# AH3 ED Adventure begins...



## EDF30 (Mar 3, 2012)

alee said:


> Great shots! Those pics from Strasbourg and the Frankfurt drop-off are bringing back good memories.


I really liked Strasbourg, Paris is awesome but Strasbourg is much cleaner and the people there are much more relaxed and look like they are enjoying life with less stress. Never been to Alsace before and would definitely go back. Great roads and really good food. :thumbup:


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## luvdabass (Jan 26, 2013)

Dude, you are amazing. Thank you for the train info.
I just booked my train ticket and saved a ton of money using the db bahn website.

A sincere thank you.
Your car is beautiful too...Im getting the AH3 in estoril blue. M sport. 
July 8th  Wohoo!


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## EDF30 (Mar 3, 2012)

luvdabass said:


> Dude, you are amazing. Thank you for the train info.
> I just booked my train ticket and saved a ton of money using the db bahn website.
> 
> A sincere thank you.
> ...


No problem, a lot of people helped me on this forum. The seat61 guy is the man for buying train tickets.

You are going to love your car. I have owned Porsches, Mercedes, Lexus etc and this car blows them all away. Enjoy your ED :thumbup:


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## EDF30 (Mar 3, 2012)

Day 2 in Paris

If you want to go up to the 2nd or 3rd level of the Eiffel Tower without waiting in line for hours you need to buy your tickets online at the official site.

http://ticket.toureiffel.fr/index-css5-sete-pg1-lgen.html

I tried booking 2 tickets 3 months before my ED and it was sold out for all 3 days we would be in Paris. Got lucky as I checked again 1 month out and 2 tickets to 2nd level were open to purchase for today. The 2nd level is a lot higher than it looks from the ground.



Pics from the 2nd level





In the afternoon we went to my favorite place in Paris, the most beautiful cathedral in the world, La Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Montemartre. It sits on the highest point in Paris and is an incredible piece of architecture. Admission is free and there were no lines today, I wish I could show you the interior but cameras are forbidden. It is just jaw droppingly beautiful, the frescoes, stained glass work, and stonework are truly amazing. If you go to Paris you have to go here.


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## pmacd55 (Apr 6, 2011)

I am going to Paris and Strasbourg next month on my own ED. Thanks for the tip on La Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Montemartre. Your pictures are breathtaking.


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## EDF30 (Mar 3, 2012)

After 3 days in Paris we hopped on another fast train to Amsterdam, booked direct on the French train site. http://www.voyages-sncf.com/#menu-1



3.5 stresss free hours later you are in Amsterdam. We rented a very cool 1 bedroom apartment in the Jordann district (the best part of Amsterdam) found on airbnb.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/729260

Very nice place with canal view, full kitchen, fast wifi, 60 inch plasma with surround sound and tons of great restaurants, shopping etc right out the front door. Definitely recommend this place if you are staying in Amsterdam for a few days.

View from living room.



We mostly just walked all over, stopped at cafes and bars when hungry, bought some souvenirs etc. Anne Frank museum was close to apartment but we did not go. Amsterdam, especially the Jordann district, has a very relaxed vibe, not too expensive and people were very friendly. Almost all the younger people we encountered spoke good english.





They like cheese in Holland



Best apple pie with whipped cream in the World! Winkels



Saw this very cool Vespa outside a bar near the apartment, not sure if new or restored. Motos and bicycles rule Amsterdam, you don't need a car here, walking is best way to see this town and there are trams if you get tired.


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## EDF30 (Mar 3, 2012)

In conclusion, I have to say this was the best trip/vacation of my life, if you have the time and money I definitely recommend it. You get to drive your brand new BMW on great roads, enjoy really good food, beer, wine etc and you get to see some amazing sights. Plus you get a very nice discount on the car. We were in Europe for 17 days, 11 with the car and 6 in Paris and Amsterdam. Next time I want 30 days with the car!!

