I'm going to Germany

i quickly eliminated berlin because it is so far out of the way
also, remember that gas is significantly more expensive in europe
gmund austria is way out of the way, but i did lake constance and berchtesgaden/eagle's nest and then the fairy tale road, so it was kind of an easy loop
the RUF factory was on my itinerary too (got to drive an RTurbo mit Alois :) )

aloha

steve
 
If you end up going to Munich, take the Mike's Bikes bike tour. The riding is easy, you get to see a lot of the city and the halfway break is in a beer garden. Can't beat that.
-Steve
 
If you go early enough in October, I suggest going to Munich for Oktoberfest. It's from Sept 20 - Oct 5. On one of my trips to Germany I made it to Oktoberfest and had a blast. Lots of BEER!
 
The trip is coming together. I'm meeting some folks from Rennteam at the Nurburgring on October 10th. One of the members has been kind enough to offer to let me ride shotgun in his 987S. If you guys promise not to tell I may try to sneak the rental on for a lap.;) October 15th I'll be in Stuttgart to take the Porsche tour in the morning. In the afternoon I'll go see the Mercedes museum. That should be a good start on the gearhead proclivities.:D
 
You MUST include Munich in your trip.
I am actually from Munich (I lived there for the first 30 years of my life before I moved to the US in 1994) and it is the BEST City in Germany - believe me. If you include Munich let me know and I'll give you a few more tips where to go / what to see
 
Munich is on the list. Based on what I was told by several friends I was probably going tospend 2-3 days there. Everyone says it's a great city. Any recommendations are welcomed. :)
 
Here's my promised input about Munich - Enjoy

Food and Drink

Oh, man, the food. We Germans really know how to eat (and drink). Some suggestions:

Leberkäse—(lay’ bur kay sa) A sort of German meatloaf that is generally eaten for breakfast or lunch with a Semmel (zem’ mul, roll) and some Senf (zenf, mustard). It’s tastes vaguely like mild bologna. Try the sußer Senf (zoos’ ur zenf, sweet mustard—yumm).

Semmeln—(zemm’ uln, rolls) German baked goods are out of this world. Tengelmann’s bakery section has a decent selection. Get yourself zwei normale Semmeln (zwai nor mal’ ua zemm’ uln) and some Nutella (chocolate hazelnut paste in a jar) and you’ll be set for brekkies or a snack.

Schweinehax’n—(schvine’ uh hox un) Pork knuckle. Sounds gross, tastes great. Ask anyone.

Schnitzel—(shnits’ ul) Cutlets, with multitudinous variations. Wiener or “nach Wiener Art” (which just means “from Vienna” or “Vienna style”, by the way) is generally plain breaded pork (Schweinsfleish, shvines’ flaish) or veal (Kalbsfleisch, kalbs’ flaish), while Jägerschnitzel (yay’ ger shnitz ul) has a mushroom gravy sauce. You really can’t go wrong.

Sauerbraten—(zow’ ur brott un) Roast beef in a tangy sauce. Usually served with Knödel (knurd’ ul, dumplings) or Spätzle (little baby dumplings).

Grillhendl—(grill’ hend ul) Grilled chicken, usually rotisserie-style.

Spezi—(spate’ zee) Half coke, half orange soda. Once again, sounds gross, tastes great. Regarding soft drinks: you will find that 0.2l of coke or 0.5l of Spezi will cost you about the same as a whole litre of Beer. No free refills, either. Tap water is called Leitungswasser (lai’ toongs voss ur) and, while it is free, you’ll probably get some funny looks. It’s just not done. If you ask for just Wasser in a restaurant, you’ll get Sprudel (sproo’ dul, fizzy mineral water a la Perrier).

Bier—(beer) This needs very little explanation in and of itself. Germany is Germany, and they make and consume it in breathtaking quantities. There is a reason for this—it’s really good there. Munich has—get this—seven major breweries. Löwenbräu (yes, that Löwenbräu, but it is actually pronounced Loo’ vin broy) was founded in 1280 AD, so they have some expertise. To make it even more interesting, there are a bunch of different kinds (Pilsen, Weißbier, etc. etc.).

