Shanworld – A Blog by Shan Vosseller

No BMW European delivery trip is complete without a visit to the Neuschwanstein castle, rumored to be Walt Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s castle.  Unfortunately, my time with my new car was nearing an end as I had to have it returned by 4pm just outside of Munich so the castle trip had to be quick.

I headed out and enjoyed the winding roads through the German countryside on one of the most gorgeous days I had experienced yet in Germany – where the summer weather tends to be unpredictable with a penchant for clouds and rain.

Since the castle is located on the top of a hill there are several options for going up – a horse-drawn carriage, a bus and walking.  Incorrectly gauging the time and effort it would take to reach the top, I decided to go for a brisk walk to the top.

Drenched in sweat and glad to stop off at the concession stand, I reached the top and the view from there was breathtaking.

Realizing that I would need to take advantage of my car’s engine and my driving abilities to make it back on time for my drop-off, I wasn’t able to stay long and walked back down the hill to go for the last leg of driving for a while.

I walked in with a only a minute or two before closing to get the car dropped off.  I met with Thomas, BMW’s representative for the shipping process back to the US.  He was an extremely nice and gregarious guy and he let me keep the car until midnight when my insurance and license would run out as long as I did all the paperwork that afternoon and left the second set of keys with him.  Like hitting the snooze button on an alarm clock that sounds far too early, I had a reprieve and took advantage of the beautiful day to find a nearby lake and soak up some rays, enjoy a cold beer and currywurst and go for a little swim.

Later that evening, I dropped off my stuff at my hotel, went out for a late dinner and took the car back to the shipping facility.  I arranged for a taxi home and could only take comfort in the fact that the next day I would be headed to Italy to stay with my extended family there for a few days.

After my last night at Michael’s house, I managed to lock myself out while loading my bags into my car. I called him at work and he said that his mother had an extra key at their family home.  The only complication was that Michael’s mother doesn’t speak English and has never met me.  I walked into her store which is alongside their home and after some mangled German and utterance of “Michael” I handed the phone to her, a puzzled look still on her face.  After Michael cleared things up, I got the rest of my stuff and was on my way.

It was a nice morning so I decided to take the scenic route south with plans to stop off in Baden Baden to enjoy some world class spa time.  I had lunch in a small town along a lake and continue on to Baden Baden trying to dodge the rain.

In Baden Baden (the town so nice they named it twice) I skipped the casino and grabbed an early dinner at one of the many cafes.  The weather continued to waffle between nice warm summer evening and rain but rain eventually won out.  After dinner, it was spa time and I headed to the renown Friedrichsbad for some pampering.  This building was filled with saunas and pools and featured some great architecture – particularly a wonderful dome above the main pool.

With the sound of thunder in the background, I decided it was time to leave and I headed back to get dressed and head out.  A nice German spa attendant was alarmed at my hasty departure, explaining in German something to the effect of it was important that I rest a bit before leaving.  Needing to get to Munich and hoping to avoid heavy rain, I had to skip it and get on my way, feeling like a smooth very rested child.

It turns out the rain had a break and the storm was off in the distance but it was mighty and the difference in time between the lightning and thunder led me to believe I could get away with the convertible top open as long as the direction and speed cooperated.  I made my way through the winding streets to get back to the highway.  I was driving fast with the top open, the tunes cranked (U2’s “Electrical Storm” even made its way into the shuffle) and my spirits soaring with bolts of lightning chasing me in my rear view mirror.  Then I ran into tons of road construction and the rain caught up so I got my convertible top closed about 2 minutes before a torrential rain started and traffic slowed to a crawl due to the heavy rain and winds.  At about 1:00am I arrived at my hotel in Munich.

It was raining in the morning and I was exhausted so I slept in for a change.  After catching up on some online tasks, I headed towards the wine region along the Rhein river.  I stopped off in St. Goar and Rudesheim and enjoyed a nice break and some wine in both towns.  Unfortunately the rain wasn’t cooperating much so I didn’t get to take many pictures.

In Rudesheim there was a great cuckoo clock store.

Having gotten my fix of castles, wine and clocks, I headed towards Ralph’s house where we had a barbecue to wrap up the “road rally with the Germans” segment of my trip.  It was a pleasure meeting Ralph’s wife and son and seeing my colleagues one last time before heading back towards Munich.  We had an enjoyable evening going through the photos and video, eating some excellent grilled food and drinking some wine from the region.

