# European Delivery In Progress...



## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Awesome little hotel I'm staying in, they have internet access allowing me to post and make the 12 Hour rule  I would have posted earlier During Flight if the internet on the Lufthansa flight wasn't down  

Just flew into Dusseldorf couple hours ago after being awake over 48 hours, rushing to the airport directly from work, and a looooong flight from LAX > MUC > DUS :tsk: but at least had a very nice dinner at a Korean restaurant  

Will be attending the MEDICA convention tomorrow morning and leaving in the afternoon (hopefully via I.C.E.) back into Munich to take delivery on Friday and then driving to the Dingolfing Factory Tour immediately after. 

Very excited and will post pics after the delivery :thumbup:


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## be-em-veh-808 (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks for the update on the progress of your trip. Sorry to hear that the Boeing Connexion was down on the LH flight. May be Boeing decided to take it down earlier than they announced (end of year).

Good luck with delivery. Try to get some sleep/rest on the ICE ride, that way you'll have full attention to conenctrate on and enjoy the Autobahn:thumbup: :thumbup:



X550-ED said:


> Awesome little hotel I'm staying in, they have internet access allowing me to post and make the 12 Hour rule  I would have posted earlier During Flight if the internet on the Lufthansa flight wasn't down
> 
> Just flew into Dusseldorf couple hours ago after being awake over 48 hours, rushing to the airport directly from work, and a looooong flight from LAX > MUC > DUS :tsk: but at least had a very nice dinner at a Korean restaurant
> 
> ...


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## NateXTR (Aug 8, 2006)

I am green with envy! Drive safely and have fun!


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## IrvRobinson (May 10, 2006)

Don't forget to ask fotr some brochures of the factory after the tour........enjoy everything !


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## epoints (Apr 17, 2006)

Finally....

I thought you changed your delivery date..... ;-)

Have fun and look out for those flying rocks.....


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## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

Finally 550, congrats!

Have a great time and looking forward to seeing your pics!


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks guys, actualy Connexion1 was online but just not able to access the internet. Fly attendent told me the internet just happend to be down, hopefully it will be up on the flight back so I can do more posting. 

I will be boarding the I.C.E. in about 3 hours straight from Dusseldorf to Munich and checking in and getting some rest so that we can be the first at the BMW center on 7AM tomorrow.


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## Contact Patch (Nov 11, 2005)

Enjoy and be safe. Looking forward to reading your write-up.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

Contact Patch said:


> Enjoy and be safe. Looking forward to reading your write-up.


+1


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## X3 Skier (Aug 21, 2005)

X550-ED said:


> Fly attendent told me the internet just happend to be down, hopefully it will be up on the flight back so I can do more posting.


That's a good one. "The Internet is down!"  When all else fails, blame the internet gnomes. "It can't be our equipment, it must be somebody else.":eeps:

Sort of like, "We didn't loose your bags, it was the other guys."

Cheers


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

mullman said:


> Finally 550, congrats!
> 
> Have a great time and looking forward to seeing your pics!


+1 and write-up!


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## MarcusSDCA (Jan 14, 2004)

How's the weather? I heard it was over 70F in Stuttgart yesterday!!!! (and sunny and beautiful)


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## alex_msu (Mar 2, 2006)

Jack,

it was nice meeting you and your friend this morning at ED Center. Enjoy the car!


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Hi Alex,

It was nice meeting you too, didn't see you around and I was in such a hurry that didn't get a chance to say good bye before speeding off to Dingolfing for the factory tour which we were 20 mins late to but they still let us in 

Hope you had fun in Spain, post pics of your kick ass 5er when you get a chance :thumbup:



alex_msu said:


> Jack,
> 
> it was nice meeting you and your friend this morning at ED Center. Enjoy the car!


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

I'm finally back and 50% over my Jet Lag... I would have posted if my trip wasn't so rushed and tight scheduled. 

Been traveling Up and Down Germany due to schedule conflicts and such but the trip was still so much fun, I would not buy a BMW any other way!

Write up and Pics to follow soon... cropping and re-sizing in progress


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 1: Düsseldorf*

Arrived from LAX > MUC > DUS late at night.

