'12 M3 Euro Delivery Journal - 2 weeks, 2252 miles

[benjammin]

Hey everyone, I'd like to share my recent Euro Delivery experience with 2 goals in mind. The first is to persuade you to do ED if you're still undecided - it's a great vacation and being able to experience the car to its full potential on the German Autobahn and Alpine roads should not be missed. The second is to help you plan your trip; as an aside, many thanks to those of you whose existing posts helped me plan my own trip!

Choosing to buy an M3 was not difficult. At my local dealer last summer I test drove a used 335i, a car I'd wanted for several years. It was quick, comfortable, quiet, and very composed. There was also an M3 on the lot and I drove it to see how it compared to the 335i. The handling, the V8, and especially the sound were intoxicating, and after that there simply was no going back to the 335i. Whereas the 335i was a very nice car, the M3 felt special. When I was ready to buy, David Aviles at Northwest BMW was helpful, offered an excellent price, and made the buying process easy.

My 2012 E92 M3 is Jet Black with the Anthracite cloth interior, 6MT, ZCP, moonroof, and satellite radio. To me, the joys of a clean black car trump the hassles, and since I'm planning on keeping the car 10 to 20 years (or at least until this eco cloud over the auto industry passes), I wanted the single-hump, sans-navigation dash that won't look outdated like the E39 M5's does today.

And now, the trip. Here was our itinerary:

Sat, 6/16: Detroit to New York to Munich
Sun, 6/17: Arrive in Munich
Mon, 6/18: Rent 135i, Dachau concentration camp
Tue, 6/19: M3 delivery at Welt, BMW attractions
Wed, 6/20: Castles Neuschwanstein and Linderhof
Thur, 6/21: Timmelsjoch and Stelvio passes to Lake Como
Fri, 6/22: Lake Como
Sat, 6/23: Lake Como to Milan
Sun, 6/24: Milan
Mon, 6/25: San Bernardino, Furka, Grimsel, and Susten passes
Tue, 6/26: Klausen pass to Zurich to Black Forest
Wed, 6/27: Black Forest to Stuttgart to Heidelberg
Thu, 6/28: M3 1200 mile service in Heidelberg
Fri, 6/29: Heidelberg to Nürburgring
Sat, 6/30: Nürburgring to Munich
Sun, 7/1: Munich
Mon, 7/2: Drop off M3, Wörthersee in Austria
Tue, 7/3: Hiking in Matrei, Austria
Wed, 7/4: Großglockner Hochalpenstraße and Kaprun
Thu, 7/5: Munich to New York to Detroit


Sunday, June 17

My friend Chris and I arrived at MUC airport around 10am and took the S-bahn to Munich Hauptbahnhof and then the U-bahn to our hotel for the next few days, Hotel Bristol near the Sendlinger Tor U-bahn station. The room was nice enough and the included breakfast was very good, but the street below was noisy in the morning with delivery trucks and people talking. I would recommend it for the convenient location but ask for a room facing the inner courtyard.

The rest of the day was spent walking around the Marienplatz and having a few beers with Stefan - the friend of a colleague and a local - at the Chinesischer Turm biergarten; this is a must-see while you're in Munich. It's inside the Englischer Garten park and feels like the quintessential biergarten with its Oompah music, tables shaded by walnut trees, and 1 Liter Maß beer glasses.

Marienplatz:



Chinesischer Turm biergarten:



Monday, June 18

We booked a 135i rental online with BMW On Demand and went to the BMW Welt at 9am to pick up the car. The process was seamless and the car sounded quite good in the Welt underground parking garage. We wanted to rent the car because (1) I knew the desire to plant my foot on the Autobahn would be strong in Germany and I didn't want to affect the M3's break-in period, and (2) my friend didn't really feel comfortable driving my new car but naturally didn't want to visit Germany without driving on its infamous unlimited highways.

From the Welt we headed to Dachau concentration camp and walked around for a few hours. As you might imagine it's a sobering experience but worth a visit. You could easily spend the better part of the day here browsing all the exhibits. A rental car isn't necessary though and you could also come by tour bus or train.

