2nd ED - 10/6-10/20

This was our second ED but almost the same dates as our first one. This time we picked up a 328i X-drive for my wife. She currently has a Jet Black 328i and wanted the same color. Never thought I’d buy another black car. Flight from Minneapolis was uneventful, MSP-AMS-MUC. Arrived late Sunday for a Monday delivery. Since it was the last night of Octoberfest we decided just to stay at the airport. Prices for hotels in Munich were insane, even on the last day. The next day we took the train to Marienplatz and picked up the U-bahn to the Welt. Check in was almost as I remembered from 2008, although she did ask for my International Drivers License. I had not expected that and had left it at the Kempinski. No big deal, finished the paperwork and watched deliveries for the next couple of hours. Finally, our car came up in the elevator and it was our turn.

There wasn’t too much I didn’t already know about the car so the delivery was relatively quick and we were on our way. First stop was the Kempinski to pick up our luggage, second stop was Andechs.

Started raining on the way to Lindau where we stayed the second night. The next day was raining almost the entire trip from Lindau to Grindelwald. We stayed in Grindelwald for four days but only had one day of great weather.

We made the most of it by hiking up to Bachalpsee. On the trail to Bachalpsee we were treated to an aerial show by the Swiss Air Force. They were doing some sort of air show on the other side of the mountains and they were using the Wetterhorn/Eiger/First as the other three legs of a box. So we had F-15’s, some SAAB’s, and a couple of other planes screaming overhead. They would barely clear the mountains and then bank sharply to set up whatever they were showing on the other side. Switzerland was beautiful, but for the four days we were there it rained for parts of three days. If you decide to include Switzerland in your ED bring lots of money and have somebody load up a debit card with more money. Then get a cash advance on your credit cards. It was shockingly expensive. I don’t think there is any such thing as extra francs you will need to get rid of. And Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen pretty much close up by 7:00pm, so plan accordingly.

In 2008, one of the highlights was driving the Stelvio Pass. We had a beautiful day, sunny and in the 60’s. This year, it was 32 and snowing off and on. Still, saw a number of motorcycles and a couple of Ferrari’s with their tops down. More snow on the ground this trip than 2008. The 328 has all-season tires so not too concerned about road conditions.

We completed the pass and headed to Bolzano. Bolzano was mostly a stop to do laundry. Garmin had all kinds of problems finding the Laundromat. At one point it sent me down a one lane alley that had concrete barriers at the end. So I had to back out because it is too narrow to turn around while a couple of the natives laughed at us. Driving in Italy continues to suck.

Our last trip we spent one night in Berchtesgaden and knew we wanted to come back and spend more time. This time we spent three nights at the Interncontinental. While we did not know this when we booked the trip, Bentley was doing a world premiere of a new car at the hotel, the Continental GT Speed. They had 12-15 of them and were shuttling in journalists while we were there. Every night they would detail them and the next day the journalists would drive around Bavaria. When one of the journalists was late the two people in charge would just about have a heart attack.


The last day I parked my dirty 328ix in front of the hotel as they were trying to arrange the cars. One of the people in charge had a fit while I went in to check out. The Bentley people were as rude as possible to the other guests. Cars were awesome but the Bentley staff left a lot to be desired.

Berchtesgaden was a good place to stay and explore Salzburg and surrounding area. We went to Augustiner in Salzburg twice and would highly recommend it. It is a real beer hall and an interesting place to people watch. We drove the Grossglockner, and there was a lot more snow than in 2008. Near the top we pulled off to take a picture and ran into two McLarens. The drivers each looked about 25. There was some blowing snow, not sure how excited I would be to have Dad’s McLaren out in the snow.

We finished up the trip in Munich. We spent one night around Marienplatz and the last night at the Kempinski again. Since we had a reasonably early flight we wanted to stay at the airport the night before. We did not get upgraded to a suite this time but we did have an outstanding breakfast before our flight.

The F30 style 328 feels like a bigger car than my E90 335. The F30 has a 4 cylinder engine, but it had surprisingly brisk acceleration. I didn’t particularly like the transmission, it couldn’t find the right gear with a map. I drove in Sport mode most of the time or shifted myself. On the positive side I got really good gas mileage if I let it shift, anywhere from 28mpg to 37mpg. The tires were Continentals and the ride is very comfortable compared to the E90 with sport suspension. I expected to hate I-drive and ended up really liking it. I also expected to have the auto-start-stop disabled before I took re-delivery but I think I’ll live with it for a while. It’s reasonably smooth and I think it could work for the kind of driving my wife does. Our car was off loaded from the Don Juan yesterday in New York. Expecting re-delivery the first week of December.

Great write up, thanks for sharing, any chance there are pics of the inside of the car? I love the jet black!

Thank you for sharing. Looks like a fun trip.

I can only imagine what a 25 year old would do with a McLaren...particularly in the snow.

Great recap, thanks for sharing. Pretty cool that you were able to get a few unplanned experiences in as well. (Swiss Air Force and Bentley preview)

Originally Posted by bap

The drivers each looked about 25. There was some blowing snow, not sure how excited I would be to have Dad's McLaren out in the snow.

Looks like you had a really great time - thanks for sharing!

Aren't Europeans taught to drive well - much better than their American counterparts? I think there's also a lot less young drunk driving. And the current crop of supercars are extremely easy to drive.

So I'm not sure what the issue would be to let your kid drive a car, albeit an expensive and powerful one, if they were fully responsible and well trained. You would expect that they would have had plenty of practice and experience - heck the current Formula 1 double world champion is 25. You didn't see them exhibiting any loutish driving or behavior a la "Jersey Shore"?

Personally, I love breaking stereotypes. The more someone says I can't do something, the more I want to work out a way to do it well.

We crashed an Audi party and a Mercedes party during our ED trip. That was fun.

Originally Posted by chrischeung

Looks like you had a really great time - thanks for sharing!

Aren't Europeans taught to drive well - much better than their American counterparts? I think there's also a lot less young drunk driving. And the current crop of supercars are extremely easy to drive.

So I'm not sure what the issue would be to let your kid drive a car, albeit an expensive and powerful one, if they were fully responsible and well trained. You would expect that they would have had plenty of practice and experience - heck the current Formula 1 double world champion is 25. You didn't see them exhibiting any loutish driving or behavior a la "Jersey Shore"?

Personally, I love breaking stereotypes. The more someone says I can't do something, the more I want to work out a way to do it well.

I think it was more the snow, less the 25 year old thing. They looked like they were having a good time. The surprise to me was the amount of snow and blowing snow we saw on Grossglockner that day. None in 2008, a little less than three feet this year. And yes, the average European is much more engaged in driving than the average driver in Minnesota. Didn't see anybody texting or talking on a cell phone on the Autobahn.

Originally Posted by Popoemt

Great write up, thanks for sharing, any chance there are pics of the inside of the car? I love the jet black!

No, I was really distracted at the Welt because I couldn't get the TPMS warning to go away - so I didn't even get the traditional 000 odometer shot. We got a 'no line' 328i - although I saw it referred to as a 'Classic' line somewhere - and the brushed aluminum trim was better than I thought it would be and the overall layout of the dashboard was better than I expected. Most of the cars I test drove were the 'Modern' line and I didn't like that. My wife didn't want Sport and Luxury didn't seem right for us. I think the interior layout is s step up from the E90 series.