# ED #3: //M4 ZCP July 5, 2016



## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Gotta get this thread started! My 3rd ED is only 34 days away.

My wife and I finally finished our trip planning this weekend. One of the main things we're focusing on this trip is to cut down the number of places we try to visit. Instead, we're only going to three places:
- Munich for four nights
- Bellagio for two nights
- Nice for 5 nights

We want to have more time to let each place soak in, and absorb the local culture. My wife speaks German, and I have some rusty French to rely on.

Besides getting the car, the most spectacular part of this trip that I'm looking forward to is the trip over: I cashed in a ridiculous number of frequent flyer miles to fly First Class on an Emirates A380, flying through Dubai on the way. I'll post lots of pics of that!

For our accommodations, we're doing something else we've never tried before: instead of hotels, we are going to try AirBnB in Munich and Nice. We found a couple of places that look really cozy and very well placed. Hopefully that contributes to a relaxing, restful part of our vacation, and good launching pads for day excursions in each area.

Here are our two prior EDs:
- 2008 E60 550i ZSP Still my DD, with 115,000 trouble-free miles. I LOVE this car, and am already having some separation anxiety at the thought of getting rid of it in October after redelivery.
- 2011 F10 535ix ZSP Mrs. Bick's DD. In many ways (for me) this car has been a sour disappointment. As I've lamented many times on other boards, the F10 has lost the 5er's soul, and is a complete bore to drive. Overweight. Too big. Underpowered. Numb steering. Nearly zero feedback through the steering rack. The F10 is as large as the E38 7ers from 15 years ago. Why, BMW, oh why must the 5er become a luxo-barge?

This time, to try and get back that lovin' feeling, I'm choosing an ///M4. I accept that things evolve and change, and that the 5 Series sedans will never again be as light, athletic, and fun to drive as the E39s and E60s were. The 4 series seems to be the platform that BMW has selected for that segment of its customer base, so that's where I'm looking for my next Ultimate Driving Machine. The test drives have been encouraging, as have the reviews. I'm only hoping that the ///M4's manners aren't too "street." One thing I know for certain, the ///M4 is sexy as hell. OMG, that car is beautiful, and with the Competition Package and it's Model 666 wheels, it literally is Hell on Wheels.

I'm not sure if Mrs. Bick is going to be happy with the ///M4 or not (wait, yeah I do. Sadly, I think she's gonna hate it), but it's my DD, and she's letting me decide what to get. I'll probably hear about it a lot on the trip, but I'm prepared. I know the ride is going to be too harsh for her liking (she thinks my E60 is rough, and I know the F82 is even more stiff), the seats are going to be more firm and less adjustable, and the exhaust is going to bug her. F82 drivers seem to thrill at the loud exhaust and overrun burbles (the louder/more obnoxious the better - I don't get that at all :dunno, but if I understand the reviews and the literature the rough edges of the exhaust can be trimmed by keeping the car in Comfort mode, which I expect to have set while we're on our trip. I'll include that in my write-up.

I'll try to add to this posting as the trip gets nearer, but for sure from the day of delivery I will promptly comply with the 12-Hour Rule, and post lots of pictures and trip updates.

Let's keep the Bimmerfest European Delivery forum alive and well!


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## turpiwa (Jun 13, 2005)

Nice. I have a 13 June pickup for 3 weeks and have taken the plunge and using Airbnb for a lot of our trip. 
If you set your filters (for us with 2 adults and a 10 yo it was own bathroom and apartment), read the reviews then I am hoping it will work out. 
We have a place in Rostock for a night, Karlovy Vary for 2 nights, 2 nights in Nuremberg, a night in Innsbruck, a night near Zell am see plus some other hotels - 3 nights in Chioggia, 3 nights in Liezen (near the Red Bull Ring), a couple of nights in Copenhagen. Just 11 days away!


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Wow A380 First on Emirates eh? That should be quite the experience! What airline did you have miles with that you cashed in? How is the price of the AirBNB compared to normal hotels?

