Our first ED is over, but it was everything we had anticipated. My wife and our two boys (ages 4 & 6) had a blast as we traveled between Germany, Austria (just passing through), Switzerland and Italy. We picked up the car on 7 July. Claudia gave us a brief run through on how to use the iDrive, Nav etc, and we set off for Neuschanstein. The car is a 545i 6spd in Silver Gray with Beige interior, Sport, Nav, Comfort seats and Logic 7. It was a joy to drive, with the Nav being a life saver for getting us to our destination without any problems. There is a noise in 5th gear that needs to be looked at when the car is back in my hands. Hopefully nothing too serious. I did not want to waste our vacation trying to get it resolved in Munich. Neuschwanstein was memorable for the lousy weather (rain and 49 degrees in July), and for the carriage ride from the parking lot to the castle where one of the horses let rip with a 20 second toot !! This delighted my boys !!
The next day we set off for Lucerne. The scenery along the way was stunning. we visited the National transportation museum while we were there (great for kids), went up Pilatus on the cog railway, and just had a great time. The weather was still cool and wet (60's). We spent 4 days in Lucerne, and then departed for Mennagio on Lake Como. When we arrived at the Gotthard Tunnel, the temperature was about 68 degrees. When we came out on the other side of the mountains it was 86 degrees, and it was like stepping into a different world. The drive was sublime with great scenery, and then some tortuous roads along the Italian lakes. After 7 days we left Menaggio to head back to Munich, the route taking us from Italy, into Switzerland, over the San Bernadino pass, into Austria and back to Munich. The car displayed an interesting problem along the way, as the alarm kept going off. We finally traced it back to rearranging the luggage in the trunk (maybe a coincidence), but it was really annoying while it happened. I dropped the car off on 20th July, and it is now on Aida, scheduled in New York on 13th August, so I'm hoping it will be back with me by 1 September. Had a great time, and already planning the next ED.
Here are some pics of the car at the delivery center, Neuschwanstein and Lake Como. For those of you thinking about taking young children with you, just do it. My two boys cannot stop talking about the best vacation they have ever had !!