# July 22nd ED: 550i SP



## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

The big day has finally arrived! Pick up is in three hours (we´re going to arrive 2 hours earlier than our appointment and see if they will accomodate us).

We flew LH nonstop from Seattle to Frankfurt on Sunday, July 20th, and caught a connecting flight to Munchen later that "day", so we didn´t get to our hotel (Hotel Ibis, near the Munchen Nord Ubahn station) until pretty late in the day on Monday. 

First take on LH: in my past experience, coach/economy seats to Europe are not a pleasant way to travel, but this trip wasn´t too bad. We did the 2-1 LH deal, which still cost us $1,850. Ouch. All in all, the seats were comfortable (we had a window and ailse seat on the left side of an Airbus 330), and the staff at the check-in counter and on the plane were very nice and helpful (well, we had one grouchy stewardess, but everyone else was pleasant.). Overall, I would recommend LH, as a first-timer.

We took the Lufthansa shuttle from the airport to the Munchen Nord station, which was 100 yards (ok, meters) from the Hotel Ibis, which was very convenient. Price was 10.5 Euros apiece, which I thought was a great price. The driver was very nice, spoke english, and got us to the drop off pronto. Highly recommended.

We are staying at the Hotel Ibis, near Munchen Nord, about 1 mile east of Der Welt. We got it for 84 Euros-night. First impression - not impressed. I´ve been to Europe several times, and know to recalibrate my expectations, but I was still a bit dissapointed for the price. The bed was a simple platform with a thin but (very) firm mattress, two surprisingly small and uncomfortable pillows, and two duvet covers (european standard). It has a simple bathroom, a tv, and the bed. That´s about it. The best part is that it is very convenient to the Ubahn and Der Welt.

OK - I know hotels, beds, and planes aren´t the point of the forum - it´s about the car baby! I at least wanted to get my report started, and as internet connections and opportunities present themselves, I will post pics and stories.

Today: Pick up at 9:00 or 11:10 (our scheduled time is 11:10), then off to a sobering visit to Dachau.
Tomorrow: Salzburg for one night, then on to Venice for two nights, Lake Como for two nights, Zurich for one night, Nurnberg, Prague (2 nights), Wurzburg, then Frankfurt and home.

More to come...


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## ucdbiendog (Nov 19, 2007)

Congrats! I heard Prague is a great place to see, I didn't make it there myself. I can remember how excited I was a couple hours before, you certainly must be just as excited


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## SJAPoc (Apr 14, 2007)

Thanks for the report... Can't wait to see pics of the car


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

sjapoc said:


> thanks for the report... Can't wait to see pics of the car :d


+1!


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## andytaro (Jan 6, 2008)

Congrats! I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your flight from SEA to FRA. I'll be taking same flight in 2 weeks, and my fare is $4000 ($2000 for 2for1 + $1800 for my 10 year old and $200 for 23 motnhs old). My ED saving is already blown away with airfare. :-( 
Anyway, did your seat have an in-seat entertainment system?


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## Alfred G (Apr 1, 2007)




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## eyeamdman (Jul 22, 2008)

*You Da Man*

Hey,

Can't wait to see the pics. You are Da Man!!!!!!!!!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Here are the first pics...*

OK, so here we go...

The first two pics are just outside "the happiest place on Earth" (sorry, Disney). Der Welt really is a very kewl looking building. You have to see it for yourself.

We got there two hours early, hoping to take delivery earlier than our 11:10 appointment, so that we´d have more time in Munchen. They were very nice about it, and moved our appointment time up to 10:00, so we spent the time wandering around the floor and the gift shop. We didn´t find much of interest, except a pretty cool aluminum water bottle for 9 euros, so rather than lose it I used it. 

We also spent time in the Premium Lounge having breakfast, which was very nice. The lounge is very spacious an nice. Good way to kill some time. There´s a nice little balcony you can walk to and look out to ... wait, is that blue one mine...(quick check of the paperwork to compare the license plate)...YES, it´s her! The third pic is my new baby. I´m blown away. Gotta say, that blue is more beautiful than I expected.

OK - gotta keep this short, people waiting for the ´puter at my hotel.

You also see the badge of glory: 550i.  and the obligatory shot of the odometer with 0 miles. And of course, your´s truly getting the overview.

