Pra completar os posts da nossa viagem, vou falar de Munique (Munich, München, Monaco) e da Oktoberfest. Sempre que o maridex ouvia falar da Oktoberfest ele ficava doido hehe e sempre a gente planejou ir e ou iamos pro Brasil ou não tinhamos folga juntos e nunca dava, mas dessa vez tudo deu certinho! Até o fato da minha irmã já estar na Europa e da minha amiga estar na Itália e ter ido com o marido lá encontrar a gente! O motivo principal da ida lá era a Oktober mas pra mim se tornou a cidade toda pq apaixonei por tudo de Munich, mas assim TUDO! Os alemães que encontramos foram muito simpáticos e receptivos, há quem diga que seja por causa do festival e eles são mesmo assim por causa dos turistas e mais $$ pra eles e tal, but who cares?! Eu achei todos muito gentis e hospitaleiros. Não achamos dificil andar de metrô (U-BAHN) ou ônibus, vc chegando no aeroporto, vc pega um mapinha da cidade e tem todas a linhas de metrô e trem lá, então é só seguir. Ficamos no Hotel Flora e, apesar de ficar bem pertinho do centro e da estação principal eu não recomendo. Bom, a gente ficou lá bem por falta de opção mesmo, culpa nossa porque demoramos pra decidir qdo exatamente iriamos pra Alemanha e por conta da Oktober, os melhores hoteis já estavam lotados! O preço do que a gente ficou é super em conta mas o hotel é bem acabadinho. Se vc pensa em ir pra a Oktoberfest reservem beeeem antes o seu hotel ou vc vai pagar super caro (ou acabar pegando um meio chué). Mas, enfim, era só pra dormir mesmo pq passávamos o dia e quase a noite toda fora então, foi ok até porque estávamos bem pertinho do centro .

OlympiaPark

BMW welt

Nymphenburg Palace

Nymphenburg Palace

Demos uma paradinha para almoçar, e almoçamos no restaurante do Olympic Park e gostei muito! Achei o preço em conta e você escolhe as combinações (our combos) que vc quer, Danke ao nosso amigo, ele pediu pra gente De lá, ´comidos´ demos uma paradinha básica na Allianz-Arena, o hubby nem queria entrar, só tirar uma foto lá fora, para quem não conhece, durante a Copa do Mundo de 2006, esta arena era conhecida como FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich. A noite muda de cor e vc pode ver acesa em branco, azul ou vermelho (ou as duas últimas intercaladas).

Dachau

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Legenda:  1. Turnul Vechii Primarii; 2. Turnul Noii Primarii; 3. Marienplatz; 4. Biserica Sf. Fecioare; 5. Relaxare in Gradina Englezeasca; 6. Teatrul National; 7. Vechea Primarie; 8. Plimbare catre Odeonsplatz; 9. Leul de la Royal Residenz si totodata simbolul Munchenului; 10. Arcul de Triumf; 11. Gradina Englezeasca; 12. BMW Welt; 13. Exponat din Muzeul BMW; 14. Turnul Olympia; 15. Panorama din turnul Olympia; 16. Stadionul Olympia; 17. Lacul Olympia; 18. Sediul central BMW si Muzeul BMW; 19. Beraria Seehaus din Gradina Englezeasca; 20. Augustiner, unul dintre cele mai vechi branduri de bere din Munchen; 21. Imagine din Neue Pinakothek; 22. Gradina Botanica; 23. Palatul Nymphenburg

Imagini

Pe anul asta, sa nu credeti altceva ) Si da, in mod paradoxal, abia de maine intru in prima vacanta pe anul asta

Stiu ca toata vara am fost plecata in weekenduri, dar nu se pune E drept ca nu prea simt nevoia de o vacanta mai mare, dupa atatea plecari, dar e foaarte binevenita, mai ales ca e vorba de Salonul Auto de la Frankfurt
Sunt foarte fericita ca am obtinut acreditare de presa pentru Salon, multumesc mult Geei si lui Horatiu pentru ajutor. Merg sa fac fotografii si hopefully sa scriu despre ce vedem acolo

