After some due dilligence I’ve gotten this video uploaded properly. It’s almost 12 minutes long, including footage of the car delivery and alpine driving. Most of the video was taken in Germany and Austria. The clip at the very end was taken in Amsterdam from our hotel room.
I’m hoping to have some more clips uploaded soon, but it’s a pain in the butt to convert them!
-Kyle
Today was a sad, rainy day. It was the last day with the supreme 135i. This morning we went down to the parking lot armed with bottles of water and soap, and washed the car. After having to fill the bottles up 3 times, it was clean for the most part. We checked for dings and scratches, but didn’t find any. Then we drove out to drop off location.
We found the place fairly easily then got started with the paperwork. While waiting for the lady to make copies of the documents, a trucker’s son came in with a baby puppy who couldn’t have been bigger than my foot. He was prancing around the office like he owned the place.
Lunch hour had just struck so we had to wait 15 minutes to start the inspection. We spent the time cleaning out everything we needed from the car. Once their break was over I pulled my car in and waited for the inspector to come out. He was a nice guy and very polite to talk to. He even helped me pull off my front license plate to take home.
As we were pulling off the front plate, Lauren noticed a fellow BMW 135i pulling in and it had temporary “zoll” plates as well. I had to go back in to the office to get copies of the paperwork and hand over the key. When we finished that we walked out to see the 135i parked in front of us. To my surprise it was a fellow member of Bimmerfest, the online forum we’ve used for all the information. We had talked previously on the message board and knew who each other were.
While we were waiting for the taxi, Lauren took some pictures of their car. I talked with the fellow owner about our trips and we compared adventures. It was nice to meet up with a fellow American and 1 Series enthusiast.
Then, as I’m checking that message board later in the day, I see he posted up this picture. I thought it was incredible!
Tomorrow we fly back to Newark then Orlando. We both can’t wait to see our Foxy puppy! I think we’re both sick of hotels for the next two years, as well.
-Kyle and Lauren
Well there’s not much new to report. We’ve just been hanging out at the hotel. As you can see from the post below me, Lauren got to go horseback riding. So for more on that scroll down to the next post. While she was riding horses I went on a nature walk/path and got a chance to take some pictures. I couldn’t believe how gorgeous this area is. I don’t want to leave.
Be sure to click each picture to see a bigger version!
Today was SO much fun for me. I got to go to a farm 10 minutes from the hotel and go on a trail ride! It was beautiful! I had so much fun. My pony was named Cleo, she was a little Icelandic pony. She was so cute! It felt funny riding a pony again, I haven’t done that in a long time. I wanted Kyle to come with us, but the trail guide said no because we were going to be trotting, cantering and galloping, which was SO fun! Riding through the grassy fields beside a creek, with mountains all around. Here are some pictures that Kyle took! Enjoy =)
-Lauren
This morning Lauren and I left the beautiful Innsbruck. The city was gorgeous and we had some of the BEST pizza ever. We made it an early night since both of us were so tired. We woke up and made the most of the free breakfast. While eating, a guy sat down at the table next to us. Just by looking at us he could tell we were from America so he asked where we were from. We ended up chatting with him for a while and found out he was in Europe for medical conferences in different cities. When he found out Lauren was from Ottawa he mentioned that his brother-in-law lives in Gatineau. It was nice to talk with someone who spoke English as a first language.
After breakfast we headed down to Matrei In Osttirol via the B108 (private alpine road). That road was GREAT. So many curves and hills, it was the first chance I got to really get a feel for that oh-so-famous BMW handling. If I wasn’t already madly in love with this car, that road sealed the deal.
When we got to Matrei In Osttirol, we found that the roads near our hotel were all closed. We parked at the first spot we saw then walked to the hotel. Upon checking in we found out there was a choir festival going on. Not church choirs though, more like a bunch of drunken people crawling from pub to pub and singing songs the whole time. This caused more than a few problems. I couldn’t access the hotel’s underground parking, and we’d have to listen to these drunkards all night long. So after 15 minutes, we decided to leave. My mom managed to get us a suite in Zell am See. The difference between hotels is like night and day.