We next headed south along the A95 Autobahn towards Plansee. The highway gets increasingly hilly as you approach the mountains; as such it's very scenic but not the best to drive very fast. We stopped for a few pictures at the Plansee and then headed north in search of straighter, flatter roads.

Our rental 135i at the Plansee near the Austria-Germany border:



The A92 east of MUC was more conducive to high-speed cruising and we both hit 250kph between clumps of traffic. We dropped the car off at the Welt around 6pm and then walked around the nearby Olympiapark. Dinner was at Nürnburger Bratwurst Glöckl in the Frauenplatz; it has a biergarten atmosphere and the sausages were quite good.

Tuesday, June 19

Delivery day! We reached the Welt and finished signing the necessary paperwork in the Premium Lounge. Andy worked with us and I laughed when he explained that "the insurance policy is for €100,000,000, which should still be enough for two young guys in an M3." The Munich Plant Tour in English is at 11:30am and is a must-see for the fascinating processes and tricks that go into building BMWs. I emailed the Welt a few weeks prior (infowelt@bmw-welt.com) and simply asked for tickets. If you're picking up your car the guided tour is free.

Inside the BMW Welt (this photo is from my 2009 trip to Munich since some of the Welt displays were under construction during ED):



BMW "Four-Cylinder" headquarters across the street from the Welt:



We headed back to the Welt around 1:30pm and spotted my car on the Delivery level. This is when the excitement really begins! The car was no longer a Purchase Order or VIN number but rather my new car in the metal. We grabbed a snack in the Lounge then met Peter, my Delivery Specialist, at 2:10pm.

My car as viewed from the Premium Lounge:



We made the walk down the stairs and Peter explained the features of the car while adding informative tidbits along the way. He reminded me to take the first aid kit and warning triangle before dropping the car off at LogInOut, and that the "Super" Benzin (octane RON 95) was enough for the car and more expensive "Super Plus" wasn't necessary.

I stumped Peter by asking how to program my M button preferences, but as you can see he checked at the manual quickly and then showed me how to do it for individual vehicle keys. He said it had been a long time since he'd done it for a non-iDrive-equipped car.









I couldn’t resist driving the car a bit despite the early rush hour traffic and put the first 22km on the odometer before parking in the Welt's garage overnight with the free ticket Peter had given me earlier. We then headed to the BMW Museum (some of these pics are also from 2009):









We met Stefan again and had dinner at the Georgenhof restaurant in the Schwabing university district. The beef goulash was fantastic and we watched the UEFA soccer game over a few excellent Augustiner beers.

Wednesday, June 20

Chris and I picked up the car at the Welt and took the A99 and A96 Autobahns west to stop briefly in Dießen am Ammersee, a small and picturesque lake town.

On the way to Dießen:



Town of Dießen:





Heading south we stopped at Gasthof Adler in Halblech for lunch:



Towards Schloß Neuschwanstein it began to rain progressively harder and downright poured while we were on the Marienbrücke, so we didn't stay long. A colleage from Germany recommended viewing the outside of Neuschwanstein and then saving our money for the interior of Schloß Linderhof nearby. Here is the M3 in front of Neuschwanstein:



And from my 2009 archives, here is the castle when it's not pouring, as seen from the Marienbrücke:



We entered Austria and bought the required toll vignette, passed the Plansee again, and arrived at Linderhof at 6pm to discover their tours were over for the day. The surrounding gardens are free though and quite impressive.

Schloß Linderhof:





We drove on some nice back roads to Huben, Austria for our overnight stay at Haus GstreinHuben. This "Gasthaus" type of accommodation - essentially a bed & breakfast - cannot be beat for the price as long as you don't mind stepping out of your comfort zone somewhat. Basic German is helpful but most owners speak good enough English where you can comfortably communicate. If you're willing to take the "risk" you get friendly hosts, an idea of the local flavor, and usually a breakfast full of homemade foods. Our room in Huben cost €67, including breakfast.