Plec maine impreuna cu Vali, aka my brother, cu masina, si ne lansam intr-un circuit de 10 zile, pe traseul Bucuresti-Timisoara-Viena-Ingolstadt-Munchen-Stuttgart-Frankfurt-Berlin-Praga si inapoi in Romania. Recunosc ca la stabilirea traseului m-am inspirat din ideea lui Bobby Voicu de a vizita muzeele auto din Germania: fiind fan Audi, tin mortis sa vad Audi Museum Mobile, dar in functie de timp sper sa ajungem si la BMW si Mercedes-Benz. Eu am mai fost la muzeul BMW acum doi ani, fix cu putin timp inainte de inaugurarea BMW Welt, asa ca acum ar fi o ocazie buna sa vad si fabrica. Vali a venit cu ideea de a merge la Berlin, iar mai departe Praga e oricum in drum, asa ca am inclus-o automat in circuit.

O sa schimbam vreo 5 hoteluri, si conform Via Michelin avem in fata un traseu de 4500 km
Pana acum am primit recomandare de drum sa nu mergem prin Recas, spre Timisoara. Daca aveti vreo recomandare de obiective de vizitat/traseu de urmat, let us know

Ce vreti sa va aduc din Germanica? Dati o strigare in comments/mail si pun pe lista Eu stiu ca vreau sa-mi iau fanion cu Bayern Munchen

See ya!

Sursa foto.

BMW Welt by Coop Himmelb(l)au

This four year project by Coop Himmelb(l)au was completed on October 20, 2007. The structure neighbors a number of BMW offices and features an 800 KWatt Solar plant on its roof.

• Cost: 100 Million Euro.

August 28th, 2009

Today was the day I picked up my new 135i at the BMW Welt. We took the U-Bahn (U3) from Sendlinger Tor station to Olympia-Zentrum. The U-Bahn station was right at the BMW Welt. We made our way to the reception desk where they stored our backpacks for the day. We then headed upstairs to the Premium Lounge on the third floor.

Ulla checked us in and went through the paperwork with me. After signing the paperwork we were free to get some breakfast in the Lounge. We also got to check email at the kiosks in the lounge.

At 9:30 we started out on the tour of the BMW factory. The tour was fascinating. All the automation and robots used on the production line were quite amazing. We finished the tour with just enough time for lunch at the International Restaurant.

We finished lunch and headed back to the Premium Lounge to pick up my new 135i at 12:40. Judith came to meet us shortly and walked us down to the car. With her PDA she started up the turntable that my car was on. Very cool! There it was… my new car! Alpine white exterior and black leatherette (pleather) interior. Das ist ein schoenes Auto!

Judith explained the various functions of the car to me, helped me to pair my BlackBerry Bold to the Bluetooth system in the car and attached the USB thumb drive with 50GB of music that I had brought with me. We took lots of pictures of the car and soon we were off on the “victory lap” from the Welt. A valet parked the car for us so that we could spend more time at the Welt and the BMW Museum across the street.

Both the BMW Museum and Welt were a lot of fun to visit. The collection of rare and cult models in the Museum was really good to see. Highlights included a mint condition 507 and M1. There was also an M1 hommage prototype on the ground floor of the Museum.

The special temporary exhibit at the museum was about the various innovations of BMW. There were lots of prototypes and one-of-a-kind models on display. The final display was for the GINA concept. Very cool indeed.

We then stopped and the gift shop and collected my complementary keychain engraved with my last name. I also bought a small 1er model in black from the gift shop. Too bad they didn’t have one in Alpinweiß.

The valet brought the car back for us and we drove off the Nymphenburg Palace. I initially entered the wrong address in the navigation system but eventually got it sorted out. The Nymphenburg Palace is pretty. The palace grounds reminded me of Versailles. It was close to closing time so we didn’t go inside the palace.

We then drove back to the hotel, parked the car and freshened up a bit before heading out to dinner. Tonight’s dinner was at Prinz Myshkin, an upscale vegetarian restaurant. I had the Koh Samui Thai-influenced dish while Brice had the Ayurveda Indian-inspired dish. Essen schmeckt gut!

