# my 12 hr report (come get it while it's hot)



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

First of all, a quick note of thanks to

JSpira - for referring me to Ricki and being helpful overall
Ricki - for making the whole deal smooth and trouble free
GrandTourismo - for suggesting alternative (and much better routes) thru Switzerland. I want to thank you especially for recommending Malojapass and Splugenpass which made for the most amazing driving experience. Thank you.
Countless others on the forum - for the helpful advice w/o which this trip would not have been possible. Simple as that.

Now. Onto the report itself.

I'll skip the usual "Picked up by Rolf went to hotel stayed 1 day in Munich went to the ED center car is amazing etc etc" narrative that's been done to death already. Instead, a few notes & observations about the trip. Summaries first, details thereafter.

Quick summary:

Easily one of the best (if not the best) vacation I've ever had. On par with Kauai and Paris, without a doubt. If you are contemplating ED, stop contemplating and start making hotel reservations. You will not regret it.

On Germany/Austria:

I'm lumping these two together because they are obviously in love and need to get married ASAP. In any rate, I couldn't figure out what the difference is between the Austrians and the Germans. They both look the same, act the same and speak the same language. Austrians: Hungary was your starter marriage, we all make mistakes, no problem. Merge with Germany instead, you won't regret it.

The Germans would get Blindsee and Plansee (both are phenomenal and not to be missed) and the Austrians would get BMW & MB. A fair deal, IMO.

Sidenote: Going to the land of German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Doberman Pinchers, I expected to see a lot of them. Nope. In fact, the Germans seemed to be obsessed with buying dogs for total pussies than real dogs. A TON of Yorkies, tiny poodles, Papillons, etc. Didn't see a single Rottie. What's happened to ye, Germany??

On Switzerland:

Oy, mama. When you see these mountains, you will want to crawl out of your vehicle on all fours, kiss the ground and never want to leave. Seriously, this is one of the most beautiful scenery you will ever lay your eyes upon. Lush green valleys, snow capped peaks, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and cute little red trains choo-chooing along. Ah. This is like dying and going to heaven (only more expensive.)

Luzern is a waste of time but the lake is gorgeous. What to do? Skip that overpriced wannabe town and head to Brennen instead. An awesome ferry ride will take you to Luzern, if you so insist or better yet, to Isleten or any other tiny Swiss towns that dot this beautiful lake. I found the city of Luzern itself to be a total waste of time.

Zürich must be kinda like the New York of Switzerland. I saw 2 bums there (the only time) and lots of Graffiti outside the city center.

On prices:

Remember when you were a little kid and older kids would come up to you and start speaking to you and you'd think, "Wow, I'm so cool now!" And then one of them would punch you in the solar plexus and when you are doubled over on the ground, the rest would take their turns kicking in your balls with steel-toed boots? Remember that? Well, going to restaurants in Europe is a little like that, only more painful. By the second day, I was sort of numb (with a pair of cojones the size of Texas at this point) so it didn't hurt as much thereafter. You'd go to a place kinda like Applebee's, get some good food and when the bill comes, you'd be like, "Woooooooooooooooooooooooa?" Is this in Mexican pesos?!?!? No? In EUROS?? Noooooooooooo! In Zürich, I paid 120CHF (for 2 ppl) at an Italian restaurant that was marginally better than my local Olive Garden.

And if you decide to go to Petermann's Kunstuben (supposedly the best restaurant in Switzerland) don't. It's fancy, yes, but the food is just OK and you will leave 450 euros lighter and still hungry. Honestly, I've had better meals in NYC, for 1/4th the cost. In fact, Guy Savoy in Paris was comparable in price (a bit more expensive) but the food was 10x better.

On the Swiss people:

I spent most of the time in Switzerland, so this commentary will be restricted to the Swiss.

