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JD - If you have the time and like fine shotguns you might want to take a side trip to the Kreighoff factory. It is in Ulm which if I recall correctly is about 50 to 100 miles south and east of Stuttgart. The mainstay of their line is the K80 and its history is quite interesting. Originally an American design that became stagnant, rights bought by Kreighoff, reworked and improved and now it is the premier competition shotgun in the world. Mark
Yes, indeed, we are building memories that will last a lifetime.
The rest of the trip is going to be less about the spectacular things we've been able to do with Porsche, and more about traveling in Europe with our Porsche.
My wife and I had a nice Sunday afternoon walking around Salzburg, which turns out to be a beautiful old city in which to bumble around. Being from California, where "old" means something has been around for more than a hundred years, it was fun to see things that were built in the 1,400's that are not only still around but still being used. We stumbled upon Mozart's grave and saw several amazing sights.
Yesterday we were up and running long before an hour that Larry Cable would consider civilized, particularly while on vacation. I'm embarrassed to say we had Starbucks in Salzburg and then headed to Munich. I was pleasantly surprised that most of the drive was beautiful, and, not surprisingly, the other drivers along the drive consistently exhibited great etiquette. And, unlike so many in America, seem to know what their mirrors are for and how to use them.
We're staying right across from the train station in Munich, which isn't the nicest neighborhood (unless you're looking for a table dance or generally enjoy the skeevy side of life) but it's really convenient to old Munich. Fitbit says we walked more than 10 miles yesterday and we loved the city. The English Garden is an amazing park! Just so someone doesn't take away my man card, I took a picture of a cool RS Carrera clone on the street near the university and spotted several nice 993s being driven around.
We had dinner at Augustiner-Keller. We were going to go to Hoffbau Haus, but told that plan to the people from Porsche, who politely called us idiots if we went there and set us straight. So, I can't speak to what the latter is like, but the former was kind of fantastic with excellent lager. One bummer from the day yesterday is a slight front spoiler scrape from a steep ramp in the parking garage in MUC, which was totally unavoidable. There's some solace that I did it and not a valet or, God forbid, my wife. That doesn't **** me off nearly as much as curb rash would, so no big deal.
Incidentally, the 991 has been a really nice road trip car. No surprise to this forum, but it's got all the qualities of a nice GT and is a very capable sports car. I can't wait to get in it again this morning, which I'll being doing soon and headed to Rothenberg ODT. Looks like it'll be a nice drive and another good day for walking around. Hopefully the throng of tourists won't be too much of a drag.
I hope everyone in the U.S. Had a nice Labor Day weekend.
JD - If you have the time and like fine shotguns you might want to take a side trip to the Kreighoff factory. It is in Ulm which if I recall correctly is about 50 to 100 miles south and east of Stuttgart. The mainstay of their line is the K80 and its history is quite interesting. Originally an American design that became stagnant, rights bought by Kreighoff, reworked and improved and now it is the premier competition shotgun in the world. Mark
Thanks Mark. I'm interested but I think time is going to be the problem. We're trying to cram a lot of activities in to the next couple of days and hoping to visit the Mercedes museum when we head back to Stuttgart to drop the GTS off on Thursday.
Besides, if I visit, I'll want one and I think I need to limit my expensive hobbies after this trip!
Maybe my favorite photo from the last several days.
Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, his son, the Le Mans trophy, and MY car. So cool!
What a great picture John! I was bummed I had to leave before the dinner, but i'm sure you guys had a great time! Hope the end of your trip is going great.
Here are some of my pics! (and some GT3 Cup Cars at the Italian GP in Monza
I have to say, "Club Blau" is my new favorite color on the 991.
It is an eye catcher without being showy.
It's a total 10 in person. It's funny, I didn't think to talk to the other buyers on the trip about their reaction, but I think it's safe to say that everyone was pleased. God knows I am!
Not to be too much of a blue fan boy, but check out this Mexico Blue 993 that was parked at the Porsche Design HQ in Zell am See - it was spectacular in person!
We dropped our car off this morning at the factory and then took a taxi to the train and the train to Frankfurt. Kind of a busy day, and bummed to have had to say goodbye to our car for several weeks. On the bright side, we had a nice drive from Rothenberg and several times hit speeds on the Autobahn that would have meant my arrest and car impound in the U.S.
The Club Blau is a show stopper. It was parked outside our hotel this morning and had a small crowd around it when we loaded it up to leave. Kind of fun.
Tomorrow we're headed back to the west coast, but what a great trip it's been. My wife and I just had some more Bavarian food and beer for lunch in central Frankfurt and agreed that we didn't leave anything on the table during this trip. We are used up, sated with the car experience, ready for a liver cleanse and looking forward to seeing our kids and our dog.
I'll process some more pictures during our flight home.
Forgot one important thing. When we were dealing with the process of dropping our car off we saw another club coupe being driven back in to the factory after a test drive. If your car is being completed today, chances are that we saw it.