I want to thank Peter and Ralph’s wives for allowing their husbands to tear around the roads of the French Alps for a few days with me.  I am especially grateful to Ralph for putting together an incredible itinerary and making all the reservations.

The next morning we were bleary-eyed as we headed through the small town on the shore and went to breakfast.

After breakfast we bid adieu to France and headed to Geneva.

We parked at the Ritz hotel, gawked at the oil-funded cars from the middle east parked in front and took a walk along the lake.  We found a shaded place to escape the intense sunlight and treated ourselves to another slow lunch.  I took the opportunity to get my Rivella fix which is a difficult to describe milk-based soda only found in Switzerland.  I tried it there years before and it was as good as I remembered it – a testament to both my memory and my roots as a child of “America’s Dairyland.”  I still don’t know the difference between the red, blue and green Rivella but I was sure to try all three.

After lunch and some more walking we headed back to our cars and had to cope with the land of low speed limits, law-abiding drivers and plentiful speed cameras.  Not soon enough after that, we were back in Germany where we could drive our cars on the autobahn they way they were meant to be driven.  After some hours of driving we stopped off at a gas station and Ralph and Peter headed back to their homes near Frankfurt while I headed to Michael’s home in the small countryside town of Guntersblum.

I met Michael and his girlfriend at their home which was located just down the street from the home Michael grew up in and not far from where his girlfriend was from as well.  Since it was getting late, we headed to a nearby pizzeria for dinner.  Now you might wonder why you’d go to a pizzeria in Germany just before heading to Italy but I assure you this was one of the best pizzas I have ever had.  It turns out that the owner was from Italy and married a woman from Germany.  I enjoyed a great German beer with the pizza so it really was a fitting marriage of food for the proprietors.  We hung out at Michael’s place and I got to play with our product on the DT network which was pretty cool.

The next morning we had another breakfast – large by European standards and approaching an American breakfast.  Michael and his girlfriend had to return to Frankfurt for work so we gathered for a group photo of the boys and their toys.

After some fun antics with photos that will not be posted here, we parted ways and Peter, Ralph and I were off to Digne-les-Bains beginning a day filled with some of my favorite roads of the trip.

We had a brief coffee stop along the way at this quaint cafe alongside a stream.

While at the cafe we reviewed some of our “one arm sticking out of the convertible” photos and video.  Shortly after that we arrived in Digne-les-Bains.

We stopped for lunch a bit early by French standards but we found a great place that was a little off the main street and seemed to be more oriented towards the locals.  I ordered fish and wasn’t quite ready for the surprise on my plate.

Fortunately, I was able to manage to take care of the skin and bones and the fish was actually delicious.  Some French wine didn’t hurt either.  After some dessert we were off to Sisteron.

We stopped for a moment at the EDF dam in Castillon which created a picturesque lake on one side and an enormous valley on the other.  In the photo below, look for the door in the middle of the dam to get an idea of its size.

Driving away from the dam marked the end of the bulk of our winding roads through the mountains and we were headed towards flatter driving terrain after Sisteron.  We had managed to get very behind schedule somehow so we weren’t able to spend much time in Sisteron.

We now had a long stretch of driving to make it back to Annecy for our last night in the French Alps.  On the drive back we dodged the rain a bit and had a fun time dealing with some crazy Spaniards driving Seats.  I swear, I was being a good driver.

It was about 10:00 pm and we still had a ways to go before Annecy so we decided to stop off in a small town on the way for dinner.  We found one of the few restaurants still open and it was packed with locals.  We sat down and struck up a conversation with some men next to our table who worked on a railroad project nearby.  They were surprised to see an American visiting their town since it wasn’t typically a tourist stop.  He was very excited about Obama and wished the American people well on the upcoming election.  We managed to close the place and were much happier with yet another delicious French meal in our stomachs.

At about 2:00 am we arrived at the Chateau in Annecy were we had booked our final night in France.  We had to figure out a way into a gated courtyard and after about a half hour we managed to wake someone who let us in.  We then proceeded to the hotel and got our keys from what I’m sure was a not-too-happy proprietor.  The problem with the keys was that their “key chains” were cowbells so as we went up the stairs of the small hotel with our bags, we sounded like a bunch of cattle and I’m sure we managed to wake up a good share of the guests.