1.	First off, they don't speak English worth a sh1t. Since the Swiss posters on the forum can easily be mistaken for native English speakers, I sort of expected the Swiss to be like the Dutch. One time I got lost 30km outside Amsterdam, looking for a museum. Nobody around except some scraggly dude sleeping on a bench. A good kick roused him up and in perfect, albeit slightly accented English, he told me exactly where to go. Not in Switzerland. In fact, most of the tourists were Swiss. But at least in major hotels, you'd expect to see a good command of English. Nah. In St Moritz, the poor girl could barely say her name. In Luzern, the hotel staff spoke English pretty good but at restaurants, it's a hit or miss (mostly miss.) Don't expect to see English menus either, except at tourist traps. I didn't really find it to be a problem because knowing English, speaking a pretty good Russian and Spanish, I could figure out most of the things, most of the time. If you are coming from Sioux City, Iowa, this could be a problem.

2.	The Swiss have lots of rules and they expect them to be obeyed. I have an inherent problem with authority, so plenty of times I was squirming like a worm but when in St Moritz, do like St Moritzians. Wife & I rented a pair of bikes to go around a lake. We are pedaling along and then come along a sign that has a little bike in a red circle. Hmm.. This probably means "NO BIKES" but who cares, there's not a cop in sight, so I go (the wife stays ) A little Swiss lady with a rat on a leash (now I think it was a dog) waves me over and launches into a long monologue peppered with Nichts and Verbotens. I think she was welcoming me to St Moritz. I listened politely but didn't want to seem like a dumb Yankee. I don't know any words in Schweizerdeutsch but this was a perfect chance to showcase my fluency in Hoch Deutsch, so I unleashed with, "schnitzel bier brudershaft." And "RICHARD WAGNER!" She looked at me funny, obviously startled than an American could have such a proficiency in German and slinked away.

3.	This isn't a tourism-based economy. If, like me, you are coming from Pax Americana expecting to slap a Benjamin on a table and have the staff do a jiggy dance for you, it aint happenin. The greenback is afforded a courtesy somewhere between an old Soviet ruble and toilet paper. In fact, I got the impression that if foreign tourists were to vanish overnight, the Swiss would shrug and carry on, without missing a heartbeat. I remember one time, in Cozumel Mexico, I was feted like a king for 10 bucks. I guess the Swiss are different from the Mexicans then. (Who knew??!)

4.	The Swiss must have a very high standard of living, especially compared to us. A lot of expensive cars, the restaurants are pricey yet packed with the locals. Very few obviously poor people in sight.

On Munchen:

Our hotel - Four Points by Sheraton - was total crap. Avoid it. Cramped and noisy. As a rule, I try not to book any 3 star hotels in Europe. Did it this time and regretted it. Location is OK. Didn't see much of the city, was there for a day only. Toured the Residenz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residenz,_Munich that was nice. If you liked the Versailles, you will like this palace. Takes about 2 hrs to see both the palace itself and the Treasury. I'd skip the treasury because it's a bit boring.

I had never been to Germany before but found I liked the food a lot. If you like simple, meat/mashed potatoes/cabbage type of a deal, you'll love this. Beer is awesome, goes without saying. Try Kloster Andechs, my wife had it, tastes great. In fact, they brought her a mug and two Germans sitting at a table next to ours leaned over and said the mug wasn't filled properly - it was about 3/4th beer and the rest was foam. I didn't think much of it (who cares, right?) but the guys pointed out a little measuring line on the mug itself, I guess the liquid must reach the line. Ours didn't. They summoned the waiter over, much discussion in German ensued, the waiter mumbled something but we were too tired to care. Clearly, a common scam but whatever.

On Kloster Andechs:

Rolf recommended that we go here http://www.andechs.de/index.asp?lng=en so we did. LOTS of Germans, no other tourists otherwise. The monks have been brewing beer since the 15th century and it is very highly regarded around Bavaria. Location is a bit out of the way, so if you don't have time (or a GPS), don't go. Otherwise, it's a nice tour of the German countryside and their towns.

On Neuschwanstein and Linderhof:

The castles are phenomenal. You must see at least one, preferably both because they are so different. DO NOT BUY THE TICKETS ONLINE. Because turns out, you can't. What you are purchasing instead is a "reservation" that guarantees your tickets. What a scam and a waste of 20 euro. Just get in line, get your tickets and be done with it. The view from Neuschwanstein itself is breathtaking (pics later).

Stayed in Fussen, hotel Vital Sommers. Very nice hotel, killer location, 10mins away from the castle. Outstanding breakfast also (included.)