Pic 1: Nice little backyard of the Hotel we stayed in
Pic 2: Front Door of the Hotel before heading out to the Convention
Pic 3: Yours Truly catching a Tram at the Convention Center headed towards the main train station
Pic 4: Yours Truly at the Main Train Station waiting for the ICE to Munich


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 1: Arriving in Munich*

Pic 1: Yours Truly Gettin off the ICE with brother in law
Pic 2: Yours Truly in front of St. Mary's Church
Pic 3: St. Mary's Church 
Pic 4: Frauenkirche
Pic 5: Pork Leg - Forgot what it's called in German but it definately was the Best Meal I've had the entire trip! 
Pic 6: Ceaser Smuchk (please correct me if I'm wrong in the spelling)


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 2: The Big Day! - European Delivery Center*

Pic 1: At the ED Center's Gate! 
Pic 2: What's up with this section... nothing but Black BMWs
Pic 3: Something we won't see here in the US
Pic 4: Signed in and going up the stairs to look for the Bimmerfest book
Pic 5: The Food/Drink Prep Counter... is that another Bimmerfest member? :rofl:
Pic 6: Food and Drink 
Pic 7: Signed Bimmerfest Book


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 2: Pics of ED Parking Lot before...*

Pic 1: Picture of the ED Parking Lot
Pic 2: More pics of other people's babies before being called down stairs...

Car is Ready!


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 2: Here's your new Baby...*

Pic 1: There she is!
Pic 2: Judith (She's an Angel!) handing me the key
Pic 3: Oh Yeah!
Pic 4: Rear Angle
Pic 5: Another ED car... something tells me we are going to meet again


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 2: Continued...*

Pic 1: 1 Mile on the Odometer :thumbup:
Pic 2: Your Truly next to the Neon Foot
Pic 3: Speeding off to the Dingolfing Factory Tour (running late)
Pic 4: Hitting 100 Mph and seconds before being taken over by a Grandpa in a Peugeot coupe :bawling: lucky him I didn't want to push the car too hard 
Pic 5: Arriving at Dingolfing Plant
Pic 6: Looking for Parking


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 2: Back to Munich*

The Dingolfing Factory Tour was great!

Saw:
How a flat sheet of aluminum turned into a hood in less than 5 seconds.
How cars were "married" (joining of the body to the rest of the car)
How modern and advanced the factory was by utilizing robots for transportation and assembly

Learned from the tour guide that most V12 7 Series and higher end cars were being built for their Chinese customers 

Pic 1: Back in Munich from the Dingolfing Tour
Pic 2: Yours Truly on the side of the street 
Pic 3: The coolest "Parking" sign ever
Pic 4: Reserved just for me


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 3: Munich*

Pic 1: My Baby in the parking lot of King's Hotel
Pic 2: We meet again! I'm guessing this belongs to CL5309 whom I never met since I left and rushed the Dingolfing while his car was still sitting in the Delivery Center 
Pic 3: Back to the Gate of the ED Center (was too rushed when I picked up the day prior)
Pic 4: In front of BMW HQ
Pic 5: In front of the main Entrance to BMW HQ
Pic 6: Nice lineup - My Baby next to a M5
Pic 7: Temporary site for BMW Museum across the street from BMW Welt
Pic 8: BMW Welt - Future Euro Delivery Site for all of us


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 3: Munich to Bonn*

It was time to head out to Bonn and meet up with a couple of friends when a Warning Sound came on and a Triangle with an exclamation mark was displayed on my screen.
It was the RTTI informing me that there was an accident some distance ahead and the delay was 30 mins about 10 or so mins of driving we were slowned down to almost a halt and saw Pic 1

Pic 1: Overturned Land Rover and Totaled BMW E39. Drivers are the guys on the right so glad everyone was ok
Pic 2: Passed through Audi's Factory but didn't have time to check it out. Nothing but Road, Trees, and courteous drivers (I love this about Germany) for hours
Pic 3: Our Suite at the Hilton in Bonn (birth place of Beethoven), overlooking the river
Pic 4: Pic from window of the Bridge and River
Pic 5: Rushed to Köln to meet up with a friend and took a pic of the Cathedral of Cologne which unfortunately I did not get a chance to climb


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 4: Bonn to Amsterdam*

Drove back to Bonn and saw how beautiful the city was in the day.