After dinner we strolled to Marienplatz where there were lots of people walking around enjoying the atmosphere and street performers. We continued on to the Hofbräuhaus for some Bier. I got a large mug of dunkel (dark) bier. I’m not a big beer drinker but it was quite good.

An Italian family vacationing in Germany walked by looking for a table and we invited them to join us at our table. I got to use my broken Italiano to chat with them. An oompah band in lederhosen were playing in the background. It was good fun!

It was getting late so we headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Gute nacht und bis morgen!

In a perfect world we’d all be getting back to our zero energy, prefabricated homes by foot, bike or public transport, but on a planet where cars won’t be disappearing anytime soon, it’s nice to know that some car companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprint when producing new vehicles. In 2003 BMW set out a design competition for a new building and distribution center located in Munich, Germany. The results were more than grand; not only is the new BMW Welt aesthetically pleasing with its sinuous curves and gleaming façade, but it was also consciously designed to save energy in its production of cars through efficient solar heating and natural ventilation systems.

The BMW Welt was designed by architects Coop Himmelb[l]au in five thematic blocks: Hall, Premiere, Forum, Tower, and Double Cone, where areas have been reserved for car production, exhibition space, restaurants, shops, and even a business center. Coop Himmelb[l]au, not unfamiliar with designing large and complex spaces, developed a totally integrated and ecologically friendly air system combining both low and high tech methods to create optimal air circulation.

The multifunctional Hall, which sits as the centre point of the complex, was designed as a solar-heated, naturally ventilated sub-climatic area, removing the normal requirements for building heating and ventilation. Instead, a natural air supply is generated by thermal currents, wind pressure and turbulences when air accumulates in the area of the façade and roof projection. Air intake and outflow take place through automatically controlled and strategically placed vents providing the Hall with all its air needs.

The system proves to be especially beneficial to the Premiere section where BMW Welt produces its cars, and which directly opens up to the Hall. Because of the intensive exhaust gases that are released during the delivery process, and the subsequent energy heavy regulation typically required for air cleanup, the system was further fine-tuned to adjust the volume of air intake and outflow and to extract the exhaust fumes directly and pump in fresh air. A considerable feat given that BMW assumes a turnover of about 40 cars per hour, for a total of 250 cars per day.

On top of all this, the Forum, Tower and Double Cone are definitively public spaces, and have specially incorporated air systems to meet the comfort needs of their occupants while utilizing natural ventilation when possible.

»Vertau ihr!« Dieser Satz geisterte mir gerade durch den Kopf. Nur, wem vertrauen? Und wer bittet mich, zu vertrauen?

Leider sind schon wieder so viele Tage vergangen. Aber letzte Woche (21.06.2009-28.06.2009) ist sowieso nichts Aufregendes passiert. Es war nach Notenschluss. Lisa aus meiner Klasse hat sogar gesagt, die Schule halte uns vom Lernen (für die mündlichen Prüfungen) ab.

So, Montag (29.06.2009) war auch nicht so besonders. 07:16 Uhr musste ich jedoch am Bahnhof sein, um rechtzeitig mit den anderen Berliner und Brandenburger Stipendiaten der Roland-Berger-Stiftung mit dem Bus nach München fahren zu können. Mein Vater kam mit.

Selbiger nahm mich am nächsten Morgen in die Innenstadt mit. Ich selber wäre nie auf die Idee gekommen, im Sommer bei Sonnenschein ins Freie zu gehen. Und in der Tat war es so warm, dass ich meine Jacke ausziehen musste. =(
Trotz allem waren wir dann pünktlich wieder zurück und fuhren dann ab dem Hotel zur Veranstaltung in der BMW-Welt.

Am Mittwoch (01.07.2009) ging es dann zurück nach Cottbus. Unser Zug hatte allerdings eine ganze Stunde Verspätung, da in eine Schaltstation ein Blitz eingeschlagen war, weshalb alle Zugampeln rot waren.

