FastMarkA

I love the Kempinski hotel -- use it all the time when I'm in Munich for biz.

Just south of Munich are some very, very cool cities worth visiting -- Bad Tolz, Mittenwald, and Benediktbueren. There's great German countryside down there and plenty of photo ops for the new car in its "home country."

Some other tips:

*BMW provided us a "rule sheet" of the driving laws in each country -- most require that you carry a safety jacket. We bought one at a gas station for about $10.

*Some countries require stickers -- I think we purchased one for Austria and that was it. Never was a problem.

*We never got pulled over, although we did see a flash in the review mirror while driving in France. Waiting for the ticket to come in the mail.

*Tollroads in Austria, Italy, and France are NOT cheap. Fortunately, a lot of them have the ticket system (take a ticket upon entering and you're charged according to how far you've gone) and credit cards are usually accepted.

*Europeans are good drivers. You really need to pay attention to your driving.

cit1991

Thanks for those tips, especially about the Italian pickup issue.

I'll be picking up my RS4 sometime in early September and had tentatively planned to take it to the Nurburgring, then across the alps to a dropoff in Milan. I know Milan well, since I go there on business often. But, no way will I turn over a non-broken-in RS4 to be driven back to Munich. Guess I'll have to rethink the plan.

ebusch

From the "Tips for the Tourist laps" section:
"Vehicles with transfer or limited-time number plates are not allowed to drive on the Nürburgring."

I'm pretty sure the temporary export plates used for European Delivery fall under that description. So while you could still try to get a ride with someone or buy a ride in one of the BMW Ring Taxis, you probably won't be able to take your own car out on the track.<ul><li><a href="http://www.nuerburgring.de/1_nuerburgring/touristenfahrten/index.html?L=1">http://www.nuerburgring.de/1_nuerburgring/touristenfahrten/index.html?L=1</a</li></ul>

cit1991

Yeah, I saw that yesterday and sent them an email for clarification.

Can anyone here positively confirm or deny that the Euro export plates are not accepted on the Nuerburgring?

FastMarkA

Can't confirm, but I was told that "people" can tell they're not permanent EU plates. FWIW.

miwim

I can confirm a no go, took my TT there in May and got turn down :O

cit1991

Crap. I was afraid of that.

But, thanks for the confirmation. Only on here can one get good info like that.

miwim

#1,

I arrive in Munich at 8:30 am. got the car at 11:15 after stop by the hotel to get shower. Factory tour was at noon if I am right and the museum tour was at 3 and i had plenty of time to walk around. I walked the museum myself since i didn't want to wait and I got really tired at about 3 (and have to drive to the airport to pick up someone at 7 so I didn't want to go to long without some nap). I would say if you arrive at 10:45 you have enough time to pick up the car and museum tour for sure, I am not sure what other time slot they have for factory tour (in english) so you might be pushing it .

#2, i stay at Kult, like the hotel. ARA is bigger hotel though

miwim

yep, it is red with expiration date instead of blue with 'D' on it, really obvious

John Lee Pettimore

great post!