8/30 A6 ED...Finally! Looking for input on itinerary
08-04-2012, 04:26 PM
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8/30 A6 ED...Finally! Looking for input on itinerary
Hello to all of my fellow Audi-philes!
After an excruciating 4 months of waiting, my ED date is almost here! I cant tell you all how hard it was to place an order back in April and then have to wait for all of this time. There have been nights that I could barely sleep in anticipation. Finally, last month I was informed that my A6's production week was set for July 9 (now I know what day to celebrate her B-Day). A few days later, we received the Welcome Kit. Last week, my wife and I went in to the dealership to finalize all of the paperwork, and our pickup date was confirmed for August 30. Now, we are counting the days until we leave for Ingolstadt (literally, I have an iPhone app that has been counting down since the day we ordered it).
We opted to spring for the extended 30 day insurance, as we felt that 13 days was just not enough time. I have included our itinerary below and would love to hear what you all think. We tried to mix up out trip with both city and country destinations, mainstream and offbeat locations, and lots and lots of driving fun! Any thoughts, suggestions or special must see gems would be greatly appreciated. My wife and I travel extensively, and have been to Europe on a few occasions, but everywhere that we are going on the trip is new to us.
I can't wait to share our experience with you all. We will be posting photos and notes of our trip as we travel through Europe. Thanks to all for the great posts on this forum that have both educated and entertained me for many, many hours.
Cheers,
NP
The first column is where we'll be staying, and the second is what we have planned for the day.
8/29 Arrive in Ingolstadt
8/30 Munich (AUDI Day!!!)
8/31 Munich (City Sightseeing)
9/1 Munich (Bavaria)
9/2 Salzburg (City Sightseeing / Mozart, etc.)
9/3 Salzburg
9/4 Innsbruck
9/5 Lucerne (Neuschwanstein Castle)
9/6 Lucerne
9/7 Evian les-Baines (Drive Grimsel Pass to Zermatt for lunch)
9/8 Zurich or Konstanz
9/9 Baden-Baden (Black Forest / Roman Baths)
9/10 Baden-Baden (Black Forest / Strasbourg)
9/11 Luxembourg (Trier)*
9/12 Cologne (Upper Middle Rhine Valley Drive)
9/13 Cologne (City Sightseeing)
9/14 Dusseldorf
9/15 Brussels
9/16 Brussels
9/17 Amsterdam
9/18 Amsterdam (Drop off car)
9/19 Amsterdam (Party in Amsterdam!)
9/20 Amsterdam (Sleep off hangover)
9/21 Fly Home
After an excruciating 4 months of waiting, my ED date is almost here! I cant tell you all how hard it was to place an order back in April and then have to wait for all of this time. There have been nights that I could barely sleep in anticipation. Finally, last month I was informed that my A6's production week was set for July 9 (now I know what day to celebrate her B-Day). A few days later, we received the Welcome Kit. Last week, my wife and I went in to the dealership to finalize all of the paperwork, and our pickup date was confirmed for August 30. Now, we are counting the days until we leave for Ingolstadt (literally, I have an iPhone app that has been counting down since the day we ordered it).
We opted to spring for the extended 30 day insurance, as we felt that 13 days was just not enough time. I have included our itinerary below and would love to hear what you all think. We tried to mix up out trip with both city and country destinations, mainstream and offbeat locations, and lots and lots of driving fun! Any thoughts, suggestions or special must see gems would be greatly appreciated. My wife and I travel extensively, and have been to Europe on a few occasions, but everywhere that we are going on the trip is new to us.
I can't wait to share our experience with you all. We will be posting photos and notes of our trip as we travel through Europe. Thanks to all for the great posts on this forum that have both educated and entertained me for many, many hours.
Cheers,
NP
The first column is where we'll be staying, and the second is what we have planned for the day.
8/29 Arrive in Ingolstadt
8/30 Munich (AUDI Day!!!)
8/31 Munich (City Sightseeing)
9/1 Munich (Bavaria)
9/2 Salzburg (City Sightseeing / Mozart, etc.)
