The rest of the pictures from my Europe Trip
Well, I got home a couple of days ago and finally have a few free minutes to upload rest of the pictures from my European Trip.
After Paris, we headed to Luxembourg - not too much exciting there although as I previously mentioned - gas was very cheap.
We then headed to Baden-Baden and stayed at the Schlosshotel Buhlerhohe - the start of the Mercedes Road Rally Package. Definitely a great place to stay. Right up in the mountains and an excellent resort. Here is the links to the pictures from the hotel http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/schloss/index.html
We then headed to Hinterzarten, Germany and stayed at the Park Adler Hotel. Another excellent resort at the base of two ski jumps! This hotel also came with a 102 Euro credit which allowed for some excellent dining and drinks/cigars during the Euro Cup 2008 matches. Here are a few pictures from the Park Adler and associated Black Forest http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/blackforest/index.html
After the Park Adler we headed to Tyrol, Austria via Switzerland. Had to go through Customs leaving Germany, Entering Switzerland and then entering Austria since Switzerland is not part of the European Union. Also had to buy toll stickers for both Switzerland and Austria. It was a good thing that I got an international drivers license as the Austrian Border officials reviewed everything in very close detail.
Up to this point the Schlosshotel Buhlerhohe was probably the best hotel I had ever stayed at in my life. That was soon to change as we drove into the Interalpen Hotel - Tyrol. WOW!! This hotel is up in the Alps and was simply amazing. You drive right into the basement of the hotel - very nice. The rooms were incredible, the spa, pools, fitness center, five course dining, great bars, cigar friendly! Simply amazing - it was at this point I definitely had wished we were staying more than 1 night. I definitely will return to this hotel in the future - simply amazing!!
Here are the pictures from the stay in Tyrol http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/tyrol/index.html
After unfortunately having to leave the Interalpen - we drove over to Innsbruck to see the Olympic Stadium - but due to the fact that the Euro Cup 2008 was having a match that night in Tyrol - the Stadium was set up as a fan viewing sight and it was not easy to drive to - so we got a couple pictures of the ski jump and headed to Munich.
I have been to Munich before and really think that well it is a great city - it is not as great as many others in Europe. On our way to Munich we stopped at Lake Chiemsee to see King Ludwig's Herenchiemsee on which King Ludwig built a castle in similar style as Versailles. Here are the pictures http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/ludwig/index.html
We then finished the drive on to Munich. What we didn't know was that it was the 850 year anniversary of Munich and there were massive events going on downtown. We were staying at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich which is the place to be seen, etc. While it was a nice hotel - it really failed in comparison to the previous three places. Yes - Munich is a big city and the others were mountain resorts - but the amenities in the Bayerischer Hof were poor in comparison. First of all - Bavaria is smoke free indoors (except for the Smoking Lounge at the Four Seasons in Munich - which I visited). The lack of fine bourbons and scotch at the bars and the extremely expensive drinks were a turn-off. A glass of wine in the lobby bar was 9.5 Euro whereas the same wine was 3.7 Euro downstairs in the Keller (amazing - same hotel and different prices). Anyways this 850 anniversary thing made it almost impossible to get to the Hotel - after getting trapped by pedestrians and closed roads we finally made it to the hotel. My high school buddy, Josh, lives in Stuttgart and took a train in Sunday morning to show us around town which was great. Because of the 850 year celebration, there were many people in authentic period dress from Bavaria. Lots of fun. That evening, we dined outside the Opera and watched a free performance of the Magic Flute which was simply amazing. Here are the pictures from Munich http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/munich/index.html
If I had to do Munich again - I would have only done 1 night having been there in 2004. Another night at the Interalpen Hotel would definitely be my recommendation. In fact for those considering Mercedes European Delivery program with the Road Rally package - I would recommend 2 nights at the Schlosshotel in Baden Baden, 1 night at the Park Adler in Hinterzarten and then 2 nights at the Interalpen Hotel - Tyrol.
We then headed to Frankfurt for a night stay before our flights home. I dropped the car off at the delivery agent and now the long wait for the return of the SLK 350 begins. Hopefully in 6 weeks it will be at the dealership.
A great trip!! Some of my favorite parts: Berlin, every moment driving the SLK (especially when traveling 145 MPH!!), the hotels in Baden-Baden, Hinterzarten and Tyrol, Amsterdam, Paris, my mom's tours with Flat Stanley (especially having locals pose with him), visiting with clients and other lawyers and finally of course smoking Cuban Cigars. In fact my most expensive purchase in Europe was the box of Cuban cigars in Amsterdam. I also bought a Cuckoo Clock in Titisee in the Black Forest. It should be a great addition to the basement!
Once the car is back in the states - I will post some pictures and reviews of it.
Auf Wiedersehen!!
