xBMWx

GUMBALLING THROUGH GERMANY!! Nice idea. We could give a prize to the member who makes to Munich with a clean licence and no fines

Seriously though, I like your idea of building in a cruise on the Friday starting in the Benelux region

As for the eating plans on the day, your suggestion again makes a lot of sense if the main restaurant is over the top for what we need. We would no doubt have a good breakfast at the hotel, then do a light lunch at BMW Welt, and could then build in a cruise to another venue for a meal or simply head back to the hotel and then off into the city

This really all hinges around how long the bulk of the attendees would stay; Sat only / Fri-Sat / Fri-Sun / Sat-Sun ??

I personally think its a Fri-Sun event, because of the distances involved

luxembourg

DeBeNeLux convoy sounds perfect!
and I back up Pete's opinion that no other option than Fri-Sun event makes sense given the distance, Welt Tour, must-have factory tour (Dingolfing??) + some time out in the city...

And we need to think it over before X-mas, as I already mentioned that in the MEET thread:

andy545

all this sounds great

Here's my take on things:

1. We should tour both Dingolfing and Welt. Are tours available on the weekend ? (as I suspect Friday will be the "travel" day)
2. Hilton accommodation sounds good. Have breakfast at the hotel, lunch at the Museum, dinner at the Inter. Welt restaurant.
3. 3-5 April is doable(ish) need to know as soon as possible.

garehaan

I've been there and seen that this year as well. Staying the night is a must if you want to try the beer at the `Brauhaus`

look for yourself!

xBMWx

Thanks for the pics -- really looking forward to seeing it in person!

I think I can safely speak for both MacSid and myself, when I say that we are definitely only going to Munich for the BEERs, sorry, I mean BMWs

IMHO we should head out into Munich at least on one evening. I've been there loads of times and its just such a great city & great night out. It would be a shame to just spend the whole time at the BMW Museum & Welt, and not experience the city. I could get tables reserved for us at a traditional Munich restaurant and/or one of the Brauh?user.

On Sunday we all need to drive a long way, so we won't be able to go totally crazy on the beers on Saturday -- not that I would of course -- so probably best to get into the city at a sensible time on Saturday, i.e. rather than eating at BMW Welt restaurant in the evening first of all. Alternatively, we go out on Friday evening to experience the city and then do a quiet one on Saturday evening at the BMW Welt Restaurant, to chill out ahead of the long drive the next day

I guess a lot of this depends on when people arrive on Friday. We'll all need a beer anyway after that drive, so if we can get hotels near the centre, we can park-up our BMs and walk into town to check it out and for food & drink. If I paid for my mate's beers, I know he'd join us and make sure we saw the key sites and went to the best restaurants / Brauhaus I think a quiet one on Saturday would be the smart move ahead of the long drives.

Once we have this locked down, I will then contact BMW about the Tours on the weekend -- as Andy flagged above.

Any other thoughts??

BMWMB

Because Munich is 700km from here, i'll take that day off and leave in the morning direction Munich. So, we'll arrive in Munich late afternoon.

Friday: Arrival Munich late afternoon -> Check-in Hotel -> Heading out to the centre for food and drinks...
Saturday: Breakfast -> Trip to Dingolfing (110km from Munich) -> Visit BMW-factory -> Lunch at Dingolfing -> Trip back to Munich -> Visit BMW-welt -> Diner BMW-Welt -> Heading out to the centre for drinks...
Sunday: Beakfast -> Home

I think it's better to visit the factory in the morning and BMW-welt in the afternoon, because BMW-Welt is open till 20.00...

xBMWx

hi everyone! Hope all is well.
Looks like the Lounge lost a little momentum, but as you know I was out ill for some weeks and I am now playing catch-up at work and making sure we hit the year-end targets -- you know how it is! On top of that I am being promoted and will be relocating with Mrs xBMWx to Denmark at the beginning of next year, so its all go here at the moment!! My current company car will go back and with the crazy tax prices in Denmark a similar company car there is totally out of the questions So I will purchase a private car here in Germany and take it with me I've been out shopping for a 2005/6 530dA M-Sport and there appear to be enough becoming available in my price range, so that's all looking fine. The M166 and 128 rims on my current E60 are mine, so I will transfer them on to my private car. With the financial crunch and year end targets, its actually a good time to buy. I may have to switch to a Touring though, because there are more on the market and you can therefore get better deals. I test drove one yesterday and it was fine -- not the same as the E60, but not an issue with the kind of city / motorway driving I will be doing. So that means I have every intention of staying here in the family and still attending the meets...


Following up on what BMWMB wrote above, I will obviously now have a big drive to get there, so I agree with the plan outlined above. I had assumed everything was at one location, so thanks for pointing out that rather important detail That means we would make a restaurant (Brau Haus) reservation in Munich for the Friday evening, and restaurant reservations at the two BMW locations for the Saturday.

So does everyone agree with this approach in principle and to target the first weekend in April (Fri 3rd - Sun 5th)??
Please reply, even if its yes/no
We can then start contacting the BMW facitilies to check tours and make priliminary reservations. Many of us will also have to book "holiday" time off at work very soon.

MacSid

Hi folks, I''ve been under the radar for a couple of weeks now - work and all that - but back now.

xBMWx: Congratulations on the promotion!!!


Having read all that has transpired here in the last couple of weeks, I can't help but agree with most of the comments and will add to them with the following $0.02...

1. First weekend in April sounds really good (already blocked off in my diary) but I have what seems to be my favourite cat to throw among the pigeons in relation to the meet timings - winter shoes. Apart from xBMWx, with his 245km/h rated ones, how are the rest of us with using them on a DeBeNeLux gumball, or getting back on summer shoes that early in April? I'm comfortable with doing the latter (no way am I gumballing with this crowd on winter rubber ), but it's something all of us probably want to have a think about.
2. BMWMB's plan is, I think, a winner, and I'm going to plan on doing the same, with the day off on Friday to get to Munich. This would also nicely set us up for the aforementioned DeBeNeLux convoy, which I will be more than happy to organise/coordinate.
3. Did somebody say "beer"?
4. A brauhaus dinner on Friday followed by a somewhat quieter evening on Saturday in preparation for the drives home sounds like the perfect plan.
5. Hotel accommodation in downtown Munich would be the best bet. It will allow all of us to get into town and settled, ease of getting out to evenings on the town, and I'm sure some of our better halves wouldn't mind strolling down the Neuhauserstrasse and Kaufingerstrasse
6. Whether we get the date nailed in the next couple of weeks or not, I think we should get on the phone to BMW to inquire about Dingolfing tours. All of the material I have seen on their museum, tours, etc. seem to suggest only the possibility of touring the 3er line next to BMW Welt, so we should get this clear to avoid disappointment.
7. Did somebody say "beer"?

S

luxembourg

Pete, congratulations!!!
(also on the car change - it's always fun to do!!)

by the way our convoy to BMW Welt from now on will have to be officially called: DaDeBeNeLux

I'm very happy about the early planning, though Sanjay's thought about the summer/winter tires issue makes absolute sense.
To be honest, we can still have some snow in first days of April, but on the other hand we will be on the motorway all the way through, so summer sets should be already OK for that time, right?
Or, 18-19 April perhaps sounds a bit better? 5-star Hilton is still at 89 EUR for that wknd
But generally, as for me and my Mrs - we're up for any weekend in April so far (no missions planned after February yet)

smoppett

To be fair, you need to squeeze a UK, GB, or Eng in there somewhere - we English are confused by our own identity!

Simon