Congrats on the M4! Can't wait to pick up mine in August. I'm hoping to just fly boring business via something like New Jersey. ;-) How long are you going to be in Dubai?


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Saw your car at my dealer. Looks great!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Snareman said:


> Wow A380 First on Emirates eh? That should be quite the experience! What airline did you have miles with that you cashed in? How is the price of the AirBNB compared to normal hotels?


Alaska Airlines. I cashed in 400,000 miles for the two R/T FC tickets on Emirates. Sounds like a lot, but I rack up miles really fast. Also, when I checked the price of those tickets if I had booked it directly - $19,500. EACH!! - the miles seemed like a real bargain.



Snareman said:


> How long are you going to be in Dubai?


We have a 14.5 hour flight into Dubai, then a 4.5 hour layover before the connection to Munich. Probably won't leave the airport, what with Customs and all, but it'd be interesting to get out and say I've actually *been* there.


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## Lionnutz (Jul 24, 2014)

BickUW89 said:


> We have a 14.5 hour flight into Dubai, then a 4.5 hour layover before the connection to Munich. Probably won't leave the airport, what with Customs and all, but it'd be interesting to get out and say I've actually *been* there.


Customs and taxi lines are slow at the non-Emirates terminals. It's pretty quick at the Emirates terminal.

But There is really not much to see in Dubai that is worth the trouble. Go enjoy the first class lounge instead


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Lionnutz said:


> There is really not much to see in Dubai that is worth the trouble. Go enjoy the first class lounge instead


That's good to know; appreciate the input. I'm sure the lounge will be worth checking out.


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

So how about the relative price of Airbnb versus hotels?


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Snareman said:


> So how about the relative price of Airbnb versus hotels?


Oh dang, sorry, I meant to comment on that! The place we found in Munich is going to cost us about $112/night, which includes all of the fees and taxes. The advertised price was $92/night.

The place in Nice, right in the heart of Vieux Nice, is going for about $140/night all-in (advertised at $115/night).


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Production Begins!*

Just got an email from my CA: "Your car went into production today." :banana:


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## JTDM (Jul 22, 2014)

very nice, look forward to the trip report.


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## pdx325i (Feb 26, 2002)

BickUW89 said:


> That's good to know; appreciate the input. I'm sure the lounge will be worth checking out.


There is so much to see and do at Dubai. The award tickets won't allow for a free stay-over?

A380 first class on Emirates is sick - king size bed and shower! Way to go! I'm writing down this idea for my next ED.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Starting to feel real!*

My ///M4 is officially in production!


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## Stevarino (May 14, 2002)

When you land in Dubai, Emirates has its own custom and immigration. As an Emirates passenger, you will go through very quickly. (People arriving on non-Emirates airlines will get a chance to meet many new people while standing in line for a long, long time.)

I would hop in a taxi (which are not expensive) and go for a one hour tour of the city. Unbelievable skyline!


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## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

BickUW89 said:


> My ///M4 is officially in production!


Congrats! :thumbup:

Can't wait to see all the pics! Looks like a beauty!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Congratulations, it's a.....///M4!*

Gestation period for an ///M4 appears to be 9ish days. Production began on June 15th, and as of this morning the status has been updated to Production Ends!! Woot! My car is complete, all tucked into its swaddling blanket until I come pick it up on a week and a half. :roundel:


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## Stevarino (May 14, 2002)

If you take a tour of the "Welt" (not the factory tour) you will see the room where the cars are stored prior to delivery prep. You can only view the room through a window because most of the oxygen has been removed from the room for fire prevention. (Each of the 200 or so cars stored has 1/4 tank of gasoline.) The cars are stored in vertical racks and are retrieved by robots. Then they put the swaddling clothes on.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Stevarino said:


> If you take a tour of the "Welt" (not the factory tour) you will see the room where the cars are stored prior to delivery prep.


For some dumb reason I didn't realize - or think about it - that they have Welt tours, too. I've been there twice before, and it never occurred to me. I haven't been able to do a factory tour on either of the two previous trips, either, but this time we reserved a factory tour for the day of pickup.

