Return to alavigne.net home
GerM2ny
Table of Contents
[< Previous Page]
[page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4] [page 5] [page 6] [page 7] [page 8] [page 9] [page 10] [page 11] [page 12] [page 13] [page 14] [page 15] [page 16] [page 17]
[Next Page >]
Departure
After all the prep, finally the time comes...
Whew... So, May 31st finally rolls around. All of our lap-learning, file-syncing, drone-testing, gopro-mounting, and street-viewing has come to an end. It's time to head to Germany!
courtesy LWard
courtesy LWard
courtesy LWard
Gear Lists
On our way
Lots o' stuff
Although I bought my car in late November, I scheduled the Euro Delivery pickup for the beginning of June. I wanted to experience all of the fun backways the alps had to offer, and not going in the summer would mean that many of the high roads and passes would be closed due to snow. In fact, as we were planning to leave at the end of May, several of the highest passes were still not open yet.

Alright, so... not too much to say about the flight over - went uneventfully, whisking us efficiently overnight from Canada to Munich. When we arrive in Germany, our pre-arranged European Delivery exective limousine driver was waiting for us, and we were driven - at autobahn speeds - from the airport to our hotel. In a brand new shiny black BMW X5 SUV, of course.
courtesy LWard
To Europe, you say?
Midsummer Twilight
Executive Limo
There are a number of hotels recommended by the BMW European Delivery experience, and this one - the Hotel Leonardo Olympiapark - was the one that I chose. It was reasonably-priced, had the right kind of accommodation (underground parking for the M2 once I got it, for example), and was within reasonable walking distance to the BMW Welt. My experience with this hotel exceeded my expectations. Not only was it clean and attractive, there was an amazingly extensive breakfast included, little custom touches in the room (they knew we were here for a BMW Euro delivery pickup), and had extra supplies on hand and ready for me when I discovered that I had forgotten to bring my travel toiletries. And they had no problem holding our checked bags (at no cost) so we could wander about before the official check-in time. I was impressed.
courtesy LWard
courtesy LWard
Hotel Leonardo Welcome
More org
Euro sim installation
We had arrived in Munich a full day before before my delivery time, which was the following morning. With our bags stowed at the hotel, we had the freedom to explore the area for a bit.

We decided to stretch our legs by walking over to the Welt, which involved a very pleasant 2 kilometre walk through the Olympiapark itself - a hilly complex of bike and walking paths and ponds, in which are the facilities of the 1972 summer Olympic Games.
courtesy LWard
Olympiapark View
Andrew Capturing Welt
BMW Welt
A somewhat sweaty forty minutes later, we arrived at the pedestrian walkway that led over the Georg-Brauchle-Ring to the Welt itself.

I should probably explain what the Welt actually is. First off, the word: Welt. It means "World" in German, so BMW Welt means BMW World in english. The Welt is essentially an exhibition center, where displays of product can be shown and where various events can be held. It is also the home to a very upscale delivery area, where people (like myself) can opt to have their vehicles delivered to them.

The Welt is adjacent to BMW's central administrative headquarters, which are housed in an avant-garde looking tower composed of four connected cylinders. Colloquially it is referred to as the "BMW 4-cylinder", which I suppose is appropriate for an automobile company. And adjacent to that is the BMW Munich automotive plant, which primarily makes (at the moment, anyway), the BMW 3-series sedan.
Welt Entrance
M-Corner
Delivery Spiral
We spent a bit of time wandering around the Welt's main floor area, where various new BMW Group models were on display. More importantly, we located the delivery area and the access points into it, in preparation for the next morning. We also identified photo and video shooting locations so that we could better capture the experience.

Next we walked out of the Welt and to the adjacent BMW Museum, for which we had some free admission tickets. We spent another hour or two there, admiring BMW's rich history of automotive (and aviation) achievements.
courtesy LWard
Prototype M8
The Welt and the 4 Cylinder
Kinetic Sculpture
BMW IV Aircraft Engine
328 Touring Coupe
BMW F1 Car
Engine Line
3,5,6,7
Design Studio
courtesy LWard
courtesy LWard
The Z8
The original Z Roadster
The "M" Hall
courtesy LWard
The original M
Luke and the E30 Gr.A M3
Ah, that dash
After touring the museum, we decided to head downtown to take in a couple of sights, as well as to take care of some administrative stuff for our upcoming trip (driving permits for Swiss and Austrian autobahns, plus a required safety vest).

The subway to central Munich was quiet. I mean, really quiet. Eerily quiet. Almost as if no one lived in the city. Upon popping up in the city center and walking to the historic Marienplatz, we did encounter humanity. And pushing on to the nearby Viktualienmarkt (the Victuals Market), we discovered where *everybody* was - here, chugging down beers and wolfing through various German meats and cabbages. We, of course, had to partake a bit ourselves.
courtesy LWard
Virtually no one
Some People in Marienplatz
Viktualienmarkt
Luke's Thoughts
[notes from June 1]
Walk - Welt - Museum - Seeing M2 delivery - Subway downtown - Marienplatz - Sausage and sauerkraut - Packed with people - Hot - Got vignettes - Walk / tram back - Shower and power nap - Dinner delicious pork and amazing potatoes with great server - Back to hotel for gear redistribution and camera lessons - FaceTime with little Kate - Bedtime!! Have to be up at 6:30 for car delivery
After having lunch at the market, we made our way to a local ADAC office (the German equivalent of the AAA or the CAA). Here we purchase autobahn vignettes for Switzerland and Austria (Switzerland's is for the entire year, while Austria's are purchased in 2-week chunks). We are also apparently required to have a safety vest in the car with us, so we purchase a basic model, also available at the office (FWIW, the lady we purchased from was rather.... cranky? certainly seemed exasperated with us, in any case).

After that, it was a subway ride back to the Hotel Leonardo Olympiapark and a nice outdoor-patio dinner just outside the hotel. The adventure would be getting into full swing the next morning!
[< Previous Page]
[page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4] [page 5] [page 6] [page 7] [page 8] [page 9] [page 10] [page 11] [page 12] [page 13] [page 14] [page 15] [page 16] [page 17]
[Next Page >]
Send feedback or leave comments (note: comments in message board below are separate from those in above message board)
send feedback | homemade custom message board
(2 messages)
(last message posted on Thu. Jan. 24, 16:34 EST 2019 by Elvira)
Web Page & Design Copyright 2001-2024 by Andrew Lavigne. (Privacy Policy)