Suggestions on where to eat:
Augustiner Keller (ow goos tee’ nur kel lur) (located Neuhauser Str. 27) —Take the S-Bahn to either Marienplatz (ma reen’ plotz) or Karlsplatz and walk toward the other. The Augi is pretty good chow, and it’s tough to beat for ambience. You’ll see what I mean. Augistiner was the semi-official beer of Munich American High School, and since this beer hall/restaurant is owned by the brewery, well, I logged a considerable amount of time here.
Andechser am Dom (on’ dex ur om dome)—also in the downtown area; take the S-Bahn to Marienplatz, walk toward the Frauenkirche (frow’ in keer cha), the one with the twin onion domes, and it’ll be right beneath the towers. Really good food, and beer made by real monks in a monastery southwest of Munich called Kloster Andechs (that in itself is worth a day trip). If they are in season, have the Reherl (ray’ url), baby mushrooms in a cream sauce over Knödel (q.v.).

A few more original Bavarian restaurants:
• Braunauer Hof Frauenstrasse 42 (near the "Viktualienmarkt")
• Das Weiße Bräuhaus Tal 10 (near the pedestrian zone)
• Kaisergarten Kaiserstr. 34
• Max Emanuel Brauerei Adalbertstr. 33

Please note that I left out the Hofbraeuhaus, as you ONLY meet other tourists there (no local goes there) ;-)

Breakfast (on weekends)
• Cafe Schwabing, Belgradstraße 1
• Cafe Freiheit, Leonrodstr. 20
• Cafe Münchener Freiheit, Münchener Freiheit 20
• … and thousand other breakfast places (Cafes)

Some restaurant info:
• Don't wait to be seated at a restaurant. They'll never do it. Just go ahead and pick the table that you like the best. (Only exception, if you see a sign on the table which says “Reserviert”, then – you already guessed right – the table is reserved). Nothing is without an exception: Some fancy restaurants actually will seat you.
• Don't wait for them to bring the check. They'll never do that either. Flag them down and ask for the Rechnung (rech’ noong, check) or say “’Zahlen, bitte?” (tsahl’ un bit ta, “Pay, please?”) And ask for a Quittung (kvee’ toong, receipt.) Also, do not feel bad submitting receipts you receive that are written on a coaster or a piece of paper. European restaurants are not big on electronically printed receipts. Generally, in a sit-down-type restaurant, it’s best not to be in a hurry. From trying to order to trying to pay your check, things generally move at a pace somewhere between slow and glacial.
• Do not be surprised if someone asks to sit at your table. It is common across Europe to share tables with strangers. So feel free to sit with others. Bench-type seating is very common, and it is a good way to have a conversation with the locals if either of you is so inclined.
• Even though the tip is included in the bill, the waiter will expect that you give her/him some extra tip. About 5% ~ 10% are appropriate.

Stuff to See and Do

Shopping:
The area between Marienplatz and Karlsplatz is one huge open shopping mall. You will find great department stores and whatever your heart desires. But be warned about the German “Ladenöffnungszeiten” (shop opening hours). During the week shops will close somewhere between 6:30 PM and 8:00 PM, on Saturdays they are open until 4PM and on Sundays they are closed!
By the way: The sales tax is included in Germany, that means the price which you read on the price tag is the price you will pay at the cash register.
One more remark: Sales tax only applies for German residents: That means that you can get some cash back when you leave Germany.
That’s the way it works: When you buy something (I believe for about more than DM 300.00) tell the clerk that he fills out a Tax Free Cheque. Collect all these cheques. One your day of departure, you will have to claim your money:
On the Airport visit the customs office and present them the cheques and the merchandise and your ticket and passport. The customs inspectors will stamp your checques, now you will have to proceed to the booth where they will give you the cash (between Terminal B and C)

Must Sees in Munich:
Suggestions: Go to the top of Alter Peter, see the Deutsches Museum (budget a whole afternoon for this); see the Isar River and the Englischer Garten on a nice sunny day; go to Schloß Nymphenburg (Castle Nymphenburg, in the West End of Munich) and eat at the Augustiner Biergarten or the Hirschgarten on the way. There are a million great things to do in Munich, so take as big a bite as you can.

