# M3 ED: 5 day Austria Trip Writeup



## javaruke (Nov 16, 2004)

Here's a write up of my recent ED. Photos can be found here: *photo gallery*

*Monday*

Arrive Munich 9 am on overnight flight from US. Rolf Raffelsieper provides not only car service, but great history of his career, BMW, and Munich. This includes driving tour of Munich area BMW facilities including large BMW auto and motorcycle sales, old European Delivery (ED) facility, BMW conference centers, BMW ***8220;four cylinder***8221; HQ, and ADAK (AAA of Germany) for maps and safety vest for Austria.
Dropped in front of Welt where greeted by staff. Bags checked and escorted to ED checkin personnel. Our associate was very polite and assisted with some schedule juggling to make sure we were able to do a factory tour and get back for delivery. Relax in ED lounge prior to factory tour.
Enjoy 1.5 hour factory tour ***8211; unfortunately no photos allowed. Learned a lot and impressed with size of operation. My car was manufactured in Regensburg, however interesting to see how they crank out 800 cars/day.
 Back to lounge to await delivery.
Meet Matthaeus Schepp for delivery. 
Taken to car briefing center where Matthaeus had a difficult time finding an overhead display computer that wanted to bring up their canned BMW technology pitch. Went to plan B which was to go directly into driving simulation module where he covered highlights of BMW technologies and associated simulations. All very interesting, however somewhat trivial compared to the anticipation of seeing my car for the first time.
Saw car for first time as we descended the ramp to the delivery area. Really blown away as the top was down and lighting on the car was great.
Matthaeus spent approximately 45 minutes going over features and functions, including a surprisingly high level of knowledge about US specific market options e.g. Sirius/XM radio, as well as tips like taking along safety triangle, first aid kit, and color matching front license plate mount when we drop off the car.
Took not one but two ***8220;victory laps***8221; around the ED ***8220;circle of fame***8221; before exiting.
Drove directly to ED Tires/John Lance Rentals in Ismaning for snow tire mounting, despite fact that it was sunny and 65 degrees. 
Drove to Aying ***8211; south of Munich and on the way to Salzburg. Took exit off of 99 toward Hohenkirchen and throughly enjoyed the back roads. Stayed at Brauereigasthof Hotel in Aying. Quaint Bavarian town with lots of charm and a somewhat famous brewery. Very nice surrounding landscapes and roads . I would recommend the hotel (clean, nicely decorated) and suspect the town would be even nicer during the warmer months with visitors and beer gardens.
Dinner at the hotel was very good ***8211; the lamb chops my daughter ordered being somewhat more tasty than the suckling pig I ordered.
*Tuesday*

Put the GPS on ***8220;avoid highways***8221; and drove from Aying to Salzburg. Weather was warm so top was down!
Stopped for lunch in Bad Aibling at Cafe Rott ***8211; beautiful spot and highly recommended. ***8220;Eis***8221; cafe just down the street 
Went through Rosenbeim, Bad Endorf, past large lake Chiemsee, through Traunstein and into Salzburg.
Stayed at Hotel Goldener Hirsch which is in the old part of town so a bit difficult to get to and then get to their secure parking which is through the tunnel, and 33 euros per night. Hotel was $210 per night. Rather rustic accommodations which I'm glad we tried, however would try something else if I were to go there again.
Walked the city ***8211; highlights were Salzach River area and Salzburg Fortress with stunning views at sunset. 
Attended Mozart Dinner concert at Stiftskeller. Venue and music were great, however the food was not so great. Also experienced the old ***8220;wine vintage bait and switch***8221; where they list a specific vintage for a bottle, however deliver a younger vintage. I called them on it but they did not adjust my bill. So I paid 25 euros for a 7 euro bottle of wine, and it really wasn't that good.

*Wednesday/Thursday*

Breakfast at Cafe Bazar overlooking Salzach river in Salzburg before leaving for Vienna. Highly recommended...great food, service, and view.
Put the GPS on ***8220;avoid highways***8221; and drove from Salzburg to Melk. Weather was warm so top was down! This was all about the driving and scenery - both were spectacular. The snow-sprinkled Trauern mountains providing the backdrop as we cruised from one small Austrian town to another. 
Parked in Melk and did a walkabout. The abbey is stunning and likely worth the time to tour, however we were anxious to get to Vienna for a concert, so didn't have the time. 
Back on road for final push to Vienna.
Arrived in Vienna and checked into Le Meridien ($225/night). No problem having doorman ride with me to their secure parking for $45/night (while it is under the hotel, several one way streets to navigate). Turned out to have very good room service food, and great pool area.
Highlights of the city include Vienna Symphony Orchestra at MusikVerein; Spanish Riding School; Museum of Modern Art; Die Flaudermaus opera at Volksoper; and Schonbrunn Palace.