Here we have private parking, and a suite that’s half the size of my house! We’ve got a kitchen, two bedrooms, a SAUNA, a living room, and a balcony with a picture-perfect view. See the pictures below for proof of the “amazingness.”
Lauren is going to write her own entry later on, but I just had to write one as well. For now, here are the pictures:
And now the room:
Three words. OH.MY.GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Today was the big day for Lauren and I. We picked up my brand new BMW 135i in Munich at the BMW Welt. The entire time there was AMAZING. We were treated as if we were royalty!
After some last minute scrambling to find my navigation unit in the hotel, we took a cab to the Welt. We got there just in time to check my backpack and get checked in. My first impressions were from all the sophisticated architecture. The best way I could describe the designed would be “Organized Chaos.” The building has so many different lines, shapes, and angles that it almost makes you dizzy. Upon checking our bags we were escorted to the elevator to go upstairs to the Premium Lounge. After arriving up there I finally understood why it was the PREMIUM lounge. The entire lounge looked like it could have it’s own special on “MTV Cribs.” Huge leather chairs filled the entire lounge where you could eat and drink anything you’d like. Granted, I couldn’t do much sitting as standing still was a challenge.
While checking in to the Premium Lounge and planning the rest of our day, I came across the Bimmerfest Signature Book. Bimmerfest is a BMW club, whose website I’ve used as my main source of information for the European Delivery. I signed my name and wrote a sentence in the book. After that we went over all the documentation for the trip (insurance, registration, etc.) Once the documentation was taken care of, we started planning our day at the Welt. Unfortunately we had missed the last English tour for the BMW factory. However the lady assisting us was nice enough to give me a FREE parking pass and schedule us for a tour bright and early tomorrow! The factory tour was a MUST for me, seeing as I’m the geeky type. Apparently the BMW factory is one of the most sophisticated assembly plants in the WORLD. Not just automotive factories, but ALL robotic assembly factories, IN THE WORLD!
Once we had our day planned, she printed us out two hotel-room style cards with our itineraries printed on them. I thought that was pretty cool! Once we had our cards we went over and got some free food and sodas. We only waited for half an hour before we were greeted by Bernhard, our Delivery Specialist. Let me just say, this man was GREAT. He was incredibly friendly and very helpful. He took us down in to the basement where they have their digital tables with all the information about your car. These tables were incredible! It was a touch screen monitor filled with tons of information about not only my car, but about BMW as well.
Bernhard knew by looking at me that I was more interested in the design and power portions of the car more than the safety features, fuel consumption technologies, and blah blah blah! He took us through a virtual tour of how every BMW is made from the ground up. They are one of (if not the only) auto manufacturers who used clay to design all of their cars.
Here are some facts about every BMW design:
When we finished the super-cool table display, we went on to the driving simulator. This is where BMW gets to tell you how amazing their traction control system is. Bernhard was more than happy to show me how I can/can’t get in trouble with this car 
Then, once we finished THAT, it was time for the big show. We took an elevator back up to the Premium Lounge. Bernhard pulled out his PDA and began to compose the event with the pocket-sized computer. With the PDA he not sent a message to the check-in counter to send my bags to the car, but also turned on the rotating stand my car was on, and the spotlight over head. When I first saw the car spinning..no..DANCING in front of me, it was enough to make my eyes swell up.
After almost a YEAR of waiting, there it was, my baby. Seeing the car in person only confirmed my choices in color. I LOVE this blue, it’s so dynamic and shiny! It took all the restraint I had to not run down the stairs and hug it. After eternity had passed Bernhard led us down the stairs to go see the new baby.
Unbelievable is the only word that kept coming to my mind. I couldn’t believe that it was MY car, in the flesh…er..steel. Lauren and I got our pictures taken by the Welt’s professional photographer. Bernhard took a bunch of pictures with my camera so I could have them for the trip home and the wait for my car. He was excellent in suggesting ideas for poses, making sure to get the background in as well.
He showed me all the bells and whistles of the car then after some more talking, sent us on “Virgin Lap” around the delivery area. This is a small track that is oval shaped and surrounds the area where the cars are delivered. It’s not an actual race track, more like a small road, but nevertheless VERY meaning full to me. Just before I was going to pull out, he offers to take a VIDEO of me doing my lap. This made me INCREDIBLY happy. He ended up taking quite a few videos of the lap which was perfect! While doing my Virgin Lap visitors of the Welt on the upper floors were cheering us on and taking pictures! It was amazing!