Is the Welt tour complimentary, too? Do you know any details (length, worth while, reservation required, etc.)?


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## Stevarino (May 14, 2002)

The tour is complementary but you have to ask for it. It took a little over an hour and is mostly about the architecture of the building. Not overly exciting but I thought the car storage room was fascinating. A match will not light in the room. No one is allowed in the room without wearing a scuba tank. The cars come down off the racks by machine.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Time to go!*

And we're off! We head for the airport in one hour, to fly from Seattle to Dallas on Alaska Airlines. We have to spend the night in Dallas before catching an Emirates flight to Munich via Dubai.

Regrettably, Emirates pulled a switcheroo on us: when we booked the flight, we got first class seats for both legs on an A380. Now, for the 14 hour flight between DFW and Dubai, we are on a 777 instead. Nice plane and all, but it doesn't have a shower on it like the A380. We get the A380 for the 6 hour flight to Munich, at least. I'm sure I'll need a shower by then!


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## Wine-O (Feb 17, 2010)

Certainly not a direct route -- did you get perks flying that route?


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Wine-O said:


> Certainly not a direct route -- did you get perks flying that route?


No, we just weren't able to book the once-daily Emirates flight out of Seattle in first class. Wanted to get the full A380 experience, plus the bang-for-buck is unbeatable. Our first class tickets from DFS-MUC would have cost $19,000! As it is, I had to burn up 400,000 miles, but I had them to burn, so what the heck!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Just took my first shower in an airplane. It was awesome, and after almost 24 hours traveling in the same clothes, I was ready! 

The first leg of our journey was a 14-hour flight on an Emirates 777 to Dubai. We were in first class, which was totally awesome. Now we're on the flight from Dubai to Munich, and we're on an A380. Again in first class, but this time the plane has two showers. Super cool!


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

How is the A380 experience? I've always wanted to try it. I found a $25,000 ticket on Emirates when I searched once. Insane.

It's amazing how grimy and smelly you get just _sitting_ on a plane. I always take a shower in the airport in Munich when we get there after the overnight flight. I hear Emirates has hot flight attendants, although I'm sure you haven't noticed since you are there with your wife.


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## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

BickUW89 said:


> Just took my first shower in an airplane.


What do you do if they encounter unexpected turbulence and the fasten seat belts sign comes on while you're in the shower? :yikes:


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Ninong said:


> What do you do if they encounter unexpected turbulence and the fasten seat belts sign comes on while you're in the shower? :yikes:


When you pay the equivalent of $19,000 for a ticket I expect there to be no turbulence. :bigpimp:


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## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

Stevarino said:


> If you take a tour of the "Welt" (not the factory tour) you will see the room where the cars are stored prior to delivery prep. You can only view the room through a window because most of the oxygen has been removed from the room for fire prevention. (Each of the 200 or so cars stored has 1/4 tank of gasoline.) The cars are stored in vertical racks and are retrieved by robots. Then they put the swaddling clothes on.


I did a group delivery in May and all 12 of our cars had a full tank. My wife and I missed the day before our delivery where the group got a private tour of the Welt, because I was at Klinikum Schwabing (a Munich hospital) being treated for conjunctivitis, which I got from my wife, who was treated two days earlier (causing us to miss the day we were going to see The Residenz and Nymphenburg Palace).


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Snareman said:


> How is the A380 experience? I've always wanted to try it. I found a $25,000 ticket on Emirates when I searched once. Insane.
> 
> I hear Emirates has hot flight attendants, although I'm sure you haven't noticed since you are there with your wife.


The overall experience was awesome. Best international travel experience of my life, and I've flown to Europe many times in coach, business, and first. I've only done business and first on British Airways, which rocked, but it was better on Emirates.

That shower single handedly raises the bar over the others I've flown.

