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      11-22-2018, 07:29 PM   #1
Greer
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Drives: 2022 M5 Competition
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Los Angeles

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Pics Attached To My 2019 M5 Competition European Delivery Journal

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Hi Guys,

My M5 competition is arriving in a few days and now is the time to post details of my trip. Here's a very short version of what happened:

It started with an easy flight to Munich and early check-in at a lovely hotel in residential area of Munich. The BMW limo picked us up at the airport.

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After a quick nap, Sara and I headed to Octoberfest. Much fun, though resembled the LA County fair in some ways. But, you don’t find the singing and cheering, lederhosen, dirndl skirts, and German-accented singing of country and western music at the LA County Fair. And no cows at Oktoberfest.

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Woke up early the next day and headed to the Welt in the rain. The car is everything I hoped for. So was the information and insights provided by Adam of BMW. After more than an hour with Adam, we said goodbye to the people we met at breakfast who picked up an M2 and live about 20 miles from us. I parked my car in a very tight garage at the Munich hotel three floors down for the night. Next, some shopping in Munich and gathered with 100s of others at Marienplatz for the glockenspiel to play as the rain had become a drizzle. The great thing about dinner at an Italian restaurant in Munich, you can understand the menu of Italian food in German.


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Tuesday morning, a nice drive on the autobahn and we crossed the border to Austria. Due to snow reports on the Glossglockner Pass, we took the beautiful and more direct route to our hotel overlooking the Grossglockner Mountain itself—the highest mountain in Austria. This route offered amazing vistas of the Austrian Alps’ mountains and towns, and no better place to see it from than a 2019 M5 competition package car. The handling could not be better, while the ride is amazingly smooth. As great as the car’s nav is, the last few blocks to the hotel we were on our own. It seems few Americans stay at the Gradonna Mountain Resort in Kals de Grossglockner, Austria, though if you go to the area I suggest you do, five-course dinner and breakfast included. The views from our room were breathtaking as is the entire area. Seems to be a great ski spot in the winter. Big plus, a nice large parking lot with plenty of spaces.



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Our longest drive came next, 310 kms, and only stopped for gas. The views down the hill from Kals is even better than the views there. The creek along the route as we approached Lienz is what you would expect an Alpine creek to look like, blue and clear. The towns we passed look out of a storybook. I have never seen so many pine trees. The roads are great. The car even better, in every way. Comfort, pick-up, appearance and even gas mileage.



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I hesitantly let someone who works at our hotel in Graz park the car. Old city, small parking lots, and no insurance if I park it. A rare Austrian SUV was parked there later. I knew my car is fine. Walked around the historic part of city, did some shopping, and had great Austrian food and wine for dinner.

The car, Sara and I headed to Maribor, Slovenia, about 70 kms south from Graz the following day. Another lovely drive and another border crossing, but this time with close attention to whether we had a Slovenian highway toll sticker. We did. We bought it at a Rastplatz on the Austrian A9 highway and it became third vignettes on the windshield. Maribor is a charming undiscovered city, very welcoming and relaxed. Street signs had seven and eight letter words and places with one vowel, and streets had lots of traffic circles. A mall that could be nearly anywhere in the US was a short walk from the historic city center. After lunch, some sightseeing and shopping, we headed back to Graz. Stopped at the Austrian border where police took our passports for a couple of minutes before wishing us a good trip. On the way back, I realized the car was getting the best mileage I have had on an M3 or M5, by far. Makes the great ride, pick-up, and beauty even more exciting. Back in Graz, the car took an elevator to its parking spot for the night.

Up early the next morning, Friday, to head to the appointment for hand wash in Vienna. What a great job. If you ever need a car wash in Vienna, this is the place to go. Name of the place is below. A quick 6 km drive and we were at the drop-off spot. Things there could not have gone more smoothly. Car heads to Germany from there on a car carrier and then to the port. Next, a 20 minutes taxi ride to the heart of historic Vienna, and the adventure continued.



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After an hour and breakfast down the street later, with a surprisingly good chai latter, the car was washed, dried, sparkling clean and ready for its trip home. A quick 6 km drive and we were at the drop-off spot.



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Dropping the car off in Vienna Austria to be delivered to Los Angeles.



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__________________
2022 F90 M5 Competition & 2019 M2 Competition
2019 F90 M5 Competition
2017 F80 M3 Competition
2014 F10 M5 Competition
2003 E39 M5

Last edited by Greer; 11-27-2018 at 11:45 AM..
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