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Munich-Alps-Fussen-Milan-Florence-Monaco-Nice in our new BMW 640 Gran Coupe

Munich-Alps-Fussen-Milan-Florence-Monaco-Nice in our new BMW 640 Gran Coupe

Old Sep 21, 2012, 8:38 am
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Munich-Alps-Fussen-Milan-Florence-Monaco-Nice in our new BMW 640 Gran Coupe

Mrs. EXPLAT and I went on the adventure of a lifetime. We deciding to take delivery of our new BMW 640i Gran Coupe at the BMW Welt delivery center in Munich Germany. Our local dealer, Alderson BMW arranged for the delivery and the ED program includes two weeks of auto insurance, shipping back to the states and local re-delivery at home with our dealer.

We've been trading with Al Griggs at Alderson for many years so even though he is their Lexus guy, we ordered the car from him. I'm putting a plug in for the BMW sales guys at Alderson too as they were super helpful and cordial, even though we ordered the car from Al.

After our trip, I can say that this is the only way to purchase a German automobile.

Day 1: Arrive Munich around 3:00pm

On this trip we decided to try British Airways on their 747 between Dallas and London Heathrow. We purchased Economy Plus tickets and were able to upgrade to Business Class using AVIOS points. It was a true pain in the rear to constantly monitor availablilty manually as BA does not publish when their award seats open up so my expertflyer.com subscription was of no use here.

Once on board, the flight attendants were super friendly and attentive and I really enjoyed their service. The seats fold down into a flat bed and we were downstairs in the center of the aircraft where we could sit together side by side. BA uses a seating arrangement where the aisle seats face forward and the two center seats face backwards. I thought this might feel weird but we didn't have the sensation of flying backwards.

The main entree quality was so so but they did have 15 year old scotch which I thoroughly enjoyed! We would fly BA across the pond again in a heart beat.

We stopped of at the Galleries lounge between flights and had some breakfast, stopped off at the Elemis Spa for a back massage and then headed over to our gate.

Our flight from Heathrow to Munich was on a BA Airbus A319 and we were able to select row 4 with my AA status ahead of time. This row was great as it had the same seats as business class where A & C are wider than coach and the B seat is very skinny. So they don't sell the B seat which gives us the same space as Business Class but at the coach price.

Munich Airport Arrival/Train Transfer: Advice: Grab the free cart in baggage claim. You can take this all the way to the train boarding area. I couldn't figure out which ticket to purchase at the machine but a visit with a ticket agent fixed that. We purchased the combo group ticket (2-people) to include the trip from the airport to Munich with access to the U-bahn and S-bahn for the rest of the day. 20 euros for two.

Got on the train labeled S8 Herrsching (or you can take the S1). Rode along in the country for a while and wonder if we were going in the wrong direction, (your not). 30-40 minutes to Hauptbahnhof station.

When you hear the announcement for the Marienplatz station, gather all of your bags because you'll reach Hauptbahnhof station soon. It's Marienplatz, another stop and then Hauptbahnhof. The train stops for only a few seconds so we had to scramble.

Station/Hotel Arrival Tip: We looked for the Starbucks exit. We lost our way as we stayed on the same underground level as the S8 train and went to the surface. We exited on the wrong side of the building. Go to the ground level in the main train station. You will see a lot of shops and on one side along with all of the trains departing the station, all lined up. The Starbucks is in this main area, past all of the trains. (I couldn't tell you how to get from the underground level to the main ground floor level in the station as we got lost.)


The train station, ground level. From this view, the Starbucks would be on the left side of the photo.
The trains should be to your right when walking and the Starbucks and exit to the Le Meridien will be straight ahead.


You can see the Starbucks on the right. Out the window on top, the Le Meridien is the building on the right.

We checked into the Le Meridien, Munich and with my SPG Platinum status, were upgraded to a nice jr Suite. We selected the breakfast for the Platinum amenity and were given access to their full breakfast buffet. The food selection and quality were excellent. The hotel was in a very convenient location, right across from the train station and two stops away from the Marinplatz, which is the main square in Munich.


Breakfast at the Le Meridien Munich. Quite the nice spread!

We then had dinner at Augustiner-Keller which has good food, great beer and a fun hang out atmosphere.

Dinner Tip: (Augustiner-Keller) Order the sausage variety plate if you like sausages. It was very good. If you like spicy, order the spicy sausage plate, this was also very good. If you want your complete fix of sausages, order the sausage plate with a side of spicy sausages. The pork knuckle was a little dry this night, don't know if this is typically the case. The beer was good and the company was good. Many pet owners here with their dogs. Would come back here to drink and eat again.


Augustiner-Keller Menu


Outdoor seating, if you go in the winter, they also have a large indoor beer hall. The outdoor seating is huge.


Enjoying a beer before dinner.


Their pretzel is crazy big. Warm and soft in the middle.

When you arrive, flag down a waiter/waitress as we stood around for a while trying to figure out what to do and how to get a table. There are multiple outdoor seating areas with tables divided into dinner service or self service. We opted for full service and asked a waiter where we could sit, he thought for a moment and then gave us a previously reserved table.