The next morning we had breakfast and headed out to Lanslebourg.  Along the way we passed through Col de l’Iseran which is the highest mountain pass in the Alps.

We stopped for a coffee in Lanslebourg and spotted a bunch of people in parachutes drifting off the winds from the mountain face.

From Lanslebourg we were off to Briançon, the second highest city in Europe.

We had a delightful lunch but we could see clouds gathering so the usual long lunch was a bit more rushed.  That said, the food was outstanding — especially the crepes for dessert.

After lunch we were off to Barcelonette.  After escaping the rain for most of the day, it finally caught up with us and Peter had to don his rain gear since his car didn’t have a top to close.  The rain finally passed as we neared Barcelonette.

We arrived at our hotel, had drinks at the bar and had another excellent meal amongst the locals.

Having made my way through St. Tropez, I was off to the French Alps to meet up with my Microsoft colleagues driving down from Frankfurt.  We arrived in Annecy, a beautiful town in the French Alps with a clear blue lake at its center.

We enjoyed a lazy lunch and ran quite a bit over our scheduled time that Ralph so carefully put into our itinerary.  Gotta love the Germans!  From Annecy we headed over to Le Grand-Bornand for a short break.

And finally to Bourg-Saint-Maurice to end our first day of driving.  Despite spending more time in Annecy thanks to that lunch, we arrived at our lodge in Bourg-Saint-Maurice much earlier than planned, allowing for some time to unwind, make calls and enjoy some drinks before dinner.

We gathered for dinner in the hotel restaurant and Peter had the first of many meals of steak and fries.

After dinner, the chef treated us to a round of Génépi which is a regional herbal liqueur similar in aroma and taste to Chartreuse.  Since Ralph didn’t like it, I had to make sure his didn’t go to waste since I’m a big Chartreuse fan.

This blog post was written while I was in transit in Europe but I couldn’t post it to my site until now.  After being overdue for both a new car and a long vacation, I decided summer 2008 would be my time to take European Delivery of a new BMW 335i hard-top convertible.

I arrived in Munich and headed to my hotel which was located in Munich’s Olympic Park, just next to BMW Welt – BMW’s new center for visitors and new car pick-up.  The building was incredible though somewhat out of place with the largely 70s Olympics development nearby.

I explored the area a bit and visited the new BMW Museum but due to jet lag I didn’t have a very big day.  After all, the next morning I had to pick up my new car first thing.

Friday morning I awoke bright and early, had breakfast, and headed to BMW Welt.  I arrived, got signed in to go to the new owners lounge on the top floor and after a short wait I was briefed on my car.  I took care of some paperwork and then enjoyed some of the yummy snacks they had up in the lounge.  That’s one benefit of Euro delivery – free BMW food (with purchase of expensive car).

After some more wifi time and snacks, I headed out to an overlook to check out the building.  Just before my scheduled pick up time, I finally saw it – my new car!!

I met my BMW rep and we went through a detailed introduction to the car’s features which included driving in a simulator.  It’s a good thing the simulator wasn’t very accurate because I managed to crash the car several times.

After the orientation, we went down to the big turntable to get the car.  We spent time in the car going over the features some more and then I finally got the keys.  With that, I was told I could drive off.  It’s a little weird driving a car around in a big open building but I think I could get the hang of it after a few times.

With that, I drove out through the garage and was on my way . . to a parking lot nearby so I could load in my luggage and go out and drive . . . to the BMW Welt parking lot so I could do my factory tour.  After the tour, I was finally ready to head out of Munich.  Unfortunately, it was drizzly that day so there was no convertible time on the maiden voyage.

I didn’t really have a particular destination in mind so I checked the weather and decided I needed to head towards sun so that meant France.  However, I wanted to go by (Lake) Bodensee and Constance.  Unfortunately, it was still raining so I didn’t get any photos of the incredible scenery.  On my way from Constance to Geneva it got dark and I saw a sudden flash from a box in the median.  One thing about Switzerland is that their speed limits are slow (120 kph) and they have speed cameras everywhere.  So I thought I might have had a souvenir photo taken on the first day driving my car.  Fortunately, I haven’t (yet) received the printed version of that photo if that’s indeed what it was.

