# My 3rd ED 4/29/10



## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Very Sweet! Enjoy that beautiful new ride and the rest of your trip. :thumbup:


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## erdoran (Feb 29, 2008)

Ucla95 said:


> Museum was frankly better than the factory tour in my opinion, but again I'm an architecture buff so that added a lot of points for me that maybe others wouldn't care about.
> 
> On the slave labor issue - I was shocked and VERY pleased to see that so prominently displayed in the museum. I have some relatives who were in concentration camps (one lived, many didn't) and frankly I've always had a little hesitation about owning BMWs (but there's a saying that goes something like 'the sins of the fathers shouldn't be borne by the children').
> 
> And yes I'm a Cubs fan and a Bruin man! (not a common combo, believe me)


My brother-in-law and his kids, all of whom REALLY like cars, completely disapprove of my Z4 and have never shown any interest in it because it's German. Oh well, their loss....


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## BULLDOG77 (Nov 28, 2007)

pretty awesome...picking up mine in June...can't wait...have a kick ass time!


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

A8 between Munich and Stuttgart - one big slow construction zone! Avoid at all costs.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

Great video, UCLA!
Thanks for sharing! :thumbup:


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## benmalek (Feb 4, 2010)

I got the honor of signing the book right after you....


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## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

Ucla95 said:


> A8 between Munich and Stuttgart - one big slow construction zone! Avoid at all costs.


It was that way back in 2007 when I drove from Stuttgart to Munich. Shame they haven't finished whatever it is that they are doing.

-MrB


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## Shadyg (Jan 23, 2008)

Ucla95 said:


> A8 between Munich and Stuttgart - one big slow construction zone! Avoid at all costs.


Good tip, thank you. Modified my driving plans.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Right now in Stuttgart, planning to see the Porsche Museum tomorrow morning, then off to the 'Ring. Bottom line on Stuttgart - don't spend any more time here than you need to. I'm staying in the 'nicest' hotel in town and it's not the best. Strange for a city with such wealth and beauty. Frankly if I was in the hotel business I'd build one right away there! I drove by a Ferrari/Rolls dealer and they had some serious hardware in stock, including a two-tone Rolls Phantom Extended Wheelbase.

Did see the new Cayenne, looks very very good, looks smaller than the original. Also saw a Boxster Spyder on the road, also looked quite sharp. Best car I've seen so far was the 430 Scud right in front of the Welt this morning... white with a gray racing stripe.

A little bad news -- my car has a definite vibration through the steering wheel at >150kph. Perhaps I have a wheel balance issue. I'm going to drive it a little more to see if it goes away, but if not I'm going to head back to Munich after the 'Ring and hand it back over to the Welt people to have an engineer look at it. I'm flying on a flexible ticket thankfully so I can fly home from wherever; and I've heard from two people that the Welt is able to grab someone from the factory to look at your car if you're having a problem with it.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

You know what's great about being on an ED at the end of the month - getting a bit of a payday while cruising the Autobahn!


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## chrischeung (Sep 1, 2002)

Consider having lunch in the Porsche museum cafeteria. Price is reasonable IMO. The top floor restaurant also seemed to be quite nice.

I stayed at the Maritim in Stuttgart. I agree - there don't seem to be many new high end hotels in Stuttgart from my casual observation. If you are staying at the Maritim, ask about the small Swabian restaurant at Forststr 57 - very small, reasonably priced, and a great meal. 6 tables, the husband does the waiting, the wife the cooking. Don't expect quick delivery of your meal, since it's cooked from scratch. You'll need a reservation. www.ihrviertelesschlotzer.de


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## PacificJet (Mar 7, 2010)

Really enjoyed that! Don't forget the video at 150+.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

PacificJet said:


> Really enjoyed that! Don't forget the video at 150+.


Sorry, you won't see that, as there's no way I'm going to hit the 1200 mile break-in point. Wish I could, but don't have the time.


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## pharding (Mar 14, 2004)

I enjoyed the video. Thank you. A really cool building in Munich is the glass church.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Nurburgring today!


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

Thank you for video!


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Ok so a little more on the trip report - maybe it will help others not make the same mistake I did.

