FIRST STOP – INNSBRUCK AUSTRIA
After a quick stop at the Niederlassung showroom to buy some BMW stuff, we fired up the DVD NAV and entered Innsbruck Austria.

Side Bar: The NAV is a genuinely-necessary tool for any touring in Europe. It is nerve-racking enough to drive your “New Baby” in a very strange place without the added anxiety of missing road signs and Autobahn Ausfahrts. The DVD NAV was accurate, much quicker with responses to entries and route changes, and voice instructions indispensable. I highly recommend NAV buyers to invest in the European DVD for any touring. P.S. Special thanks to Beewang!!!

The drive to Innsbruck was expertly directed by NAV using the A8 to the A93, in about 100 miles. Note that we did stop at the first rest area after crossing the border to buy an Autobahn Vignette <>. This toll sticker placed in the upper left corner of your windshield will help you avoid a €120 fine for toll-avoidance. The 10-day vignette costs €7. In addition, you can prepay your Maut (toll) for the Brenner Pass at the same time with a new service called Video Maut. They enter your vehicle license plate information into their computer system and you drive through a specially-designated toll lane with cameras that read your license plate, instantly match it to their toll payment records and flash the “green light” to proceed through, all without stopping.

Innsbruck is a reasonably large city by Europe standards but still had a quaint, small town feel to it. We stopped for lunch at a quaint restaurant then toured the rather large marketplace for items of regional origin. All the while, the sun was shining and the views of the Alps were breathtaking.
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