On St Moritz:

Oh, my dear unwashed Yankee brethren, you will think you've died and gone to heaven. Seriously. This isn't just a paradise for hikers or skiers or nature lovers, this is for everybody. It is simply unreal and no words or pictures can do its justice, you must see it for yourself. Attempting to describe it would be kinda like that time when my friend in high school sang "Let it be" for me and for the next year I thought the Beatles sucked and what's the big deal, really. Go & see it for yourself, when people rave about Switzerland, this is what they are talking about.

OK, I'm tired for now, will write more later. Pics to follow.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

a few pics..

1. Residenz hall
2. Typical german fare
3. Hohenschwangau
4. Neuchswanstein Castle (sorry, the sky is blown but such was the weather. Raining like crazy)


----------



## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

Very nice review! :thumbup:
No pics of the car! :thumbdwn:

Waiting for more!


----------



## Mace14 (Mar 10, 2007)

coontie said:


> Austrians: Hungary was your starter marriage, we all make mistakes, no problem. Merge with Germany instead, you won't regret it.


Really nice initial report but.....you might want to check your history. I think they already tried a shotgun wedding back in '38 and it didn't work out so well.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

*St moritz pics*

1. Lake Silvaplauna, near St Moritz
2. Top of Muottas Muragl, view of Engadin Valley
3. Same mountain top, view of St Moritz airport down below
4. View from the hotel balcony, Hotel Schweizerhof


----------



## Alfred G (Apr 1, 2007)

coontie said:


> On Germany/Austria:
> 
> I'm lumping these two together because they are obviously in love and need to get married ASAP. In any rate, I couldn't figure out what the difference is between the Austrians and the Germans. They both look the same, act the same and speak the same language. Austrians: Hungary was your starter marriage, we all make mistakes, no problem. Merge with Germany instead, you won't regret it.


Hmmm, :stickpoke did you miss a certain history lesson?

We had this merger (AKA Anschluss) already once for 7 years...










The guy who intiated it had the initials A.H.

The Austrians (back then) loved this idea and in a referendum they voted 99% YES.

7 years later the Austrian changed their mind and for some reason did not love their big brother that much any more.

Since then they claimed to have been A.H.'s "first victim".

If today you suggested to an Austrian he was in reality a German, he would probably hate you (whereas in their deep feelings they of course feel like "frateres in spiritu").

(Isn't that correct, Jonathan... ? :rofl: )

Anyway, one has to owe respect to the Austrians how they performed the masterpiece after WWII of turning A.H. into a German and Beethoven into an Austrian.:thumbup:

Best regards

Alfred (German with Austrian grandfather) who loves Austria & the Austrians!


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

Mace14 said:


> Really nice initial report but.....you might want to check your history. I think they already tried a shotgun wedding back in '38 and it didn't work out so well.


yea but like you said, that was shotgun style (not sure who was pregnant though  )

This time it could be out of love....? Maybe? Just an idea..


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

Alfred G said:


> Anyway, one has to owe respect to the Austrians how they performed the masterpiece after WWII of turning A.H. into a German and Beethoven into an Austrian.:thumbup:




That's the funniest thing I've heard in ages and so true! Most Americans CERTAINLY think Hitler was German and OBVIOUSLY Beethoven was born in Salzburg.

Sigh.

Who cares. That's what we now think so it must be true.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

*More St Moritz pics*

The setup over at the hotel's breakfast area. You can see me in the... uhm... Samovar's (sp?) reflection.

The last two are from the top of Mt Corvatsch... Again, the vistas down below are simply breathtaking.


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

INCREDIBLE REPORT!

And Alfred beat me to the punch re the Anschluß.


----------



## cosmos (Jan 18, 2002)

Dude, I have to go back and read the whole thing, BUT I wanted to say Amazing write up. You and I have the same twisted sense of humor and writing style.

Great Job!!!!

Edit: Went back and read the whole thing....I have tears in my eyes. ROTFLMAO!!!


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Alfred G said:


> If today you suggested to an Austrian he was in reality a German, he would probably hate you (whereas in their deep feelings they of course feel like "frateres in spiritu").
> 
> (Isn't that correct, Jonathan... ? :rofl: )


Stimmt


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Hehe, after 7 years it was like "Kein _Anschluss _unter dieser Nummer" :rofl:

Great report, btw. :thumbup:


----------



## Gran Turismo (Aug 7, 2006)

coontie said:


> Noooooooooooo! In Zürich, I paid 120CHF (for 2 ppl) at an Italian restaurant that was marginally better than my local Olive Garden.


