That might make for a fun winter vacation at some point. I poked around a little on the intarwebs but didn't have much luck. Any ideas on who to contact for inquiries?

Audi has a winter driving school? The only one I'm familiar with is the Bridgestone Winter Driving School: http://www.winterdrive.com/ It used to be run by Jean-Paul Luc, and the instruction I took there was lead by Jean-Paul himself. That was more than 15 years ago, but if the program is a fraction of what it was then, it will be a blast and a huge education. If I get back to Steamboat this winter, I'm definitely going back for a refresher.

- Jason

The Audi Driving Experience: A Trip to Joy

or

"I thought I was buying a car - what I got was a lifestyle"

On a cold Friday in January eight excited Cincinnati residents (and Audi owners) departed the Cincinnati airport bound for the Holy Land - Ingolstadt, Germany - the home of Audi AG, of course.

First stop, Munich - what a fun city, what a great time. Munich is truly a magical worldly city that is incredible to visit and is simultaneously a place in which most Americans would thoroughly enjoy living. Indeed, Munich had each member of our group under her spell - we all still are scheming for a return visit. Three of our group had been to Munich previously - my wife and I have had the great joy of visiting this city over a dozen times within the last few years; and, another member of our group has been to Munich on two other occasions including Oktoberfest.

We checked into the luxurious five-star Bayerischer Hof, in the center of the walking district of the city - just off the Marienplatz. As it was just after 11 AM Saturday, we could not yet get into our rooms so we all decided to take a brief walk and have some lunch.

We walked the pedestrian only Fussgangerzone to the Glockenspiel, took in the sights, sounds and smells of this grand spectacle and headed for one of the best delicatessens on the Planet - the Alois Dallmayr. The Dallmayer is Germany's most famous delicatessen. After looking at its irresistible array of delicacies from around the world, you will think you have found a Royal Supermarket.

We took a quick tour of this bustling indoor fresh food shop - which in many ways reminds the Frequent Traveler of the fabulous food halls at Harrod's in London. We then made our way to the second floor restaurant for a delicious meal including fresh green salad, soup, breads and some excellent German white wine.

Recommendation #1: visit and dine at the Dallmayer.

Afterwards, we all took a much-needed 3-hour nap - the key component of our anti-jet-lag regimen -followed by hot showers and even hotter coffee or chocolate or the American standby, Coke. Another walk through the city center: a left, a right and another left turn and we found ourselves at the famous Munich watering hole - the Hofbrauhaus. Inside, we introduced our first-time-to-Munich companions to the Hofbrauhaus tradition of sitting at long picnic tables and drinking beer with total strangers. As usual, when we left the table we had made four new friends, exchanged e-mail addresses and had raised our glasses many times in song. What fun!

Recommendation #2: even if you are not a beer drinker, stop into the Hofbrauhaus for some true Munich hospitality and revelry.

Back to the hotel to freshen up and on to one of the truly spectacular dining experiences you will ever have: an "evening" at the French-German restaurant, Tantris. Our original 8 travelers were joined by Joe and Karen Chadwick (of quattro club fame) for an 8 course, four and one half-hour food extravaganza (although it is tempting to call it a food orgy).
If you are contemplating coming to a future Audi Driving Experience in Germany, this is an evening that is absolutely worth every pfennig of the approximately $200 per person tab. No restaurant in Munich even comes close to equaling this place. You will be tempted to use this restaurant as the standard to which you compare all others - no matter in what continent, country or city. It is just that good.

According to two members of our group, and the aforementioned Ms. Chadwick, " . . .this is the best restaurant in the world!" Well. . .possibly. Yet, undoubtedly, Tantris must be one of the best on anybody's list.

Recommendation #3: when in Munich, do not miss this experience. Save your money, mortgage your house, buy a less expensive Audi - dine at Tantris.

Sunday morning our group took a three-hour bus tour of Munich, which included stops at the site of the 1972 Olympics and the summer palace Schloss Nymphenburg. Although Nymphenburg is best appreciated in spring and summer, it is still a grand winter spectacle nonetheless. The palace facade is in a restrained baroque style. The palace interior is less restrained, however. Upon entering the main building, you are in the great hall, beautiful with rococo colors and stuccos. There are frescoes depicting incidents from mythology, especially those dealing with the goddess of spring, Flora, and her nymphs - the origin of the palace's name.

Recommendation #4: take this tour - especially if, like us, you arrive in Munich on Saturday morning and leave for Ingolstadt Monday morning.

Sunday evening, we dined with the quattro club members - in the hotel's cellar restaurant. We ate and drank traditional German food and beer, which is to say very good (especially the beer), and had a delightful and somewhat rowdy evening with our fellow club members.

Recommendation #5: dine with the club members - and use this event to pick your partner for the upcoming driving experience. Our group chose not to drive with spouses - in hindsight, a wise choice.

Monday morning the bus Audi provided took the 40 members of the quattro club north to the city of Ingolstadt - the Holy Land - home of Audi AG. At Audi Headquarters we enjoyed lunch with Audi executives, the "factory tour," a visit to the newly opened Audi Museum, and then we capped off our visit with time in the Audi Boutique. One quattro club member, remarked, " . . .I thought I was buying a car, what I got was a lifestyle." A three-hour bus ride on the autobahn south to Seefeld, Austria followed.

Recommendation #6: take the tour, visit the museum and leave the Audi Boutique richer - with your $ - than you found it.