Pic 1: Dawn in Bonn
Pic 2: Found this at the Park next to the river "Uranus" :dunno:
Pic 3: After 3 hours of driving, arrived in Amsterdam
Pic 4: Something was going on, lots of people, lots of noise, no clue
Pic 5: Amsterdam
Pic 6: Amsterdam
Pic 7: I thoght this was interesting, anyone here would be so busted and out of business if they had this on their store window display. A cool pic if you're into this sort of a thing
Pic 8: Amsterdam


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 4: Amsterdam Continued...*

Did lots of walking and passed by the street in the Red Light District
Took about 5 mins to walk pass it from start to end and we only walked on one side of the street and did not go back the other since some of the girls there made us want to : puke: while 1 or 2 were actually pretty hot.
No pics as we didn't want our foreign asses kicked but you wouldn't want to see them anyway :angel:

Pic 1: Amsterdam
Pic 2: Gift shop in Amsterdam
Pic 3: Boat Tours around Amsterdam
Pic 4: Amsterdam
Pic 5: I wonder how people are able to find and get out their bikes from this bicycle parking lot
Pic 6: The Coolest place in Amsterdam (for me at least)... The Heineken factory
Pic 7: Heineken factory halls
Pic 8: Giant Heineken Beer Can (note I'm 6' tall and the can is taller than me) which also served as a photo booth where you can send a pic and video recordings of yourself to any email address you want

Some Japanese, Dutch and Germans were shooting a music video of themselves in front of a Green Screen and they were singing along and swinging along... it was a hilarious sight. Another cool thing about the tour is you get to stand in a room with a moving floor and a projector screen giving you the sense of how beer cans feel when they are processed in the factory. The 3 Fresh Heineken beers and a free souvenier was also cool and I don't even drink beer! :rofl: You get all this fun and drinks for only 10 Euros. I highly recommend it :thumbup:


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*DAY 5: One of the Saddest days of my life...*

Drove back to Bonn to drop off one of our friends. Walked around and had dinner there which made us even more sleepy but somehow managed to stay awake at the wheel and arrived in Frankfurt at around 2 or 3 AM and tried to find the E.H. Harms location but the Navi could not find it nor could we in the dark so we gave up and crashed at a Hotel nearby.

Next Morning I called E.H. Harms and was given directions from our hotel and turned out we were only about 500 meters away from it.

It was in a residential zone and on the back side of the street and buildings that looked like residences. Pic 1 shows the location once you make it into the Gate.

Pic 1: E.H. HARMS in Frankfurt
Pic 2: Random Pic of Nav Screen
Pic 3: Total Miles Driven: 1022


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## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

X550-ED said:


> ....Pic 4: Hitting 100 Mph and seconds before being taken over by a Grandpa in a Peugeot coupe :bawling: lucky him I didn't want to push the car too hard .....


Excuse me.... but if you didn't want to push the car "too hard" on the autobahn... when will you EVER "push it hard " again!!???:eeps:


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

*The Great Adventure Ends...*

This truly has been a memorable trip and experience. I've grown fond of Germany and it's culture as well as BMW 

I've started 2 count down timers instead of just the one most of us do.

1. Countdown to getting my car back
2. Countdown to going to my next ED in which I will get a chance to explore other countries and cultures and hopefully won't be as rushed and will be better planned than this one not to mention we originally planned to rent a car for this trip due to Snow concerns but I'm glad we decided to take my car the very last minute and luckly our friend had a Navigation Disc for us.

Good luck to all of you going on your ED adventure and have fun... same goes to all of you ED Old timers


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

beewang said:


> Excuse me.... but if you didn't want to push the car "too hard" on the autobahn... when will you EVER "push it hard " again!!???:eeps:


On the way to Vegas for the CES show  :rofl:
Hopefully she'll be here by then


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## adrian's bmw (Feb 14, 2003)

X550-ED said:


> This truly has been a memorable trip and experience. I've grown fond of Germany and it's culture as well as BMW
> 
> I've started 2 count down timers instead of just the one most of us do.
> 
> ...


:rofl: Love the countdown timers. I'm glad you had an awesome ED. :thumbup:

P.S. Great pics!