Thursday, June 21

In the morning we woke up to fresh mountain air and the sound of cowbells:



We drove south out of Huben towards the Timmelsjoch pass. Pay the €14 one-way toll and you get wide roads, sweeping turns, and beautiful views:







Passing into Italy we took the SS44 to SS38 west. Traffic is relatively heavy on this two-lane road as it strings together one town after another. Eventually it got us to the Stelvio pass.

If you are expecting the driving nirvana portrayed by Top Gear, you will be somewhat disappointed. It appears they had the road closed for their shoot and in that case I can see the appeal. But the realities of a narrow, imperfect road surface lined with stone barriers and oncoming traffic make the drive a little more demanding. The first few switchbacks are fun but after awhile watching and waiting for cyclists, motorcycles, and other cars around the next bend gets tiresome (to negotiate some of the turns requires the whole width of the road). Despite this, it's some impressive road construction that yields unbelievable views at the top:









The drive down the other side is much more enjoyable:





From there we continued on the unremarkable SS38 to Lake Como. We took SP72 down the east side of the lake to Varenna where we caught the car ferry to Bellagio:



Bellagio:



Our hotel was Hotel Il Perlo Panorama which had a very nice guest terrace overlooking the lake. The included breakfast was decent and there was a shuttle to town a few times each day; from the hotel expect a 30 minute walk to Bellagio down (or up) the hill. Parking was sufficient and the hotel owners were very accommodating, though our garden-view room was nothing special.

Friday, June 22

We spent the day taking the ferry to various tourist sites in Bellagio, Varenna, and Como. The lake is very nice but expect a touristy atmosphere. One full day was enough for us.

Walking down to Bellagio from the hotel:



View towards Varenna from Villa Monastero:



Saturday, June 23

We left Bellagio, drove through Como, then filled up at a rest stop outside Milan. At this Agip gas station, Super+ is the equivalent of the "senza piombo" recommended on the fuel filler cap:



Milan is a nice city and I'm glad we stopped. Italian cities have a more relaxed feel to them than do many of the cities I've visited in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. I wasn't going to park my new car in a congested Italian city like Milan, though, so we parked instead at the Molino Dorino commuter station and took the subway into the city. Since it was the weekend I had my choice of parking spaces.

Near the Duomo subway stop is a take-out restaurant called Luini Panzerotti, offering "panzerotti" which are donut-like pouches filled with various ingredients. The dough is very soft, somewhat sweet, and the simple tomato and mozzarella filling I chose made this quite a treat. I would highly recommend stopping, but keep in mind they're closed on Sundays.



At the end of the day we drove 15 minutes from Molino Dorino to Poli Hotel near Legnano. This was a reasonably-priced contemporary hotel with plentiful underground parking. There were many excellent foods available for breakfast and the whole hotel seemed quite new. The comparatively luxurious air-conditioned room was a nice change of pace.

Sunday, June 24

Back in Milan we visited more of the tourist attractions and had lunch at the Brek cafeteria/restaurant near the San Babila subway stop. Below is the famous Milanese Duomo (cathedral) and the view from its roof:





Would a visit to Italy be complete without seeing a red Ferrari?



Monday, June 25

I was quite excited for this day as we planned to drive several Alpine passes on our way into Switzerland. We left Legnano north on the A9 which became the A2 in Switzerland, then merged onto the A13 heading east. A few miles down the road we got off the A13 highway and jumped on the Route 13 two-lane road that parallels the A13. We followed Route 13 up to the San Bernardino pass, where it became increasingly cloudy and began to rain.





We continued on Route 13 north headed towards Bonaduz. This road was lightly traveled and had some interesting sections that were enjoyable despite the incessant drizzle:



A small parking area encouraged us to stretch our legs and peer into this impossibly deep ravine:



At Bonaduz we headed west along Route 19 through Andermatt and then over the Furka pass:



At the bottom of the Furka pass we turned north onto Route 6 and then immediately began to climb the Grimsel pass:



Next we headed west onto Route 11 over the Susten pass. It was still raining and at the top the car said it was 44F outside; this made for some chilly (and quick) photo stops:





Heading north on Route 2 we stopped overnight in Gurtnellen at Gasthaus Bergheim. The owner was very friendly and though she spoke no English, my German was enough to get by. After dinner and a beer at their family restaurant we discovered the room was quite rustic when compared to the Poli Hotel from the previous night. Luckily I had my laptop and a hard drive full of Top Gear episodes!

continued...