Gestern (02.07.2009) fuhr ich dann nach dem Mittagessen zur Schule zu meiner mündlichen Prüfung im Fachbereich Chemie. Ich hatte noch einige Zeit überlegt, was ich von der Zeit 14:00 Uhr halten sollte, die mir Anna geschrieben hatte. Mir geisterte 11:30 im Kopf herum, aber ich wusste die Zeit nicht mehr, weshalb ich Anna gebeten hatte, nachzusehen. Wenngleich ich wusste, dass sie mir keine Falschinformation geben würde, die meine Chemienote gleich mal von 1 auf 3 geändert hätte (was mir im Übrigen egal gewesen wäre), fühlte ich mich, als ich hätte etwas in der Art verdient.
Das Thema der Prüfung war »Essigsäure, eine der ältesten bekannten Säuren«. Ich hasse Essigsäure. Dennoch gelang es mir, zu erklären, welche Stoffe an der Essigsäuregärung beteiligt sind, welche Rolle die Essigsäurebakterien (Acetobacter) spielten, wozu Essigsäure verwendet werden konnte (Entkalkung ist mir leider nicht eingefallen), wie man den Prozess der Essigsäuregärung beschleunigen konnte (auf die einfachste Antwort, nämlich Umrühren, bin ich auch hier nicht gekommen) und für alles Reaktionsgleichungen aufzustellen.
Dann musste ich zu allem Übel auch noch mit meiner Hasschemikalie experimentell Eigenschaften von Säure herausarbeiten. Zur Verfügung standen mit Essigsäure (2mol/L), bereits gelborange (das ist nicht gut^^) Universalindikatorlösung und Magnesiumspäne nach Gringard zu Verfügung. Auch das bekam ich irgendwie hin.
Von den folgenden Fragen war die schlimmste die nach homologen Reihen, von denen ich keine Ahnung mehr hatte. Ich dachte mir etwas aus, und das stimmte dann erstaunlicherweise auch noch.

So, heute (02.07.2009) habe ich meinen Schreibtisch umgekrempelt und einige Kopfhörer auseinandergerissen. Letzteres hat sogar Spaß gemacht!

Montag ist dann noch die mündliche Gruppenprüfung im Fachbereich Englisch, die Herr Ristau ebenso verschoben hat, damit ich nach München fahren konnte. Erstaunlicherweise hatten weder meine Mitschüler Martin und Christian noch die Prüfende Lehrerin Frau Moeller ein Problem damit.
Vielleicht sollte ich ja noch für Englisch lernen, aber nicht mehr heute.

Those who knew me as a child will probably remember that I typically save the best for the last. So in my final morning in the city of Munich, I paid a visit to the BMW Museum, an extraordinary trove of the finest cars in the world and a showcase of the fascinating story behind them. It was a fine day, so the deconstructivist architecture of the BMW Welt building, which is right next to the Olympiapark U-Bahn Station, looked particularly stunning. Right across the main road the cauldron shaped BMW Museum, which reminded me of one of my favourite buildings in the world, was also glittering in the sunlight.

Left: BMW Welt; Right: BMW Museum

I started with the BMW Welt, which is used as a showroom for currently produced BMW cars as well as new technologies that the company has been working on. The new technologies exhibition area was very interactive, with all sorts of simulators to illustrate the difference in energy efficiency achieved through different types of fuels, devices or contraptions. In less than 10 minutes, I immediately decided that if (and that’s an enormous “if”) I had the money, I would definitely get a BMW – something that functions like a Z4, perhaps. Forget Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis - the pompousness of the first two sometimes sickens me, and the other two just are incapable of the perfect balance between bold and graceful which BMW never fails to accomplish.

Inside BMW Welt (and yes, I am aware that I look weird in the photo on the left)

Then came the main course of the day, which was the museum itself. It had been renovated from 2004-2008, so everything was extremely modern. The first display was on motorcycles throughout the ages. Even though I’ve never been a fan of this kind of vehicle (they may be useful if you’re a traffic cop, but otherwise, what’s the point?), I was very impressed. It was amazing to see how even in 1925, when everything was so primitive by our standards, BMW was already making wonderful motorcycles which can still make some modern-day motorcycles look inferior.

