Munich 22 Aug to 30 Aug
When I was told that I had to go to Munich for work, I thought it was going to be a real boring industrial city. The only thing I heard about the place was that it was famous for being the HQ of BMW. However by the end of the week I had fallen in love with the city.
When I arrived at the airport, the first thing that greeted me was a giant logo and front plate of the BMW car, and I thought that was fantastic, a brand so well known to the world and becomes the ‘face’ of the country.
I exited the airport, boarded a cab and proceeded to the hotel. As I looked around, all the taxis were either Mercedes or Volkswagon, and as I passed through the old city walls, I noticed that every other private car was a BMW! If this wasn’t Munich you would think that this was a country filled with snobs, for me coming from a country where BMW is considered a luxury car. Apparently BMs are quite affordable to the locals minus the premiums and taxes we have to pay for foreign exports. It is certainly touching to see that Germans are proud of and buying their own brand.
Driving into the old city, I noticed another amazing sight: there were people cycling all over the city! Also instead of buses you have trams as public transport, and what you see is an entire urban ecosystem of trams, cyclists, cars and pedestrians interfacing with one another in a continuous network of roads, tramways, cycle ways and footpaths. Cyclists have the most right of way here, and if you stray on to the cycle path you will get impatient looks from the cyclists. Most of the bicycles here are the single speed streamlined cruiser bicycles that are designed for mid speed cycling. The bicycles travel at almost uniform speed and they don’t need to wear helmets here. Some even have little trolleys attached to their bicycles for their pet dogs and babies.
I will not talk about my work, and the only thing that I would say about work was that it was a pleasure to work with my European colleagues from France, Italy and Germany. They were a fantastic bunch.
I had the opportunity to walk around the city in my free time. At first glance it looks like any European city, but my colleagues began to point out the differences that make Munich stand out from other cities like London or Paris.
For one, people are generally friendly here. Munich is also one of the safest city in Europe. Bicycles were parked and locked freely in the city and nobody steals the parts. Shopfront windows need not have to be grilled or caged up after hours because nobody breaks the glass. In Australia such things would have to be grilled up otherwise the shopfronts would be broken by vandals. Interestingly people here drink so much beer and yet you don’t see anyone lying on the streets or broken glass anyway. My Italian colleague mentioned that if it was Italy there would be trouble caused by groups of drunk people. My hotel was along a supposed red light district and yet you do not see street walkers and strippers soliciting and no druggies, unlike King’s Cross in London and Sydney. In fact this place is real boring if you are looking for sleaze. I will elaborate on the safety in parks later. And the boutique hotels here..are almost like entire different worlds when you stumble into them.
Surprisingly the cost of living is actually rather affordable compared to London and Paris. I bought a 2 scoop gelato cone for 1 Euro! If you go to the discount supermarket you can find chocolates going for 55 Euro cents and wine for 2.55 Euros!
Munich’s ancient city is called Bavaria and they were supposedly a bunch of monks and ancient warriors that built the medieval city. Bavarian food is very popular with the locals and is mostly a type of ham/ patte and sticky meatballs
Beer gardens- They only open during summer spring time. Munich is also famous for being the venue of Oktoberfest and their beer gardens are legendary. From the outside you think it was just a quiet park or garden, but when you actually discover the location, there are at least a few hundred people sitting under the shade of the mature trees enjoying a beer. Even though there were so many people, there was never a queue at the serving counters. This is German efficiency at work. The beer came in 1 litre mugs and you could take it home as a souvenir if you want. You don’t even have to purchase their food. You could bring your own food as long as you buy a beer.
The feeling of safety was again felt when my French colleague brought us for a walk in the English Garden, at night! The park was dimly light and all you can see are shadows of people walking around. I was told that these are not homeless people but park users who use the park like as if it was daytime! There were people cycling, walking, sitting and having candle lit picnics. If this was London or Sydney you would have been mugged. In the day it must be a delightful park to walk through. I was told the water from the streams come from the Alps and it was almost clean enough to drink.
The most touching experience I had for the trip was on the last day just before I went to the airport. I had gotten the number of a taxi driver the last few days. I called him to send me to the BMW museum to have a look. He actually offered to be my tour guide for the few hours till I depart for the airport. He showed me around the museum and drove me around Munich for free. We stopped by Hitler’s Museum for a coffee and talked about life and exchanged cultural differences. I can never imagine this happening in Singapore!
The new BMW showroom across the road from the Museum was an eye opener in its own right. It was designed by one of my favorite architects from Austria and I remember studying about this building when I was still at University. Back then it was only at the design stage and I could only see sketches of the building from books. I used to think that the Architect was a bit crazy because they claim to draw with their eyes closed and their sketches were a mish mash of undecipherable scribbles and emotions. Today I am standing right in front of it and looking at the finished product with my own eyes. It was an amazing structure and I could feel my architectural soul once again in the spirit of the space.
On the way to the airport I passed by the new Alliance Museum designed by Herzog and Meuron (architects who designed the Beijing Olympic Museum) and I can only look at the form and materiality of the stadium in awe, as there is no time to stop for a look.
