Skiddy's ED Report

First of all, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone connected with Bimmerfest, especially this ED Forum. Not only have I learned everything about the ED process, but I was also educated on how to negotiate for the car, choose the best options for financing it, and even learned how to get hotel savings through Priceline.com. I can truly say that I would not have owned this BMW it wasn’t for this insightful Forum and its community driven spirit!

And so to the report…

Our ED adventure started on Saturday, 18th August with a flight from San Francisco to London via New York’s JFK (we were using Air Miles). We arrived in London (yes, it was raining) and used this slight detour on our way to Munich so we could pay a rare visit to family in the area. This also helped us get over the jet lag.

On Monday 20th, we flew from London’s Stanstead Airport to Munich. A one and half/ two hour flight later and we arrived in Munich.

After picking some Euros from the ATM, we took the S-Bahn train from the airport to the city center, and then took the U-Bahn to Nordfeildhof where we had reservations at the Marriott Munich North.

Given that Rolf is in Cuba, we caught the S-Bahn. The “Partner-Tageskarte Gesamtnetz” (All Zones Partner Ticket) was only 18 Euros. Not only did it get us both from the airport to the city center, and then via U-Bahn to the hotel, we used that same ticket to head back into the city center that night to go for dinner.

We headed for a little Indian Restaurant called “Goa”. I had done some research on the internet before leaving and this place got some great reviews. OMG, WTF, it was absolutely fantastic! It was one of the best Indian meals I’ve had in years. It’s a great little place, with a good atmosphere, ambiance, and the staff were really friendly. The food was extremely flavorful while having the level of spiciness that we both like (a.k.a. burn yer arse off!) I would definitely recommend it. A nice little surprise at the end was the complimentary Indian Brandy called “Old Monk”. It was served in a glass pre-heated with hot water. While the aroma suggested it would be a really strong liquor, it turned out to be surprisingly smooth and mellow.

Afterwards, we called it a night and took the U-Bahn back to the hotel.

Our “Gumby” clock did its job. It was like Christmas Day all over again as I excitedly awoke early in anticipation of taking delivery of the car. The wife on the other hand was more interested in getting more sleep and was none too pleased at me dragging her out of bed!

We took a taxi to the Delivery Center around 8:30am. After checking in at reception, we headed up stairs to the little café/bistro to grab some coffee and breakfast. I got the Bimmerfest book only to see that “Turbonium”/“Bride of Turbonium” and “CVB” had beaten me to it!

OH, by the way… the book’s now full as we all signed the last page. There are a few gaps in the middle somewhere but it’s time for the next volume.

About an hour later, Petra our delivery specialist arrived to walk us through the delivery process. After we cleared up all the paperwork, she took us down to the garage where the car was waiting.

Damn… that has to be one of the cleanest garages I’ve seen in my life!

Anyway, there it was in all its glory, and with the top already down. I was a little anxious about the color combo (Grey with Creme-Biege) as I’d never actually seen it in real life before but it looked really sharp, a classic, elegant, and understated look... just as I hoped it would be.

We got the guided tour around all the features and functions etc. which took her about 30 minutes or so. She was telling us that while she was new to the European Delivery team she had been delivering cars to German customers for some time and that they were ramping up in anticipation of the Welt opening up in October. She was very pleasant overall an answered all, or got answers for, the questions we had.

As we were ready to leave, it was time to get the all important photos of the car in its finest hour but after two or three shots, the batteries packed up on the camera and the spares were back in the hotel!!!!

– Clearly an addition for the “Most stupid thing I did on ED” thread, so Note To Self – “Remember to check the camera next time!”.

Oh well, no big deal as there will be plenty of opportunities to get plenty of great photos as we make our way through Europe.

We tentatively made our way to HARMS to complete all the paperwork ahead of time. Afterwards, we headed to ADAC and the BMW garage to pick up the few extra things we’ll need for the days ahead.

Now that all the car “stuff” was complete, we dropped it off back at the hotel and headed back into the city center where we eventually stumbled on the Hofbräuhaus for lunch. Later in the early evening, the heavens opened and the rain came down. As I write this, thunder storms have rolled in and luckily for us, we’re off to Salzburg in Austria tomorrow where hopefully some “top down” weather will be waiting for us and some better shots of the car.

More to follow when we have time and more reliable internet access…

Cheers,
Skiddy

Way cool!! Congratulations. I can't wait for mine.

Congratulations - great report.

Good to know about a good Indian restaurant for a change of cuisine.