Hey, could you tell me where you can eat that cheap in Central Zurich? :yikes: 

Glad to hear you've enjoyed the Alpine passes :thumbup: Just yesterday I did the Furka/Grimsel/Susten passes with another fellow 6er owner and we had a blast experiencing the car's potential :angel: in all those twisties!

A few comments regarding your Switzerland observations:
With some waiters here (albeit a minority), you sometimes can be grateful if they speak some intelligible German at all! Waiter is one of the worst paid jobs requiring hardly any qualifications. 
OTOH I'm a bit surprised about the St. Moritz reception girl, since English conversation is an integral part of the education path at the official hotel business schools... maybe she was just some stand-in :dunno:
But in general I'd say that the probability of some basic english skills is higher with younger people than with older ones, and that there are not much differences in this respect between the European countries (ok, excepted France maybe  )

You did WHAT with your bicycle!? :nono: :rofl:
On a serious note: Cyclist generally have an awful reputation for either not obeying traffic laws (like running red lights, etc.) or behave like yahoos on hiking tracks with their mountain bikes. That's why you risk appearing to be slightly insensitive in such a particular situation.

BTW the standard of living you can see in St. Moritz or Zurich is not necessarily representative for the average population!


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

*leaving St Moritz....*

On the mountain passes:

Somebody a while back asked, "Hey, where can I drive on some twisty roads?"

Brotha, I got you covered (see the pic attached.) If you can descend down the Malojapass and go up & over Splugenpass without crapping your pants at every turn, you're more of a man than I am. (Thank god for an extra pair, is all I can say.)

Sidenote: Leaving Fussen, going into Austria, I was super excited. Never been to Austria before, land of Mozart and all that, I really wanted to have a pic of my triumphant entrance. Told my wife, "get the camera ready and if you miss 'welcome to Austria' sign, you're walking back to Fussen." So, off we go. Driving & driving & driving and some awesome scenery and then I see the gas prices dropped! Hmm.. I remember somebody here said gas is cheaper in Austria. I had a full tank but pulled over anyway.

-	Hey, you, random German/Austrian person, what country is this?
-	Austria
-	DAMNIT!!!!!

How is this possible??? Driving from Virginia to West Virginia, I was reminded about 15 times about leaving the crappy Virginia behind and entering the good one. Yet leaving one country and entering another - nothing? Not even a lousy border guard? I BOUGHT THE VIGNETTES! (didn't get the vest though - see the sidenote to the sidenote below.) WTF is this??? Note to the Austrian government: Put up some MFing signs! How are people supposed to know where they are?!

Why I didn't get the vests:

OK, Rolf said a BMW dealership/store sells them. Cool. Leave the ED center, first thing I do is go to Aldi. Buy some water for me wife (their Aldi looks exactly like ours. Or, I guess, OURS looks like theirs. Down to the coin deposit for a cart.) Then to the BMW store. Buy an uber-overpriced (ya like that, eh? Uber..) BMW animal (stuffed). Ask some guy, "Where are the vests?" He no speak English. Another dude: "Talk to that guy" Go to that guy,

-	Hey, uh.. Hans or Fritz or whatever. You got them vests?
-	I only take money, talk to the guy who writes orders
-	??????

OK. ORDER WRITING GUY (after 15mins in line at every turn.)

-	You got the bloody vests?!
-	Nah, we ran out.
-	MOTHERF&#8230;..
-	Ok, ring up the BMW toy&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.HOW MUCH!?!?!?

This system is seriously messed up. One guy writes orders for the crap you are buying. THEN (I sh1t you not), he EMAILS THEM over to the parts guy who is sitting 5 ft away from him. The parts guy then calls your name. uber-messed up. (I like that word) Anyway, after 30mins of this bs, I say f.k the vests, we're going in vestless. So we did.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

Gran Turismo said:


> OTOH I'm a bit surprised about the St. Moritz reception girl, since English conversation is an integral part of the education path at the official hotel business schools... maybe she was just some stand-in :dunno:


Funny you say that. She said she was "a student" which I assume meant a trainee.



