I just got back from a 21 day drive through Europe with a new S4. The route taken was Ingolstadt, Salzburg (via the Deutsche Alpenstrasse), Finkenberg, Luzern, Gstaad, Provence, St Tropez, Eze/Monaco, drop off in Nice. I thought I'd share some photos of my experience and time on 1,000 miles of twisty alpine roads:

Audi Delivery Center, with cars lined up for delivery.
Most deliveries are to Germans right now, although U.S. deliveries are increasing.
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Audi Delivery Center, from above.
You can't get to the floor itself until your car is ready and they've checked your documents.
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My S4 in the middle (the one with the bags). Time to go!
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A black S5 on the delivery floor.
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Another picture of an S5 and the lucky dogs with the keys.
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Once you take delivery of the car, you drive out to the Audi Forum, where you can get organized before really driving off. We took a break and ate lunch at the restaurant, which is free and quite good. The Delivery Center is in the background.
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Another picture of the Audi Forum, facing the museum. The whole place is really quite cool.
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First stop was the autobahn. No pictures because both hands were on the wheel, but it was a heck of a lot of fun. Topped out at 130 mph, but didn't go faster because of break-in constraints. We headed straight south, past Munich, towards Salzburg Austria via the Deutsche Alpenstrasse (German Alpine Road). The Alpenstrasse is Germany's version of the Big Sur or the Blue Ridge Parkway, a road built for beautiful views, full of twisties and cute towns.
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Another photo from the Alpenstrasse (Hintersee).
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First two nights (after Ingolstadt), we stayed at the Hotel Schloss Fuschl on lake Fuschl.
Highly recommended (but not cheap).
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We then drove south through the Salzburg lake district. This is a picture of Hallstatt.
Highly recommended spot for a lunch break.
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Our Garmin nav system took us on some crazy small roads through alpine passes, on the way to Finkenberg Austria. This is a photo of one of those roads. I just wish I had pulled out the camera to take a picture of the cows on the road around the next corner. Nothing quite like having 20 cows on all sides walking within inches of your brand new S4 (thankfully, they kept their horns to themselves).
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After staying in Finkenberg (a small alpine ski/spa village), we drove to Luzern in Switzerland (via Liechtenstein, just to cross off another country). Here's a picture of the S4 in the place of honor at the Park Hotel Weggis where we stayed (highly recommended)...
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And the view from the porch at the Hotel Weggis...
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We then drove to Gstaad, Switzerland, via Gruyere. This picture (S4 in corner) is from a small cheese making village high in the mountains.
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Swiss alpine towns seem to range from quaint to incredibly quaint and beautiful. Here's a random spot between Gstaad and Montreux.
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Photo of the S4 in a village between Gstaad and Montreux.
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S4 on a random alpine road between Gstaad and Montreux.
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Another random spot between Gstaad and Montreux, as we drove to Provence, France. After 10 days of driving on beautiful alpine roads, I'm amazed to say, we were ready for a change of scenery. The landscape switches from lush forest to arid dessert very quickly between Switzerland and France. Like jumping from Glacier National Park in Montana to Southern Calinfornia, without driving the 1000 miles in between.
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A picture of the Bonne Etape hotel in Provence, known for its "gastronomique" restaurant. If you like to eat rabbit and other assorted small creatures, this is your spot.
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S4 making friends at the Bonne Etape.
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S4 on a windy road near the Gorges du Verdon. If you've ever seen the Top Gear video of the RS4 vs. the rock climber, this is the road.
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Also near the Gorges du Verdon.
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Random spot in Provence
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Random town in Provence
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View from our hotel in Eze (the Chevre d'Or, very highly recommended), between Monaco and Nice.
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Villefranche-sur-Mer, below Eze, between Monaco and Nice.
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S4 with some new friends in the "parking lot" (perch on a cliff) of the Chevre d'Or hotel in Eze.
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The valet returning the S4 at the Chevre d'Or. The S4 is a rather large car for European towns...
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The S4 on Cap Ferrat, near Nice.
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And the drop off location in Nice, TT Car Transit. I know, not much of a place to drop off keys to a new car, but they seemed to know what they were doing. Right down to reminding me to take the DVD out of the Nav system so that U.S. customs didn't flip out. They say the car goes by truck from Nice to Germany. They checked the car VERY carefully for scratches before they accepted it. As a note, I think TT car transit also provides long term car rentals, as they had a fleet of about 40 cars nearby.
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Overall, the trip was a blast. A few thoughts...