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## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

X550-ED said:


> On the way to Vegas for the CES show  :rofl:
> Hopefully she'll be here by then


She will but....

You are either kidding or out of your friggin mind. The I-15 is* HEAVILY PATROLLED* both on the CA and NV side. The aircraft patrol on the CA side will have you tagged before you can say "huh!!??"

You might roll the dice and have a couple quick bursts to 100~110 MPH, anything longer than that, you are certain to spend some time at the CHP station at Barstow or Baker.:eeps:

Ask me how I know....


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks Adrian, I sure did. 1st ED trip of many more to follow.



adrian's bmw said:


> :rofl: Love the countdown timers. I'm glad you had an awesome ED. :thumbup:
> 
> P.S. Great pics!


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks for the reminder bee, exact same thing happened to my friend's little bro on our trip to Vegas couple of years back, he got charged for "Attempting Vehicular Man Slaughter" for going 110Mph while I was never busted since I only hit about 115Mph on my Eclipse GS-X and then backed off down to 85~90 for most of the way there.

I wish we had the same speed limit as that in your Avatar, it would really make driving back home from Vegas a little more fun.



beewang said:


> Ask me how I know....


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## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

Thx for posting the pics X550 - she is a sweet ride.

I just rolled in from driving mine Bernardston, MA - Charlotte, NC (858mi straight).
Once you get some miles on it (FWIW I hit 10K about 4am) I am convinced it is faster...or feels faster


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

X550-ED said:


> Thanks Adrian, I sure did. 1st ED trip of many more to follow.


Thank You for great posts and photos. :thumbup: 
Congratulation with your new car!. :thumbup:


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## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

I see you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing the pics :thumbup:


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

X550-ED, Thanks for the great pics and for the descriptive posts. Looks like you had a great time. The car is beautiful as well. Best wishes for an expeditious reunion with the new Bimmer. :thumbup:


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## IrvRobinson (May 10, 2006)

Thanks for sharing those pics of Amsterdam, I loved that city,we hung out there for three days after we dropped out car off......nice car too, enjoy the ride !


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## shosan521 (Nov 14, 2006)

Sweet man! I'm doing an 550 ED in Feb...little scared of what the weather may bring, but I'm going to hope for the best! Love the ride, I was going to black on black, but now am thinking about doing the same colors as you!


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## Contact Patch (Nov 11, 2005)

beewang said:


> Excuse me.... but if you didn't want to push the car "too hard" on the autobahn... when will you EVER "push it hard " again!!???:eeps:


+1.


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## Contact Patch (Nov 11, 2005)

beewang said:


> Ask me how I know....


How do you know?


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks, sure did had a blast! Wouldn't get any new BMWs any other way!



adrian's bmw said:


> :rofl: Love the countdown timers. I'm glad you had an awesome ED. :thumbup:
> 
> P.S. Great pics!


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks mullman, meet your 5er's identical twin  at least from the outside... the car feels fast as is with 1022 miles on it. Pushing the gas pedal just a little bit at 95 Mph still kicks as you feel the pull to pickup the speed.



mullman said:


> Thx for posting the pics X550 - she is a sweet ride.
> 
> I just rolled in from driving mine Bernardston, MA - Charlotte, NC (858mi straight).
> Once you get some miles on it (FWIW I hit 10K about 4am) I am convinced it is faster...or feels faster


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks nivki, Congrats on yours too...and you get to enjoy yours already! I still don't know where my car is 



nivki89 said:


> Thank You for great posts and photos. :thumbup:
> Congratulation with your new car!. :thumbup:


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks jcatral, have a great ED Trip and we look forward to seeing some pics too 


jcatral14 said:


> I see you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing the pics :thumbup:


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks Mark,

I'm still asking the question "Dude, where's my car?" My sales rep is not responding...guess end of the month has him tied up... tried tracking it at

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistic's site
http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTracking/searchCargo.do?trackType=Auto

Entered my VIN number and Nada. :dunno:



mdsbuc said:


> X550-ED, Thanks for the great pics and for the descriptive posts. Looks like you had a great time. The car is beautiful as well. Best wishes for an expeditious reunion with the new Bimmer. :thumbup:


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks Irv,

I wish I had 3 days to spend there but only had 1 day and spent it mostly at the Heineken factory tour... still it was a blast!