> But in general I'd say that the probability of some basic english skills is higher with younger people than with older ones, and that there are not much differences in this respect between the European countries (ok, excepted France maybe  )


Yes!! Definitely noticed that. Younger ppl spoke OK English, older generation -- none at all. Absolutely.

You did WHAT with your bicycle!? :nono: :rofl:



> BTW the standard of living you can see in St. Moritz or Zurich is not necessarily representative for the average population!


I understand. Just like NYorkers are not representative of the US, sure. In fact, the Harms office in Zurich is located in a real industrial-looking ghetto area. Also, boarding that train back to Zurich, I saw black people for the first time in Switzerland. They are obviously banned from the city center.

Oh, also -- true story. Trying to buy a ticket. 4 choices, all with Zurich in them. One says "Zurich HB" which I figured must somehow mean "Zurich train station" because I drove past a "Luzern HB" before and that definitely was a train station. Still, I don't want to end up in Slovenia somehow, who knows? It's not like you are warned before leaving one country and entering another.. So, get a random swiss lady

- Eh... Which one to Zentrum?
- Huh?
- ZURICH. CENTER.
- [long unintelligible invective in Swiss German.] It no Zurich, it's ZURICH. Z-U-R-I-C-H (correcting my near perfect German.)
storms off.

oooooooooookay.. that went well. Next lady.
- Zurich?
- Oh yes (in perfect english!!!) buy this and that and there's also a day pass, etc etc..

me (slowly): y-o-u-r e-n-g-l-i-s-h is -e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t.
her: Thanks, I'm from California, moved here 6 weeks ago.

oops. 

Anyways, made it back w/o problems.


----------



## Skiddy (Apr 12, 2007)

Too funny Dude :rofl:


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

coontie said:


> me (slowly): y-o-u-r e-n-g-l-i-s-h is -e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t.
> her: Thanks, I'm from California, moved here 6 weeks ago.


 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
I got that a lot from tourists and still do. (in texas drawl) "Why Martha, he don´t even have an AKcent"

For some reason, I must look native to almost every city I visit (except NY) because people always ask ME for directions, even if I have spent all of five minutes there.

Of course there´s the nice custom of being able to direct people in the direction of where they need to go and tell them they need to ask the next person along the way.


----------



## john lance (Oct 15, 2005)

Hilarious write-up, thanks for sharing it.
Don't be so harsh on the Swiss waiters or hotel staff though with regards to their knowledge of the English language - I have not come across many, if any, German-speaking (or any other language-speaking, except Spanish) waiters on my travels around the USA!
Just imagine if that vote had gone the other way back in 1795 (when the USA voted on choosing between English & German as the official language) - you would now be compaining on your visits to anywhere and everywhere (except Germany, Austria and Swutzerland) that everybody in the whole damn World speaks some English but very littlle German!


----------



## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

> Our hotel ***8211; Four Points by Sheraton ***8211; was total crap. Avoid it. Cramped and noisy. As a rule, I try not to book any 3 star hotels in Europe. Did it this time and regretted it. Location is OK. Didn***8217;t see much of the city, was there for a day only. Toured the Residenz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residenz,_Munich that was nice. If you liked the Versailles, you will like this palace. Takes about 2 hrs to see both the palace itself and the Treasury. I***8217;d skip the treasury because it***8217;s a bit boring.


haha!! I could have told you that!! I only stayed there because its was the last day of Oktoberfest and we wanted to be somewhere closer.

That place has history thou.... It was right around the corner from the massacre on 1972 Munich Olympic.:eeps:

If you've stayed there, you've walked past this place many times...










http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MunichIsraeliOlympicFront.jpg


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

beewang said:


> haha!! I could have told you that!! I only stayed there because its was the last day of Oktoberfest and we wanted to be somewhere closer.
> 
> That place has history thou.... It was right around the corner from the massacre on 1972 Munich Olympic.:eeps:
> 
> ...


Interesting! I had no idea.....

btw, are you also from Austria?