We stopped halfway down the exit road for him to bring the video camera back to me. While we were waiting for him to walk up to the car, people continued to take pictures of the car. Lauren waved and they all waved back to us. Talk about feeling special! After that we said our goodbyes to Bernhard and then exited the building. Right after we exited the building, I took the car to get parked in underground garage so we could go up to dinner inside the Welt. Dinner was great, Lauren and I spent the whole time going “Oh my GOD I can’t believe it’s finally here!”
Once we had finished our dinner we did some shopping in the gift shop, then we were on our way. Now my brand new BMW 135i is sitting underground at our hotel’s secure parking lot. As a matter of fact, right after I finish this post we’re going down there to play around with the car some more.
Here are the pictures from the delivery process:
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Lauren and I woke up early today to get the day started. We went down to the hotel’s restaurant to make the most of the free breakfast. After breakfast we headed down to a small river to feed some ducks. It was a really good time as the scenery was great and the path was almost empty. Here are some pictures from feeding the ducks:
After feeding the ducks we continued to walk down the path alongside the river. It lead us to a very nice park with a lot of stuff to see. I’ve got a lot more pictures, but I won’t put them up here right now.
Hey guys, I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it in to Zurich last night with no problems. It was a VERY early morning for us, and a very long day as well. After roughly 8 hours of train rides, we were both ready for sleep by the time we got off the last train.
Our first train was from Amsterdam Central Station to Frankfurt Main. This was a decent trip as Lauren and I had 2 seats side-by-side. We even had our own row for one of the stops. After about 4 hours we arrived in Frankfurt Main Station where we got food, bottles of water and soda. Once we were stocked up, we sat on platform 6 waiting for our train for another hour or so.
The second train was nothing but pure hell. After loading our two 45 pound bags on to the train, we found people in our seats. Since they only spoke German we spent some time in the area between cars (not where they connect, but the little rooms next to that). After 25 minutes of standing we decided enough was enough. We stole someone else’s seats. These seats were two cars back from where our original seats were. So there we were trying to carry our bags in the little narrow isle. Bashing people in the knees, arms, and anything else that got in our way. We got situated in our new seats then about 15 minutes later the ticket agent comes around. We told her why we weren’t in our original seats then she decides we should go up to our seats and she’d kick the people out. Turns out we would have been better off sitting where we were before.
Our original seats that the ticket lady kicked the people out of, sucked. They shared a table with a mom and her 5 year old kid. Across the isle was a family with a baby, and a 3 year old. This little pesky 3 year old made it his goal to be as loud and annoying as possible. Meanwhile our bags our still back two cars because we couldn’t carry them since there were too many people.
So Lauren and I sat down at our table and just wished time would fly by. I must say, Lauren got the nice end of the deal. She had her iPod and headphones. I had nothing. My headphones and dead iPod were in suitcase that was two cars back. Even if I had the suitcase it’s not like I could pulled everything apart right there on the train. So for 4 hours I listened to little German kids scream their lungs off while their mother’s encouraged them. I was ready to throw the kids off the train at the next stop.
After what seemed an eternity, we FINALLY arrived in Zurich. We walked off the train and headed for our hotel. The hotel was only a few blocks away so we decided not to go with a taxi. That and the fact that we had been sitting ALL day. We got checked in to the hotel with no problems and proceeded to pass out without even unpacking.
Now it’s Monday morning and we’re going to go eat breakfast.. Once THAT is done, we’re going to go explore the city and hopefully take some good pictures as well.
That’s it for now, I’ll post more once something exciting happens.
So it’s 3:18am. We’re leaving Amsterdam today :(. It’s a really fun city, I’m glad we’re coming back! Today we’re taking the train to Zurich. It’s connects in Frankfurt, so it’s going to be tricky. I spent some time studying the routes and tickets tonight. I don’t want to be completely out of the blue when we arrive at thee train station tomorrow.
Apparently Amsterdam is the place to be on a Saturday night!
ttfn!
Lauren