Left: A display near the entrance. The metallic spheres shifted diagonally to imitate the shapes
of various BMW cars; Right: the R39, one of BMW’s oldest motorcycles

Each section in the museum was arranged in chronological order, so I could see how BMWs changed and improved throughout the years. I was reminded of this passion for vehicles which I had as a small child. Back then, among my most prized possessions was a collection of TOMY model cars that my aunts bought me, and I would spend a great deal of time rolling them on a set of four plastic mats which had a network of roads printed on it. I used to be very enthusiastic about parking lots, and I would be able to name the brand of most cars just by looking at the livery. I also used to make my parents and aunts stand with me on the roadside from time to time just to watch cars go by. Somehow this great interest of mine faded away when I entered my teens, but as I walked through the halls of the BMW Museum and admired the exhibits, I felt the car-loving part of me surging back again.

Left: Luxury cars throughout the ages; Right: Releases from the 1980s to the present

Being a world pioneer in vehicle production, BMW has for a long time been associated with racing, and some of the cars on display were ones that had achieved international fame back in the day. For example, the motorcycle WR500 (which doesn’t quite look like a motorcycle) set a world record by travelling at 279.5 kmph (that’s faster than any car or train I’ve been on) in 1937, a record that remained for 14 years. Some of the most iconic BMWs were on display in a room called the Schatzkammer (Treasure Chamber), which is quite appropriately named considering its black reflective walls, dark ceiling and floor. The most prized exhibit was perhaps the 328, which emerged as the champion in the Mille Miglia, the world’s most famous motor race, in 1940. Its contours were very elegant and the design definitely ahead of its time – I believe it still would attract many envious looks if it appeared on a modern-day Autobahn.

Left: the WR500, which set a world record by travelling at 279.5 kmph (that’s 173.5 mph) in 1937;
Right: The 328 “Mille Miglia” in the Schatzkammer

Apart from cars and motorcycles, there were also plenty of other exhibits introducing the formation of the BMW company and its development through the ages. There was, for example, a collection of advertisements from the 1920s to the present, which included not only print ads but also promotional videos, all of them at the cutting edge of the eras from which they came. The modern ones quite prominently featured the slogan “Ausdruck purer Fahrfreude” (Expression of the pure joy of driving), a very simple, yet appropriate and memorable slogan for one of the finest car producers in the world. The cleverest ad of all showed a car transporter truck carrying seven cars on the autobahn. The logos of the seven cars were not visible, but from their distinctive contours one could tell that they are BMWs. The truck, however, had an enormous Mercedes Benz logo in front. The slogan that accompanied this image? “Auch ein Mercedes kann Fahrfreude bringen” (A Mercedes can also bring the joy of driving). Take a look at the ad here!

Left: the Isetta, a prominent precursor of the modern-day microcar;
Right: the H2R, a racecar that runs exclusively on liquid hydrogen fuel

The permanent exhibit ended with an H2R, a racecar than runs exclusively on liquid hydrogen fuel. After that, I went to the temporary exhibit, which showcased concept cars from the 1960s to the present. The last car I saw was definitely the most groundbreaking, and probably also the most exciting of all – the GINA Light Visionary Model, which I am sure everybody has read or heard about in the news last year. The exceptionally sleek fabric body had an almost otherworldly quality to it, and I had to try very, very hard in order to resist the temptation to touch!

Left: a second-generation Z4, BMW’s most recently released sports car;
Right: the GINA Light Visionary Model, a concept car which body is made out of stretchable fabric

To sum up how impressed I was, I’ll say this: unless you’re a technophobe or your family owns the Mercedes Benz company, it’s impossible not to like BMWs after a visit to this museum. I will end with a quote found in the rotunda which leads from the permanent to the temporary collection. It perfectly captures BMW’s company philosophy, which over the years has attracted the adoration of many, and I think it is a great motto to live by, so it was immediately added to the “Favourite Quotes” section of my Facebook Profile. The quote is in English, so you don’t have to bear with my poor translation skills:

There is no limit to imagination. An open mind and the courage
to challenge the status quo are the basic ingredients for every innovation.