And yeah, they're pretty hot overall; one gal in particular was just banging.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Ninong said:


> What do you do if they encounter unexpected turbulence and the fasten seat belts sign comes on while you're in the shower? :yikes:


The water shuts off and there's a bench in the shower you can sit on to ride it out. If it's really bad turbulence, dunno! There is an oxygen mask in the ceiling just outside the shower stall, just in case.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

At die Welt. 20 minutes to delivery. I just missed seeing them bring my car out of the elevator. I don't have a clear enough view for a picture right now, but I can see it down there waiting for me!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

12 hour compliance!


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## turpiwa (Jun 13, 2005)

Very nice. I'm jealous and I just got back


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## afisherunc (Oct 9, 2014)

BickUW89 said:


> 12 hour compliance!
> View attachment 569572


Congrats!!


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Beautiful!!! Congrats!! :thumbup::thumbup:


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## afisherunc (Oct 9, 2014)

BickUW89 said:


> The overall experience was awesome. Best international travel experience of my life, and I've flown to Europe many times in coach, business, and first. I've only done business and first on British Airways, which rocked, but it was better on Emirates.
> 
> That shower single handedly raises the bar over the others I've flown.
> 
> And yeah, they're pretty hot overall; one gal in particular was just banging.


Waiting for the photos of the plane! : popcorn:


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## Vitacura (Jul 22, 2005)

Nice, Congrats! Look forward to more.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Haven't had time to get any more pics posted or add to the thread, but I'll confirm something mentioned by someone else recently: my car had a full tank of gas this time. The first two EDs we did we got the partial tank. Nice add, but the no longer do the photo shoot.


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

BickUW89 said:


> Haven't had time to get any more pics posted or add to the thread, but I'll confirm something mentioned by someone else recently: my car had a full tank of gas this time. The first two EDs we did we got the partial tank. Nice add, but the no longer do the photo shoot.


I'll gladly take gas over the picture I never really did anything with.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Haven't had time to post, cuz we've been so busy here in Munich. OMG, I love this city; I've adopted it as my home away from home. This is our third trip here, and we just keep finding more and more to do, and more ways to fall in love with it. 

Here's a few pics from our delivery on Wednesday (more to follow):
- View from the lounge, looking down at the car on the turntable
- Love these wheels way more than I thought I would. I'm fearful of curbing them!
- Me and Mrs. Bick
- Mrs. Bick getting an overview from our delivery specialist. I absolutely love the white on sakhir orange combination, especially with the carbon fiber roof.


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Beautiful! :thumbup:


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

Congrats! Looks amazing!


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## ChicagoBigHouse (Sep 2, 2013)

*congratulations!*

Looks great, glad you are having a blast!


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## jrothen4 (Mar 9, 2011)

Awesome! I definitely want to see some pictures of that plane shower! Airlines keep getting better and better.....looking at flying Emirates on my next jaunt to Europe.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Emirates flight from DFW to Dubai*

The first leg of out trip was to fly from Seattle on Alaska Airlines to DFW, where we spent the night. We would have preferred to fly directly from Seattle, but one of my goals on this trip was to fly first class on Emirates, and there were simply no seats available during the times we wanted to travel.

From DFW, we booked first class seats from DFW to Dubai, then Dubai to MUC. Both legs were originally on an Airbus A380, but darn it if Emirates didn't switch out the A380 on the longest 14-hour leg to a 777ER. Hardly complaining, because first class on the 777 is awesome, too, but at least we got the A380 on the 5.5 hour leg from Dubai to MUC.

Attached are some pictures of the 777 First Class cabin. I'll post the A380 pics separately, with pics of the showers, of course!

We had two suites side-by-side in the middle of the plane. There is a partition between us that can go up or down for privacy, and also two sliding doors facing the aisle that close completely for real privacy while you're sleeping. The top is open, so a tall person could look over the top of the doors and walls into your space, but you never feel exposed.

The ceiling had starlight LEDs, which were pretty cool. :bigpimp:

Upon boarding they serve you some Moet & Chandon champagne, if you wish. After they take off, they switched to 2006 Dom Perignon. Sweet.

