Goodbye Spain
On Thursday afternoon, last day of May, we headed out of Valencia for the last time. Our flight took us first, over the Mediterranean and then over the Alps to Munich, Germany. With a late arrival in Munich, we had a room in the airport hotel. That turned out to be a good decision because I somehow managed to leave my phone on the plane. (In my defense, I was listening to an Audible book and had placed it in the seatback ‘in preparation for landing’.)
Lufthansa was very helpful and organized. The phone had already been secured and was being forwarded to the office that handled items left on planes. About 20 minutes later we stopped in to check on the phone. The woman pulled out the box for phones left on planes from that day and started going through them. There had to be over a dozen phones and that was just one day, for one airline in one airport! The good news is that mine was there. I showed my passport, signed some forms and we were off.
Welcome to Munich
First, let me tell you that the Flughafen München (Munich airport) is located in Franzheim, about 25 miles NE of Munich. The cost for a taxi from the airport to downtown Munich runs around €70 or about $80 and takes about 40 minutes. The good news is that the S-Bahn (Train) takes about the same amount of time and costs about €23, or $26. Since our hotel in Munich was across the street from the Munich Hauptbahnhof (main train station), it couldn’t have been more convenient. Additionally, we discovered that our S-Bahn ticket was valid on all public transit in Munich for 24 hrs. – bonus! On Friday morning we grabbed our bags and took the S-Bahn from the airport into Munich.
Bavarian Motor Works – BMW
After checking into our Munich hotel we used our transit pass and struck out for the BMW Museum. This museum is in a very modern building adjacent to BMW headquarters and BMW Werks. (BMW Museum Exterior). There is an incredible collection of cars, motorcycles and auto technology in this place.
From a design perspective, we saw how the clay models were built and used and we even saw how BMW used wind tunnel testing to improve vehicle design in the first half of the last century. I found the cutaways of the vehicles, vehicle interiors and even engines especially interesting.
As far as I can remember, my recollection of BMWs starts in the mid-1970’s when we lived in Belgium. Seeing the collection of BMW 2002 Sedans brought back memories for me. There were many older models, but the focus is on newer cars and their progression over the last 40 years. The technological developments and integration of technology are showcased, especially when it comes to Formula 1 cars and motors. Even Julie was interested, but before we knew it, we’d reached the last display. Time for the BMW Welt!
Across the street from the museum is another modern building – BMW Welt. All the BMW brands are located here under one fantastic roof. You can see, touch and climb inside BMW, Rolls Royce, Mini and more. (I hadn’t realized these were all BMW brands now.) It’s all show and tell, no one is trying to sell, that made it enjoyable. If you’re buying a BMW, you can also pick it up here courtesy of BMW and their white glove treatment. The nicer the white glove, the nicer the experience!
New Luggage!
Do you remember that Julie broke the handle off her suitcase as we were leaving Clarence in April? Well, not to be outdone, I managed to bend a wheel on mine in Spain. Once we packed up and headed for Germany, it was immediately apparent that I was going to be repacking my suitcase as well. Leaving the glamor of BMW behind, we struck out for the shopping district.
No glamor. No white gloves. Not even a luggage museum to wander through. It was just – select a bag, pull out a credit card and drag the new purchase back to the hotel. They cut the tags off for me and placed them in the outside compartment. I thought that was a nice touch. We celebrated with a glass of wine and some wasabi covered nuts at the hotel.
Dinner at the Bier Garten
We checked with the concierge for a restaurant recommendation. It was a Friday night and he said most people would be heading to a bier garten. Lucky for us, there was one within walking distance of the hotel that he said was pretty good, so off we went. For those of you that have not been to a Bier Garten before, let me take a moment to explain how it works.
Think of a Bier Garten as a park with beer. The majority of the park has tables and benches. Around the edge are various vendors selling food and beer. In the one we visited, there were two restaurants with nicer accommodations as well. You get in line and when you get to the various vendors, you get your schnitzel, wurst (sausage), sauerkraut or whatever. Then you get your beer… big beers in huge glasses or even huger beers in even bigger glass mugs. You pay at the checkout counter and you’re off to find a table.
Julie had currywurst (sausage with curry) with pommes (fries) and I had wurst mit sauerkraut (you can figure that one out on your own). We grabbed an open table and enjoyed the food – it was awesome. It was nice to be there eating with the locals, enjoying a nice evening and good German beer. What a great way to start this newest adventure.
Welcome to Munich.