9/3 Salzburg
9/4 Innsbruck
9/5 Lucerne (Neuschwanstein Castle)
9/6 Lucerne
9/7 Evian les-Baines (Drive Grimsel Pass to Zermatt for lunch)
9/8 Zurich or Konstanz
9/9 Baden-Baden (Black Forest / Roman Baths)
9/10 Baden-Baden (Black Forest / Strasbourg)
9/11 Luxembourg (Trier)*
9/12 Cologne (Upper Middle Rhine Valley Drive)
9/13 Cologne (City Sightseeing)
9/14 Dusseldorf
9/15 Brussels
9/16 Brussels
9/17 Amsterdam
9/18 Amsterdam (Drop off car)
9/19 Amsterdam (Party in Amsterdam!)
9/20 Amsterdam (Sleep off hangover)
9/21 Fly Home
08-04-2012, 04:51 PM
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Do you recall by what means the welcome package arrived, i.e. USPS, ups, FedEx ? Mine was supposedly sent last week early, but has not arrived. We have a somewhat unreliable mailman, however, so i need to know where to look first.
08-04-2012, 08:53 PM
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There is a drinks/dinner gathering going on 8/31 in Munich - mostly BMW people but anyone is welcome as well.
You have to PM the guy on the BMW board to let him know you're attending (for dinner reservation size I think).
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=636951
You have to PM the guy on the BMW board to let him know you're attending (for dinner reservation size I think).
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=636951
08-04-2012, 09:33 PM
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I'm not sure what input you seek, but I've been to all of the places you suggest and my basic comment is that it's pretty ambitious. e.g. it might be difficult to drive from Lucerne, park the car at Tasch, take the train to Zermatt and get there by lunch. Perhaps if you start at 5:00 am, but then you will miss the very nice Swiss breakfast. If you reservations aren't fixed (and i don't think they are necessary), i would stay 2 days in Zermatt and 1 in Lucern. Also you speak of Driving from Munich through Fussen (Neuschwanstein castle) and getting to Lucerne in 1 day. Possible, if you don't stop and don't go up to the castle. I would shorten the Munich stay and spend a night in Fussen. Then you could stop in Linderhof (another Ludwig II castle), Wiess Kirche (best Rococco church extant), or whatever else time permits and have time to walk up to Newschwanstein and even take a short tour. If you don't mind walking, the trail above the castle allows best pictures of the castle with the lake below.
I have lots of other suggestions if you wish, but I agree that everyplace you list is worthy of a visit, but perhaps with different emphasis.
Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities (where a car is worthless), but again perhaps overemphasised here. I would stress the places that are harder to get to w/o a car and not the big cities, like Cologne. Southern Germany and Switzerland roads will be the most fun. Luxembourg has the cheapest gas, as of last check. (if you call $7 cheap)
Don't forget the vignette (road tax sticker) for Austria and Switzerland.
I hope this helps.
I have lots of other suggestions if you wish, but I agree that everyplace you list is worthy of a visit, but perhaps with different emphasis.
Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities (where a car is worthless), but again perhaps overemphasised here. I would stress the places that are harder to get to w/o a car and not the big cities, like Cologne. Southern Germany and Switzerland roads will be the most fun. Luxembourg has the cheapest gas, as of last check. (if you call $7 cheap)
Don't forget the vignette (road tax sticker) for Austria and Switzerland.
I hope this helps.
08-05-2012, 09:30 AM
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oops, i tried to comment on your trip from memory so I see i misstated a couple of stops. Generally same comments. I showed it to my wife and she got a headache. You May have reasons for going to Dusseldorf and Zurich, but otherwise those could be easily missed, as could Lake Geneva (though pretty, but very crowded). Consider Interlaken (Wengen, Grindelwalk, Murren) which are much closer to Zermatt and sort of on your way back. You could take the tunnel train (Lotschberg)to Kandersteg, then Interlaken, it would be a different route and still picturesque. Road to Lake Geneva is mostly freeway.
Brugge is much more interesting than Brussels and not so big, though a little further West. Sorry if you only wanted affirmation.
Brugge is much more interesting than Brussels and not so big, though a little further West. Sorry if you only wanted affirmation.
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08-05-2012, 07:37 PM
#8
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If I will do all over again, I will skip Zurich. One of the boring city in hole my ED. If you just need check mark - been there, fine. I will skip Zurich for Lucerne.
Sorry, I should start with : Congrats on your new car and your ED!!!
Sorry, I should start with : Congrats on your new car and your ED!!!
08-05-2012, 08:53 PM
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I agree a bit with the folks who say you are being a tad ambitious--but what's life without ambition?
Just be willing to cross something off your list when you find something really cool that you want to stick around for.
On Audi day, make sure you do the factory tour. It's a whole lot more interesting than the name "factory tour" has any right to be.