*Friday*

Vienna back to Munich (4 hours) on autobahn. Break in period max speed was 106 mph which was easily achieved, with numerous road machines easily passing me.
Dropped bags at Kempinski Munich Airport.
Changed out snow tires/wheels and did a quick car wash across the street.
Met Katherin at Harms drop off. She was very friendly and informative. Able to get lots of information on shipping logistics, as well as tracking. She also drove us to local U-stop for train into Munich.
Wondered around Marienplatz and market area, although the weather had turned cold and wet.
Ate at Riva Pizza ***8211; some of the best pizza I've had anywhere...highly recommended for a quick meal and beer.
S-Train back to airport and hotel ***8211; nice treat to go for a swim in their pool.
*
Saturday*

Walked to airport for checkin; spent remaining euros on gifts for others (mostly of the confectionary variety).
Flight back to US.

*Do differently:*

Not buy the maps at ADAK ***8211; had GPS with European maps loaded.
Arriving at BMW Welt after overnight flight was actually not too bad, however after the tour and receiving the car we didn't have the energy to go through the museum. Next time will make a point to go back for that.
If traveling in ***8220;shoulder seasons***8221;, like October/November or March/April, wait on booking/paying for snow tires until have some visibility into forecast. I arranged for this in January, however when we arrived in late March it was sunny and 65 degrees. ***8220;Sorry, no refunds.***8221; Saving grace is that I didn't put 665 miles of wear on my new tires. 
Salzburg hotel ***8211; look for something with more convenient parking.
Mozart Dinner Concert in Salzburg - Don't bother with the dinner, and especially wine...overpriced and not that good. 
Make time to tour Melk Abbey.
Spend more time in Vienna ***8211; gorgeous and elegant city with lots to do.
Would have been nice to get enough miles to get beyond break in period and open things up, however just didn't have the time and wanted to enjoy the sights.

*Do the same:*

Use Rolf for airport/hotel pickup. For 45 euros we had received not only the transportation, but great BMW-specific information and tips.
Do factory tour (and museum) prior to taking delivery. I cannot imagine receiving the car and then have to park it until you are done with those things.
Spend first night away from Munich so have chance to drive the car and not have to worry about secure overnight parking. 
Drive back roads (***8220;avoid highways***8221; in GPS) for drives to Salzburg and Vienna. The roads are in great shape and views spectacular.
If you like the music and performing arts, definitely arrange events through hotels in both Salzburg and Vienna. Definitely world-class!
Purchase 24 hour Vienna subway pass in "tobak" (tobacco) shop. Stamp it in blue machine the first time you use it and then just carry it along.
Munich/Salzburg/Vienna is plenty for one week. One could argue you need even more time depending on how deep you want to go.
Use the car wash across from tire center (and a BMW dealer) in Ismaning. I'll post separately with picture of controls and meanings.
Eat lots of good ***8220;eis***8221; (ice cream) and drink lots of great bier :beerchug:


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## b-y (Sep 14, 2004)

Thanks for all the detail! :thumbup: Sounds like you had a great trip.


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Nice (and extraordinarily detailed :thumbup: ) report.

For photos of the factory tour, since you couldn't take any, please feel free to see mine.
  Building the 335d: A Tour of BMW's Munich Factory


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Your 'Do Differently, Do the Same' section is something I've never seen in my 4 years of patronizing this board and frankly is the most useful, concise info I've ever seen here. Thank you.


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## Agni (Jan 12, 2005)

Looks like a great trip. It must be tough to keep the M3 RPMs low.


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## bimmer_fam (Apr 16, 2007)

+1 on details. Thanks for sharing!


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Agni said:


> The pics in your blog posts are too small. Is there a way you can make it so when you click on them it will show bigger images?


Do you mean in The Diesel Driver magazine Web site? If you click on "menu" and "full screen" they go full screen.


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## sno_duc (Sep 3, 2008)

Ucla95 said:


> Your 'Do Differently, Do the Same' section is something I've never seen in my 4 years of patronizing this board and frankly is the most useful, concise info I've ever seen here. Thank you.


:thumbup:


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

bimmer_fam said:


> +1 on details. Thanks for sharing!


+2! Thank You and Congratulation!!!! :thumbup:


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## Vanos4:12PM (Apr 20, 2007)

Great write up and thanks for sharing. Wetting my appetite for my ED in May.


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## skywalkerbeth (Jul 19, 2007)

Great report, and, I really like your "do differently" and "do the same" category. Well organized and helpful.


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## IrvRobinson (May 10, 2006)

great writeup and no mention of your CA ?


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## LightWerkz (May 8, 2007)

Great write up  Was expecting to see more photos though!


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## Bombay Jay (Mar 20, 2006)

IrvRobinson said:


> great writeup and no mention of your CA ?


Let me guess!


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## avidude (Oct 20, 2007)

Thanks for the write up - very helpful. We are doing our ED trip in early Oct and have the exact same timing and itinerary.


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