2010 Audi S5 ED Experience
03-01-2010, 04:44 AM
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2010 Audi S5 ED Experience
Hi all,
Here is a quick summary of my trip last week:
Day 1:
Arrive in Munich, staying at Hotel Kempenski (right at the airport very convenient).
Go downtown to multiple bars and beerhouses, almost blackout, somehow find subway home, pass out.
Day 2: Wake up at 8am, drink lots of water, get picked up at 8:30am by Audi A8L and driver. Amazing experience, heated back seats, personalized nameplate, very nice. Arrive at Audi forum, take care of paperwork, do some shopping at Audi store, wait anxiously as my car is pulled up. Receive full introduction to car (very helpful), drive out and leave car in Audi parking for all to see..and she received a multitude of looks.
Took the Audi factory tour which was excellent and nearly 2.5 hours long. You basically follow the building of an A4 and you truly in and an amongst the people who make it happen. It's an exceptional tour and I definitely recommend it.
From there I left Ingolstadt and drove to Prague. The drive took about 3.5-4 hours and I was careful to never get the revs past 4k. I basically set the cruise control to 100mph and just enjoyed the ride. If you've never driven on the autobahn before, it is quite an experience. The highway is in excellent condition for the most part and scenery is peace and gorgeous.
I arrive in Prague and immediately get pulled over for "license plate" issues. They check my license and registration, then proceed to basically ask me 20 questions about the car.
Days 3-4: Sightseeing and partying in Prague (they love Lady Gaga by the way..she came on pretty much every third song).
Day 5: Drive to Vienna. The drive took about 3 hours and was yet another beautiful ride. Rolling countrysides, little towns, castles, windmills..just a beautiful little trip. Quick caution though: Vienna just built these amazing new superhighways but, unfortunately, the GPS Audi gave me was outdated so it did not pick up any of the roads. Just the follow the signs when you get near Vienna (aka "Wien") and ignore the GPS.
Day 6: Sightseeing in Vienna. Another beautiful city, much more laid back than Prague, but still a lot to see.
Day 7: Drive back to Munich (approximately 4 hours). Almost crossed into Germany and these two ******* Austrian cops pull me over for not having a proper Austrian highway sticker pass. They proceed to charge me 120 euro (circa $160) for this little sticker. I am going to fight this because it's absolute BS, as none of the other cars had them.
Day 8: Tour Dachau Concentration Camp (truly a sobering experience) then drop the car off. An easy process, took about 45 minutes. Spent the evening touring the streets of Munich and watching the Olympics at a bar, a nice relaxing evening.
Day 9: Fly home. All-in-all, an amazing experience and I already miss the car. I'm counting down the days till she arrives, but it will be a while.
Let me know if you have any questions!
-Seth
Here is a quick summary of my trip last week:
Day 1:
Arrive in Munich, staying at Hotel Kempenski (right at the airport very convenient).
Go downtown to multiple bars and beerhouses, almost blackout, somehow find subway home, pass out.
Day 2: Wake up at 8am, drink lots of water, get picked up at 8:30am by Audi A8L and driver. Amazing experience, heated back seats, personalized nameplate, very nice. Arrive at Audi forum, take care of paperwork, do some shopping at Audi store, wait anxiously as my car is pulled up. Receive full introduction to car (very helpful), drive out and leave car in Audi parking for all to see..and she received a multitude of looks.
Took the Audi factory tour which was excellent and nearly 2.5 hours long. You basically follow the building of an A4 and you truly in and an amongst the people who make it happen. It's an exceptional tour and I definitely recommend it.
From there I left Ingolstadt and drove to Prague. The drive took about 3.5-4 hours and I was careful to never get the revs past 4k. I basically set the cruise control to 100mph and just enjoyed the ride. If you've never driven on the autobahn before, it is quite an experience. The highway is in excellent condition for the most part and scenery is peace and gorgeous.
I arrive in Prague and immediately get pulled over for "license plate" issues. They check my license and registration, then proceed to basically ask me 20 questions about the car.
Days 3-4: Sightseeing and partying in Prague (they love Lady Gaga by the way..she came on pretty much every third song).
Day 5: Drive to Vienna. The drive took about 3 hours and was yet another beautiful ride. Rolling countrysides, little towns, castles, windmills..just a beautiful little trip. Quick caution though: Vienna just built these amazing new superhighways but, unfortunately, the GPS Audi gave me was outdated so it did not pick up any of the roads. Just the follow the signs when you get near Vienna (aka "Wien") and ignore the GPS.
Day 6: Sightseeing in Vienna. Another beautiful city, much more laid back than Prague, but still a lot to see.
Day 7: Drive back to Munich (approximately 4 hours). Almost crossed into Germany and these two ******* Austrian cops pull me over for not having a proper Austrian highway sticker pass. They proceed to charge me 120 euro (circa $160) for this little sticker. I am going to fight this because it's absolute BS, as none of the other cars had them.