Sorry about the camera but you are right, many more opportunities lie ahead.

One question: are you dropping off on a weekend? (wondering why you went to Harms right after delivery)

Have fun!

Originally Posted by JSpira

Good to know about a good Indian restaurant for a change of cuisine.

Eating Indian food in Germany is an abomination. Every one knows that the best Indian food is in London

+1

Congrats on the car and have fun!

more pics, more pics....

Good to know about the 'Goa' place:
http://www.goarestaurant.de/

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...8925&z=15&om=1
doesn't appear to be far from Mariemplatz.

Enjoy the rest of your trip

Originally Posted by mcg-doc

Eating Indian food in Germany is an abomination. Every one knows that the best Indian food is in London

Or in N.Y.

Originally Posted by mcg-doc

Eating Indian food in Germany is an abomination. Every one knows that the best Indian food is in London

Originally Posted by JSpira

Or in N.Y.

You are both wrong Bay Area is the best place for any kind of food! Well, except perhaps the dunkel beer, which is considered a form of "liquid bread"... Bavaria is the place for tasting that wonderful creation...

Congratulations on getting the final entry in the Bimmerfest Book. Now that it is full any chance it will be entered into the new BMW Museum as an historical automotive relic? Just curious, what may have happened to prior Bimmerfest Books as they filled?

Originally Posted by Northcar

Congratulations on getting the final entry in the Bimmerfest Book. Now that it is full any chance it will be entered into the new BMW Museum as an historical automotive relic? Just curious, what may have happened to prior Bimmerfest Books as they filled?

Past books are kept in a sacred place at the center in Freimann.

They will be moved to the Welt.

Very enjoyable read of the first portion of your ED report. Can't wait to read the rest. Beautiful car! Have a blast!

Congrats Skiddy! I was worth the wait wasn't it? Post some more pics for us!!!

Congratulations Skiddy. How have your POI's been working out? Just a few more weeks for me now. You might want to try Madras for some good Indian food. I spent several weeks there and didn't have a bad meal the whole time.

Nice report...thanks.

Originally Posted by Skiddy

We headed for a little Indian Restaurant called “Goa”. I had done some research on the internet before leaving and this place got some great reviews. OMG, WTF, it was absolutely fantastic! It was one of the best Indian meals I’ve had in years. It’s a great little place, with a good atmosphere, ambiance, and the staff were really friendly. The food was extremely flavorful while having the level of spiciness that we both like (a.k.a. burn yer arse off!) I would definitely recommend it. Skiddy

That's great to see! I've been cooking quite a bit of Indian food lately (Channa Masala, Makhani Dal, Chicken Tikka, Lamb curry etc.) I make mine pretty dam spicy too (maybe 7 out of 10). I've learned that Erdinger and Franziskaner go particularly well with the spicy stuff 'cause the sweet coldness of the beer cuts the burn on the tongue nicely.
So, I figured I would look up an Indian restaurant next time I'm in Munich and naturally enjoy the two together. Now I don't have to bother searching. Thanks!

Originally Posted by JSpira

Or in N.Y.

Sorry to burst you bubbles, but you are both wrong....Im not taking anything away from NYC and London..they both have some excellent Indian restaurant...but the best hands down Indian food I've ever had outside of India is at a place in Interlaken, Switzerland...There are two Indian restaurants in Interlaken (Welcome India and Spice India). They are both excellent but Spice India edged out because of the hot waitress...If you plan on heading to Swizzera do stop by at one of these places for dinner (I would stay away from buffets at any Indian restaurants anywhere).

Well since this has turned into a thread on Indian food restaurants, out of curiosity has anyone tried the combi Indian/Bavarian restaurant just around the block from the Marriott in Salzburg enroute to the train station? It looked like the only upscale restaurant in the area but I'm usually suspicious of restaurants that try to combine cuisines (case in point- Chinese Pizza, a restaurant in my home town.)

Originally Posted by Northcar

Well since this has turned into a thread on Indian food restaurants, out of curiosity has anyone tried the combi Indian/Bavarian restaurant just around the block from the Marriott in Salzburg enroute to the train station? It looked like the only upscale restaurant in the area but I'm usually suspicious of restaurants that try to combine cuisines (case in point- Chinese Pizza, a restaurant in my home town.)

Not sure if you are talking about Mehek http://www.restaurant-mehek.de/php1/index1.htm - this was around the block from the Munich Mariott - we had lunch and dinner there and the food was excellent by indian standards. Was a 5 minute walk from Mariott near the Nordfriedhof Ubahn station on Ungerstrasse

PS: Never mind - just read your post again - this was in Munich and not in Salzburg.