OK, gotta run. Much more later. Today, off to Salyburg


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## eyeamdman (Jul 22, 2008)

*Nice Color 550i*

Nice ride Bill. Bet you are living the dream eh?

Gerhard


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## SJAPoc (Apr 14, 2007)

Congratulations :thumbup:


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## Vitacura (Jul 22, 2005)

Nice pics! Congrats!


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## boothguy (Feb 1, 2007)

Can't think of another 550i ED report since Jonathan's last November. Anxious to hear more; especially your impressions of the car. In January of '07 when I was first drawn to the BMW brand having been wowed by a 535i at the local auto show, the CA at the local dealer tried to up-sell me to the 550i. I resisted, but the gravitational pull was - and is - still there. Standing by...


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## b-y (Sep 14, 2004)

Thanks for the report and the pix. The blue is very nice.



BickUW89 said:


> ...
> OK, gotta run. Much more later. Today, off to Salyburg


_WARNING TO ALL: Watch out for those wacky German keyboards. The Y and Z keys are not where you expect them to be. _ :angel:


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

b-y said:


> _WARNING TO ALL: Watch out for those wacky German keyboards. The Y and Z keys are not where you expect them to be. _ :angel:


Not for all. There keys are EXACTLY where I expect them. :angel:


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

BickUW89 said:


> We are staying at the Hotel Ibis, near Munchen Nord, about 1 mile east of Der Welt. We got it for 84 Euros-night. First impression - not impressed. I´ve been to Europe several times, and know to recalibrate my expectations, but I was still a bit dissapointed for the price.


Congratulations on the delivery! Car looks great.

One question: I'm curious about what you said about recalibrating your expectations. Generally, I recalibrate my expectations upward but your comment sounds as if one might recalibrate one's expectations downward for some reason.

I'd rather be in the Vier Jarheszeiten or MO in Munich or in the Imperial or Meridien or Hotel de France in Vienna than in the so-so hotel I'm staying in in San Francisco (no choice re hotel as I did a keynote for a conf. here).


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

boothguy said:


> Can't think of another 550i ED report since Jonathan's last November...


Actually last October, 23. October to be exact. Day 1 and delivery no. 1 at the Welt :angel:


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

andytaro said:


> Congrats! I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your flight from SEA to FRA. I'll be taking same flight in 2 weeks, and my fare is $4000 ($2000 for 2for1 + $1800 for my 10 year old and $200 for 23 motnhs old). My ED saving is already blown away with airfare. :-(
> Anyway, did your seat have an in-seat entertainment system?


Yes, the A330 from Seattle to Frankfurt has the in-seat entertainment system. I had called LH in advance about this and they said that all of the planes used to/from SEA-FRA have them, so you should be good.

Note - the headphone connection on the armrest is the dual plug design. If you're bringing your own headphones, you'll need an adapter that allows you to plug into both simultaneously. My Bose N/C headset came with the proper plug, but my other pair of headphones didn't, so I could only get one channel of audio with that. :-(


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

boothguy said:


> Can't think of another 550i ED report since Jonathan's last November. Anxious to hear more; especially your impressions of the car. In January of '07 when I was first drawn to the BMW brand having been wowed by a 535i at the local auto show, the CA at the local dealer tried to up-sell me to the 550i. I resisted, but the gravitational pull was - and is - still there. Standing by...


OK, here's my probably too-lengthy impression about the car...

First of all, my own frame of reference is my now-retired 2000 540i with Sport Package and 6MT. Sold it in February. All of the opinions below reflect the fact that I haven't spent much time in an E60 until now, and may not be 550-specific, but here goes...

The 20-way seats are AMAZING! They are WAY better than the ones in my E39. I've never felt a more comfortable, or easily adjusted seat.

I'm still getting used to the feel of the Active Steering, but I love the way the car handles at low speed. I haven't had a chance to horse it around yet, though, as the Spousal Unit is not into the fun of spirited driving AT ALL. So, I'm tooling around Europe so far like a grandpa. Haven't had it over 90 yet (although I got to 90 _awefully _quick! Nor have I had a chance to do some hard cornering a la Stelvio Pass. But, I can say that the road feel and communication from the tires to steering wheel are awesome.

