[euro*]

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Hello everybody!

I decided to do a write-up all about my Euro Delivery before I start forgetting my remarkable experiences. I remember about 6 years ago, coming to BimmerPost just to read about people’s ED stories. It was a huge inspiration for me and I knew it was a life goal to do it myself. Fast forward to June 8th 2019, I was doing my second Euro Delivery, this time for my 2019 BMW M5 Competition. My first ED was in May 2016, with my BMW M4 Competition. Back then I started to write about my story but I never completed it. I was determined to complete this one!

On my first ED we did the more popular route: Munich -> Salzburg -> Neuschwanstein Castle -> Lake Como -> Zurich -> Nurburgring -> Munich.

On my second ED I decided to do a different route and focus more on mountain passes. HUGE shoutout to Dackelone with helping me plan my route and making amazing suggestions of where to drive and what places to visit. I attempted to do passes like Stelvio on my last ED, but because it was early May most of them were closed. This time my wife and I decided to go later, that's why we choose June 8th as our date. It's a good time to go because it's not super busy yet with the summer tourism but it's also warm enough to do the mountain passes.

Our date of June 8th fell on a Saturday as planned. The only downside to a Saturday delivery is that you can only visit the BMW Museum and not the factory tour, as it is not available on weekends - something to keep in mind for people who are considering doing this. We were not bummed as we did the factory tour back in 2016. It's definitely worth the experience. You get to see the production of the vehicles and how all the machinery/robots work. No cameras are allowed.

Our Itinerary for 2019 Delivery was as follows:
Day 0 - Arrive to Munich.
Day 1 - Pick up the car in the AM in Munich and drive to Innsbruck
Day 2 - Spend a day in Innsbruck
Day 3 - Wake up in Innsbruck and drive to Stelvio
Day 4 - Wake up in Stelvio and drive to Lake Garda via the Stelvio Pass and Umbrail Pass
Day 5 - Full day in Lake Garda
Day 6 - Wake up in Lake Garda and leave to Hotel Kolfuschgerhof via Gardana Pass
Day 7 - Leave Hotel Kolfuschgerhof and drive to Salzburg through the Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Day 8 - Wake up in Salzburg and drive to Vienna
Day 9 - Full day in Vienna
Day 10 - Wake up in Vienna and drive to Bratislava
Day 11 - Full day in Bratislava
Day 12 - Wake up in Bratislava and drive to Prague
Day 13 - Full day in Prague
Day 14 - Wake up in Prague and drive to Munich
Day 15 - Drop off the car in Munich and fly home

Day 0: Arrival to Munich
Once me and my wife arrived to the Munich airport and picked up our baggage, we were elegantly "greeted" by the BMW M4 DTM car. And as soon as we stepped out of the Munich Airport, we were pleasantly "greeted" by their Bier Garden - and of course we had to drink beer and eat German sausages as soon as we landed .







After our Bier Garden breakfast, we headed to our hotel via Uber. We stayed at Aloft Munich, I highly recommend it. Their rooms are modern and clean, breakfast is delicious, service is good and location is walking distance to the major attractions. Also, if you are planning to stay here after you pick up your ED, they have a great underground parking garage.

Since we stayed in Munich last ED, we already did all the touristy things such as visit the Marienplatz and walk around the city. There was only one place we wanted to see again this time, and it was the Hofbräuhaus München. This has to legitimately be one of the best breweries in Germany. It is huge, with stunningly high painted ceilings, long communal tables, live music, and most importantly - AMAZING beer.

















Day 1: Car Pick-up Day

This had to be the most exciting day EVER. Other than getting married of course (in case my wife is reading this). I could barely sleep the night before. Partly because I was in a different timezone but also because I was full of excitement about the day ahead.

In the AM we were greeted by a driver from BMW who met us in our hotel lobby. He was wearing a black suit and had an iPhone with our last name and everything. He shuttled us to the BMW Welt in the new G30 BMW 5 Series Diesel.





Once we walked into the Welt we went straight to the check-in desk, where we dropped off our luggage and got a tag for it (similar to an airport luggage tag). After that they walked us through the Welt, up the glass elevators, to the Delivery Lounge upstairs. Someone sat down with us, went through all the paperwork and gave us our delivery time slot and some vouchers for the BMW Museum. Afterwards we enjoyed their unlimited buffet filled with a variety of fresh delicious foods. They also had drinks including coffee, sparkling water and beers.























Once we were done eating, we greeted our delivery guy (forget his name now) and headed downstairs. This is one of the most exciting moments ever! My car was on a rotating table and spinned slowly as we walked down the stairs.