We’re off to Salzburg! – After a quick car wash, we set the GPS to avoid the Autobahn in order to take the scenic route. The trip took us a little over 2 hours and route took us through some idyllic small towns with traditional Austrian-style chalets and lush rolling green fields that reminded me of the California Cow ads for “Got milk?’. No cow porn unfortunately, or if it there was, it must have been by subscription only in the barn!

We finally arrived in Salzburg, driving through the city center on our way to the Rosenvilla Hotel, recommended by several others here, and I’d definitely add to that.
While we were walking through the New Town, I caught sight of the rear end of one of the public buses. If you look closely at the photo you’ll see that they apparently run on natural gas!

For dinner, we walked a short distance from the hotel to a restaurant called Steinlechner, a local Austrian food and beer garden.

We woke up on Wednesday to a wonderfully displayed breakfast buffet at the Rosenvilla, where we ate on the side of the beautifully landscaped terrace. Our goal is to head to Venice but we wanted to split up the journey with an overnight stop. We headed through Berchtes-gaden and continued south to Zell Em See. Obviously, the highlight of this leg of our journey was to drive Grossglockner Alpine Road but unfortunately we were met with heavy fog and rain that severely impacted our view of this picturesque mountain side… OK… we couldn’t see a DAMN thing and picture opportunities were few and far between!

As the light faded and with no reservations for the night we ended up finding a room at the Parkhotel, Tristachersee, just a little outside Lienz.

Tomorrow…. Venice awaits!

Random Pictures as I get them

1,2,3,4 - Some inside shots of the car

That is a very impressive picture of the fog!

Originally Posted by joe321mrk

That is a very impressive picture of the fog!

+1 And the one with the geraniums in the foreground is not bad either. Nice pics Skiddy.

Great thread....nice job Skiddy...love the photos.

I vote for London and Vancouver for great Indian food.

Glad you enjoyed the Rosenvilla. The breakfast is very good there...they brought us mimosas, eggs to order and weisswurst in addition to what was out. Someone posted recently their room wasnt so nice and the lack of an elevator. I think the issue is that some of the rooms have been renovated and others have not. Anyway, we had a great time there. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

can we have some more pics please?!!

Originally Posted by Skiddy

We're off to Salzburg! – After a quick car wash, we set the GPS to avoid the Autobahn in order to take the scenic route. The trip took us a little over 2 hours and route took us through some idyllic small towns with traditional Austrian-style chalets and lush rolling green fields that reminded me of the California Cow ads for "Got milk?'. No cow porn unfortunately, or if it there was, it must have been by subscription only in the barn!

We finally arrived in Salzburg, driving through the city center on our way to the Rosenvilla Hotel, recommended by several others here, and I'd definitely add to that.
While we were walking through the New Town, I caught sight of the rear end of one of the public buses. If you look closely at the photo you'll see that they apparently run on natural gas!

For dinner, we walked a short distance from the hotel to a restaurant called Steinlechner, a local Austrian food and beer garden.

We woke up on Wednesday to a wonderfully displayed breakfast buffet at the Rosenvilla, where we ate on the side of the beautifully landscaped terrace. Our goal is to head to Venice but we wanted to split up the journey with an overnight stop. We headed through Berchtes-gaden and continued south to Zell Em See. Obviously, the highlight of this leg of our journey was to drive Grossglockner Alpine Road but unfortunately we were met with heavy fog and rain that severely impacted our view of this picturesque mountain side….. OK….. we couldn't see a DAMN thing and picture opportunities were few and far between!

As the light faded and with no reservations for the night we ended up finding a room at the Parkhotel, Tristachersee, just a little outside Lienz.

Tomorrow…... Venice awaits!

Random Pictures as I get them

1,2,3,4 - Some inside shots of the car

Apologies for the last post. Internet connection crapped out on us. The remaining photos were....

5 - The crappy weather over the Grossglockner
6 - The view from out hotel room in Lienz
7 - Salzburg's "natural gas" fart-o bus
8 - The Rosenvilla Hotel's garden
9 - Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg

Finishing off Salzburg.... here's a few more...

1 - Some weird looking camouflage tree
2 - Salzburg Alley Way
3 - Mr. Mozart
4 - A rare break in the clouds over the Grossglockner gives me a chance to snap the car. Still No top down photos yet... WTF