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

john lance said:


> Hilarious write-up, thanks for sharing it.
> Don't be so harsh on the Swiss waiters or hotel staff though with regards to their knowledge of the English language - I have not come across many, if any, German-speaking (or any other language-speaking, except Spanish) waiters on my travels around the USA!


Right. I wasn't being harsh, just stating my observations, really. Like I said, the Swiss are clearly not dependent on foreign, non-German speaking tourists so the incentive to speak other languages is not there, obviously.

Trying to figure out a menu in a language you don't speak is always fun but a few keywords go a long way.



> Just imagine if that vote had gone the other way back in 1795 (when the USA voted on choosing between English & German as the official language)


Dude, that story is a myth 

http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.asp


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

coontie said:


> btw, are you also from Austria?


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

JSpira said:


> :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


what, did I commit some faux pas? bee is not austrian then? hmm.. I kinda figured him for a german speaking. I mean, his posts MUST make sense in German, right? 

oh well.

sorry, bee, wherever you are from. :dunno:


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

I´m sorry, I can´t imagine Bee speaking German for some reason.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

JSpira said:


> I´m sorry, I can´t imagine Bee speaking German for some reason.


well, OUT WITH IT, man, what language does he speak then???


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Chinese.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

JSpira said:


> Chinese.


Ah. Well.

Close enough.


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

JSpira said:


> I´m sorry, I can´t imagine Bee speaking German for some reason.


I met him in person in Cologne, his German was excellent after the second beer and the accent was totally gone.


----------



## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

JSpira said:


> :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


Ja!! Jo kan kiss my arse!! Mr. Girly man Ja!!


----------



## mason (Jun 8, 2006)

Talk about Swiss follow rules. This is my friends' personal experience: 2200, quick, turn down the TV volume or neighbor would call cops on you. Second experience: They hosted a party, neighbor was there. He left at 2155. By 2200, he was calling cops on them again on rest of the people at the party. Per my friends, it is not just him, this is typical swiss practice. The closer it is to Germany, the less flexiable they are. Somehow it doesn't get to Germany.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

mason said:


> Talk about Swiss follow rules. This is my friends' personal experience: 2200, quick, turn down the TV volume or neighbor would call cops on you. Second experience: They hosted a party, neighbor was there. He left at 2155. By 2200, he was calling cops on them again on rest of the people at the party. Per my friends, it is not just him, this is typical swiss practice. The closer it is to Germany, the less flexiable they are. Somehow it doesn't get to Germany.


yea, it all depends on the kind of person you are. My father, for example, loves the rules and structure, he considers the Swiss to be his spiritual brethren. He schedules meetings at 8AM and one time some poor sap showed up at 8.10 so my dad canceled the meeting, saying that because the guy was late, the agenda is now totally screwed up.

For me, I can't imagine living there. I don't like to follow the rules. I'm willing to bet money that a large segment of the Swiss population doesn't like the bureaucracy either but goes along with it because.. them's the rules! I mean, it's a choice, right? Don't like the country, don't live there.


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Alex Baumann said:


> I met him in person in Cologne, his German was excellent after the second beer and the accent was totally gone.


Zauberbier?


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

JSpira said:


> Zauberbier?


Yeah, kinda. Kölsch :rofl:


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Alex Baumann said:


> Yeah, kinda. Kölsch :rofl:


hab´ ich angenommen


----------



## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

coontie said:


> knowing English, speaking a pretty good Russian and Spanish
> 
> Close enough.


So, Zach, where is Spanish and Russian came from? parents?
Not so many school in Russia (former USSR) teach Spanish (with my poor luck I was in one of them) :rofl:


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

nivki89 said:


> So, Zach, where is Spanish and Russian came from? parents?
> Not so many school in Russia (former USSR) teach Spanish (with my poor luck I was in one of them) :rofl:


Spanish I'm trying to learn on my own. I suck but I've been to MX many times, so that always helped.

Russian I speak pretty well. I spent a lot of time in Russia on business, my grandparents are Russian.


----------



## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

coontie said:


> my grandparents are Russian.