[benjammin]

...continued

Tuesday, June 26

We filled up on a breakfast of cold cuts and homemade jam, butter, and bread. The undoubtedly picturesque view in this narrow valley was spoiled by yet more rain, so we hit the road towards Zurich.

We turned off Route 2 onto Route 17 headed east over the Klausen pass. I remembered the stunning photos other forum members had posted of this road, but this was all we could see:



In contrast to the smooth (but wet) road surfaces of the previous day's passes, the Klausen pass roads were choppy and inconsistent. Between this and the wet pavement, we took it easy. That probably wasn't a bad thing considering we rounded one corner and came across this roadblock:





We took highway A3 into Zurich and parked at the Urania Parkhaus near the Hauptbahnhof. Inside were Audi R8s, several Astons, a 458 Italia, and too many 911s to count. We didn't have any plans for Zurich other than to grab lunch so we just walked around the "old city" for a few hours.





Fodor's suggested Rheinfelder Bierhaus for a good meal so we stopped in. I had calf's liver and Chris had schnitzel. The meal was indeed good but I would argue with Fodor's "budget" classification for the place - lunch for the two of us was about $70. I'd heard Zurich is expensive, but geez.





We drove (slowly) in northbound rush hour traffic along the A1 into Germany's Black Forest to our overnight stop at Gasthaus Schwanen in Stülingen. There were several parking spaces for guests, the room was comfortable, and breakfast was very good. The owners were very friendly but also busy tending to their hotel and restaurant guests.

Wednesday, June 27

In the morning we drove west along Route B315 which surprisingly had some fun twisty sections where I pushed the car a bit. The M button firms things right up and I had to remind myself a few times about still being in the break-in period. This S65 V8 is such a temptress during break-in. The higher the revs go, the sweeter she sounds, but I knew it was just one more day until I could give in to the temptation.

At the Titisee we headed north along B500. Here's an example of scenery along the way:



We turned right towards Schramberg then got on the A81 Autobahn towards Stuttgart, with our next stop being the Porsche Museum. It's quite a cool, modern place with a somewhat sterile feeling, but the collection and variety of vehicles is outstanding.



I loved the Porsche crest integrated into the tire tread of the Panamericana concept:







A quick run up the A81, A6, and A5 brought us to Hotel Heidelberg. The hotel has good access to the highway, parking is ample, the room was decent, and they have a good restaurant for dinner and breakfast. The €10 breakfast is worth the price for its convenience and variety. There is also a tram station just down the street and in 15 minutes you can be in the center of Heidelberg.

Thursday, June 28

We drove to BMW Krauth's Heidelberg dealership just off the A656 for the M3's 1200 mile service. After a small mix-up with my appointment time, they fit me in and we left on foot for the nearby Pfaffengrund-Wieblingen train station. Our plan for the day was to visit the Sinsheim Auto und Technik Museum. Their collection includes F1 cars, Detroit classics from the 50s and 60s, old Italian supercars, WWII vehicles, farm equipment, several planes including a Concorde, and much more. Don't expect to learn a lot because each piece has just a short blurb that may or may not be in English, but the vastness of their collection more than makes up for it.







I returned to BMW Krauth at the end of the day even though I hadn't heard from them yet. My car was done and their service manager Torsten walked me through the work they did. I had provided the receptionist the bulletin stating 6MT cars need a trans fluid change and it had given to Torsten, but he assured me that particular Krauth location was a specialized M dealership and they were already familiar with the bulletin. He explained each of the invoice items in detail, including changing the engine oil, trans fluid, and diff fluid. He also said that although they usually wash customer cars, they hadn't washed mine because they use "clean but recycled water" and didn't want to introduce any scratches into the black paint!

Satisfied with their work, we went back to the hotel, got dinner in Heidelberg, and got ready to visit the Nürburgring the next day.