Thanks to Jon Shafer, founder of Bimmerfest, Adrian my CA, and all the Festers who share their knowledge and experience here. :thumbup:

Incidently, many have remarked that May of 2013 was the coldest, wettest in a long time. But I wouldn't write off May as a good ED month. We only had rain on 4 days, the rest were sunny or partly sunny and perfect temperatures for walking and exploring. Plus in May prices are lower and crowds are fewer. The only part of my planned route that I had to bypass was driving the Grossglockner because of snow. Any of the really high 2000 meter passes in Europe can get closed down by snow any month of the year, so there are no guarantees, just probabilities. Next time I will get you Grossglockner!!

I used booking.com to book all my hotels, and airbnb to book private apartments in Lake Como, Paris, and Amsterdam. Booking.com has great prices and in many cases you can cancel with no penalty 24 hours before the date. Airbnb has a wide range of places to stay all over Europe from cheap to very luxurious and it was great to get advice on these places from locals. I always started my search for each location by checking the boxes for free wifi and free parking, then I would read the reviews on TripAdvisor.com Then I would look at the locations on a map and decide. Extra amenities like indoor swimming pools or free breakfast were a bonus. I think all the hotels I booked were under 100 euros per night and all were very nice. The most I spent per night was for the apartments in Paris and Amsterdam, maybe $130-160 usd per night but well worth it for the locations and compared to hotels in same price range no contest.

PS All the photos on this thread were taken with a Nokia 808 cell phone, which has a Carl Zeiss lens and 41 Megapixel sensor, 16GB phone memory and accepts up to 64GB sd cards, shoots HD video etc. I sold all my Canon Digital SLR gear, why lug all that weight around on a trip? The Nokia performed flawlessly and also has Nokia Maps, which are free and vector based so they don't take up much space. I had 6 european countries loaded on my phone using maybe 1.5GB of space. Plus the maps and navigation can be used offline so no expensive data costs. I thought about not ordering Navigation on my AH3 as Nokia maps is very good with voice guidance etc, but am so glad I did order tech/nav package, the HUD system is very good especially when driving in Europe, graphics of the upcoming traffic circle and which exit to take is priceless! The Nokia Maps came in very handy when walking around Venice, Paris, Amsterdam etc to find attractions and restaurants.

If you are in to photography, read this review of Nokia 808 at dpreview.com, the premier digital photography website.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8083837371/review-nokia-808-pureview

You can get a factory unlocked Nokia 808 on Amazon now for under $400, it's a pentaband world phone so works anywhere. Awesome travel accessory!





Thanks for reading my ED thread :thumbup:


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## luvdabass (Jan 26, 2013)

Awesome review! Thanks for sharing.


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## jtuds (Mar 29, 2012)

I, too would love to have 30 days with the car. I would also like to do the trip in May or June with like 20-25 degree temperatures and no rain.

European delivery is such a great experience. I will be back to Europe a number of time, I am sure. Been twice now and the list of things I want to do and see just keeps getting longer.

Paris is still my favourite city in the world, but Prague is probably my number 2. Of the other places I went during ED, I would say the scened/countryside was more impressive than the individual cities. But there is so much to offer everywhere....you just have to do what you can and save the rest for next time. 

Looking at your pics, I can see myself definitely making Strasbourg a priority next time I am there. And Amsterdam is an absolute must, just not sure when I'll get there.


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## positiveions (Apr 19, 2012)

Congrats on your car. Some nice scenery.


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## SamS (Jan 17, 2011)

Wow! Can't believe I missed your thread for so long. What a great trip. Brings back memories of my ED in Oct 2011 for my M3.

You should be getting your car back next week?


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## EDF30 (Mar 3, 2012)

SamS said:


> Wow! Can't believe I missed your thread for so long. What a great trip. Brings back memories of my ED in Oct 2011 for my M3.
> 
> You should be getting your car back next week?


I was wondering when you were going to show up  My car is due in Brunswick July 7, hopefully it passes through customs and VDC and gets to Atlanta soon.

Looks like no more eco credit for MY 2014 AH3, glad a few of us took advantage while it lasted.


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