Rainy Day - Planes, Trains, Bicycles and More

It was a very rainy day yesterday and what is better to do than go to a museum on a rainy day!  We went to the Deutches Museum of Transportation. They even let me in for free because it was my birthday! It rained most of the day so we stayed under cover and took the train everywhere just like locals and only got turned around once. 

 

There were some great exhibits here - very early bicycles and some unusual bike tires/wheels (with springs?).

Some interesting cars especially this one - only 242 ever made - very rare BMW 507 (circa 1956-1959). 

And a few other remarkable exhibits. 

Once we had enough we headed back towards the hotel area via train and managed to get lost a bit and getting out of the train station proved to be a bit of a challenge as well, but finally we emerged to a downpour! 

We had a late lunch, or was it early dinner? at the Rathskeller in the main plaza and lingered over salad and risotto and of course coffee and a birthday dessert. Okay and this sign for the WC just cracked me up!

By the time we headed back the rain had taken a short break making our walk back to the hotel very cool and pleasant. When we returned to the hotel I was very surprised with a gift of cake, candles and champaign from the front desk staff. What a surprise and who says a girl can't eat cake twice in one day on her birthday.

Today we take the train to Frankfurt tomorrow and catch  up with our tour group on Tuesday in Trier, the oldest town in Germany. 

Auf Wiedersehen

Resting Weary Legs - Enjoying the Sights by Bus

What could be better than celebrating my birthday at the laundromat? We started the day getting the laundry done so we could enjoy the day - so woo-hoo and happy birthday! 

The forecast is for rain today so plan to visit the Deutsches Museum of Transportation. It gets great reviews and looks very interesting. 

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Yesterday, after two days of what seems like miles and miles of walking, we decided to see the sights by bus and got tickets to the "Hop-on Hop-Off" bus tour. This is a double decker bus that takes one around the city and provides a running commentary of the sights. We sat on the open-air top deck and we learned so much about the history and the layout of Munich.

We took the short tour of about an hour around the central part of the city and then went around a second time and learned even more.  It is so hard to believe that so much of this city was destroyed in WW II and rebuilt using original plans and photographs. We are convinced that even if we had two weeks we could not see it all. 

Rather than bore you with history, here are just a few remarkable things we saw.

In the English Garden there actually some brave souls surfing the river under the bridge. This is a very narrow space and the water is very cold. This certainly took talent and control to prevent injury. People were lined up on the bridge to watch this incredible sight.

This is the statue of King Ludwig II. The tour guide said it was interesting that he is shown on a horse as he was not fond of horses and had fallen off many times, one time resulting in a broken leg.

Here is King Maximillian I, sitting on the throne. It is said he did not like this statue as it has him sitting  - he thought it looked too much like using the toilet. Locals say his raised hand is not greeting the crowd but rather signifies him ordering four more beers. 

This building is in the process of being refurbished. It is actually entirely wrapped in what appears to be the look of the final renovation. Amazing!

Hopped off the bus and went back to Hofbrauhaus for lunch. Ordered a vegetable pie and it turned out to be a delicious quiche-like affair  - yummy. Loved all the activity, the tourists and the locals.

 

 

A Day At the BMW Welt (World)

 

 

 We successfully made our way to the BMW Welt (BMW World) via the U-Bahn, the Munich railway system. Bob had scoped out the route weeks ago and he got us there like we were locals. 

He was so excited when we finally arrived - at last a visit to the "mother-ship!" This is a huge facility and they manufacture 950 cars a day - one comes off the assembly line every minute. The entire process from start to finish takes about 40 hours.

However, the Welt is more than a factory, it is an entire experience with displays of most of their car models and motorcycles. 

Bob enjoyed the motorcycle exhibit.

 

There are four restaurants, a gift shop, museum and houses BMW's corporate headquarters. Customers from all over the world can also pick up the car they ordered right here - quite a unique experience for the new car buyer. 

Here is the delivery area.

 

A new car for this family.

And Bob found a new model that he liked. Don't even think about it Bob!

We also were treated to demonstration by a BMW motorcycle rider - he even rode it up an d down the stairs - don't try that at home. Of course Bob spent time kicking tires with him and sharing experiences. 

We took the factory tour - only available by advance reservation. Of course Bob had bought the tickets months in advance. Visitors are not allowed to take photos. The tour lasted two hours and we walked over 2 1/2 miles through the plant. Most impressive sights were the robots and the live co-workers along the line.

The tour started with seeing huge sheets of rolled steel being pressed into hoods, door panels and other body parts. Sparks flew as the parts were welded together by the robots. The painting process was truly remarkable. The assembled parts were washed and then sent down to a pressurized clean room where they were dusted by ostrich feathers (I am not kidding) to remove any lingering debris before being painted. We watched as huge arms delicately opened doors and painted inside and out of the cars.   

Once the cars are completed and all the wiring, windows, seats etc are added they are sent to a test area where they are put on rollers and driven up to speeds of 100 mph and with a final toot of a horn they are ready to be loaded onto a rail car for delivery.

We spent most of the day at the Welt and after resting back at our hotel for awhile - had a lovely meal and wine of course at a restaurant in the Marienplatz. A day well spent and no issues going to sleep. 

Just seeing if this will fit...um nope, not my style.

Our European Adventure Begins

Bob and I made it safely to Munich after 10 1/2 hours on our Lufthans jet. We both got a bit of sleep and arrived a bit tired but without issue. By the time we went through customs and unpacked it was 4:00 pm. Our hotel is clean and nice and centrally located and convenient to the train station.  We both are surprised a bit at how crowded the streets are with people cars, motorcycles and tons of bicycles.

We went to a very good Italian restaurant last night located right up the street from our hotel and we both were asleep by 8:00 pm Munich time. Bob slept most of the night but I woke up at 2:00 AM and stared at the ceiling for a few hours, finally falling back asleep until 7:30. We woke up fairly refreshed and ready to take on our day. 

Our hotel has a wonderful buffet breakfast with good strong coffee. And once we were refueled and refreshed we headed over to the Marienplatz and were amazed at the sights. 

We strolled through many of the streets and made our way to the New Town Hall in time to watch the figures and glockenspiel at 11:00. We actually climbed the stairs (307 but whose counting) to the top of St. Peter's church across the way for a bird's eye view of the clock and plaza at the New Town Hall joust and perform the Dance of the Coopers. 

At the top of St. Peter's we also had wonderful views of the entire city including Olympic park and the BMW Weld, our destination for tomorrow. 

We then wandered down to the Viktualienmarkt to check out the beer gardens and enormous outdoor market. 

After all that climbing and walking around it was certainly time to try a beer and have a bite to eat. We headed over to the Rathskeller and did just that. We had our first beer - delicious! And an incredible salad. So far no Wienershnitzel for us!

Once refreshed we strolled around a bit more and located the Hofbrauhaus and did a cursory tour - we definitely will be coming back here! 

We are both surprised at the number of people smoking everywhere as well as the large numbers of women in fully covered - even seen a few in burkas.

Finished off our day at the recommendation of the hotel concierge at the Lowenbrau beer garden where we enjoyed yet another beer and pretzels of course. Enjoyed. My delicious meal of stuffed cabbage and Bob hade the sausage platter with some outstanding sauerkraut, which I don't normally enjoy. This was tasty!

So many interesting sights on our walk back: bicycles have their own pathways AND signals.

And apparently you CAN spell Bob with more than one "O." 😃😉😉

 

Back in our room and now it's time to catch some zzz's - off to see the "BMW Welt" (apparently a holy place) tomorrow.