Friday, June 29

The Nürburgring tourist drives weren't until 5:30pm, so I took the long way along the A6, A62, A1, and A48 Autobahnen hoping for less traffic and the chance to reach higher speeds. Occasional rain and hilly, curvy roads prevented serious speed, but we had the chance to hit 130mph on a few occasions. Now that the break-in was over, I didn't miss any opportunity to let the needle swing the full length of the tach. Oh temptress, how gladly I giveth in to thee.

Before arriving at the Ring we made a detour to Burg Eltz. The guided castle tour is informative, plus it is furnished and the treasury is stocked just as they were 500 years ago. If you're headed to the Ring it's definitely worth a visit.



I didn't want our luggage rolling around the trunk on the Ring, so we stopped early at Hotel Wilhelmshöhe in Auderath. Jacqueline was extremely friendly, the rooms were large, and you can park in the good company of other Nürburgring-bound vehicles.

Nearing the Ring is a surreal experience as you start to recognize bits of the track from years of Gran Turismo and Forza. As we still had some time to burn before the gates opened, we filled the tank at a nearby gas station. I'm sure no other station in the world has such a fine variety of automobiles visiting it regularly.



Pouring rain yet again seemed poised to ruin the driving fun, but shortly before 5:30pm it stopped and the "tourist drives" session began on schedule. We stood by the entrance for a while enjoying the parade of nice cars, then went out ourselves. It was wet and I had the track far from memorized, plus flashbacks of YouTube crash videos kept appearing in my mind, so I went fairly slow. I increased my speed as the track dried out and my confidence grew, but even on my third and final lap I kept a pace that ensured I wouldn't be painting the guardrails Jet Black. Even when driven at a moderate speed you notice the blind crests, steep inclines, and quick transitions from on- to off-camber corners. It's true that the real track is much more "3D" than in video games.





It's also much more expensive than in video games; 3 laps cost me €78, and that's not counting expensive European premium unleaded. Though you can buy year passes and save yourself money in the long-term, lapping the Ring is an expensive hobby any way you cut it. Even so I'd like to return, rent a track-prepped car from one of the many local offerings, and attack the Karussell with more vigor than I have the balls to do in a new M3.

That evening we had dinner at Restaurant Pistenklause, owned by Sabine Schmidt's family. We were seated in a newer extension of the restaurant without as much of the well-known racing memorabilia, but it was cool nonetheless. Seated two tables over was a Red Bull Junior Team Formula 3 racer, and on the other side of us was a UK couple spending the whole week running laps. Here was my meal, in which you use the hot stone to cook the steak:



Saturday, June 30

We headed back to the Nürburgring to watch peoples' tourist laps from the Brünnchen lookout spot on the east side of the track. It's right off the B412 and there is a large parking lot. The photo below was taken from Brünnchen, and the additional Saturday traffic makes me glad I had done my laps the day before:



On the way back from the Ring we took the A3, A6, A7, and A9 Autobahns down to our next stopover in Allershausen, near MUC. The A6 and especially A7 were very quiet and since the weather was finally hot and dry I wanted to try for Vmax. After a few attempts being thwarted by traffic, we hit the limiter at 271kph (168 mph). Unlike the 135i we rented the week before, the M3 is very stable and confidence-inspiring at 230+ kph. I'm sure the longer wheelbase, road surface, and crosswinds are all factors in the experience, but the M3 just felt better at these higher speeds. Whereas I was satisfied hitting the 135i's Vmax once, I reached it twice more in the M3 on Sunday morning east of MUC on the A92. In the M3 small road imperfections seemed to unsettle the car less, but the faster you go - in either car - the more acutely aware you are of them. Bridge expansion joints and even small dips in the road become major considerations. There's also the perpetual threat of slower traffic pulling into your lane; even though my high-speed runs were done in extremely low-traffic situations, there were a couple instances where I needed to really stab the brakes.

That night we stayed at Hotelpension Haus am Bach in Allershausen. The owner was nice and since she had no rooms with two separate beds, she gave us two rooms for the price of one. Breakfast was simple but very good.

