Farewell Munich!

I looked inside my wallet, 300 Euro, totally untouched.

And did I tell you that I was initially a little dubious about the so called 'full expenses paid' trip? Now there's no doubt.

I am going to spend as much as I can buying tax free products at the airport to surprise my friends in Singapore.

In the same way Munich has surprised me.

Day 4 - Feel the Thrill

It's Sunny!

And as a result, we get to climb the Top of Germany - Zugspitze.

Well, not literally climb because we didn't have the time (and warmth) to but a 10 min ride on the cable car was enough to get us all thrilled about the splendid view from the mountain top.

Snow-capped mountains stretches all the way to the horizon and you can vividly identify a handful of skiers.

Did I mention there's a frozen lake on the other side of the mountain?

Lunch was on a rotating platform right beside the olympic stadium - Restaurant 181. As the name suggests, we are 181 metres above the ground. Had a set meal and it tasted awesome. Especially the dessert.

After a brief tour of the olympic stadium, we arrived at the Allianz Arena, home ground of Bayern Munich. The lawns here are really treated like kings - amidst the cold weather they get a bath of artificial sunlight!

During the guided tour, we had the opportunity to walk down the aisle where players enter the soccer field, with the heart pounding music et al. It was an unforgettable sensation.

Dinner was at the airport and we were rather fortunate to find a brewery that sells fresh beer - Airbrau. It looked as cloudy as Weißbier and had a stronger taste than München Hell. But I still prefer the original Hell.

And also for the last time, I savoured those famous German white sausages, fresh.

Day 3 - Cultural Shock

After 2 days of brainwashing by BMW, we are finally moving on to some tourist attractions.

Our morning was dedicated to Deutsches Museum, visiting the Traffic Centre and also the Technology Museum.

It was expected that Germany, being one of the world's leaders in the automotive industry, should have a few wonderful machineries to showcase, but it was hard for us to imagine a nation dedicating an entire museum to exhibit its machines rather than its cultural heritage.

And it came as a complete surprise that for centuries the Germans have kept and protected these original machines through ages of war and conflict! Tell me. Where else in the world can you find such love for machines?

At lunch, I was a little bit disappointed by the 1 hour waiting time at Restaurant Metzgerwirt. But eventually I had my first taste of deer meat! =D

In the afternoon, we visited the Nymphenburg Palace which is a giant bedroom for the Bavarian king to spend his summer vacation.

At different periods, the rooms were decorated in different styles, be it French or Italian, according to the tastes of various kings. And the harmonious fusion of these disparate cultures forms the unique identity of Nymphenburg Palace.

There is also a huge backyard which serves as a royal hunting ground. You can still find animals there but of course no hunting is allowed.

The city centre was resurrected after WWII but it looked spectacular nevertheless. There are 3 churches, including a cathedral, all constructed by different kings at different periods which is obvious from their unique architectural styles.

There is a sign post in the city centre which traditionally functions as an information centre for travelers to get an overview of the entire town in one glance.

From the town's popular trades to its special goods, every aspect of old Munich is listed on the signpost in a pictorial form. I can totally imagine the convenience ancient travelers enjoyed when deciding wether to stay in or to move on. The rent for shops here is as cheap as €15 per YEAR but the goods sold are actually more expensive. What a bunch of !#@$%.

Dinner was at Wirtshaus zur Brezn. Nothing special, probably because I have already gotten used to the German appetite. But once again I over-ordered due to the unexpectedly humungous salad. =(

Day 2 - Artistic Fiesta

If yesterday was about how fast it is to produce a car, today is the complete opposite.

From the birth of its initial concept to the final stage of production, a car spends more than 4.5 years in FIZ fine-tuning its every minute detail to better suite the taste of its owner. In contrast, it only takes 40 hours for sheets of aluminum to exit the assembly line in the form of a Sedan or a Touring.

4.5 years may seem to be a long time but given the amount of design thoughts and quality control tests, such as electromagnetic stability test, collision test, etc, a prototype has to go through before entering mass production, it is really not a lot of time actually. For instance, there is even an acoustics department that engineers the very sound a door makes when it is slammed shut!

