Weekend in Munich – part (III)
You can read my previous posts about Munich here and here.
Exhausted from all the intense sight-seeing, we still had another day in Munich in front of us – which wasn’t going to be any less promising than the two days before: after breakfast we headed for the Bavarian Motor Works temple called BMW Welt (BMW world), and an exhibition of the latest BMW models, which was opened in 2007. It’s located in the vicinity of the BMW Headquarters and well worth visiting even if you’re not such a motor fan.
And how to get to BMW Welt?
We took the U-bahn (U4 or U5) from the Hauptbahnhof direction Odeonsplatz, where we changed to U3 for Olympiazeuntrum (which is the last station). BMW Welt is just a few steps away (you can’t miss it).
Approaching the massive, modern building, it becomes clear that this won’t be just any boring hall exhibition – once you’re inside you start comprehending the meaning of the “temple” part. I was in a mood for a photo reporter so I got plenty of shiny car photos for you. The car model I admired the most, for my own reasons: BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid.
Click on the photo below for some impressions of BMW Welt:
After what you’ve seen at the exhibition, the most normal thing is to pay a visit to the BMW Museum as well. You will find it just across the street, a stone’s throw away from the -so christened by Juanpi- “toilet-paper pack building” (=BMW Headquarters).
In the museum you can learn everything about the history of BMW cars and bikes. You have to pay an entrance fee (unlike the BMW Welt, where the entrance is for free). The place was simply awesome. I will say no more and better let the photos speak for themselves. (Click on the photo)
We’d have visited the Olympia Tower if only we could have more time. The Olympic Park of Munich was constructed for the 1972 summer Olympics and it still holds many a social event. The tower reaches 291.28m in height and is famous for its revolving restaurant (at a height of 182m) from where you can admire the city while enjoying your lunch.
After one whole morning of vehicles, the idea of visiting one of the many green oasis of Munich sounded excellent. A walk in the English garden was not to be missed, however we first ended up at the Nymphenburg Park.
Nymphenburg is a baroque palace and former summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria (Ludwig II., whose castle we’d visited a day earlier, was born in this palace in 1845). It is surrounded by an enchanting park and considered one of the most famous sights of Munich. Limited by time we couldn’t enter the park and see its lovely pavilions and temples built back in 18th century, but even the front view of the palace where we’d taken some incredible photos, was more than wonderful. The swans even prepared a little “flying-and-landing show”, and you can only imagine how much I enjoyed it. 
But, it was time for lunch, and time for the last Biergarten experience – and where to experience it better than in the Englischer Garten, the biggest park of Munich and one of the world’s largest urban parks (larger even than New York’s Central Park). The beer garden at the Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower), is with its 7000 sits (!) the 2nd largest in Munich and yet it was completely full. It took us quite a while to get the food (self-service restaurant) and fill our batteries with typical plates containing sausages, (pork) ribs, accompanied with a spicy curry sauce and roasted potatoes – and with Brezel, hard type of bread pastry, a popular snack present everywhere in Bavaria (and in many other parts of the world). Bavarian Brezel is thick (the one served in Biergarten was 2 – 3cms thick) and usually coated with coarse salt. I’ve noticed that some people in the Biergarten were ordering solely a jar of beer and a big pretzel.
Biergarten at the "Chinese Tower", the 2nd largest in Munich: the tower is 25m high and was first constructed end of 18th century. However, during WWII it burnt down after heavy bombarding. They rebuilt it after the original one and it was completed in 1952.
Biergarten pretzel...
... and pretzel served at breakfast in the hotel
And after such heavy lunch, our legs felt heavy too. We really wanted to see more of the park, but our legs wouldn’t hold us for much longer anymore.
You can reach this Biergarten by horse carriage, too
Although I'd say most of the "Münchner" prefer the bikes to move around - Munich seems to be the cyclists' paradise and I've read the best way to see Munich is by renting a bike
A short stroll through the park was enough to get the idea of it – this is where the citizens of Munich spend end of week walking, cycling, sunbathing or playing sports. I couldn’t help but to feel a lot bit of envy.
This park of an area of 3.7 sqkm must be one of the greatest places to relax in Munich. This green oasis of an area of 3.7 sq km must be one of the greatest places to relax in Munich. And if you ever visit this town, make sure you don’t miss it out of your list of things-to-see.
Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst - a museum displaying ancient Egyptian artifacts, we've only seen it from outside
Theatinerkirche (Theatine Church), built end of 17th century in Italian high-baroque style
With the Theatinerkirche our wonderful trip had come to an end. From here (Odeonsplatz) we took the U-bahn back to our hotel and parted ways – our friends returned to Spain and us two to Slovenia. We all agreed on having to return to this place because a) it was so amazing -in all ways- and b) because there were just too many things left for us to see – München, ich hoffe wir sehen uns mal wieder!
Este artículo es para vosotros, R. , J.M. , J. & L. -si por acaso lo estáis leyendo- gracias por vuestra compañía y ¡hasta pronto!