I agree with the comments on Weiskirche and Linderhof. When we went to Neuschwanstein in May with our new A-3, it was covered with scaffolding--Linderhof isn't.
Since you want some Alpine sights--do the cable car up the Zugspitz (sp?) from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (sp?). and or the road through the mountains and the boat ride on the Koenigsee in the Berchtesgaten area, in Germany but not far from Salzburg.
If you like beer, check out the regional brews after you've finished the days driving. Many Americans overlook the "Kolsh"(sp?) style of beers in Cologne, served in small thin glasses.
If you like gothic cathedrals, Cologne's rivals Notre Dame, if you ask me.
If you like classical music, the quality and variety in Germany is great. So if there's something that interests you, go, even if you've never heard of the performers. "Hochschule" (when referring to music) means roughly Conservatory, and such a place is likely to have a lot of good stuff. If you like modern classical music, same thing: there's plenty of really unusual good stuff you've never heard of.
Just be willing to cross something off your list when you find something really cool that you want to stick around for.
On Audi day, make sure you do the factory tour. It's a whole lot more interesting than the name "factory tour" has any right to be.
I agree with the comments on Weiskirche and Linderhof. When we went to Neuschwanstein in May with our new A-3, it was covered with scaffolding--Linderhof isn't.
Since you want some Alpine sights--do the cable car up the Zugspitz (sp?) from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (sp?). and or the road through the mountains and the boat ride on the Koenigsee in the Berchtesgaten area, in Germany but not far from Salzburg.
If you like beer, check out the regional brews after you've finished the days driving. Many Americans overlook the "Kolsh"(sp?) style of beers in Cologne, served in small thin glasses.
If you like gothic cathedrals, Cologne's rivals Notre Dame, if you ask me.
If you like classical music, the quality and variety in Germany is great. So if there's something that interests you, go, even if you've never heard of the performers. "Hochschule" (when referring to music) means roughly Conservatory, and such a place is likely to have a lot of good stuff. If you like modern classical music, same thing: there's plenty of really unusual good stuff you've never heard of.
08-07-2012, 04:12 AM
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I agree a bit with the folks who say you are being a tad ambitious--but what's life without ambition?
Just be willing to cross something off your list when you find something really cool that you want to stick around for.
On Audi day, make sure you do the factory tour. It's a whole lot more interesting than the name "factory tour" has any right to be.
I agree with the comments on Weiskirche and Linderhof. When we went to Neuschwanstein in May with our new A-3, it was covered with scaffolding--Linderhof isn't.
Since you want some Alpine sights--do the cable car up the Zugspitz (sp?) from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (sp?). and or the road through the mountains and the boat ride on the Koenigsee in the Berchtesgaten area, in Germany but not far from Salzburg.
If you like beer, check out the regional brews after you've finished the days driving. Many Americans overlook the "Kolsh"(sp?) style of beers in Cologne, served in small thin glasses.
If you like gothic cathedrals, Cologne's rivals Notre Dame, if you ask me.
If you like classical music, the quality and variety in Germany is great. So if there's something that interests you, go, even if you've never heard of the performers. "Hochschule" (when referring to music) means roughly Conservatory, and such a place is likely to have a lot of good stuff. If you like modern classical music, same thing: there's plenty of really unusual good stuff you've never heard of.
Just be willing to cross something off your list when you find something really cool that you want to stick around for.
On Audi day, make sure you do the factory tour. It's a whole lot more interesting than the name "factory tour" has any right to be.
I agree with the comments on Weiskirche and Linderhof. When we went to Neuschwanstein in May with our new A-3, it was covered with scaffolding--Linderhof isn't.
Since you want some Alpine sights--do the cable car up the Zugspitz (sp?) from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (sp?). and or the road through the mountains and the boat ride on the Koenigsee in the Berchtesgaten area, in Germany but not far from Salzburg.
If you like beer, check out the regional brews after you've finished the days driving. Many Americans overlook the "Kolsh"(sp?) style of beers in Cologne, served in small thin glasses.
If you like gothic cathedrals, Cologne's rivals Notre Dame, if you ask me.
If you like classical music, the quality and variety in Germany is great. So if there's something that interests you, go, even if you've never heard of the performers. "Hochschule" (when referring to music) means roughly Conservatory, and such a place is likely to have a lot of good stuff. If you like modern classical music, same thing: there's plenty of really unusual good stuff you've never heard of.