After the tour, we had a sumptuous Fusion lunch at Restaurant International in BMW Welt. One dish costs about €20 and it is mouthwatering simply from the look of it!

We then hit the BMW Museum next door which houses all the famous car models produced by BMW. Regardless of the rarity of the model, the cars showcased here are all originals, with the exception of 328 Mille Miglia which was participating in the 2010 Mille Miglia Storica during the time of our visit.

One of the highlights of the museum is BMW's tradition of using faber clay to model life sized prototypes which helps to render a realistic sensation for the car designers. This technique is still being practiced in BMW today.

Our last stop for today is Pinakothek der Moderne, a modern art museum showcasing a variety of art work from paintings to architecture.

What I really liked about the museum is that almost all exhibitions are regularly replaced from month to month which not only enhances the 'revisitability' of the museum but also reflects the sheer amount of artistic value Bavaria has to offer to the world.

Our museum guide is exceptionally knowledgeable and passionate about art as he shared with us the history behind each piece of art work on display. I think this is important because it sets up the context for which the art exists.

In addition, understanding its history is also essential to understanding the state of mind of the working artist which not only enhances comprehension but also broadens our artistic expression.

Dinner was at L'Osteria - not very expensive (compared to other restaurants we went) but cooks one of the best pasta I've ever tasted. Thumbs up!

Not to forget the pretty waitress. ha. ha.

See you tomorrow! =D

Day 1 - Mechanical Marvels

Our first stop is the BMW HQ - the four cylindrical towers constructed layer by layer from the top to the bottom using wire suspension. It was a splendid architecture.

We were first greeted by Corporate Affairs Mr Jean-Michel Juchet who gave us a 30min presentation on the past, present, and future of BMW. Most of it I believe can be read up on wiki.

However, a lot of the emphasis has been placed on the sustainability of their automobile production. In fact, sustainability is one of the most crucial components of their project proposals. This makes me wonder how do they stay competitive while advancing an economically unsustainable agenda.

The answer was given to us during lunch and it seems that most of the sustainability oriented projects, albeit costly now, are actually profitable in the long run. This perhaps hints at the idea that the first step to achieving world wide adoption of green technologies is to make these technologies cheap. But on the other hand it also raises the question of how much effort are the companies really putting into saving our environment.

Are they willing to forgo profit for the sake of our environment?

After lunch, we visit BMW Welt, which means BMW World in English. The architecture is once again eye-opening. The tornado symbolizes a revolutionary hurricane that brings elegant car design from the clouds back to earth.

A short introductory tour reveals that this building functions as both a customer experience and an exhibition facility. It is surprising that the exhibitions here are more interesting and more high-tech than those found in Singapore Science Centre.

We played around quite a bit before moving on to visit the manufacturing plant just across the road.

Once again, we were astonished by the precise movements and cooperation of robotic arms on the car assembly. We were sadly not allowed to take any photographs but the close substitute I can use to describe these mechanical marvels is probably those scenes in I, Robot and other science fiction movies.

We were told that the entire plant can produce 900 cars each day and every one of them has already been pre-ordered by a customer. You can imagine the astronomical figure of their gross profit.

And then comes the jaw dropping (literally) dinner at Wirtshaus in der Au. The servings are so humongous that we can literally eat until our jaws drop!

Hope I won't put on too much weight after the trip... haha

Touchdown!

It's freezing!!

As soon as we stepped out of the airport, we were greeted by yards of snow spanning across the landscape.

It has been such a long time since I last had close contact with these wonderful creations of nature! How blessed we are to experience such joy!

The city buildings are typical of medieval times which really remind me of all the cinematic scenes.

Sussane, our tour guide, will meet us at 11.30. Can't wait to get the day started!

Lesson 1 - Don't be late

A friendly advice for everyone who's going to the embassy - be very punctual!

I was only 2 mins late for my visa collection and the security guard refused to let me in. And trust me, I tried my best to negotiate.

But he did tell me something new - if you are going to be late, make sure you inform the embassy about it. They can wait for you, provided that the duration is reasonable.

I guess the rules are not that inhuman after all.