The delivery process is really quite well done. The delivery center is beautiful. Museum is fun. You get to fully check out the car. There were actually two tiny problems (the gas cap didn't lock correctly and I noticed a *tiny* scratch on the aluminum piece in the door). I didn't even have to ask. They promptly jumped in the car, wheeled it back into the factory. 10 minutes later... new aluminum piece in the door, gas cap lock fixed. It's the factory, so, you know, they're fast.

Audi provided a high level of service too. Our airline had a near strike before the trip started, we missed our connection, and arrived in Germany 10 hours later than expected. Audi was great about changing the schedule, and getting a driver to Munich at the right time. But we never found our driver because the airline switched the gate/concourse at the last second (because the next flight was late too...). That said, I called Audi, they said "take a cab and we'll reimburse you" (which they did, in cash, the next day). But I had to skip the factory tour because of time constraints (my only regret about the whole trip).

The S4 is a fairly small car for the U.S., but a <b>huge</b> car for southern Europe. Germany and Switzerland have the best roads for a car this size. Austria is fine, but France is very tight. I have to admit, I was bit relieved to drop the car off in Nice with no real damage. 1,400 miles of driving by GPS on twisty roads, narrow passes, tiny parking spots... and just 1 small scratch (on a wheel from touching a curb).

If you only have a few days, I would recommend the Deutsche Alpenstrasse to Salzburg, or maybe to Neuschwanstein (which I skipped this time). I also recommend bringing, renting, or buying a European GPS system. Well worth it.

Perhaps the only downside to ED is that you have this great car, on these great roads, but you have to put 1000 miles on the car to get past the break-in period, before really letting loose. So, if at all possible, I recommend at least a week for an ED trip.

Anyway, I will definitely do ED again with every future car. Now I just have to wait patiently for the S4 to arrive in Boston &lt;sigh&gt;...

Can't wait for my trip in November. Favorite hotels/towns/restaurants on the Alpenstrasse?

Thanks! Had a lot of fun with the new camera.

Our route on the Alpenstrasse was (paste this into in google maps)...

from: Ingolstadt, Germany to: Bernau am Chiemsee, to:Reit im Winkl, Germany to:Ruhpolding, Germany to:Inzell, Germany to:Berchtesgaden, Germany to:fuschl am see, austria

Stay on Route 305. Keeps getting prettier as you go. Almost no traffic when I did it. If I remember correctly, Ruhpolding, Inzell, and Berchesgaden were all cool. Hintersee was really beautiful (near Antenbichl, I think, a bit off 305, on the way to Berchtesgaden). You can also go see Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden, although we showed up too late to get in. Here's a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kehlsteinhaus">link in Wiki to the Kehlsteinhaus</a>.

Another pic from the Alpenstrasse...
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/121613/photo_a1.jpg">

Hotel Schloss Fuschl was really a spectacular first destination for us. Here's a <a href="http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1366">link to the hotel</a>. It was <b>really</b> expensive, but it was our honeymoon, so we said what the heck. Hintersee looked like it a had a cool small/old alpine hotel, but it's really in the middle of nowhere (if you want that). Somewhere in the town of Berchtesgaden would also be a good choice. Salzburg is a also a neat small city, located right at the end of the Alpenstrasse.

Another pic of Hintersee (notice the hotel on the right)...
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And the view at night from the deck of the Hotel Schloss Fuschl...
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Where are you thinking about going? How long? (I'm envious, I want to do it again!)

Oh yeah, if possible avoid driving south from Ingolstadt on the autobahn on Fri. Supposedly it turns into a parking lot with weekend vacationers. I went Tuesday during the day, and it was a fun blast.

Also, now that the EU is the EU, driving between Germany and Austria is a none event (like driving across U.S. state borders), so don't worry about where the roads pop from one side to the next.

I know many of these places. Grew up in Switzerland.

They didn't give you a European DVD for the the NAV?

Apparently the European and U.S. Nav systems run different software, you can't just switch the DVDs.