IrvRobinson said:


> Thanks for sharing those pics of Amsterdam, I loved that city,we hung out there for three days after we dropped out car off......nice car too, enjoy the ride !


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## dkotanto (Jan 26, 2003)

Awesome car and great pics! Thanks for sharing. How long is the drive from Munich to Amsterdam?


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Congrats on the 550! I was lucky enough to avoid snow but if u plan to drive... do it at your own risk. I did find driving in Germany very relaxing and not to mention in my whole 1022 miles I only saw 2 Polizei cars... half the number of 5.0's that I run into on my daily 18 mile commute to work.



shosan521 said:


> Sweet man! I'm doing an 550 ED in Feb...little scared of what the weather may bring, but I'm going to hope for the best! Love the ride, I was going to black on black, but now am thinking about doing the same colors as you!


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## bechego (Feb 1, 2006)

X550-ED said:


> Thanks Mark,
> 
> I'm still asking the question "Dude, where's my car?" My sales rep is not responding...guess end of the month has him tied up... tried tracking it at
> 
> ...


My sales rep (or CA as some people call them) did not know where my car was either until it was almost in the USA. In my experience, the war won't show up on the cargo website until a few days after it is put on the boat, which may be about two weeks after you dropped it off. Frankfurt Harms told me that boats go out every two weeks and, if the car just misses one departure, well, it is two weeks before it even get to the boat. My car arrived in NJ 5 weeks after I dropped it off.

You are using the right address:

http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTracking/searchCargo.do?trackType=Auto

I hope it arrives soon for you.

Bechego


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## bechego (Feb 1, 2006)

Here is my tracking history...

Now, even though I dropped it off on the 17th of August, the website did not show my car until about two weeks after.


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## bechego (Feb 1, 2006)

X550-ED said:


> Congrats on the 550! I was lucky enough to avoid snow but if u plan to drive... do it at your own risk. I did find driving in Germany very relaxing and not to mention in my whole 1022 miles I only saw 2 Polizei cars... half the number of 5.0's that I run into on my daily 18 mile commute to work.


There are a lot of undercover polizei on the autobahn in Germany. I should know, I was pulled over by an unmarked Mercedes. When I followed him to the station I saw a few unmarked cars which they were using as patrol cars.

View my speeding ticket post on my report on 08/16/2006 if you want

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156529&page=2

By the way, great post!


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

bechego said:


> Frankfurt Harms told me that boats go out every two weeks and, if the car just misses one departure, well, it is two weeks before it even get to the boat


Not really correct. Shipping schedules vary widely. BMW does not necessarily book space on every vessel leaving Bremerhaven but they would not be able to just ship cars once every 2 weeks.


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

bechego said:


> Here is my tracking history...
> 
> Now, even though I dropped it off on the 17th of August, the website did not show my car until about two weeks after.


WW's Web site seemed oddly behind in the past 6 months. Previously, it was able to provide very timely information.


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## bechego (Feb 1, 2006)

*Here is my GER Autobahn Speeding Ticket*



bechego said:


> There are a lot of undercover polizei on the autobahn in Germany. I should know, I was pulled over by an unmarked Mercedes. When I followed him to the station I saw a few unmarked cars which they were using as patrol cars.
> 
> View my speeding ticket post on my report on 08/16/2006 if you want
> 
> ...


And here is the picture of the document!


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## mwagner1 (Aug 13, 2004)

What a great write up and collection of images!!!!

Congrats on your trip and thanks for sharing so much!!!!!!

Cheers,


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## bechego (Feb 1, 2006)

*Here is*

A better picture


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Thanks bechego for the pic, I guess I really got lucky! No wonder why I was going faster than every Porche and now that I think of it, every car on the road while still within the limit of the City and I saw a bunch of 120 Km signs... but ja, towards the end of the trip I started to realize that without Beewang's avatar/sign, I'm pretty much breaking the speed limit laws.


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## zengravy (Sep 12, 2006)

Great post! I especially enjoyed the pics of Amsterdam. My wife and I have already planned on going there on our next ED


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