Babushka i dedushka! :thumbup:


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

nivki89 said:


> Babushka i dedushka! :thumbup:


c'mon man..

ya po russki dovolno normalno govoru, takie slova dlya menya elementarni.

alright, we should prob take this off the main board.

btw, a follow up to the report is coming soon. Stay tuned


----------



## tturedraider (Nov 11, 2005)

Post #49. About dang time! One lousy pic of the whole reason for this trip - the CAR!! :thumbup: Should he actually get credit for the 12-hour rule?! It took him over 9 1/2 hours to post a single pic of the car!


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

tturedraider said:


> Post #49. About dang time! One lousy pic of the whole reason for this trip - the CAR!! :thumbup: Should he actually get credit for the 12-hour rule?! It took him over 9 1/2 hours to post a single pic of the car!


OK, fine. I'll confess. I missed the deadline by.... 90hrs. :bawling:

I'm so sorry.

As a sidenote: That pretty much shows how the actual vacation has overshadowed the car completely! I thought it'd be all about my shiny new BMW. Instead, the car ended up being a little more than a rental, I didn't even have time to read the manual or play with any switches or anything like that. I was too busy gawking at all the vistas around me to even pay any attention to the car's buttons.


----------



## Alfred G (Apr 1, 2007)

coontie said:


> As a sidenote: That pretty much shows how the actual vacation has overshadowed the car completely! I thought it'd be all about my shiny new BMW. Instead, the car ended up being a little more than a rental, I didn't even have time to read the manual or play with any switches or anything like that. I was too busy gawking at all the vistas around me to even pay any attention to the car's buttons.


:thumbup:
I hope all those read these lines who keep on asking questions on this board like:

_"What is the quickest way to do an ED?" _
Or: 
_"How can I pick up the car and drop it off within 1 hour so I can get back to America as fast as possible?"_


----------



## Mr.F1 Fan (Sep 8, 2006)

coontie said:


> OK, fine. I'll confess. I missed the deadline by.... 90hrs. :bawling:
> 
> I'm so sorry.
> 
> As a sidenote: That pretty much shows how the actual vacation has overshadowed the car completely! I thought it'd be all about my shiny new BMW. Instead, the car ended up being a little more than a rental, I didn't even have time to read the manual or play with any switches or anything like that. I was too busy gawking at all the vistas around me to even pay any attention to the car's buttons.


For those of you reading this thread, This might actually be one of the most relevant points to be gleaned from Coontie's ramblings. You go for the car..........you soon become enamored with the people, places, customs and scenery to the point of almost forgetting about the car. What a bonus!

Thanks,Conntie....best insight so far!


----------



## Mr.F1 Fan (Sep 8, 2006)

Alfred G said:


> :thumbup:
> I hope all those read these lines who keep on asking questions on this board like:
> 
> _"What is the quickest way to do an ED?" _
> ...


Guess we were typing at the same time........makes me sick to think someone could just rush back and forth like that.....No wonder some Americans get such a bad rap.

Didn't one person say something like....i've been to Germany before.......I guess they saw everything on that trip? Crazy.

Their loss....F**k em!


----------



## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

> Not only that but (and I still don't know how that could've happened) but I didn't pay a single worthless cent in tolls. NOTHING. Either GranTourismo sent me on free roads or whatever but the GPS did warn, repeatedly, "Toll roads ahead" and nothing ever happened. Not sure what the deal was....


:tsk: Lucky bustard!



Mr.F1 Fan said:


> Their loss....F**k em!


:rofl::rofl::rofl:


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

*no report for now*

pictures only.

This is immediately after the Malojapass and after crossing into Switzerland from Italy via the Splugenpass.


----------



## 3series101 (Oct 5, 2006)

Super funny write-up and great pics :thumbup:


----------



## Gran Turismo (Aug 7, 2006)

coontie said:


> Not only that but (and I still don't know how that could've happened) but I didn't pay a single worthless cent in tolls. NOTHING. Either GranTourismo sent me on free roads or whatever but the GPS did warn, repeatedly, "Toll roads ahead" and nothing ever happened. Not sure what the deal was.... :dunno:


Here's the deal which is quite simple and straightforward - you pay those CHF 40 for the vignette sticker which is some sort of flat rate toll for *motorways only.* 
But all those nice smaller roads, every bridge and every tunnel are all free of additional charges / tolls. To be honest, it's very easy to spend more than the equivalent of those 40 bucks on Italian, French or Austrian toll roads in one single day only, but some people still keep complaining about that vignette which is valid for up to 14 months... 
BTW it's not up to the customs to enforce the vignette, that's clearly up to the police ... and only on motorways / expressways (green signposts) where the vignette requirement does apply, of course. The customs guys just might be interested in selling you one because they're probably getting some commission on the transaction. 



