NateS5

I just found Grossglockner:
http://www.grossglockner.at/en/hocha...-routenplaner/
From Munich to Graz, I can go Munich -> Salzburg -> Grossglockner -> Graz. Adds 2 hours, but is supposed to be awesome.

TIME89

Have you herd about Stelvio Pass?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelvio_Pass

http://www.theworldsbestdrivingroads...-de-turini.php

NateS5

Stelvio Pass looks cool, and the other link has some really cool roads too. Unfortunately, they are a bit out of the way from the places I'm trying to hit.

This pic from your second link is sweet:

NateS5

I tried to step back, pick out the major stops, and then see how much time I have remaining to actually stay at those stops. I think I was getting too bogged down in the details, so this should help. In a nutshell: There are five major legs of the trip, each 6-7 hours of driving, and I'm not sure I have time to go so far south into Italy.

Day 1 and 2
Munich (hopefully Oktoberfest, we'll see!)

Day 3
Pick up car.
To Graz: 4hrs

Day 4
Graz
Weinstrasse district

Starting on day 5, I can go anywhere I'd like! The following are potential major stops and the reasons I chose them, starting from Graz...

To Lugano: 7hrs
I chose this because the lakes are supposed to be very pretty. I would visit Gandria and/or Ascona.



To Yvoire: 6hrs
I choose this because I came across a Forbes article that listed the best scenic European drives. It lists many places, but I noted I could hit three of them that are all near Lugano: pass through the Alps via Furka Pass, through Chamonix, down to Cluses, over to Geneve, and up to Yvoire. It looks like this:




To Nurburg: 7hrs
It would be fun to go around the 'Ring, very slowly though (I'm not a track driver, and my car is new!).



To Amsterdam: 4hrs
Seems like a cool place to hang out in for a couple days and relax at the end of the trip.



These are pretty long drives between stops, so let's just assume these trips will take an entire day, which they probably will since I'll stop here and there along the way. I've now used 8 out of 15 days, and I have 7 left to spend at these stops and/or add more stops.

What do you think of this basic skeleton of a plan? How would you distribute the additional days? Would you get rid of any stops? What additional stops would you recommend?

Here is my research into what other places might be interesting:

Munich -> Graz

• Salzburg: Probably stop here to get a bite to eat and look around.
• Grossglockner: This adds 2 hours to the Munich -> Graz trip. I think I could safely skip this because 1) the Lugano -> Yvoire trip across the Alps will be very similar and 2) my car will have like 10 miles on it at this time, do I really want to break it in up a mountain?

Graz -> Lugano

• This leg of the trip probably has the most chance to add a stop or two.
• Trieste or Grado: These might be pretty?
• Venice: I've already been here, so I'll skip this.
• Ancona (and/or San Marino): This takes me along the north eastern coast of Italy. Is this a scenic drive? I would need to stay the night at Ancona. Can anyone recommend for or against doing this? From Ancona to Lugano I could pass through Sienna, Florence, Pisa, and/or Milan.
• I'm already visiting the lakes at Ascona and Gandia, should I also visit Lake Garda?

Lugano -> Yvoire

• Should I spend any time in Geneve?
• I could skip Yvoire entirely and cross the Alps elsewhere, eg take the Stelvio Pass or San Bernardino Pass to Lucerne. Would that be better than Lugano -> Yvoire as outlined above?

Yvoire -> Nurburg

• Should I stop at Gruyères to look around or eat?
• Eltz Castle is near Nurburg.

Nurburg -> Amsterdam

• No idea what is between these two, but this is also the shortest leg of the trip.

TIME89

At the end - it's your trip and you have to decide for your self.
I love Italy. Drive of back roads of Tuscany - will be a best part of our trip.
Driving to Lugano is way too much. Enjoy your vacation - remember - the are plenty of traffic in Europe and don't start me on toll roads.

Here is pdf file with some great POI around Sienna.

TeddyBGame

[QUOTE=NateS5;24141719]I ordered my S5 on Saturday, and I'm doing ED! I'm now planning the trip. I can stay 15 days. Here is what I have planned for sure:

Nate,
congrats on the S5 and pending ED. I was looking at a S5 myself but opted to go for a 335 coupe (it just fit my needs better). And I'll be doing an 8 day ED in Aug/Sept.

Based on your itin, you might get better feedback from the BMW crowd at Bimmerfest.com. Their ED forum is 100x more active than AW and many of them do an ED ever 2-3 years (via leasing). There is a wealth of info and knowledge over there and they'd be glad to answer your questions on any part of your route.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25

Good luck!

TIME89

[QUOTE=TeddyBGame;24142751]He already posted on Bimmerfest

NateS5

Thanks. I'm just not sure I can make it Tuscany. Everywhere else I'd like to go is north, so going more south adds a lot of driving.

Thanks! I did find the BMW forum. I Googled it when TIME89 mentioned "another ED forum". Here is my post over there. Some good discussion! Go ahead and post here if you have any comments about stuff over there, if you don't have an account over there.

Shhh! Don't tell anyone I'm actually getting an Audi!

I've started keeping a webpage showing my latest plan:

Nate's Crazy ED Plan!

Feedback of all kinds is very much welcome!

TIME89

Many users of this web site also member of BMFST ED forum.

NateS5

I've updated the plan. I think it is pretty solid, a lot of driving, but still a lot of other stuff to do. Here is what I have left to figure out:

• What to do in the lake area.
• Where to hike in the Black Forest, around Schluchsee.
• What to do in Amsterdam (Anne Frank's house, drugs , ?).
• Where to stay at: the lakes (2 nights), Lucerne (1 night), Freudenstadt (1 night), and Amsterdam (3 nights).

Do you recommend not making reservations for some nights? Eg, maybe for Freudenstadt I can find a B&B just by driving around? If I do this, what happens if it starts to get dark/late? Do B&Bs stay open as night falls?