1 I wish we all could have met and taken a group photo. It looks like you guys had a great trip. Is it just me, or is that cow a little gender confused? Even the cows get excited about the Berlin Love Parade! Hopefully your car will be back with you in the next couple of days (spoken with more than a small hint of jealousy).

Erik

Sounds like a great time. guppyflyer, I wondered the same thing about the cows! They do seem a bit confused.

Thanks everyone. It has been a month but we still think about the trip every day. Cant wait to get back. Anyway, as expected everyone likes the cows. So here are a few more for your enjoyment. Honestly, I went to take a picture of the cow bells for a friend and before I knew it they were all becoming quite amorous

Originally Posted by guppyflyer

+1 I wish we all could have met and taken a group photo. It looks like you guys had a great trip. Is it just me, or is that cow a little gender confused? Even the cows get excited about the Berlin Love Parade! Hopefully your car will be back with you in the next couple of days (spoken with more than a small hint of jealousy).

Erik

Id say the cows were extremely gender confused

Yeah, a group shot would have been great. There were a lot of us there on May 4th.

Were doing the performance center delivery as well, so we are going to have an extended wait.

Great pics & awesome car! Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by 02330ci

Id say the cows were extremely gender confused

Yeah, a group shot would have been great. There were a lot of us there on May 4th.

Were doing the performance center delivery as well, so we are going to have an extended wait.

Must be tough knowing the car is just a few miles away right now. I bet you still get your car before we do. As far as the cows......cowbell shot huh............yeah sure, maybe they're Bay Area transplants. Of course, Europeans do have different views and attitudes about sex.

Erik

Thanks for sharing the pictures
I love the one with your car and the mountains behind and of course, the cows
See you around

Thanks for a great report and photos. You reported on a hotel we stayed at ourselves in the past (Hotel Muller Hohenschwangau) and one we are scheduled to stay at on our last night of our ED next month (Hotel Kempinski.) Our room at Hotel Muller was just above you and to the right in the photo you posted. We arrived late New Year's evening on a snowy winter night without reservations and the staff found a room for us in the inn along with treating us to a memorable New Year's eve multi-course meal, shared fireworks out front (amazed the place didn't catch fire), a polka band, and a midnight buffet. All in all a night to remember but the best part was waking in the morning and looking out the window to see the King Ludwig's Fairytale Castle shrouded in the morning fog. We are looking forward to revisiting the most hospitable staff this summer when we stop by for dinner.

Our room with the two bay windows in your photo:

http://bimmerfest.com/forums/attachm...9&d=1181753161

Great report, thanks. Your car looks very familiar...nice choice

Originally Posted by jcatral14

Thanks for sharing the pictures
I love the one with your car and the mountains behind and of course, the cows
See you around

Thanks. It's one of my favorites of all the pictures we took. Its currently my desktop wallpaper at work

Thanks for the report

and Congrats on the new car

Great report. Congratulations on the new car. I'm sorry that we could not get a group picture on the 4th of May. I was there that day too, picking up my E93.

CarSwami

Confirmed for Performance Center Delivery first week of July. Whole process less than 2 months including PCD, not bad at all.

great pics and post. Don't feel bad about the door at Harms. We had the same issue! I see your front plate ended up a little bent just like mine did. Did someone back into you?

Originally Posted by 02330ci

Thanks everyone. It has been a month but we still think about the trip every day. Cant wait to get back. Anyway, as expected everyone likes the cows. So here are a few more for your enjoyment. Honestly, I went to take a picture of the cow bells for a friend and before I knew it they were all becoming quite amorous

Not to drag the cow discussion on too much, but those pics remind me of an expression used in parts of the South, to refer to useless items:

"That thing's about as useless as teets on a bull."

Now... I either fully understand the expression, or I'm confused.