P!P im BMW-Museum

Endlich war es soweit: Am 8.Mai gaben wir mal wieder ein Konzert in München, und zwar auf Einladung von BMW im Hauseigenen Museum!  Außer einigen Stücken aus unserem Konzertprogramm gab es noch andere  hörbare Highlights: diverse Autoteilen und zwei “3er”-Rohkarosserien direkt aus der Produktion des benachbarten Werkes wurden von uns rhythmisch nach P!P-Art bearbeitet. Außerdem gab es eine Kostprobe des Projektes “BMW goes Power! Percussion” mit einigen Azubies von BMW. Nach einem dreiteiligen Workshop, der uns allen sehr, sehr viel Spaß gemacht hat, gaben die BMW-Nachwuchsschlagzeuger ihre Performance zum Besten (siehe Fotos). Und zwar mit vollem Einsatz!!!! In der einzigartigen Atmosphäre dieser modernen Architektur in Mitten der Automobile aus über hundert Jahren  Fahrzeuggeschichte, war es für uns ein ganz besonderes Erlebnis zu spielen. Angefeuert von dem bestens aufgelegtem Publikum hätte es gerne noch weit bis nach 24.00 Uhr gehen können. Aber irgendwann muß ja Schluß sein! Also fangen wir hoffentlich bald wieder von vorne an: bei der nächsten Percussion-Night im BMW-Museum!

Bis bald

Eure P!Ps

Just saw the BMW building in Munich. The tower is like a frozen movement.

BMW Welt München

In September I mentioned and posted some images of the BMW Welt in Munich.  More recently, Porsche has opened a musuem of their own…

Buying a Porsche might be especially out of reach these days, so it’s a stroke of luck that the company is opening its first museum this weekend. Designed by the Viennese firm Delugan Meissl, the structure has the badass look of a killer grille, and houses a suitable collection of the brand’s finest cars—everything from the first 356 to a Porsche-powered McLaren. (There’s room for play, too: Most museums these days can boast a café and restaurant, but how many also offer a cigar lounge?) Only thing is, if now’s hardly the time to buy one of these beauties, it’s probably not the time for a quick weekend in Stuttgart, either. Fortunately, a large selection of photos and renderings are available online for a virtual tour—exhaust fumes (not to mention cigar smoke) not included. Check Autoblog for a full slideshow.

(story via men.style.com)

Blurring the lines between business and pleasure (the ubiquitous “bleasure”) and the increasingly  overused “culturetainment” (integrating a culturally significant element into traditionally mindless activity) have been among the primary goals of brands in recent times in attempts to differentiate themselves from the self-serving money machines of industry; it is their way to appear to have consumers´ best interests at heart.  That being said, examples of culturetainment like both the BMW Welt and the Porsche Museum really do excellent jobs at offering added value to a retail experience.  Seeing the history, technology, and passion behind these products goes a long way, and can actually teach devotees a thing or two.

On Jan 17^th we went to the BMW Welt and BMW Museum. I am writing this blog on Sunday the 25^th, as it has taken me this long to go through the 750 pictures (2.5 GB) that I took that day. Most of them aren’t very good, but none-the-less I wanted to try and capture as much as possible and get some seat time with the camera. Now onto the good stuff.

BMW Welt

BMW Welt (World) is a brand new building constructed across the street from the BMW Museum and the famous “Four-Cylinders” BMW World Headquarters building. The architecture of the BMW Welt is very strange and futuristic. I hope to have captured some of that with my pictures.

The purpose of the BMW Welt (just from what I saw) is to showcase the latest and greatest in BMW designs, features, technologies, and models offered for sale. You can’t buy a BMW there (at least I don’t think) but every make and model they offered is on display for you to observe, poke, prod, and sit in.

There are also displays of different current BMW technologies like BMW i-drive, BMW hydrogen technology, Dynamic Stability Control, and Turbocharger technology. The displays are kind of “gimmicky” to try and feature the BMW technologies and convince you that you need to drive a car with these features. But it’s true…everyone should have the pleasure of owning a BMW.