The food on the plane was really good, with an obvious Arabian side. I tried a few things I'd never had before, liked some, didn't care so much for others. Breakfast, lunch or dinner was on-demand, so you could order whatever you want whenever you want. That was pretty awesome.

One advantage of the 777 over the A380 first class cabin, the 777 is much more spacious, with a really high ceiling, so it in some ways felt more luxurious. But of course, there was no shower on the 777.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Emirates flight from Dubai to Munich*

We had a 5-hour layover in Dubai, and full access to Emirates first class lounge at the Dubai airport. I have pictures of it, but they aren't that interesting. The lounge is HUGE, but pretty unremarkable. It's quiet, has several little bars, a restaurant, buffet, showers, a spa, shoe shining, etc. - pretty much everything you would expect, but it also felt very sterile, sort of unwelcoming, and frankly boring. We didn't enjoy our time there. The British Airways first class lounge in London is much nicer, IMHO. Heck, the business class lounge at Heathrow is nicer. We did wander downstairs in the duty free shopping area and bought some new sunglasses for ourselves, but that's about it.

The highlight of the rest of the journey was the 5.5 hour flight to Munich in first class on the A380. Attached are pics of the first class cabin, and a couple of pictures of the walk-up bar at the back of the plane, with me and Mrs. Bick holding a bottle of Dom Perignon (which we quickly go into!). There's a picture of a flat panel display showing our actual flight route from Dubai to Munich, and it's interesting that both inbound and outbound from Dubai our flight path took us just outside of Iraqi airspace. We flew over Iran, but not Iraq. I guess I've heard they're having some issues in Iraq. ;-)


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Showers in the Emirates A380 First Class Cabin*

And, finally, pictures of the shower in the first class cabin on the A380!

There was a lot of space in the shower room (there are two of them!) The floors are heated, if you like, and you can adjust how much heat there is. There's a full-length mirror, and blow drier, razors, tootbrushes, etc., plus a bunch of colognes and perfumes.

You get 30 minutes in the shower room, but only 5-minutes of actual water. You can turn the water on-and-off to save your time. When you're down to your last minute, the water shuts off, as a reminder to finish up. There's also a colored countdown timer, so you can tell how you're doing for time. 5 minutes was more than plenty.

In case of turbulence, the water will shutoff and you're told to just sit on the bench in the shower room to ride it out. If it's really bad, well, I guess just hang on! There's also an oxygen mask available in the room just outside of the shower, just in case. Otherwise, it's just a really cool, very posh private showering area.

Pretty cool to take a shower at 40,000 feet in the sky!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Day 1 in Munich: Delivery Day*

We had an early check-in time, no later than 8:20, for a 9:50 AM delivery. We got there about 8:00 (the Welt opens at 7:30), and headed up to the premium lounge to check-in and do the initial paperwork.

Unfortunately, there was a problem with the new tax form that is required (that states the BMW will pay the German tax - recently discussed in other posts on this forum). We had signed the two forms in a rush from our CA just two days before we left, only to find the the two forms we signed were not filled out correctly, because they each referenced different bank accounts from which the tax was to be paid. Not our problem, but it meant that until that was sorted out, we couldn't get our zoll plates, nor drive away from the Welt in the car. So, since it was a Monday, they said they'd go through the delivery process with us anyway, and hopefully by the time that was all done, the paperwork would be ready.

The delivery part went as planned, and we had a great time seeing the car for the first time. When we were done, the paperwork still wasn't finished, so we headed off to go do the factory tour (at 11:45 for people picking up cars; 1:30 time for anyone else touring the factory). Unfortunately, the 11:45 factory tour was cancelled that day, due to staff training, so we missed the tour. We didn't want to stick around for the afternoon tour, cuz we had other plans in Munich. So, regrettably, after 3 EDs, and two failed attempts to do the tour (last time in 2011 the factory was closed for some reason), I've yet to see the factory. Kind of annoying.