If there is such a thing as a six-star ski-resort hotel, Audi found it in the hamlet of Seefeld, Austria. The Hotel Alpenkoenig, like Tantris, may just be the standard against which other resort-hotels can be judged. Remarkably, this hotel even offered cosmetic surgery - which is worth mentioning simply because it is novel. I had "Olga" give me a vigorous and relaxing massage, opting out of any surgery, although god knows it would probably help.

Tuesday morning 7 AM: breakfast in the hotel followed by a one-hour class to introduce the drivers to the theory and terminology that would be used throughout the training. Our instructors presented explanations of oversteer and understeer coupled with graphics depicting the differences between front, rear and all-wheel drive vehicles. Of course we already knew that all-wheel drive is the best configuration and too that the Audi quattro system is the best all-wheel drive.

Next, to the cars and almost two days of driving exercises (on ice) - some timed some not - culminating in a competition. The Audi instructors laid out a course on the ice that put together all the elements of each driving exercise into one huge track. Driving skills in braking, steering, power sliding, lane changing, and obstacle avoidance, etc. were all required in this exercise. Orange cones delimited the course, and if a driver hit a cone it was considered a five-second penalty. You can imagine - on a course where a really good time was one minute twenty seconds, a hit of five seconds is unrecoverable - the adrenaline flowed.

For the uninitiated or uniformed - and, several of the spouses of avid quattro club members fall into this category - explanations of the value and sheer enjoyment of this experience, no matter how eloquent, are inadequate. In fact we had four in our group that were - initially - reluctant to take the class, thinking it would be boring, scary or perhaps difficult.

After completing the course, here is what one of those formerly reluctant participants, my wife, had to say:

"I think that the Audi Driving Experience is a remarkable program because it teaches participants to simulate real-life situations and learn how the auto will respond and also how the driver will respond. The instructors become coaches and prepare us to handle these situations in a safe and responsive manner. The course is, in essence, more than a virtual reality tour of the instruction manual that comes with the car - it's reality itself. "

Two other first-time Audi drivers, were also enthusiastic as you can see in the following note to Karen Chadwick:

"My wife and I wish to thank you for giving us the opportunity to visit Seefeld, Austria and attend the spectacular Audi Driving Experience. It was certainly a treat to have discussions with you and all the friendly people in the quattro club. We both loved the beautiful five-star hotel Audi selected in Seefeld. Audi could not have picked a better place to stay to experience some of the culture in Austria. The dinners were marvelous and the company was even better. We really enjoyed our visit in Munich, Seefeld, and especially the visit to Ingolstadt to take the Audi factory tour. Witnessing the production of an Audi was certainly a wonderful sight to see.

The Audi Driving Experience was no less than the most exhilarating educational experience we have ever had. We enjoyed learning the fundamentals of understeer and oversteer. Learning how to handle the Audi A4's in several adverse situations was an invaluable experience. We were certainly taught by the best in the business."

Another couple, A4 owners (and a mini-van) had this to say:

"The time and effort put into organization of the trip were obvious. Things ran very smoothly for such a large group (40 people). We enjoyed the opportunity to meet and socialize with other Audi owners. The driving instruction was first rate. The knowledge and skill of the instructors exceeded our expectations.

The hotel was spectacular in every way: food, scenery, services; and my wife enjoyed her massage and the hotel's spa. Perhaps the most satisfying, for me, is that Sherri, my wife, now has greater confidence in getting behind the wheel of not only our A4, but our mini-van as well. The potentially life saving information was itself worth the price of the trip.

The Audi driving experience is something that I wish every driver could experience (all other car companies, please listen.)"

Moreover, the statement most often repeated by the participants was, "I think the Audi Driving Experience is a blast!"

We had some incredible surprises including a guest-star visit from legendary Audi racecar driver, Walter Rohrl. What a rush to be given not one but two laps around the ice-course with Rohrl behind the wheel of a diesel A4 quattro. Wheeeee!

The Audi Driving Experience is incredibly valuable - it could save your life. It is fun - way beyond fun, it is exciting. To borrow from Audi's old advertising campaign, it is the realization of "Joy!"

For even the most jaundiced, disinterested or bored, the experience is an amazing vacation - filled with five-star dining and lodging in an indescribably beautiful setting (the snow covered mountains of Austria). Add to this the romance of a sleigh ride, camaraderie and top-notch driver education and you have what is most certainly a once in a lifetime experience.

Recommendation #7: do not miss the Audi Driving Experience. Immerse yourself in it and savor every second of the time from the minute you land in Munich to the moment you depart for home. The time goes by so very quickly - hopefully you will find that this experience changes your life. It has changed ours.

Finally, a great big thank you to Karen Chadwick and the quattro club of America for organizing this delightful outing.

Trivia: This group has had 37 Audi's between them, all but three of them quattro's (but 27 or 28 of them were my wife's and my own.)

<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/rockymtn/msgs/123225.phtml">Xpost</a></li></ul>

I did the school back in January and we used the B8.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebluedog/sets/72157603776693837/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2008/2204165883_34cf5ff48a_o.jpg"></a><ul><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biAbixn2jlk">My video</a></li></ul>

Chicago and NEQ/NAAC chapters have these schools locally....<ul><li><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/dutchdaddy/WinterDrivingSchoolFebruary2008#">100+ pics from this past February.....</a></li></ul>