Day 8: Tour Dachau Concentration Camp (truly a sobering experience) then drop the car off. An easy process, took about 45 minutes. Spent the evening touring the streets of Munich and watching the Olympics at a bar, a nice relaxing evening.
Day 9: Fly home. All-in-all, an amazing experience and I already miss the car. I'm counting down the days till she arrives, but it will be a while.
Let me know if you have any questions!
-Seth
03-01-2010, 06:03 AM
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Congrats! Sounds like you had a great time. I do have couple questions for you though. I'm heading over in 2 weeks 
Did you get an international permit before you left? I've seen some posts where people had problems with just regular US license. Any recommendations for drop off process? I'm bringing my own GPS with 2009 maps; hopefuly it will work good. I already told Audi that I dont want their loaner GPS. Any other tips and ideas? Thanks.
Did you get an international permit before you left? I've seen some posts where people had problems with just regular US license. Any recommendations for drop off process? I'm bringing my own GPS with 2009 maps; hopefuly it will work good. I already told Audi that I dont want their loaner GPS. Any other tips and ideas? Thanks.
03-01-2010, 07:36 AM
#3
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Day 7: Drive back to Munich (approximately 4 hours). Almost crossed into Germany and these two ******* Austrian cops pull me over for not having a proper Austrian highway sticker pass. They proceed to charge me 120 euro (circa $160) for this little sticker. I am going to fight this because it's absolute BS, as none of the other cars had them.
if you're using the autobahns in Austria and Switzerland, they are toll roads. You'll have to purchase your toll sticker (vignette) before entering the autobahns in those countries. They're not that expensive (less than $20) but are another good reason to stay on the secondary roads where the scenery is MUCH better. Besides, Austria and Switzerland have speed limits (130kph, IIRC) on their autobahns.
Totally legal ticket - it's your fault. Every ED forum screaming that you need Austrian and Swiss sticker if you in that countries and use autobahn. You have no chance to win this. And if you thinking about another ED - I recommend you paid this tickets.
Seth, Congratulation on your car and your ED - excellent write up - but no photos
Last edited by TIME89; 03-01-2010 at 07:46 AM.
03-01-2010, 07:08 PM
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Yes, I know I'm not gonna win, but I'm still cranky about it. I truly think they just picked a figure out of thin air (120 euro) and gave me a ticket in that amount. Anyway, small tarnish on an amazing trip.
03-02-2010, 07:29 AM
#5
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03-03-2010, 11:46 AM
#9
AudiWorld Super User
We steal waiting for more photos and stories.
Just talk to CrazyIvan on the phone - he really wish you can write more about your trip.
Edit: looking today at Bimmerfest for some info for CrazyIvan and found this post
.
Don't bet on it.
We had gotten off the autobahn in Germany near the Austrian border (we did not know how near). We got back on, planning to stop at the border crossing station to buy the vignette.
As we got back on, we were behind an 18-wheeler on the ramp which blocked our view forward. As we came off the ramp and onto the highway, we accelerated behind the truck, then pulled left to pass. Turned out the on ramp was less than 1/4 mile from the border, and we crossed it literally as we saw it. No problem, we'll get right off at the first exit (again, 1/4 mile) and get the vignette.
Nope. Austrian police stopping every car at the exit and checking for vignettes. Apparently, they picked a Thursday afternoon at 1 pm to do a compliance check. They were also stopping every car on the highway as well as the exit. If you crossed the border without a vignette, you got a 130 euro fine (payable on the spot). The receipt from the ticket gets you 2 days on the highway if you're just passing through.
You know, if I'd been planning on taking the chance without a vignette, I wouldn't have been half as irritated. But, rules are rules. Chalked it up as part of the vacation cost.
Just talk to CrazyIvan on the phone - he really wish you can write more about your trip.
Edit: looking today at Bimmerfest for some info for CrazyIvan and found this post
the chances are almost 0 to get pulled over for the stickers..
Don't bet on it.
We had gotten off the autobahn in Germany near the Austrian border (we did not know how near). We got back on, planning to stop at the border crossing station to buy the vignette.
As we got back on, we were behind an 18-wheeler on the ramp which blocked our view forward. As we came off the ramp and onto the highway, we accelerated behind the truck, then pulled left to pass. Turned out the on ramp was less than 1/4 mile from the border, and we crossed it literally as we saw it. No problem, we'll get right off at the first exit (again, 1/4 mile) and get the vignette.
Nope. Austrian police stopping every car at the exit and checking for vignettes. Apparently, they picked a Thursday afternoon at 1 pm to do a compliance check. They were also stopping every car on the highway as well as the exit. If you crossed the border without a vignette, you got a 130 euro fine (payable on the spot). The receipt from the ticket gets you 2 days on the highway if you're just passing through.
You know, if I'd been planning on taking the chance without a vignette, I wouldn't have been half as irritated. But, rules are rules. Chalked it up as part of the vacation cost.
Last edited by TIME89; 03-03-2010 at 02:07 PM.
03-12-2010, 09:16 PM
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Why didn´t you get the sticker before entering Austria? There are signs along all of the motorways before you even get to Austria as a reminder.
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