After spending the night in Geneva, it was off to France for a short stay in Lyon where I had a friend.  After Lyon, I was off to explore southern France.  The great thing about having GPS in the car is that I could just find little towns on the map or “wander” in search of something interesting and then simply navigate back to a hotel or highway.  One revealing thing about food in France vs. the US is the portion size.  In the US, we have “Big Mac,” “Grand Slam,” “Whopper,” etc.  We love our food for its size and low cost more so than its taste.  In France, breakfast is a “petit dejeuner.”  Can you imagine anything in a US restaurant with “small” in its name?

After France, it was off to Barcelona, one of my favorite cities in the world.  I stayed at the Barcelona Princess hotel which is a fairly new, very modern design hotel near the waterfront in a newly-developed area at the end of Diagonal Mar.  In addition to the excellent decor and swanky pool, the Princess had a Bat Cave-like parking entrance/exit underneath, a free mini-bar, free Internet and a great view. Below are two photos from my hotel window.

After hitting the beach for the few remaining hours of sunlight, I grabbed a great dinner in a small cafe in an older neighborhood not far from the beach.  I explored the city in my car that night and retired to my bed early for Barcelona standards since I was still fighting jetlag.

The next morning, I was greeted by a wakeup call from a woman who sounded remarkably similar to Penelope Cruz.  I really need to see if I can get her to call me here at home though I’d probably dream more if she did.  After a small breakfast I was off to explore the neighborhood some more and then the beach at the Olympic Port.

The beach in Barcelona has an excellent clientele and little bars/cafes along the rim so you can not only work on your tan but do so with a cocktail, a live DJ and beautiful people all around you.  I was in heaven and managed to play my “I’m a slightly buzzed American trying to speak Spanish” card a few times.

After a jog and a shower, it was time to catch up on email and investigate my next port of call online.  I hit up a great place for paella that night, walked around the Ramblas a bit and then went for another cruise around the city and up to Mirablau – a cool little lounge at the top of the Tibidabo mountain.  I made the big mistake of forgetting my camera.

The next morning I explored the gothic quarter, got my Gaudi fix and headed up to the Costa Brava for a more natural beach scene.

The weather was sunny on the drive up but after I grabbed lunch and some sangria near the beach the clouds started rolling in and I only got a little beach time before it started raining.  That was my hint that it was time to go back to the south of France.  I stopped off in a little town near the coast there for the night, got up early, hit a cafe for breakfast and was on the road so I could spend the day in St. Tropez.

I arrived in St. Tropez early enough to get parking, which I didn’t fully appreciate until later.  I grabbed a coffee and tried to figure out where the famous beach was.  After all, I had to find Brigitte Bardot.  It turns out the major beaches are actually in a small town next to St. Tropez called Pampellone.  The beaches there each had their sections that were run by a bar/restaurant and had chairs and umbrellas to rent.  I decided I deserved another beach day with food and drinks served to me and soaked it up.

I took a shower and then headed back to St. Tropez to explore some more and get dinner.  Once in the city limits I drove around to look for a parking space.  I checked the parking lots . . . full . . . and the on-street parking . . . full on every street . . . and circled around again . . . and again.  For a while the traffic just stopped and there was some commotion ahead.  I suddenly saw a bunch of camera flashes and figured I’d whip out my camera in case there was a celebrity walking by.  The crowd starting coming closer and the celeb starlet walked right by my car where I got a quick photo of her walking by.  I’ll bet that’s the first time she was accosted by an amateur paparazzo in a convertible.

After about an hour trying to find parking and my token celebrity sighting I decided I would cut my losses and head out of town to try and find dinner.  I found a wonderful windy road up into the mountains as the dusk set in.  Towards the top of the mountain I found La Garde-Freinet, a small town with a bunch of restaurants just off the main square.  I had a great dinner, a glass of champagne to top it off and some interesting conversation with a bunch of drunk UK girls who were staying at one of the girls’ parents’ house there.

After dinner I found a hotel not far from the highway and spent the night.  The next morning, I was off to Annecy to meet up with Ralph, Peter and Michael – colleagues of mine from Microsoft who worked in Frankfurt.

More to come…