[Lassaxi]

Just got back from a week in Bavaira picking up my 328xi. What a time! Pics will follow soon, but here is a brief deacription of the trip:

Day 1: Fly to Munich on the Lufthansa 2-for-1 deal. Easy as pie, but Lufthansa's Economy Class is merely average for a transatlantic flight. Arrival in Munich was easy, and, as others have suggested, there is absolutely no reason to bother with taxis. The S-bahn is clean and timely. Just buy a one-way 4-zone pass at the airport (the button marked with a "4" on the ticket machine) and getting to the Marienplatz is a piece of cake for 8.80 euros. Once in the city, we found our hotel, checked in and crashed. Woke up around 4pm and headed out to explore the city. Munich is definitely one of the cleaner and more accessible European cities that I have been to, and the arctitecture was quite impressive. Dinner at the Augistiner Brauhaus, which included decent beer and very mediocre food. On the way back out of town, we at at the Weisses Brauhaus, which had much better beer and food.

The next day was up and out early to Friemann, which was another cheap and easy trip on the U-bahn. To be honest, the delivery center is a bit underwhelming, but it is clearly designed for efficiency rather than flashiness. I certainly appreciated that when we only had to wait for about 35 mins before our name was called. I was shocked at how smoothly the process runs. The reps are extremely friendly and helpful, and going through all the paperwork was simple. You are then shown to your car, which is all shiny and polished and waiting for you. I spent about 20 minutes going through the car and features with the rep, including a brief tutorial on iDrive.

As an aside, after driving with the car for a week, I am now thoroughly convinced that iDrive is fantastic. Here are my opinions:

* It is not only easier to use than most people say, but easier and more natural than using the old-school finger-peck method of controlling the radio and nav systems. Does it take slightly longer to change a CD track? Maybe. But is it more comfortable not to have to lean forward in my seat and fumble for the right button? Definitely.

* If iDrive was formerly slow, the speed has definitely been improved, because the responses in my car were instantaneous.

* Having nav in Germany was invaluable. The BMW nav system is not perfect, but it is unfairly maligned. I have a Garmin in another car, and the BMW nav was every bit as fast and clear as the Garmin. Would a better POI search be nice? Yes. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with the BMW system.

Anyway, rather than bore you all with the minute details of my trip, suffice it to say that the car handled great on the autobahn, even at speeds over 120 mph. It handled even better on the Alpenstrasse, which made for fun driving in the pouring rain. We spent time in Rothenberg, Garmisch-Partenkierchen, and Mittenwald, and saw all of Ludwig's beautiful castles, including Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein, and Linderhof.

The bottom line is that ED is a fantastic experience that everyone should do at least once in their life. Just one tip: if you're in south Bavaria, drive to Austria to get gas. Your wallet will thank you.

Edit: Oh, and for the record, HD Radio and RTTI do work together.

[BMW F22]

niice! be sure to post pix

[MB330]

Congratulation!
Looks like you have a blast! :rocks:

[horatiub]

nice. Now where are the pics ?

[ChadE]