So... I have a European SD card for a Garmin unit, if anyone wants a good deal. Worked perfectly.

You should have been a tour director. I'm going next May or June for 10 days to pickup an S5. What month did you go? I'm new to Audi's, how long is the break in period? I want at least one experience in my life of going flat out on the Autobaun.

For the S4, the manual recommends "lower rpms" (audi person told me 3000 rpm), no wide open throttle, and 3/4 of top speed on dashboard for first 600 miles, and then gradually increasing to 1000 miles, and then you can fully let loose. S5 is probably the same, but you never know.

I was there from August 21 to Sept 9. Just got back 2 days ago. Sept is a great time to go because the weather is great, but the Europeans have stopped vacationing, so the crowds are smaller and the rooms cheaper. Not sure what the weather is like in May/June (not saying it's worse, just don't know).

Have fun!

Yeah, it's not long on the boat. I think the big "?" is how long the car waits for a container ship to fill up. Plus transport from drop off point to Germany, customs, and from port to dealer in the U.S.

I just went on Audi USA, and it says 30 to 40 days. Although the paperwork Audi gives you says 6 to 8 weeks. From looking at K2's posts, it looks like his took 8 weeks. Rats!

get theirs a week or 2 earlier. Nice pics and write up. It brings back a lot of great memories of our trip. I could hardly wait for 600 miles to go by ;-)


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&gt; I could hardly wait for 600 miles to go by ;-)

No kidding. You get the keys, and really have "no choice" but to jump straight on the autobahn out of Ingolstadt, almost immediately hit a no speed limit zone, and then you have to hold back!

It would be cruel and usual, if it wasn't so much fun anyway...

Thanks, hopefully it will be 5 weeks. That would be splendid. I have trip up to VT scheduled right around then for the fall foliage. Hope springs eternal...

34 days and counting.

You pointed out some great areas to see. I'm glad to hear that the Nice dropoff was good. I'm thinking about using that one. I also want to see some Austrian Alps and plan to drive the Grossglocknerstrasse and the German alpine road. Then head down toward the Verdun gorge like you did.

I have the Top Gear season 7 DVDs and I studied the few frames where Jeremy shows the map of the route. As close as I can tell, the roads for the RS4 segment are the D952, D71, and D955 shown on Google maps in the link below.

Then I can drop the car at Nice which is very close.

From Innsbruck or Salzburg, would you recommend 2 days to Nice/Cannes, or can it be done in one long day?

Also, did you stay in Ingolstadt the after picking up the car, or did you head out somewhere?

I'm thinking of trying to drive to Innsbruck (about 2.5 hours) right after picking up the car...skipping the museum tour, but attending the factory tour. Any thoughts?...or should I stay close by the first day?<ul><li><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;saddr=D952+%4043.796610,+6 .414150&amp;daddr=D952+%4043.793650,+6.393380+to:D71+% 4043.776230,+6.251860+to:43.725956,6.50528+to:D952 +%4043.796440,+6.414600&amp;mrcr=2,3&amp;mrs

did the same trip but backwards, Innsbruck to Munich and it was longer than 2.5 hours, and you will be about 30 min. north of Munich. There are quite a few places to stop at along the way for sightseeing and if you have never been Neuschwanstein is an absolutely incredible castle to visit and it is on the way. (Fussen) We originally planned to drive to Prague (4 hrs.) after our delivery but decided against it. You may want to enjoy the day at the Audi Forum and leave early the next day. I forget the great little resteraunt we ate at our last night in Ingolstadt but it was in Old Town (Altstadt).<ul><li><a href="http://www.neuschwanstein.com/english/index.htm">http://www.neuschwanstein.com/english/index.htm</a</li></ul>

Yup, I think you've got the route correctly. I was coming down from Switzerland, so I went to Castellane (N85), then D952, and then D955. I went into the gorge a bit, but not the whole route. It's a small road, with lots of traffic (campers, French love their campers, very oddly) in August, and it would have taken a long time to do the full circuit in traffic. Castellane is very pretty, and definitely worth a stop at, especially on market day (which we hit by chance).