The V8 in this car is a mother! The sound of the engine is absolutely awesome. I had the window down yesterday, put it in Sport mode on the Sport Auto Tranny, and gunned it going up a hill in Bellagio (SU wasn't in the car). What a sound! Dunno how the 535i would've sounded, but I loved it.

The folding mirrors have been a god-send in places like Mestre (outside of Venice) and on the drive to Bellagio. I've had to pull them in a few times on these very narrow roads. That's standard on the 550i, dunno if it is on the other 5ers, or if it's even an option. I love them, though.

Personally, I love the 550i, and didn't even consider the other 5ers. I just like a big V8, the additional standard equipment, and my own personal feeling of not having sacrificed on choices.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

b-y said:


> Thanks for the report and the pix. The blue is very nice.
> 
> _WARNING TO ALL: Watch out for those wacky German keyboards. The Y and Z keys are not where you expect them to be. _ :angel:


I'll try to get more pics of the car up soon. The pics I put up don't do the blue any justice at all. And now the car is dirty! Oh well, I'll do what I can.

I also want to try and get some pics up of the interior. I got the black leather with anthracite bamboo wood and anthracite headliner. The SU isn't crazy about it, but I freaking love it! The anthracite HL really looks a lot nicer than the standard-issue grey, and I think the bamboo looks wicked-sporty. If you can't get the M5's brushed aluminum look, I think the bamboo is the next best look for all-out sportiness. The lighter woods add some texture and highlight, and a sense of refinement, but the bamboo says "sports car"

I'm surprised how many positive "looks" I'm getting in the car over here. Had one guy in Italy yesterday on a motorcycle go by real slow at a stop light while staring at the car and nodding his approval quite obviously. Audis, MB, Alfa Romeo, and BMWs are everywhere over hear, but a lot of the above are station wagons, and so far haven't seen another blue 5er like mine. Guess it's a bit of a unique color.

The aero package sure looks awesome on it! Heck, even the SU said "I really like that!"


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

JSpira said:


> Congratulations on the delivery! Car looks great.
> 
> One question: I'm curious about what you said about recalibrating your expectations. Generally, I recalibrate my expectations upward but your comment sounds as if one might recalibrate one's expectations downward for some reason.
> 
> I'd rather be in the Vier Jarheszeiten or MO in Munich or in the Imperial or Meridien or Hotel de France in Vienna than in the so-so hotel I'm staying in in San Francisco (no choice re hotel as I did a keynote for a conf. here).


Well, first of all, I'm a budget traveller kind of guy. When I travel in the states, I go for the $65-$85/night place. Not Motel 6 or super 8, but not a Hilton, either. I've stayed in plenty a nice place, of course, but generally I just need a bed, a shower, TV, Internet, and a place to park.

Having said that, Europeans just do things differently (not bad/better/worse, just different). For example, don't automatically expect a bathroom in your room if shopping on a budget. Frequently, the facilities are shared, and down the hall. You never have to worry about that in the US.

Second, Europeans are into the feather quilt/duvet thing. Very comfortable, but that's also just about all you get. We're used to tucked in sheets, blankets, and comforters in the US. European hotels don't have anything tucked in, so it "looks" spartan, even though it's quite comfy and warm.

Europeans, perhaps more in Germany and Austria, don't heat their rooms as much as we're used to in the US, and a lot of places don't give the guest control. For example, we stayed at the Hotel Schöne Aussicht in Salzburg last week. It was maybe 50F outside, and it was the same temperature in our room! We were freezing our a$$es off, and the room had no heat control! Brr. My wife spent two years living in Germany a while back, and said that's pretty typical - even her apartment where she LIVED, the landlord controlled the heat. Go figure.

Other differences: bathrooms are small, showers are barely big enough to turn around in, let alone change your mind. Floor space is small (as one would/should expect given the physical limitation of places in Europe vs the US). Oh yeah, and they don't have ice. Americans love their ice. Europeans roll their eyes and shake their head at the idea of ice, and they certainly don't cotton to having an ice machine down the hall! LOL

So, to rephrase, not saying one is better than the other, just different. I cope quite well in US hotels as well as those in Europe. But, they are different, and I wouldn't want an American coming over here for the first time expecting to get what they are used to at home, then pitching a hissy fit because, well, "I'm an American". They should educate themselves first, and adjust their expectations.

That's what I meant by "recalibrate".