The rest of the day was spent in downtown Munich, getting our legs back under us and re-familiarized with what has become my absolute 2nd-favorite city on the planet, after my home in Seattle. Some day - some day indeed - I intend to spend some time living in Munich!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Munich AirBnB*

One thing we did differently on this trip was to try AirBnB instead of hotels. We rented an apartment in the Schwabing area, just a little over a mile from the Welt, and a couple miles north of the zentrum (downtown area). The place we found was within easy walking distance (10 minutes) to the Parcivalplatz S Bahn station, with easy transfers into the zentrum at the Muncher Freiheit U Bahn station.

The apartment was really perfect for our purposes. Clean, somewhat spartanly furnished, but it had really good WiFi, and was in a really quiet neighborhood of apartments. Awesomely, downstairs in our building was a small grocery store, and literally across the street was a full grocery store with a bakery.

The only real downside to the place was that we were told there was free parking, when in fact you had to pay for street parking using a parkshein. The parksheins only take coins are a pre-paid parking card. We could never figure out where or how to purchase a card, and the machine wouldn't take Visa or debit cards, so we always had to have a ready supply of coins on hand.

Given the parking struggles we faced during our four days in Munich, we regretted picking up the car on our first day in town; we'd prefer in the future to plan to get the car at the end of our time in Munich. Getting around town is incredibly painless on the excellent bus/tram/subway system, and frankly it's the only way to go.

Having said that, we had several opportunities to drive around in other parts of the city that we had never seen before, really adding to our appreciation of how beautiful the entire place is, and what a lovely city it would be to really live in. Munich is simply an awesome place.

The attached picture is one of the apartment we rented. The place cost us $564 for five nights, which we thought was a bargain considering how much more space we had in the place, access to a washer/dryer (which allowed us to pack lightly, knowing we could do laundry), free WiFi, a kitchen, and some living space. It really felt like home, and we'd do it that way again in a heartbeat.


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## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

What a great, detailed write-up with excellent photos. Thank you so much! :thumbup:


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

Amazing. I'd love to fly the Emirates 380 one day!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Nice, France

Writing this part of my trip report out of order: we were in Nice last night when the attack happened. It was just a few minutes after a spectacular fireworks show along the waterfront. We had been right in the spot where the truck came through just a matter of minutes before, and had just turned the corner onto the market promenade to sit down for a glass of wine when the chaos began. People were suddenly running in near panic right past us, all the restaurants started shooing people inside, locking the doors to shelter in place, then trying to figure out what was going on. We didn't see the attack, or hear the shooting, but nonetheless we were right there in it. The entire city shut down and everyone just went home. We headed to our flat in Vieux Nice, then got on Twitter and tv news to try and find out what had happened. That was when we saw the first pictures and video and realized how close we had just been to it all. 

Vive la France


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

BickUW89 said:


> Nice, France
> 
> Writing this part of my trip report out of order: we were in Nice last night when the attack happened...


Glad you are safe! Prayers to all the victims.


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## turpiwa (Jun 13, 2005)

BickUW89 said:


> Nice, France
> 
> Writing this part of my trip report out of order: we were in Nice last night when the attack happened. It was just a few minutes after a spectacular fireworks show along the waterfront. We had been right in the spot where the truck came through just a matter of minutes before, and had just turned the corner onto the market promenade to sit down for a glass of wine when the chaos began. People were suddenly running in near panic right past us, all the restaurants started shooing people inside, locking the doors to shelter in place, then trying to figure out what was going on. We didn't see the attack, or hear the shooting, but nonetheless we were right there in it. The entire city shut down and everyone just went home. We headed to our flat in Vieux Nice, then got on Twitter and tv news to try and find out what had happened. That was when we saw the first pictures and video and realized how close we had just been to it all.
> 
> Vive la France


Geez mate. So glad you guys are ok. It's pretty damn crazy and makes you realize how much random luck has to do with things. A small delay on your part or a single traffic light that delayed the truck on its trip...
Many years ago when they had the Hilton bombing in Sydney my brother and I had been literally sitting on the garbage can that the bomb had been put in 40 minutes before it went off. We were 15/16 at the time and it was pretty mind numbing the next morning when we heard about it. 
We had friends from Austin whose daughter was on a school trip in Nice and had left for London earlier that day - crazy. 
This is why I believe you just get on with your life - you can't predict what is going to happen - who would have predicted this - no bomb but an equally devastating result.