Here are a few more must-sees in Munich http://www.munich-tourist.de/ also please check out http://www.munichfound.com/
• The Olympic Stadium (you have a great view over Munich from the Olympic Tower, aprox. 800 ft high) http://www.olympiapark-muenchen.de/english/index.html
• You should visit the BMW-Museum (very close to the Olympic stadium and the Olympic tower).
• The "Liebfrauendom or Marienkirche" one of the famous churches in Munich with it two 300 ft parallel clock-towers (actually much more impressive from the outside than the inside)
• The town hall (Rathaus) with the "Glockenspiel" which starts every day at 11 AM, located on Marienplatz
• The pedestrian zone (starts at the town hall) between Marienplatz and Karlsplatz (the locals call this place "Stachus")
• The pedestrian zone is like a huge shopping mall, just outside, but beware it closes on Saturdays at 4PM and no shop is open on Sundays!
• The "Viktualienmarkt" a daily market of any sort of fresh food, close to Marienplatz. Every time I am in Munich I make sure that I get my "Weißwurstfrühstueck" there on one of the booths where you can buy your hot sausages. " Weißwurstfrühstueck " means "White sausage breakfast". White sausage is a Bavarian delicatessen which you eat with a soft Bretzel and with lots of Bavarian sweet mustard (and with a half liter of Munich beer ;-). When you eat this sausage make sure that you don't eat the skin of the sausage. This is very hard to digest. There are special techniques to get the skin of the sausage. Munich folks love to teach tourists their way of doing this (I mean to get the skin of not how to digest ;-).
• Schloss "Nymphenburg" one of the famous Bavarian castles located on the outskirts of Munich, and one of the few places where you need a car to get to.
• You should not miss the "Asam-Kirche" (baroque church built by a Mr. Asam) in the Sendlingerstrasse. Very easy to miss, but definitely worth a visit. Located close to the pedestrian zone. If you only want to see one church in Munich, that's the one !
• Nerds like us ;-) normally also pay a visit to the "Deutsche Museum" one of the biggest technical pushbutton museums in the world.
• Have a walk in the English Garden, a huge inner city park, like the Central Park in New York but muuuuuuch bigger. There are several beer gardens inside the park and on the weekend (if it is a sunny day) you will see a lot of people from Munich there.

I put this together some time ago for a few friends, I hope you'll find it helpful

Viel Spass! (Enjoy)
Christopher
 
Christopher all I can say is...danke. :)

I got a few of the dates wrong. I'll be at the Nurburgring on the 12th and Stuttgart for my Porsche factory tour on the 16th. One of the members of Rennteam is meeting another board member the day before to play tour guide around Dusseldorf and has also invited me to join them for that as well. I'm going to head over to Cologne prior to that. I'm getting pretty stoked, I've only got 5 more shifts to put in at work and the trip itself starts in about 10 days. The credit card is starting to glow already.:D
 
The clock is running. I'm checked in, at the gate, the flight crew just arrived, and I'm waiting to board. Next stop, Frankfurt. Updates to follow, from across the pond and on the autobahn.
 
Have fun on your trip.

Unfortunately my trip to Germany was cancelled due to the current state of our semiconductor industry.
 
Have a super trip Larry!!! Can't wait to hear back from you!!
Be safe!
 
The clock is running. I'm checked in, at the gate, the flight crew just arrived, and I'm waiting to board. Next stop, Frankfurt. Updates to follow, from across the pond and on the autobahn.

Bon Voyage my friend
 
He's herrrrrrrrre

Greetings from Frankfurt. I arrived this morning, actually got in about 40 minutes ahead of schedule. German Customs is rather entertaining walked up said hello and was asked where I was going. After telling the gentlemen I was coming in for 16 days of touring he said thanks and have a good time. What, that's it??!! I'm accustomed to US Customs where I'm expecting for bamboo shoots under my finger nails.

Once I started working my way into town I went and saw the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew and then went for a walk along the Main River. By this point it was late enough I could go check in and I was exhausted, hadn't really slept yet. Although I did have my first parking ticket. Still trying to figure that out as I had plenty of time on the tag. I need to get the ticket translated to understand what the heck happened. I noticed parking officers everywhere. The City has nothing on these guys. :rolleyes: Eventually went back out for a bite to eat and a beer.

Off to Bamburg tomorrow. Home to 9 breweries, hmm wonder why I going there?:D

Unit later gang...auf Wiedersehen.
 
Another day, another adventure. I'm currently in Bamberg, nursing a bit of a hangover. :eek: Went to my first Hofbrau last night and ended up closing the place down, with a little help with some newly made friends. As I was informed ahead of time there, people do just sit down at the table with you. Well several steins of beer later the lights were being turned off. Fortunately the hotel was only a half a block away. At one point I said "no mas," but apparently no one here speaks Spanish.