I am thankful for this trip, not just because it is Munich, but mainly because of the friends and experiences that I encountered in this beautiful place.
When I arrived at the airport, the first thing that greeted me was a giant logo and front plate of the BMW car, and I thought that was fantastic, a brand so well known to the world and becomes the ‘face’ of the country.
I exited the airport, boarded a cab and proceeded to the hotel. As I looked around, all the taxis were either Mercedes or Volkswagon, and as I passed through the old city walls, I noticed that every other private car was a BMW! If this wasn’t Munich you would think that this was a country filled with snobs, for me coming from a country where BMW is considered a luxury car. Apparently BMs are quite affordable to the locals minus the premiums and taxes we have to pay for foreign exports. It is certainly touching to see that Germans are proud of and buying their own brand.
Driving into the old city, I noticed another amazing sight: there were people cycling all over the city! Also instead of buses you have trams as public transport, and what you see is an entire urban ecosystem of trams, cyclists, cars and pedestrians interfacing with one another in a continuous network of roads, tramways, cycle ways and footpaths. Cyclists have the most right of way here, and if you stray on to the cycle path you will get impatient looks from the cyclists. Most of the bicycles here are the single speed streamlined cruiser bicycles that are designed for mid speed cycling. The bicycles travel at almost uniform speed and they don’t need to wear helmets here. Some even have little trolleys attached to their bicycles for their pet dogs and babies.
I will not talk about my work, and the only thing that I would say about work was that it was a pleasure to work with my European colleagues from France, Italy and Germany. They were a fantastic bunch.
I had the opportunity to walk around the city in my free time. At first glance it looks like any European city, but my colleagues began to point out the differences that make Munich stand out from other cities like London or Paris.
For one, people are generally friendly here. Munich is also one of the safest city in Europe. Bicycles were parked and locked freely in the city and nobody steals the parts. Shopfront windows need not have to be grilled or caged up after hours because nobody breaks the glass. In Australia such things would have to be grilled up otherwise the shopfronts would be broken by vandals. Interestingly people here drink so much beer and yet you don’t see anyone lying on the streets or broken glass anyway. My Italian colleague mentioned that if it was Italy there would be trouble caused by groups of drunk people. My hotel was along a supposed red light district and yet you do not see street walkers and strippers soliciting and no druggies, unlike King’s Cross in London and Sydney. In fact this place is real boring if you are looking for sleaze. I will elaborate on the safety in parks later. And the boutique hotels here..are almost like entire different worlds when you stumble into them.
Surprisingly the cost of living is actually rather affordable compared to London and Paris. I bought a 2 scoop gelato cone for 1 Euro! If you go to the discount supermarket you can find chocolates going for 55 Euro cents and wine for 2.55 Euros!
Munich’s ancient city is called Bavaria and they were supposedly a bunch of monks and ancient warriors that built the medieval city. Bavarian food is very popular with the locals and is mostly a type of ham/ patte and sticky meatballs
Beer gardens- They only open during summer spring time. Munich is also famous for being the venue of Oktoberfest and their beer gardens are legendary. From the outside you think it was just a quiet park or garden, but when you actually discover the location, there are at least a few hundred people sitting under the shade of the mature trees enjoying a beer. Even though there were so many people, there was never a queue at the serving counters. This is German efficiency at work. The beer came in 1 litre mugs and you could take it home as a souvenir if you want. You don’t even have to purchase their food. You could bring your own food as long as you buy a beer.
The feeling of safety was again felt when my French colleague brought us for a walk in the English Garden, at night! The park was dimly light and all you can see are shadows of people walking around. I was told that these are not homeless people but park users who use the park like as if it was daytime! There were people cycling, walking, sitting and having candle lit picnics. If this was London or Sydney you would have been mugged. In the day it must be a delightful park to walk through. I was told the water from the streams come from the Alps and it was almost clean enough to drink.
The most touching experience I had for the trip was on the last day just before I went to the airport. I had gotten the number of a taxi driver the last few days. I called him to send me to the BMW museum to have a look. He actually offered to be my tour guide for the few hours till I depart for the airport. He showed me around the museum and drove me around Munich for free. We stopped by Hitler’s Museum for a coffee and talked about life and exchanged cultural differences. I can never imagine this happening in Singapore!
The new BMW showroom across the road from the Museum was an eye opener in its own right. It was designed by one of my favorite architects from Austria and I remember studying about this building when I was still at University. Back then it was only at the design stage and I could only see sketches of the building from books. I used to think that the Architect was a bit crazy because they claim to draw with their eyes closed and their sketches were a mish mash of undecipherable scribbles and emotions. Today I am standing right in front of it and looking at the finished product with my own eyes. It was an amazing structure and I could feel my architectural soul once again in the spirit of the space.
On the way to the airport I passed by the new Alliance Museum designed by Herzog and Meuron (architects who designed the Beijing Olympic Museum) and I can only look at the form and materiality of the stadium in awe, as there is no time to stop for a look.
I am thankful for this trip, not just because it is Munich, but mainly because of the friends and experiences that I encountered in this beautiful place.
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