Alfred G said:


> :tsk:


Well, Alfred, Switzerland never had a monarchy and thus never had a "Hof"... so the HB acronym still was available here when railways were introduced.


----------



## Alfred G (Apr 1, 2007)

Gran Turismo said:


> Well, Alfred, Switzerland never had a monarchy and thus never had a "Hof"...


I know. Don't be sad about this. Switzerland has got the beautiful mountains...:thumbup:


----------



## spinnaker7 (May 9, 2007)

coontie said:


> pictures only.
> 
> This is immediately after the Malojapass and after crossing into Switzerland from Italy via the Splugenpass.


Coontie,

Just noticed that my License Plate was the one printed right after yours. When did you pick up?


----------



## am_ver (Jul 12, 2005)

Alex Baumann said:


> Yeah, kinda. Kölsch :rofl:


I think I've had that one... those really thin tall glasses (and you aren't allowed to hit them on the top of the glass while doing cheers since the glass might crack; the cheers <cling> is done from the base)


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

spinnaker7 said:


> Coontie,
> 
> Just noticed that my License Plate was the one printed right after yours. When did you pick up?


9/17/07, I was there @ 7.30am. gone by 8.30.


----------



## L Seca (Apr 22, 2005)

coontie said:


> I like chaos and uncertainty but the Swiss have stamped them out with ruthless efficiency.


Then you must have loved Italy!:rofl:


----------



## L Seca (Apr 22, 2005)

coontie said:


> Sidenote: Going to the land of German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Doberman Pinchers, I expected to see a lot of them. Nope. In fact, the Germans seemed to be obsessed with buying dogs for total pussies than real dogs. A TON of Yorkies, tiny poodles, Papillons, etc. Didn't see a single Rottie. What's happened to ye, Germany??


Maybe you weren't looking in the right places. There are some real dogs there!

1-2. In the public lot at the Nurburgring
3. At the World Rally Cup in Trier
4. On the Nockalmstrasse, Austria

Thanks for a great report.:thumbup:


----------



## Alfred G (Apr 1, 2007)

Mr.F1 Fan said:


> Guess we were typing at the same time........makes me sick to think someone could just rush back and forth like that.....No wonder some Americans get such a bad rap.
> 
> Didn't one person say something like....i've been to Germany before.......I guess they saw everything on that trip? Crazy.
> 
> Their loss....F**k em!


This was the "best" thread. Somebody said, _"I did all of Bavaria". _I asked: _"Really all? Are you sure?"_
He answered:

_Well not 'All' of Bavaria, but "the beer, schnitzel and picking up a bmw" part of Bavaria​_ :rofl::rofl:


----------



## claud 3 (Jun 27, 2005)

In that last group of pics posted by Coontie, passing into Switzerland from Italy, check out the third from the left on the top row. Just enlarge it and you see one hell of a great road going down the hill.


----------



## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

claud 3 said:


> In that last group of pics posted by Coontie, passing into Switzerland from Italy, check out the third from the left on the top row. Just enlarge it and you see one hell of a great road going down the hill.


yep. Going down that road was insane, to say the least. Esp with the locals riding my ass every step of the way. I had an italian cop in a small jeep (like a geo tracker) driving REALLY close, I couldn't even see his front bumper in my mirror. I finally couldn't take it anymore, pulled over and he honked in indignation and sped off.

The road from the MS AutoRoute:


----------



## slugdriver (Dec 30, 2005)

Coontie,

Dude, one of the best ED write-ups I've read. Really enjoyed your analogies and twisted sense of humor! Would say you waxed poetic similar to what's written in the "Letters to the Editor" section of Car and Driver. Cheers!

Slug


----------



## ebfonhome (Jun 26, 2007)

Coontie, that was one funny writeup and i was laughing out loud. Well done.


----------



## the_fox (Jul 6, 2006)

Funniest report ever :thumbup:


----------