Bamberg is a beautiful city built on 7 hills. (sound familiar?) It is known for 2 things the fact that it was spared bombing during the war so many of the buildings in the old section date back centuries, and the town has 9 breweries. The Bamberg Cathedral, The Dom, is amazing. The current structure dates back to the 13th century.

On my way here from Frankfurt I had my first chance to drive on the Autobahn. There is something to be said for cruising at 100mph without worrying about the CHP in your rearview mirror. But you better watch out for the that S class Mercedes because he has no intent of slowing down. ;) However with great speed comes great responsibility. I came across a fresh, very serious, rollover accident. The local police were just coming on scene and no one else was there so, even though I'm on vacation, felt a little obligated to stop. When I offered my assistance, don't know if it was because of the language barrier, but the officer said "a doctor is on the way." Okay, hope everything worked out. It was an older couple and I could see even just by looking at him, that the gentlemen, was in a very bad way. All I could do is get back in my car and push on.

I'll try and upload a couple of pics of the Bamberg Cathedral. Until the next update...
 

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Nurburgring - what else?

Finally decided to quit saying "next year"....

Anyway for those that have been there if you have suggestions of places to go and things to see please let me know. Should be fun I'll be leaving in early October.:cool:

Nurburgring - the Nordschleife
You CAN NOT miss it
the most exciting, long and thrillful race track still open to the public.

Look for "Touristenfahrten" ( open to the public ) here http://nuerburgring.de/events.286.0.html

If you are interested, drop me a line, I can give you some advices ( like: "never use your standard rental car there" :-) )


Hope this help, enjoy the Germany :-)
 
On Vacation

Another day, another adventure. I'm currently in Bamberg, nursing a bit of a hangover. :eek: Went to my first Hofbrau last night and ended up closing the place down, with a little help with some newly made friends. As I was informed ahead of time there, people do just sit down at the table with you. Well several steins of beer later the lights were being turned off. Fortunately the hotel was only a half a block away. At one point I said "no mas," but apparently no one here speaks Spanish.

Bamberg is a beautiful city built on 7 hills. (sound familiar?) It is known for 2 things the fact that it was spared bombing during the war so many of the buildings in the old section date back centuries, and the town has 9 breweries. The Bamberg Cathedral, The Dom, is amazing. The current structure dates back to the 13th century.

On my way here from Frankfurt I had my first chance to drive on the Autobahn. There is something to be said for cruising at 100mph without worrying about the CHP in your rearview mirror. But you better watch out for the that S class Mercedes because he has no intent of slowing down. ;) However with great speed comes great responsibility. I came across a fresh, very serious, rollover accident. The local police were just coming on scene and no one else was there so, even though I'm on vacation, felt a little obligated to stop. When I offered my assistance, don't know if it was because of the language barrier, but the officer said "a doctor is on the way." Okay, hope everything worked out. It was an older couple and I could see even just by looking at him, that the gentlemen, was in a very bad way. All I could do is get back in my car and push on.

I'll try and upload a couple of pics of the Bamberg Cathedral. Until the next update...

I'm so glad you're writing and sharing your trip with all of us. It's almost like being there with you.............I said, almost! :p Send more pictures, please.
Carol
 
Nurburgring - the Nordschleife
You CAN NOT miss it
the most exciting, long and thrillful race track still open to the public.

Look for "Touristenfahrten" ( open to the public ) here http://nuerburgring.de/events.286.0.html

If you are interested, drop me a line, I can give you some advices ( like: "never use your standard rental car there" :-) )


Hope this help, enjoy the Germany :-)
I'll be there this Sunday with some Rennteam folks riding shotgun in some P-cars.:cool:
 
I'm so glad you're writing and sharing your trip with all of us. It's almost like being there with you.............I said, almost! :p Send more pictures, please.
Carol
I promise to post some more. Trust me I have stories a plenty. It truly has turned into quite the adventure. Chasing lost travel books, more then a few wrong turns, and the obvious linguistic challenges. But it's made for a good time. I'm looking forward to meeting Achim, aka Porsche-Jeck, from Rennteam tomorrow. He's taking me around Dusseldorf, and then it's on to the Ring on Sunday.:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:
 
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