She recommended a restaurant just down the road and it was excellent:



Sunday, July 1

I dropped Chris off at MUC in the morning and then headed along the A92 to make the aforementioned high-speed runs. I wanted to get a few more in before giving the car back on Monday and relegating it to drive at American highway speeds the rest of its life.

That afternoon I found a do-it-yourself car wash, dumped €15 into the machine and got most of the dirt off the car. Some friends from Austria met me in Allershausen and we watched the UEFA final at a local restaurant while they outlined the activities they had planned over the next few days.

Monday, July 2

In the morning we headed to MUC to drop off the M3 with 2252 miles on the odometer. The LogInOut rep was pleasant and the process took about 15 minutes. We then drove to Klagenfurt in Austria, met some other Austrian friends, and relaxed at the Wörthersee before heading west to Matrei, Austria.

Tuesday, July 3

We spent the morning and early afternoon hiking in some fantastic scenery:



The afternoon activity was white-water rafting, followed by a delicious dinner and a healthy serving of local beer:



Wednesday, July 4

My Austrian friends had suggested driving on the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße (high Alpine road) with my M3 but I couldn't work it into my itinerary. Their Golf TDI wagon was no M3, but the heavy tourist traffic and breathtaking panoramas didn't encourage fast driving anyway. The toll was €22 if I remember correctly but it was worth it. At one point along the road there is a visitors center where you can comfortably view Großglockner (the highest mountain in Austria and second-highest Alp) and a nearby glacier. Further on you can drive right up to another vantage point with more spectacular views:







On the way back to Munich we stopped to take in the sights at the Mooserboden hydroelectric plant near Kaprun:



Since I had an early flight back to the U.S. the next morning, we chose to spend the night in Freising, Germany, adjacent to MUC airport. We visited the Weihenstephan brewery which makes my favorite weißbier. A Maß of weißbier and some delicious beef stew rounded out the day, and the trip, nicely.



Some other notes:

I printed out Google Maps directions and brought my Blackberry along in case we got lost. The printed directions were good most of the time but there were times when "turn slight right" failed to mention the presence of a roundabout, and notifications like "Road X becomes Road Y" rendered the directions' mileage checkpoints useless because there were no road signs we could verify. Next time I'd bring a nav system with European maps loaded.

I should have used the €10 BMW Welt gift shop voucher for one of their microfiber cloths for drying the car after the final wash. This would have helped the LogInOut employee find any imperfections that could later be covered under insurance.

My friends from Austria mentioned that the late summer months of August and September usually have less fickle weather and might be more conducive to a road trip. I was a little disappointed that I had to drive most of the Alpine passes in the rain, but that's just an excuse to do another ED soon!

In all, the two-and-a-half week trip cost me $4500, which includes $1800 in flights. If you don't live near your trip companion(s), I suggest meeting them in Europe and not in the U.S. so that you're not paying for two separate flights - the one to meet them in the U.S. and then the one you both take to Europe. Even with this added expense, the final price of the car, taxes, and trip combined were less than the U.S. MSRP before taxes, so ED is a no-brainer.

My car left the port in Brunswick, GA, last week and I'm scheduled for PCD Sept. 5, so it was about 8 weeks from drop-off in Munich to redelivery in South Carolina.

Thanks for reading!

[osteome]

Dang, I am really missing Europe now! Great write-up and a hell of a trip!

[VictorH]

Fantastic trip, thanks for sharing.

[PhillyNate]

Awesome. Congrats.

[positiveions]

congrats buddy
that is one awesome ED with complete detailed information

[JulieDriving]

What an amazing write-up!! I love your pictures. Gave your thread a 5 star.

A few comments:

- Love your single-hump M. I have one coming too. It's a rare sight but I wanted to follow my gut preferences in spec'ing it.

- Love Jet Black on the E92 M3. Suits that body style so well... Although I ended up choosing Azurite Black (on Piano Black), part of me will always wish I also had an E92 M3 in Jet Black, LOL. It really is the Zeus of all blacks when clean.