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## afisherunc (Oct 9, 2014)

BickUW89 said:


> Nice, France
> 
> Writing this part of my trip report out of order: we were in Nice last night when the attack happened. It was just a few minutes after a spectacular fireworks show along the waterfront. We had been right in the spot where the truck came through just a matter of minutes before, and had just turned the corner onto the market promenade to sit down for a glass of wine when the chaos began. People were suddenly running in near panic right past us, all the restaurants started shooing people inside, locking the doors to shelter in place, then trying to figure out what was going on. We didn't see the attack, or hear the shooting, but nonetheless we were right there in it. The entire city shut down and everyone just went home. We headed to our flat in Vieux Nice, then got on Twitter and tv news to try and find out what had happened. That was when we saw the first pictures and video and realized how close we had just been to it all.
> 
> Vive la France


Unbelievable...Glad you are ok.


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## Capt.Decatur (Mar 30, 2016)

As soon as I heard of the attack in Nice, I thought of your itinerary and hoped you were safe. Glad you and your family are okay. I am heading off for my ED in a couple of weeks. These terrorist events strengthen rather than weaken my resolve to make this trip. We have to stay strong and cannot let fear win.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

+1. No fear. This doesn't change my plans one bit. I'd travel here again next week if I could.

But my heart bleeds for France, and all the people whose lives were senselessly destroyed. Selfish, immature, childish lashing out. For what? What did this Neanderthal change for the better?


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## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

BickUW89 said:


> +1. No fear. This doesn't change my plans one bit. I'd travel here again next week if I could.
> 
> But my heart bleeds for France, and all the people whose lives were senselessly destroyed. Selfish, immature, childish lashing out. For what? What did this Neanderthal change for the better?


:thumbup:

Vive la France!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

So, continuing the trip report: I'm writing this on my iPhone while sitting on the beach in Nice on an absolutely gorgeous Saturday afternoon, under an umbrella with a cocktail at hand. Nice, itself, is a bit subdued but people seem to be carrying on. The are lots of soldiers and police about, but not obtrusively. The market never opened yesterday, but most restaurants did, so life moves forward.

The day after picking up the car, we decided to drive to Regensburg. Neither of us had ever been there, and we thought it would be fun to see another city with lots of history. It gave me a chance to get the car on the autobahn, too! 

Regensburg is only about an hour drive northeast of Munich; it's a quick trip. We didn't know what we'd find when we got there, just trusting our street smarts to take in someplace different. We weren't disappointed! Regensburg was awesome! The zentrum was surprisingly large, with lots of shops and outdoor restaurants and cafes. It right on the Danube river, too. We spent a few hours just wandering the area, reading about some of the history of place (there's a LOT of history there) in an open municipal building, and we finally got to have one of our favorite things in Germany: brats mit bruchen und zempf! Stupid how much I love those from street vendors. When we were about tired of walking around we sat down at a restaurant right across from the main church to have a bier and do some people watching, which is a great way to relax.

As a day-trip, I give Regensburg a solid thumbs up. We really enjoyed it, and it's a perfect excursion that doesn't take all day to get to, and you can get back to Munich early enough to have the entire evening ahead of you.

When that was all done, it was time for the hour-long drive back to Munich, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Any chance to drive the ///M4 puts a smile on my face.  The car is really amazing and an absolute joy to drive. That's really satisfying, after the disappointment of the last car we picked up in Munich - my wife's F10 535i. I LOVE this car!

The pictures below were taken in Regensburg. These aren't particularly great, but as they say, "this forum is useless without pictures."


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## Technic (Jun 24, 2002)

Enjoy and be safe...


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Glad you are safe! :grouphug:


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