The Route Napoleon (N85) (starting in Grenoble and heading south) was not as pretty, or fun to drive, as I thought it would be. But, of course, this was after driving through the Swiss and Austrian alps for 10 days, so maybe I was a bit jaded. It got prettier after Gap I think, and definitely around Castellane. But now that I look at the map again, I'm not sure how else to do it. I've heard that Avignon is a very worthy destination. Maybe drive down by highway and stay in Avingnon one night, and then drive east on the highways, pop up to the gorges from one of the highways, do the loop, and then head down towards the Nice area for the next night. That might work.

Interestingly, I was planning on doing the Grossglocknerstrasse as well. I did Fuschl near Salzburg, Hallstatt in the lake district, Zell am See, Finkenberg. And, honestly, I discovered that the whole country is covered in beautiful fun roads, so I didn't feel the need for a long detour. But then, I had some ground to cover to get to Finkenberg before it was dark. I pretty much tried to pick beautiful roads that also got me to my next destination.

Nice and Cannes themselves are NOT the destination, just the commercial hubs. The Cote d'Azur is really all about the small towns. I would strongly recommend visiting Villefranche-sur-Mer, Eze, and Monaco - and then drop off in Nice. And maybe St Tropez if it's on route. We spent 4 days in St Tropez, and 4 days in Eze. You could easily spend 2 days in the Eze/Monaco area and not get bored at all. Don't miss the scene outside (not inside) the Monaco casino on a Friday or Saturday night. At least in Aug/Sep, might have calmed down by Oct. I saw more beautiful cars in one spot there than anywhere else on earth. 100 Ferrari's, Bentley's, RR's, Aston's, and Porcse's all parked or driving by in a continuous stream. It's simply unreal the amount of wealth on display. Inside the casino, I saw someone cashing out $1.2 in chips on the table.

Skip the museum. I had to skip the factory tour, but would love to have done it. Definitely skip town ASAP and head south to the Innsbruck area. Maybe do the Neuschwanstein on the way? I've never been Innsbruck itself, but I did drive by. It's a pretty valley. BUT, there are MANY ski/spa towns in that area of the world. I would picking a nice hotel in one of the small towns up in the alps as the destination. That way you guarantee yourself a fun drive on twisty back roads while also getting to a cool destination. And it's a lot more fun (to me) to wake up, walk outside, and be high in the mountains.

Actually, maybe I just misread your post. When you say "first day", I suppose that means the day you fly in? I was pretty jet lagged by the time I got to Germany, and I'm glad I had a night of sleep before driving on the autobahn in a new car. Needed all my brain cells functioning for that bit. I personally enjoyed the Kult Hotel, and the dinner at the restaurant downstairs was quite good.

Guessing your route... Bern, Switzerland is definitely worth a stop on the way. Lausanne is cool. I enjoyed the detour at Bulle, into Gruyere, staying in Gstaad, driving east over the mountains to Montreux, hitting the Chateau de Chillon. The nice thing about travelling in Oct in the Alps is you don't have to book rooms ahead of time, and you can negotiate great deals at great hotels when you pop in (they're 30% booked, so they don't have a lot of leverage...).

How long are you going for? Where else are you thinking about going?

Did you prebook your rooms, or go on a wing and a prayer? After reading your post, as much as I hate it, I'll probably wait until early Sep of next year to miss the tourists. Do you know when the 2009 model year will be available for ED?

Sept probably is the best time to do it. Weather is still great, roads and hotels are less crowded.

You can do the alps in Aug w/o hitting lots of tourists. It's the south of France that's mobbed in Aug. But it's also kind of fun then.

We booked everything in advance, although I now realize that doing so in the alps was not needed (booking ahead in south of France was). I've done the wing and a prayer method in Sept, and worked well too.

I am supposed to take Euro Delivery of an S5 in Early November..

I live in Boston, and im interested in your Nav system that you used while in Europe. Let me know if you want to unload it.. Email me please. underwoodr@wit.edu. Or if you're in the city i could easily pick it up somewhere. I live near fenway on Brookline ave at the intersection of boylston.

Awesome pictures and thanks for posting.. gives me a lot to look forward to! which airline did you fly? i have yet to book tickets.

Thanks, Roswell

the picture labeled: "Villefranche-sur-Mer, below Eze, between Monaco and Nice"

i want to make it my laptop background. it took my breath away. cheers on the new car.