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Wow! One more great report amongst a string of some really good ones as of late. Thanks for this fine report. :thumbup:


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Bellagio, Lake Como: Hotel Centrale*

After a couple of days in Venice, it was time for some down-time. We'd spent six straight days walking our arses off in Munich, Salzburg, and Venice, and we were getting a little weary. Fortunately, we'd planned our stay in Bellagio for the weekend, right in the middle of our trip. Kind of a little vacation within the vacation, where we could relax a bit and do a LOT less walking.

Bellagio totally fit the bill!

The drive from Venice to Bellagio is pretty uneventful until you get off the main highway. The last 15 miles are an adventure! It's been covered in other posts (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3461432&postcount=17) that the lakeside road to Bellagio is VERY NARROW. This part of the trip was the one time I wished I'd gotten a 335i instead of the 550i. The 5er is pretty wide, but thankfully the powered rearview mirrors came in very handy. We needed them. My wife didn't enjoy the stress of the close quarters on the road much, and I can't say that I was relaxed for any part of the drive along the lake myself, but the reward was getting to Bellagio.

As others have posted, you'll be confronted with a small gate at Bellagio that prevents your entering. If you are staying at a hotel there, make sure to find out the code IN ADVANCE of your arrival, so that you can open the gate and park inside the gated area while you unload. You can park in the white spaces for up to 2 hours while you unload. Don't even think of parking in the yellow spaces!

We stayed at the Hotel Centrale.


We really liked this place, and the proprietor is an awesome, friendly guy, Giacomo Borelli, who speaks English. We made all of our arrangements directly with him by email ([email protected]). He was great about providing instructions for our arrival, where to park, and the coveted code to the gate (posted elsewhere - PM me if you need it). The place was a bit spendy (130 E/night), but we knew that going in. Bellagio is not a budget traveler's destination.

The room at Hotel Centrale was spacious, they had high-speed internet (cat5, as well as wireless) for no charge, and very, very comfortable. The location was a bit of hassle for luggage, being 200 feet down from the road, but I'd still highly recommend this hotel. I would stay there again for sure.

The place is drop-dead beautiful:




We went to one of the small shops on our second day and bought some cheese, meat, bread and wine and drove up from Bellagio for a picnic. We found a marvelous public park at the peak, overlooking the Eastern half of the lake. Great view!



A bit curious to see a heli-pad so high up, next to the park...




And of course, one of the car...



And then returning to Bellagio...


Bellagio did the trick! After 2 nights there, our batteries were recharged, and we were ready for the next week of traveling and touring. Next stop, Zurich, Switzerland!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Lake Como to Zurich*

Leaving Lake Como, our plan was to see Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nurenburg, and Prague. Zurich looked like a good stopping point for one night so that we didn't spend an entire day doing nothing but driving. We also didn't really have a sense of what Zurich had to offer or what to do.

One other practicality: it was time to do laundry after a week of traveling, so that was priority #1 when we got to Zurich. We figured a big city would offer the best shot at a laundromat.

Leaving Bellagio, we avoided the lake-side route on S583 (didn't enjoy the close quarters on that road in our 5er), so we took SP41/via vallassina toward Erba, then over to the city of Como before hitting the E4 highway north to Zurich. SP41 is a very scenic drive along the crest of the peninsula, and is much wider than the lakeside. Recommended!

As we were leaving Como and entering Switzerland, it was the one time on our trip where you really knew you were at a border crossing. Not that they stopped us or anything, but a not-very-friendly looking female swiss border agent looked sternly at us, our car, then waived us on through. Then we had to go through a toll plaza to get a time-stamped ticket for later cash extraction.

The lowlight of the drive to Zurich was approaching Airolo, where the traffic suddenly came to a halt and both lanes of travel were blocked for several miles. We thought it might be an accident up ahead, but it turned out that it was because of the tunnel up ahead. This thing is a MONSTER! There is a very twisty/windy road that goes up and over the mountains here (looked like it would've been a LOT of fun to drive, but the SU wasn't into having a "dynamic drive"), so we opted for the tunnel.

This tunnel is the longest one I've ever seen, at over 9 miles in length. The reason traffic was so bad is because there is a stop light before you enter it, where they only allow a few cars and trucks to enter at a time, and speeds are restricted to 80 km/hour.

