# My X3 ED Adventure (lots of picture warning!)



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

*My X3 ED Adventure*

First off, thanks to all of you who contribute to our board. As a first timer in Europe and ED, the wisdom here is priceless.

We picked up our X3 on June 7. We went to the ED center directly from the airport. Using the train, it probably took us 45 minutes plus the usual where the heck are we and what does that word mean in English type stuff. If you have ridden a subway anywhere, then those in Europe will be similar. BMW mini map was great.

The delivery center had just about every BMW model known to man. That was fun to see. We walked to the center from the train stop at Frieman. Just a couple blocks. We handed them our passport and off we went upstairs. You could have breakfast or lunch with drinks. We went with the lunch and I had some sausages (what else?). After 30-45 minutes, we were told to come get the car. You sign a bunch of stuff and they go over what you need and when. They keep it all in a little packet for you so it's pretty easy.

I don't recall the name of the gentlemen who showed us our car, but it was as if he'd had a few morning brews. I wasn't interested in anyone giving me an overview of the car and thankfully, they gave us the keys, we took a few pictures and were on our way.

We immediately went to a local BMW dealer to install the aux-in so we'd be able to iPOD across Europe. I had the Belkin adapter with me. Installation took a couple hours. We killed time by looking at cars and riding the subway. After they were done, we drove to the Munich Marriott.

This hotel is typical of any Marriott in the US including a bar down stairs with a menu from the states (local beer). It is like two blocks from the Rennaisance. It is not anywhere near the cultural part of the city, but that was an easy subway trip to center. We hit that in the evening for some drinks with Woody.

From there we went to Salzburg in Austria then through Switzerland, to the Loire Valley in France, to Normandy beaches and finished up in Paris.

Our trip was great. Everything went smoothly. Car is great. Weather was fantastic. We couldn't have been better. As you see in some of the pictures, best move is to get off the autobahn and experience the culture of the different countries. Sure, driving fast on the Autobahn is great. But, you can do that in the States. We took off on side trips quite a bit and ended up with 1497 miles.

Best move by far was having a GPS receiver with me. I went cheap and had a portable one with my Apple Powerbook that tied in with map software. I found the streets and signs confusing and this GPS thing helped me out quite a bit. Or you can do NAV which many do over there.

As far as safety and security. I never was worried. Use common sense. Park where other people are. Don't keep stuff in your car.

Thanks again to all who provide input. It's a big, big help for us rookies.

Now on to the pictures.

1--picture of delivery center from "back" entrance (if you take the train)
2--5 series touring
3--6 series
4--5 series touring diesel
5--X3 3.0 d


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

1--your breakfast/lunch bar
2--our new X3
3--a 520d
4--dealer where aux in installed
5--Munich Marriott


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

1--X3
2--A Jeep Grand Cherokee Turbo
3--X3 at lunch
4--A BK when you need some US grub
5--In Germany to Austria


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

1--Vignette sticker needed to drive the autobahn in Austria
2--Schnizter convertible
3--Austria
4--Austria near Salzburg
5--your typical $5 coke


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

1--somewhere in Austria or Germany
2--Loire Valley
3--Loire Valley
4--24 hours of Le Mans was going on our weekend
5--in Amboise


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

1--735 from GB
2--735 from GB
3--anybody need a Porsche? Porsche was staying at our hotel.
4--X3 near Normandy in small town with many flags saluting the Allies from WWII
5--message to Veterans


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

1--Normandy sunset
2--American Cemetery
3--Normandy flowers
4--X 3 at Normandy
5--driving in Paris is lots of fun; everyone should cruise the roundabouts


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

1--building near drop off center in Paris
2--the drop off "trailer"
3--I was thinking.....


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

beware_phog said:


> 5--your typical $5 coke


 Sound like you had a wonderful trip and went to places where no 'Fester had gone before during ED (Normandy). :thumbup:

Being a coke addict I was always looking for a supermarket to stock up. I was surprised when I stopped at a McDonald's and found that for the price of the miniature Coke bottle served elsewhere I could get a combo that included a US sized glass of Coke. :banana:


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

LDV330i said:


> Sound like you had a wonderful trip and went to places where no 'Fester had gone before during ED (Normandy). :thumbup:
> 
> Being a coke addict I was always looking for a supermarket to stock up. I was surprised when I stopped at a McDonald's and found that for the price of the miniature Coke bottle served elsewhere I could get a combo that included a US sized glass of Coke. :banana:


Yeah, learned that there is a HUGE difference in price between a CAFE, a Restaurant and what we call fast-food places. We hunted down mini-markets and the like (i.e. 7-11) for certain items at well.


----------



## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

I noticed that you stayed in Amboise. That's pretty interesting, since my wife and I stayed there in 2000 when we spent a week in France. We also stayed in Bayeux in Normandy, which is what your picture from there looks like.

Was the cemetery surreal or what? What did you feel when you walked on Omaha beach? I get goose bumps even now thinking about that place.