It started to sprinkle and we got an umbrella with the help of a german fellow and then we invited the five of them to sit at our table under the umbrella. Nice to visit with people from Munich while enjoying our Munich beer and food.

Tomorrow we head over to the Welt for the factory tour and museum tour. We'll pick up the car the following day.

After last weeks reports of rain the entire week, it was nice and sunny today. Supposed to rain tomorrow, which I am told is the norm.

Last edited by EXPLAT; Sep 26, 2012 at 7:16 am
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 8:40 am
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Day 2: BMW Welt
It was cold and rainy all day but it didn't matter as this was our day to visit the Welt. Took the subway to the Olympic Park exit which drops you right at the Welt.


Looking at the Welt from the U-Bahn Olympiazentrum Subway exit. Literally right next to each other.


Walking over to the Welt. The entrance is on the right side.


Inside the Welt, looking over the display area from the balcony. They were getting ready to add their Hydrogen car
on the left, it just completed a world tour. A Mini Cooper display was going in on the right.
There were some false walls up to hide the construction.


Ground floor at the Welt. All of the latest BMW models are on display including the 2013 640i Gran Coupe in Frozen Bronze with the Opal White/Amaro Brown interior.


The Opal White/Amaro Brown interior up close. On the right, you can see the glass for the head up display.


The interior of the Rolls Royce. BMW own's them too and has two of them on display at the Welt. A little stuffy for my taste but super opulent for sure. Wouldn't be able to get the teenagers out of the back of the car.

We checked in upstairs and did all of our paperwork to get it out of the way for delivery the next day. Had several lattes in the lounge which helped with the jet lag.


BMW Delivery Lounge

We went on the 11:30am English Factory Tour, which was very enjoyable and worth the two hours. Our favorites were the paint shop and the robotic welders. We then went back to the Premium lounge for a snack and met several other Americans who are currently on their ED. Also met a nice German fellow who asked, why would you come all the way over to Germany to pick up your vehicle? So I explained it to him; a good price, a European vacation, with auto insurance for two weeks and shipping back to the US included. What's not to love!


Looking back at the Welt through a Window at the factory during the factory tour.

We toured the museum next, then went and looked at all of the new vehicles in the Welt and looked around the gift shop.


Walking over to the museum from the Welt. You take an overhead bridge. The BMW World Headquarters building on the left, the Museum on the right.


In the museum, BMW models by year. Each placard represents one vehicle model and the year it was manufactured.


Inside the museum, so many choices, which direction to go in?


A BMW 328, one of many many cars and motorcycles on display. Those are real leather straps holding down the hood!


A BMW employee showing us the engine.


A more modern M series engine. Oh yea!


A V12 engine. Look at those horses!


At the top of the museum. The new 2013 640i Gran Coupe in Frozen Bronze.


Looking down from the top of the museum. Futuristic BMW models.

Believe it or not, we ended up spending the entire day at the Welt!

Last edited by EXPLAT; Sep 22, 2012 at 8:52 am
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 8:40 am
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Day 3: THE BIG DAY! Part 1

We took the Hop On/Hop Off Greyline bus to the Welt this morning. It was great as we got on at 9:00 am and arrived at the Welt at 10:45 am. The bus has a tour guide and we drove by many interesting sites and the guide explained the history of what we were seeing at each of the stops.

If you don't have a lot of time in Munich, this kills two birds with one stone, transportation to the Welt and a guided tour along the way. If you have an extra day, you can go back and visit the places you found interesting. We didn't have time as we were leaving out as soon as we picked up the car.


Our first look!

Guido, our delivery specialist met us around 10:50 am and we descended the stairs for the big moment. Our baby was at the bottom of the stairs and she was a beaut.


Delivery Area.

We spent quite a while with the Guido, mostly asking questions about the Infotainment system.


Backup, side & top view camera instruction.


Seat operation.


iDrive.

Mrs. EXPLAT took her victory lap and then we parked out front to get our engraved keychain and purchase some items.

Hint: If they don't tell you, the orange dot they place on your plastic BMW card is what alerts the gift shop to give you the free keychain and engraving along with the 10 euro credit. So you can do this before your delivery, once you have the card. You receive the card after completing the paperwork. We did our paperwork the day before which I highly recommend.


Parking outside the Welt

Our travel agent friend, and several people we met in Munich all told us to go to Tegernsee. After the third person, we decided to take a detour and drive through the Tegernsee Lake area on the way to the Castles. It was worth the drive as the lake is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Next ED, we'll spend a night or two here.


Tegernsee Lake and the boat landing.

We didn't eat here but later on, the cafe below in Rottach-Egern on the Tegernsee was recommended to us. This is right across the street from the boat landing and the Schloss-Cafe pictured above. Have lunch here and then eat dinner at the Hotel Muller in Hhenschwangau which was also recommended to us after we got back. There's always next time!


The recommended restaurant. It was mentioned that in February, there were German dinners eating outside in the snow!