- Loved your detailed trip commentary. Including your honest appraisals of your experiences.

- We went in early June and unfortunately the central swiss passes (Furka, Grimsel, etc.) were still closed but did manage to do San Bernardino, Stelvio, Grossglockner, etc. We Canadians don't get a discount for doing ED, but did an ED-like trip focused on driving the Alps. We loved it so much we are definitely going back. Will try a couple of things you mentioned that we didn't get a chance to do this last time.

- We stayed in Switzerland 3 nights (did mountains, Lucerne, Zurich), and $70 dollars for a meal for two is a find! Fortunately, the price for groceries wasn't terribly out of line with what it is here, so we cooked in cozy apartment we had in the mountains.

[SamS]

EPIC!

Definitely brings back good memories of picking up my car there last October. We also stayed at Hotel Il Perlo Panorama And have to agree with you, Switzerland was $$$. So much so, I'll probably avoid it entirely on my next trip.

You are a brave man, forgoing navigation. I can appreciate your desire for 'single-hump', but my Nav saved my butt during ED countless times and took all the pressure off.

Enjoy your car!!

[JulieDriving]

OP, forgot to mention:

When we did our ED-like trip, we loaded custom maps onto a Garmin (that can accept custom maps EDIT: created easily on Googlemaps using the free Tyre software program) and it worked flawlessly.

Maybe one thing to look into for a future trip.

Unfortunately the newer Garmin no longer have that capability in favour of a proprietary system that sucks according to Garmin users.

At any rate, I am sure that with the advances in navigation software, we'll have that capability in our smartphones in the future. I love the custom maps because they'll route us "into" and "through" (rather than around) the mountain passes (or anything else) that we want.

[benjammin]

Originally Posted by JulieDriving

What an amazing write-up!! I love your pictures. Gave your thread a 5 star.

A few comments:

- Love your single-hump M. I have one coming too. It's a rare sight but I wanted to follow my gut preferences in spec'ing it.

- Love Jet Black on the E92 M3. Suits that body style so well... Although I ended up choosing Azurite Black (on Piano Black), part of me will always wish I also had an E92 M3 in Jet Black, LOL. It really is the Zeus of all blacks when clean.

Thanks for the 5-stars! I knew you were a fan of the single-hump and had ordered one yourself, but didn't know you were getting Azurite! I will be supremely jealous of your Piano Black trim as well. Can't wait to see pics!

Originally Posted by SamS

EPIC!

Definitely brings back good memories of picking up my car there last October. We also stayed at Hotel Il Perlo Panorama And have to agree with you, Switzerland was $$$. So much so, I'll probably avoid it entirely on my next trip.

You are a brave man, forgoing navigation. I can appreciate your desire for 'single-hump', but my Nav saved my butt during ED countless times and took all the pressure off.

Enjoy your car!!

Thanks! Actually I think it was your ED journal that prompted me to check out that hotel in the first place!

[IND-Distribution]

Wow looks like a great time!

[mofbb]

Great trip and congrats !!!

[Adobong_M]

I did my ED through David too! And I met Peter at the Welt too. Seem like everyone I knew visiting Neuschwanstein Castle via M3 ED gets rained out..LOL. That's an amazing trip you had.. Love it! Congratulations!

[acevo8]

I'll add one more person to that list of people who got rained out. Op - if that picture you posted of the castle was from 2009, it appears they've been doing some renovation on it for 3 years? One section of it was scaffolded off still when I was there last month.

[jaehshim]

amazing trip!
congrats on the new M3!!!

[acevo8]

Where did you take that shot of the Marienplatz from? Great perspective on that pic!

[NoM3ForMe]

Amazing.

[BIGW0RM]

This makes me feel like I was there too! Thank you so much for sharing! =)

[THE TECH]

Envious!

[schnell325]

Yes sir, SOOOO jealous of your trip!

[MSPORTWORLD]

Thanks for sharing. Great write-up. Definitely saw some places I would want to go next time.

Food looks amazing and brings back fond memories.

Seriously contemplating ED#3....

[///Machine]

I absolutely love the stripper set up you have.