-MrB


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

mrbelk said:


> I noticed that you stayed in Amboise. That's pretty interesting, since my wife and I stayed there in 2000 when we spent a week in France. We also stayed in Bayeux in Normandy, which is what your picture from there looks like.
> 
> Was the cemetery surreal or what? What did you feel when you walked on Omaha beach? I get goose bumps even now thinking about that place.
> 
> -MrB


Normandy was one of those places I wanted to visit forever. And then Band of Brothers came out and I subsequently read a ton of books. It is such a beautiful area and can only imagine what it was like during the war.

We stayed at a hotel called hotel de la marine which was right on the water at Arromaches. Arromaches was under British control and was where they built a man-made port that supplied the troops after the landing. There was one at Omaha beach as well, but that one blew down after a huge storm and they decided to just repair the one at Arromaches. There is a great musuem right in town that explains all they did to build it. Well worth it as they had individuals explain it to you.

It's hard for me to comprehend the number of sacrifices made, and the American Cemetery was the kind of thing that puts it in perspective. Just imagine one man standing where each cross is and that puts it in visuals for me.

You hear alot about how France hates the US and all that (probably just Paris hates DC) but in this part of the country, every small town that looks like it hasn't changes in hundreds of years had allied flags draped all over the place. It was a refreshing positive appreciation of the allies.


----------



## Roadhawk (May 21, 2004)

Wow Phog - what an awesome trip! And nice pics! thanks! (not too many !s I hope...) - just how long did all this take you...not an insignificant amount of driving...

We'll be picking up our B'mer in July and dropping off in Paris beginning of August...but we're planning only Germany, a bit of Austria (Halstatt) and perhaps Salsburg...and then visiting friends near Paris. Several years ago we did Normandy region - incl Omaha Beach - which was very moving...and hit some other places on the coast further East - Deauville & such. Did you catch te tapestry in Bayuex? Well worth it.

Can't wait! Did everything go smoothly with the Paris drop off?


----------



## Roadhawk (May 21, 2004)

beware_phog said:


> 1--Vignette sticker needed to drive the autobahn in Austria
> ...
> 5--your typical $5 coke


We're hoping to do Austria without Autobahning it to save the $40e - or thereabouts...guess we'll have to see...

And $5 coke - tell me about it. Maybe 4-5 years ago we were in Geneva and I took my two boys to a Micky-D's as they were tiring of Raclette etc...well just they ate - a hamburger each and split a small fries - and we each had a small coke...ending up being something like $20+!!!!


----------



## BigBoris (Jan 8, 2004)

Roadhawk said:


> We're hoping to do Austria without Autobahning it to save the $40e - or thereabouts...guess we'll have to see...


Actually, in Austria the vignettes are available in one (or two) week increments for about 12 euro. In contrast, the vignettes in Switzerland expire at the end of the year and are not prorated.

We did not tour Austria extensively (only Salzburg to Vienna) but in Switzerland, even with the high cost, it *definitely* makes sense to get the vignette and take the autobahns if you can. Sure it's fun to drive on the side roads sometimes, but since they are typically twisty and run through little towns your average speed will be fairly low. This means that you will be driving further (twisty road vs. straight) and have lower gas mileage (lots of accel/deccel) which translates into a higher gas bill. With gas at $6/gal that adds up quickly.


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

BigBoris said:


> Actually, in Austria the vignettes are available in one (or two) week increments for about 12 euro. In contrast, the vignettes in Switzerland expire at the end of the year and are not prorated.
> 
> We did not tour Austria extensively (only Salzburg to Vienna) but in Switzerland, even with the high cost, it *definitely* makes sense to get the vignette and take the autobahns if you can. Sure it's fun to drive on the side roads sometimes, but since they are typically twisty and run through little towns your average speed will be fairly low. This means that you will be driving further (twisty road vs. straight) and have lower gas mileage (lots of accel/deccel) which translates into a higher gas bill. With gas at $6/gal that adds up quickly.


Switzerland cost us 25 Euro and we were primarily on the autobahn as well. Super long tunnels. Likewise, the 1 week vignette was 7.5 Euro. No stickers for France....just tons of tolls.


----------



## LeucX3 (Dec 26, 2001)

Nice pics, great trip. How did you like the X3 for the short time you were in it?


----------



## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

Hey Brent!! Glad you had a good time and got home safely...we had a ball too, got in last night. Only put 1150 miles on the car but did get it up to 130mph a couple of times. We chickened out and did'nt drive in Paris (Been there, done that) Enjoyed our short time in Munchen with you both.
Woody


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

LeucX3 said:


> Nice pics, great trip. How did you like the X3 for the short time you were in it?


Posted in the X forum--X3 Drive

We really enjoyed it. Drove like a 3 but taller.


----------



## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

woody underwood said:


> Hey Brent!! Glad you had a good time and got home safely...we had a ball too, got in last night. Only put 1150 miles on the car but did get it up to 130mph a couple of times. We chickened out and did'nt drive in Paris (Been there, done that) Enjoyed our short time in Munchen with you both.
> Woody


Likewise....always fun to meet another fester.


----------