Rottach-Egern, one of the villages on the Tegernsee.


View across the lake in the Tegernsee.

From here, we proceeded to the twisties near the Walchensee, another large lake on the way to the castles.


A town near the Walchensee on the way to the Castles.


View from inside the car, on the way to the Castles.

Our original dinner plan (loose plan, based on it was around dinner time) was to eat at LUCE D'ORO, the one star *Michelin Restaurant in the Schloss Elmau hotel. Looking at their website now, it says guests who are not staying with them need to have advance reservations.


The hotel driving up from the road.

However, on this particular weekend, the place was over-run with Audi's and the very cordial staff mentioned that this weekend, the entire hotel and all restaurants were booked for a corporate event. Nothing like crashing an Audi party in our brand new BMW 640i Gran Coupe! It was pretty fun in itself as the guests standing outside of the hotel front door were all giving us the stare down as in how dare you be here in your BMW!


We drove up and the circular driveway had all of these Audi's parked around.
Wish I had taken a photo of all of the Audi's but we were tired and hungry.

The staff were super nice and next ED, we'll try and stay here for a night or two.

We stopped off in Bad Tlz for Dinner per recommendation from the Schloss Elmau hotel and ended up arriving in Hhenschwangau around 10:00 pm. It is a little tourist village between the castles where the ticketing center is located. It was peaceful and quiet. As recommended, next time we'll eat at the Hotel Muller next door.

Last edited by EXPLAT; Sep 26, 2012 at 7:16 am
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 8:54 am
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Day 3: The Castles! Part 2

We ended up arriving around 10:00 pm. We stayed in the little tourist village between the castles where the ticketing center is located. It was peaceful and quiet.


Hhenschwangau village, so quiet at night. Not really a real village per say, more like staying in Epcot.


Hhenschwangau castle at night.


Early morning view from our window, the Neuschwanstein castle in the distance. Still and quite before the hoards arrive.


Early morning view from our other window, the Hhenschwangau castle right above us.


Villa Jgerhaus, our stop for the night with Hhenschwangau above.


You can see Villa Jgerhaus, middle left in the photo. Perfect location.

As the morning turned into day, the village of Hhenschwangau became overrun with tour buses and tourists. So many Japanese tourists that the large store at the end of the road employ mostly Japanese staff members. The whole village was crazy busy and I'm glad we arrived the night before to enjoy the quiet.

The Neuschwanstein castle tour was fantastic, I could see how Disney reproduced the very front of the castle entrance for Disneyland.


This is the side that Disney used for the front of his castle.


Entry doors into the castle. Looks very similar to Disney.


Interior courtyard holding area before tour. This would be the back side of the Disneyland/Disneyworld castle. This part of Neuschwanstein castle is the entire Disney castle.


Interior courtyard between tours, wish the rest of the castle areas were like this!


One of the castle hallways, no photos allowed once the tour started. The attention to detail in the castle was amazing. The guide said only 1/3rd of the castle is completed.

Hint: We missed the Hohenschwangau castle visit because we took the horse drawn carriage for transportation. The carriage and buses are for Neuschwanstein castle only. You walk up to Hohenschwangau castle. If you can't walk up hill for long distances, take the bus up. When you get off the bus, walk to the bridge to view the castle from a distance, then proceed downhill to the castle. To avoid the uphill walk when going back down to the village, take the horse drawn carriage instead. This way, most of your walking is downhill.


The view of the castle from the bridge. If you ride the bus, you can stop off on the bridge and take a photo of the castle.


The view of the bridge from the castle. The guide leaves you at the end of the tour, I took this photo from the castle kitchen.

Last edited by EXPLAT; Oct 29, 2012 at 8:10 pm
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 8:57 am
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BMW European Delivery castle photos!

It is a tradition that if you pick up your BMW in Europe, that you post photos of your car in front of the Neuschwanstein castle.


Castle Photo Front


Castle Photo Side


Castle Photo Down Low


The OP with great memories!

Day 4 posted. Day 5 - 9: Will post soon...

Last edited by EXPLAT; Sep 24, 2012 at 9:31 am
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 11:16 am
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My other type of trip report! Awesome^^
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 2:53 pm
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Was looking forward to reading this report, but noticed the pictures did not load properly (checked on two machines, two different browsers).
Anybody else experiencing the same issues?
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 3:46 pm
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Yes, pictures don't show up.
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 4:00 pm
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No pictures for me either.
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 6:35 pm
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Would love to see pics!
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 8:10 pm
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That is an awesome trip report. Love the car for sure.
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Old Sep 21, 2012, 9:10 pm
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Sorry, having a little jet lag. Was messing with the server the pictures are loaded on. Photos are back.
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Old Sep 22, 2012, 2:17 am
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Great pictures and beautiful car. I've done ED twice and can't wait to do it again.
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Old Sep 22, 2012, 4:28 am
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Great report, really enjoyed the pictures, cant wait for the rest
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Old Sep 22, 2012, 4:55 am
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Great report so far looking forward to the rest, nice style and loving the pictures thanks for posting

DMF

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