In the summer the boys went back to the UK for a couple of weeks. Mum and Dad took them off for a week to their boat moored in Brixham, and finally sent me a copy of the DVD they made from their trip along the south coast.
Seems like Tom and Jamie had a good time, weather looks fantastic and some of the scenery is amazing.
Anyhow, enjoy the video
We stayed in Rothenburg ob der Tauber on the way back, about 4 hours south of Düsseldorf, a pretty town on the ‘Romantic Road’.
Arriving at our hotel in a nearby village we ate out at a very German restaurant in the Rothenburg, and took a little walk around before it got too dark.
Tom even tried to Flammkuchen under protest that there was nothing he wanted; and actually quite enjoyed it. Though Jamie wasn’t too impressed with the evening. more »
We had spent the previous day at BMW World again on the factory tour. Which was very good, if a little tiring, with lots of walking, but the robots were pretty cool, and very clever at what they do. Afterwards spending the afternoon in Munich, with a quick visit to the famous “Munich Hofbraeuhaus”
But we weren’t too impressed with Munich, though the kids did get a Thai foot massage, which I think they enjoyed as it relieved their sore feet from 2 days of walking around. more »
We’d ordered a new car, well, leased one in fact as the old 3 series was becoming increasingly expensive to run with recent spend on a new turbo, and past high costs on headlights, leaks etc; not a good car. So after test driving a few alternatives such as an Audi A4, Audi Q5 (which we liked very much) we decided on the BMW X1, very comfortable, quiet, economical and the right size for what we need. And rather than wait 6 months for the Audi, would be ready in 6 weeks and we can collect it from the Munich factory. So that’s what we did.
Took a flight from Düsseldorf to Munich on the Wednesday morning, followed by a couple of train rides to the Olympic Park where BMW World is situated; luggage in tow.
Checked in at their ‘Premier Lounge’ where they took our bags of us, sorted out our itinerary for the next couple of days and gave us some cards allowing us free food and drink for our entire 2 days in the cafe area, free factory tour, free museum tour, vouchers to spend in the BMW Shop, free parking etc. Very well looked after.
So we had some food and drink and took the tour around the museum, where I have to say there were some weird ‘exhibits’, and we quite liked the ‘bmw badges’ hanging off the ceiling
The kids quite liked the history of BMW room, an interactive guide, in English, to the the history of BMW, very clever.
Afterwards we took a walk around the main BMW World area, the shop, looked at the ‘new’ cars whilst we waited for our evening appointment to collect ‘our’ new car. Jamie got to sit on one of the bikes there. I can see him as a biker.
The new cars appear on a private area, though you can view it from the ‘general public’ are but you’re unable to get to the new cars being delivered. They arrive on a big lift and are driven onto a circular platform under spotlights whilst waiting for their new owners.
Once our time arrived we were greeted by well dressed chap, with good English who took us through a briefing about the car, explaining some of the features, and the kids got to try out the simulator of how the ABS works, the cornering traction control etc. They quite enjoyed that. Before you get to walk down the ‘pathway of fame’ to your car, where it’s a little over the top as they stop you halfway down, and point out your car below, spotlight on it. ‘Welcome to your new BMW’.
They took some photos of us outside it. The kids got some toy cars as gifts, all our luggage was their waiting for us. After a 20 minute or so demonstration of some of the cars options, the iDrive etc, we could drive off down the ramp to the outside world. And into the rain, so the car was spotless for about 30 minutes.
We drove to our hotel and dropped of the bags, checked in, before I took the car back the BMW to park it their in the dry and walked back through Olympic park to the hotel. A very nice walk, even if it was raining.
All photos from BMW World below:
We made the 2 hour drive from Dresden to Prague via a detour to some castle on a hill. I had taken a photo but it was wet, and we didn’t get out of the car as it seemed from the ‘trip advisor’ reviews that there wasn’t too much to see once you’d paid the bus fair to the top. So we carried on to Prague.
Arriving mid afternoon we checked into the hotel on the outskirts of the city, about a 10 minute underground ride to the middle.
We booked a Segway tour for the next day and took the train into the main tourist area, and did a little shopping at the British stores there.
Weather was hot, so the next morning we had our Segway tour booked. Neither of us had been on one before so we had a quick lesson each, along with the 5 others in our little group, and off we went up through the parks.
The segways were great fun, and pretty quick. Much faster than walking, non tiring and you get to see so much more with our guide explaining what was what as we went from place to place. Stopping for a very cheap half litre of beer overlooking Prague.
We did the usual tourist places, the castle, Atomic clock, church etc, which looked very nice as the sun started to set.
In the evening we had a really good curry as a well review restaurant just behind the church pictured above. If you ever go to Prague, and fancy a curry, this is the place. The Indian Jewel. Afterwards we took a walk through the town and over the Charles Bridge with some great views of the castle up on the hill.
Nice place Prague. Very busy and to be honest I think I preferred Dresden. Just as nice and much quieter.
All photos from our trip below, click one for the slideshow.