Our delivery guy was very thorough and gave lots of info about the car and helpful tips about our upcoming travels.









My 1st ED vs my 2nd ED:



Mandatory pictures outside the Welt:











We finally got into the car and did a few parade laps and parked the car in their underground garage. From the parking garage we headed back to the Welt and crossed the street to check out the BMW Museum.

Some photos from Welt & Museum:

















After the Museum, we headed to our first destination: Innsbruck, Austria.

Day 2: Innsbruck, Austria

Overall Innsbruck is an excellent city to visit. It has mountains surrounding it and you can get some really beautiful photos. It's definitely worth it to take the lifts up and see the city from up top. Because it is a student city there are lots of bars and restaurants.
























We stayed at AC Hotel by Marriott Innsbruck and got a view facing the mountains. The hotel has good and secure underground parking, with some other cars we saw also doing ED.







The Swarovski World Museum was about a 15 minute drive from Innsbruck downtown and was a pretty cool place to see.

[euro*]

Day 4: Stelvio Pass and Umbrail Pass.

After driving a few hours to Stelvio, we stopped at Hotel Gallia. The owner there named Martin was very helpful and told us lots of information. Unfortunately the very top of Stelvio Pass was still closed, the winter was long this year and the snow hasn't yet melted, but you could still make it almost all the way up and it was a very fun road. Martin also suggested we drive for about 40 minutes and cross the Switzerland border (no vignette needed) to drive the Umbrail Pass, which was very awesome and breathtaking!







View from our Hotel:



Highly recommend this hotel:



Lots of car enthusiasts can be spotted before Stelvio:



Stelvio Pass:











Before heading to Umbrail pass, we stopped at cars first carwash:



Umbrail Pass (this pass was amazing ):





































After Stelvio and Umbrail Pass and about 5 hours of driving, we headed to our next destination - Lake Garda, Italy.

Day 6: Lake Garda, Italy

The drive to Lake Garda was very scenic. In Italy you don't need a vignette since you just pay before entering the highway. We noticed people did not really follow the speed limit here. It seemed like going 200km/h was totally okay. We stayed in the very Northern part of Lake Garda. There were a few restaurants and hotels by the water. There wasn't too many people as it's not as popular a place like Lake Como. The most interesting places to see are along the water so we rented bikes and rode along the shore and it was great.















After spending a full day in Lake Garda, we headed to our next destination the following morning which was Hotel Kolfuschgerhof via Gardana Pass.

Gardana Pass:







Day 7: Hotel Kolfuschgerhof via Gardana Pass.

This place was a suggestion from Dackelone , and WOW - was this an amazing place! First of all the roads around this area are incredible, with lots of nice cars everywhere. Hotel Kolfuschgerhof is nestled in the middle of the mountains and was one of the best hotels we have ever stayed at. The service and food was indescribable. They make their own bottled sparkling drinking water from the alps. They personally take you up to your room. The lower level of the hotel was a state-of-the art Spa. There was a pool, jacuzzi, various saunas and steam rooms, and lounging areas. My wife got a massage and she really enjoyed it. We came out of this hotel feeling pampered, well-rested and well-slept, ready to take on the rest of our trip.



View from our room was incredible!!:

















Day 8: Grossglocker High Alpine Road -> Salzburg Austria

After waking up totally refreshed we headed to Salzburg Austria, which we really liked from our first ED in 2016. On the way there we also took the highly recommended Grossglocker High Alpine Road. This mountain pass is the most expensive out of them all, but the benefit is that it is made to be like a National Park. Maps are provided by the staff upon entry. The map tells you the altitude of all the stops and which stops have the most scenic photos. This was also an incredible road to drive on.









Spotted these classic on top of the Pass:







This was on the same day that our Toronto Raptors NBA team won the Championship, and I came prepared with my flag. I had my wife take photos of me holding it beside the car with the nice mountain views. People came up to us and took some photos of it too, haha.



Salzburg is an awesome city to visit. They have tons of places to eat, of course you have Mozart's popular childhood home and you can also visit the city's castle on top of the city. There is plenty to do for a day or two.

[euro*]

Day 9: Vienna, Austria

Vienna is the capital of Austria, so it's a big European city to see. There are lots of museums, old architecture and famous government buildings. If you're into that kind of thing I'm sure you will be able to find lots of things to do and see here. I'd recommend staying about 2-3 days here. We stayed at Hotel Savoyen Vienna and had a pleasant time.

















