- Oct 24, 2000
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So every few years my best friend (since 6th grade) and I will go on a trip together. No female partners. No kids. Just fun. Actually, we started taking these trips in 1991 (SpaceCamp, Huntsville, AL) but didn't start traveling to Europe together until 1995 when we were both 15. We went again in 1998 after we graduated from high school. But the fun really begin in our 20s when we each had some professional experience and income...
In 2007, we went to the Oktoberfest in Munich as well as did some hiking in the Alps near Berchtesgaden. The weather was perfect and the fall colors were in full swing. We even rented a SLK200 and drove the Alpenstraße. I posted an entire thread on the trip and I am sure it can still be found on here.
In 2008, we started in Vienna, spent two days there, then two or three days in Prague, and ended the trip once again at the Oktoberfest. Two interesting highlights of the trip were spending too much time at the famous Darling Cabaret in Praque on the same day (back in the States) the DOW fell some 700+ points and the economy was in free fall. All the more reason to spend more money at the Cabaret but then again it was the most amazing table dance ever!
Since then, my friend got married and has had kids but was determined to return to Europe once again this year for a guy trip...
Day 1: Departed USA on a Wednesday, September 18. (Delta BusinessElite thanks to my friend's Diamond status.)
Day 2: Arrived in Frankfurt, Germany. Since we were seated in seats 1A and 2A, respectively, and checked no bags, we were off the plane, through Passport control, and out of the terminal within 10 minutes of the plane door opening. We then took a high-speed ICE train from the Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof to the Ulm Hbf where we rented a BMW 330d convertible from SIXT.
We then drove south and after a few 235 kph bursts on the Autobahn we entered into Austria, Lichtenstein, and then on to Davos, Switzerland. One goal of the trip was to drive the road deemed by TOP GEAR UK as the best in Europe. So from Davos we drove to Bormio, Italy. We checked into the amazing San Lorenzo hotel there and ate our first amazing Italian dinner at Al Filò.
Day 3: We drove up from Bormio to the Stelvio Pass to complete the "best road in Europe" goal of the trip. While driving the Pass, we came across several camouflaged BMWs being tested. We saw 3x new ///M X5s and 1x new ///M4 being tested. After driving the Pass, we did some hiking in the area. We concluded the day with the second most amazing Italian dinner at the Il Ristorante Dell'Enoteca.
Day 4: We drove back up to the Stelvio Pass and took the gondola up to the Stilfser Joch glacier to watch the skiers. When we came back down, we did a little more hiking in the area before driving the Umbrailpass and then up to Lago di Cancano before returning to Bormio. We ate our third and final amazing meal at the Perbacco restaurant.
(We were both in agreement that neither of us had ever enjoyed as much amazing Italian food and wine in a 3-day period as we did in Bormio and in fact each of the restaurants was better than any single Italian meal we'd ever had anywhere else. Keep in mind we are both well-traveled and have been to Como, Udine, Venice, Milano, Cinque Terre, Parma, Modena, Lucca, and Palermo.)
Day 5: We departed Bormio for Ulm, Germany. We returned our trusty BMW 330d (loved the Diesel engine torque) and then took another ICE train east to Munich. We checked into the hotel Prinzessin Elisabeth about a 15 minute walk from the southern entrance of the Oktoberfest Theresienwiese. We ended the day (Sunday) eating dinner and drinking beer in the Augustiner beer tent.
Day 6: We were in the Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest tent by 10:00 AM. We got choice seats at a table about 4 rows from the center band. Needless to say, I don't know how the day really progressed or how it ended. There was a lot of singing, and I think we finally left around 11:00 PM. I checked my Google Keep app the next day to find several girl's names notated with their German phone numbers. I don't know how they got there.
Day 7: We somehow managed to wake up and fly out of Munich the next morning. The end of our 2013 trip.
To be continued...
In 2007, we went to the Oktoberfest in Munich as well as did some hiking in the Alps near Berchtesgaden. The weather was perfect and the fall colors were in full swing. We even rented a SLK200 and drove the Alpenstraße. I posted an entire thread on the trip and I am sure it can still be found on here.
In 2008, we started in Vienna, spent two days there, then two or three days in Prague, and ended the trip once again at the Oktoberfest. Two interesting highlights of the trip were spending too much time at the famous Darling Cabaret in Praque on the same day (back in the States) the DOW fell some 700+ points and the economy was in free fall. All the more reason to spend more money at the Cabaret but then again it was the most amazing table dance ever!
Since then, my friend got married and has had kids but was determined to return to Europe once again this year for a guy trip...
Day 1: Departed USA on a Wednesday, September 18. (Delta BusinessElite thanks to my friend's Diamond status.)
Day 2: Arrived in Frankfurt, Germany. Since we were seated in seats 1A and 2A, respectively, and checked no bags, we were off the plane, through Passport control, and out of the terminal within 10 minutes of the plane door opening. We then took a high-speed ICE train from the Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof to the Ulm Hbf where we rented a BMW 330d convertible from SIXT.
We then drove south and after a few 235 kph bursts on the Autobahn we entered into Austria, Lichtenstein, and then on to Davos, Switzerland. One goal of the trip was to drive the road deemed by TOP GEAR UK as the best in Europe. So from Davos we drove to Bormio, Italy. We checked into the amazing San Lorenzo hotel there and ate our first amazing Italian dinner at Al Filò.
Day 3: We drove up from Bormio to the Stelvio Pass to complete the "best road in Europe" goal of the trip. While driving the Pass, we came across several camouflaged BMWs being tested. We saw 3x new ///M X5s and 1x new ///M4 being tested. After driving the Pass, we did some hiking in the area. We concluded the day with the second most amazing Italian dinner at the Il Ristorante Dell'Enoteca.
Day 4: We drove back up to the Stelvio Pass and took the gondola up to the Stilfser Joch glacier to watch the skiers. When we came back down, we did a little more hiking in the area before driving the Umbrailpass and then up to Lago di Cancano before returning to Bormio. We ate our third and final amazing meal at the Perbacco restaurant.
(We were both in agreement that neither of us had ever enjoyed as much amazing Italian food and wine in a 3-day period as we did in Bormio and in fact each of the restaurants was better than any single Italian meal we'd ever had anywhere else. Keep in mind we are both well-traveled and have been to Como, Udine, Venice, Milano, Cinque Terre, Parma, Modena, Lucca, and Palermo.)
Day 5: We departed Bormio for Ulm, Germany. We returned our trusty BMW 330d (loved the Diesel engine torque) and then took another ICE train east to Munich. We checked into the hotel Prinzessin Elisabeth about a 15 minute walk from the southern entrance of the Oktoberfest Theresienwiese. We ended the day (Sunday) eating dinner and drinking beer in the Augustiner beer tent.
Day 6: We were in the Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest tent by 10:00 AM. We got choice seats at a table about 4 rows from the center band. Needless to say, I don't know how the day really progressed or how it ended. There was a lot of singing, and I think we finally left around 11:00 PM. I checked my Google Keep app the next day to find several girl's names notated with their German phone numbers. I don't know how they got there.
Day 7: We somehow managed to wake up and fly out of Munich the next morning. The end of our 2013 trip.
To be continued...
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