But first the good news - the Nurburgring was incredible. I took two laps and that was just about right for me. I can't recommend it enough, you simply MUST go there on your ED. Anyone who doesn't experience it is really missing out on the #1 attraction of ED in my opinion. Ran into another ED'er with a white M3 there, but I don't think he's on this forum.

Now the mistake - well it's really a combo of two mistakes cascading into one big disappointing situation. So #1 - I'm here alone (wife is preggo so I didn't want to drag her along to a foreign country). Really it gets pretty boring after a couple of days when you don't have a dinner or bar partner. 
So that led to #2. Yesterday it was about 3:30pm when I was done with the 'Ring and I was trying to figure out where to go and/or what to do next. (I didn't pre-plan my trip.) So being alone I figured a big city is where I should be (mistake) and then I plugged in a few cities in the NAV - Paris, Amsterdam, back to Munich, etc. Bottom line I should've taken the shortest drive (Amsterdam), but instead I said to myself, 'hey you're going to want more Autobahn-time, so stay in Germany'. So I ended up driving another five hours yesterday just to make it back to Munich. Yes it was on the Autobahn, yes mostly >100mph, but it still was boring after the first couple of hours and a long day. Upside, I do love Germany; and I'm partaking of more of the town. But I should've gone with the shorter drive.

Vids from the Porsche and Mercedes Museum coming - both were also highlights of the trip.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Car still having vibration issues >140kph btw. I'm guessing it's a wheel-balance issue. EDC - I can't feel any difference between the three settings! Generally a great car, but the vibration is not good.


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## erdoran (Feb 29, 2008)

You're in the home of BMW engineering! Can you stop by the Welt tomorrow and have them check it out? Maybe they'll be nice and take it to Harms from there!


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

erdoran said:


> You're in the home of BMW engineering! Can you stop by the Welt tomorrow and have them check it out? Maybe they'll be nice and take it to Harms from there!


That is exactly what I plan to do tomorrow morning. I will obviously post up the results. I'd rather have them fix it here at its birthplace! There was one report previously of a 'fester getting help at the Welt and having them send a technician across the Street from the factory.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Porsche Museum


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Mercedes Museum


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## IrvRobinson (May 10, 2006)

It's all good , a long time planning but you're finally living it again.....Can't wait to see your track video ! Thanks


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

A thought just crossed my mind on the cars that I've seen in Europe. I've seen dozens of 911s, a bunch of Boxsters, but not a single Cayman, anywhere - even near Zuffenhausen. I wonder why that is?


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## the J-Man (Jul 31, 2009)

.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

IrvRobinson said:


> It's all good , a long time planning but you're finally living it again.....Can't wait to see your track video ! Thanks


Irv is fantastic btw. And he'll hopefully see me again when the M5 ED is out. (assuming I'm fortunate enough to be able to swing it!)


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## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Congrats! But what happened to some of your initial vids? It says "Removed by user"


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

Went back to the Hippodrom on Sunday evening and again it was incredible. Frankly I'm going to go out on a limb and say I like Fruhlingsfest as much as if not a little better than Oktoberfest - less madness, but still 100% of the fun and far less touristy. No tent reservations needed either. Here's the rough song list from the band I saw Sunday night - they played all these songs quite well. I'm looking for the proper names of the German and Austrian songs I don't know.

Jump - Van Halen
Every Step You Take - Police
De Fire (?) - German song, which I'd love to figure out
Bon Jovi - It's My Life - crowd really went wild
James Brown - I feel good
"I'm just dying in your arms tonight! Couldn't walk away..." - can't remember the name of the song
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
'I am from Austria' - Reinhard Fendrich
Guns and Roses style- Knockin on Heaven's Door


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

By the way - on my flight home from Munich we had to be re-routed South of another large ash cloud. It added 1.5 hours to our flight. Just fyi for those traveling soon.


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## Ucla95 (Jul 23, 2004)

From the Nurburgring...


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## adc (Apr 1, 2003)

Nice! Thank you for your report, especially the Nurburgring paddock video brought back very good memories.

Congratulations on the car - whatever it is wrong with her, they will fix it.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

Ucla95 said:


> From the Nurburgring...


Who take the pics? :thumbup:


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