Day 11: Bratislava, Slovakia

If you are looking for good roads, this is not the place to visit, haha. The hotel we stayed at was very good - The Loft Bratislava. It had its own restaurant and brewery on the first floor. In general, the best part about Bratislava was how cheap it was. There are enough things to do here if you come for a full day or two. There is the castle on top of the city.











There is a lookout tower overlooking the whole city which was nice to visit.





There is also a Cat Cafe that was a cool first experience for me and my wife.









Day 13: Prague, Czech Republic

It took us about 3 hours of driving to get to Prague. And as you might have heard, this place is highly recommended to visit. Me and my wife did lots of touristy things here. If you are looking for stuff to do and recommendations, it is best to check out the YouTube channel called: Honest Guide. We watched a few of his vids and got our ideas there.





















My wife and I stayed in Grandior Hotel Prague, which we honestly would not recommend, as like the rest of the city it is quite old. Which meant a smelly old room even after we changed rooms. BUT, in the underground parking of that same hotel, there was a detailing place called Hommage Detailing. I dropped off my car here while we were exploring the city. The price for a full detail was very reasonable and they did a good job. Prague was one of the last places we visited before dropping off the car, so this was good final wash to get all the interior cleaned up after all the mountain passes and so on.













Day 15: Back to Munich, Germany

The drive from Prague to Munich was pretty fun on the Autobahn. The car was already past the break-in period so it felt somewhat okay to go all out on the open unrestricted road. Once we were back in Munich we stayed at Aloft Munich again. Like mentioned before, it has great parking under the hotel. Our drop off was the next day. It was right at the Munich Airport and the drive there was about 40 minutes. After chatting with the owner Sebastio, and hearing all the crazy stories over the years of ED and what he has seen, I called an Uber and went back to the hotel. We spent the last night in Munich and our flight back was early the next morning to Toronto, Canada.



Final Thoughts:

Overall this trip was INCREDIBLE! We got to see all the places we wanted to see. There was nothing bad or out of ordinary that happened, no accidents or damages to the car. Neither of us got sick or anything like that, so I consider the trip to be a total success. The F90 M5 proved what a termendous car it is, especially after taking it to all these crazy roads and elevations. At first I was sceptical about going from the F82 M4 to M5, but now I cannot wait for the car to come to Canada. It is truly a brilliant piece of machinery.

I hope my ED story was entertaining and informing. This was an astonishing experience and I would HIGHLY recommend it to all of you guys.

Cheers!

[northtorque]

Amazing shots! Hope to do a ED some day as well. Looks like you both had a very enjoyable experience - congrats.

[Hockeytyme]

Wow, such a cool trip! Thank for sharing in so much detail and especially the pictures.

I have been to Germany a couple times to see family and have been to some cool castles and beer gardens. I definitely did not see what you saw and now I want to go back.

Thanks for sharing!

[H33R]

great write up and some fantastic pics

[uniqueMR]

Congrats. Thanks for sharing and pics.
Enjoy it in good health.

[Motorin Mark]

Great write up. Is your car Silver or Gray?, looks fabulous.

[euro*]

Originally Posted by Motorin Mark

Great write up. Is your car Silver or Gray?, looks fabulous.

It's Donington with Silverstone interior

[M5 F90 (2018)]

Lovely story to read/see and enjoy the car!!!

[jjasonSU]

Awesome storyline and photos

[Poleposition]

Such great memories. Thx for sharing. Brings me back to all my ED's.

[iamwingman]

Damn brother... You did it right.

[SchwarzerReiter]

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us. Ah... this brings memories of me picking up my 4 series from the BMW Welt!

[boneca]

such a awesome experience,
congratulations!

[positiveions]

Reading this makes me want to:
1) Be single again
2) Do an ED all by myself
3) Stay as long as I want and tour Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
Congrats.

[Eagle Creek]

Awesome! I wish we had this possibility where I live! In the Netherlands... Next to Germany.... .... I don't understand * of it.


Seemed like you had an amazing time man! Great memories!

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by positiveions

Reading this makes me want to:
1) Be single again
2) Do an ED all by myself
3) Stay as long as I want and tour Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
Congrats.

Haha I was thinking the same EXACT things!

[chicagofan00]

Looks like it was an amazing trip. Thanks for sharing!

[DARKMTTR]

Youre highly detailed recap made me extremely nostalgic of my own ED experience completed two months ago! Thanks for sharing your story and awesome pics.

[Bols]

Thanks for finishing the write-up!

Very good looking color combo you have there.
I've driven the F90 and it just feels so solid.

Said it before but sometimes you guys make me wish I could move to the US just to experience the ED

[greentrbo95gst]

Amazing trip. I am looking forward to mine.