The highlight of the drive came soon after, as we drove along a stunning, beautiful lake and came upon Brunnen, Switerland.



There is a small pull-out off of the highway where the sign above is posted. We stopped there to get a great view of Brunnen's lakeshore, and took this pic of the car...



We didn't have much time to spend in this fun discovery, but we stopped for a pastry and "cola light", then took a few pictures before continuing on to Zurich.



A cool looking paddle-wheeler:


Some red-headed American with that "I-just-picked-up-a-new-BMW-at-Der-Welt" grin on his face:


The rest of the drive to Zurich was breath-taking. The Swiss alps really are impressive. I always thought that the Cascade mountains in Washington State were amazing, and figured the Alps couldn't be much more than what we enjoy here. Wrong! The Alps are like the Cascade mountains on steroids!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Zurich - Our Time was Too Short!*

We only planned to spend one night in Zurich, so our time was pretty limited. It was limited further by our need to do some laundry the afternoon we arrived, and quite a bit of difficulty finding a laundromat. That was an adventure all it's own, but I won't bore with the details.

We finally made it into the beautiful old center of Zurich around 5:30. Stores and sites were already closed or closing, so we really didn't get to go into any of them. What a shame! The city is beautiful, and we found ourselves wishing we'd done more advance planning and made more time available to explore here. None-the-less, we enjoyed walking around for an hour or so, and took some nice photos:

Love the architectural elements:


The river is beautiful. We were wondering what this building was that had two arched openings over the water:


Would have loved to go into some of these churches, but it was already after 7:00 PM and they were closed.






So, we left Zurich early the next day, wishing we'd had more time. Maybe on our next ED, we'll head here first!

Our next destination was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which we were both really looking forward to.

Note for 'Festers with Nav: entering "Rothenburg" into the nav system is like putting in "Springfield" in the U.S. - you'll get about a dozen hits, none of which are the one you want! You have to make sure and enter the word "Rothenburg", and include a space and "ob" before it will list the one you want; otherwise it'll never come up. It was a bit confusing, but we finally figured it out.

Leaving Zurich and heading to the border with Germany, we once again had to go through some pretty backed up traffic for a border station. They stopped a few cars and talked to the drivers, while waiving most others straight through. The guard took one look at our temporary license plate and simply waived us on. Whew, nice and easy! Back in Germany, woo hoo!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Rothenburg ob der Tauber*

Wow, what a COOL place! Rothenburg is like a place lost in time. Surely this place helped inspire David Winter and his cottages, or Thomas Kincaid and his paintings. I felt like I was walking amongst a Christmas cottage collection. Really beautiful, and lots of fun.

We stayed right in the old town, at the Flair Hotel Reichskchenmeister. The room was surprisingly large, and quite comfortable. It was also decorated in the character of the town. We loved the place:









The afternoon we arrived, there happened to be a high school orchestra from the United States (Virginia, I think) visiting and performing in the town square. We ended up having lunch and a bier at a street-side restaurant and just listening to the orchestra for a while. They were sensational!



You can see on some of the following pictures that the buildings look just like a David Winter cottage - complete with out-of-square angles and in some places sagging walls that added a real charm to their character:











Small cottages outside of the city, at the bottom of a little valley


I loved this picture:


My better half in a window


The other big highlight of my time in Rothenburg was that I finally had a chance to get the 550i out on the Autobahn and let her fly! My spousal unit was not about to be in the car with me if I drove over 80 mph, so I planned a morning to get up early while she stayed in bed, and hit the road when the traffic was light.

I got her up to 120 mph without even thinking about it. The car was as smooth and comfortable at 120 mph as any other car I've ever driven at 60 mph. I really think 110-120 mph is the sweet spot for this car:


Of course, I had to take it to the speed limiter, since I'd never driven that fast before! To be honest, I was a bit nervous about driving that fast, but it wasn't as stressful as I expected. It was relaxing either, though! There is NO way you could enjoy the scenery at that speed - you better be paying attention to driving and what's coming up, cuz it comes up fast. Having said that, the car zipped to 155 mph without even a hint of complaining:


OK, I got that out of my system! Now that I've done it, I can say confidently that I'll probably never be tempted to drive that fast again. It's fun to know that I got a chance to do it, and that the car can do it, but it wasn't the way I'd ever want to drive in "real life." What a rush, though!


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