To display the greatest of automotive technologies the 2008 BMW Formula 1 Petronas race car is on display. For those that don’t know Formula 1 it is the Pinnacle of automotive technology, and in many areas of research (materials, lightweight engineering) it is 3-5 years ahead of the military and aerospace industries. Every Formula 1 race is the most watched worldwide television event. Coming in 2^nd only to the Olympics (Every 2 years), and the World Cup of Soccer (ever 4 years). Not to mention there are over a dozen races a year. It’s too bad that this isn’t in the US because these monsters look and sound amazing!

There is also a 2008 season Formula 1 engine on a stand, with its twisted headers gleaming in the mercury vapor lamps inside BMW Welt. It’s a beautiful beautiful site.

This engine costs more than an entire NASCAR Cup Series car, and makes 100-200 more HP with half the displacement and no forced-induction.

In addition to all of the amazing technologies and the super sweet BMW Formula 1 Petronas car, there are also artistic type displays featuring BMW specific items. There are “sculptures” of oversized headers. There are two walls featuring every interior color and fabric combination, as well as a wall with all the BMW exterior colors on display. Below are my favorite interior and exterior color combinations. I would love a manual transmission 335i, or 135i with one of these color combos (if anyone wants to buy me a welcome back present).

Also at the BMW Welt are a couple of very expensive café, restaurants and then a small BMW motorcycle exhibit (everyone knows that BMW started making motorcycles before cars right?) Also a note…a lot of people will call a BMW car a “Beamer”. This is incorrect, a BMW Motorcycle is called a Beamer…a BMW car is called a “Bimmer”. Moose (Schober) made sure that I knew this back in the 10^th grade, so now I’m telling ya’ll while I’m on the subject of Motorcycles (Motorrad in German).

BMW makes dirtbikes, touring bikes, and sport bikes. I personally like sport bikes and BMW has two main types to offer. One is called the BMW 1200KR, which is a semi “naked” bike meaning it’s missing a lot of the plastic fairings, fenders, and pieces that you would see on most crotch rockets. I’m not so much a big fan of the naked look. This Bike also has a V-type engine similar to most other motorcycles.

The bike that I came to love was the BMW HP2 Sport. Man oh Man she is sexy. Very edgy, very sleek and clean lines, and I just…Wow. If I knew I wouldn’t get myself killed I would have one. Some pictures and Stats.

Displacement: 1170cc

Power output: 98kW or 113 HP at 8750 rpm

Torque output: 113 Nm peak

0-100km/hr (63 mph): 3 seconds

This bike is comparable to other “liter” bikes and crotch rockets. One unique feature that I have a Love/Hate thing going with is the horizontally opposed boxer engine. If you notice the engine isn’t “invisible” as it is on most crotch rockets. Instead of a V that you see from the side…the cylinders are 180 from each other…in other words the engine lies on a flat plane from side to side. This to me takes a while to get used to visually, because it protrudes from the body work on the sides of the bike. But they’ve covered it with Carbon Fiber caps (I love carbon fiber!) and I actually came to love the look of this bike. Also there is a drastic improvement in stability because some of the weight of the vehicle gets distributed to the sides (like a tight-rope walker with a longer balancing pole.). Here’s me on the Bike..what do you think is it me?

Another BMW vehicle which I have come to love is the new BMW 1er (1 series). This particular car is a 135i. Black Metallic with beige leather interior and aluminum trim, 6-speed manual transmission, M-sport steering wheel, lip spoiler, and black nickel plated exhaust tips. The 135i has the N54 engine, which is a 3.0L inline six twin turbo that produces over 300 HP. This car will SCOOT! I want one….badly. A 135i here in Germany costs 55,000 Euro (multiply by 1.36 to get that in Dollars). In the US this car can be had for about $40,000 similarly equipped). Looks like I’ll have to wait to get it back in the states. For now though, I’d like to rent one and take it to the Nürbergring!

The latest vehicle that BMW has brought to market is the new 7 series. There was a lot of hoorah at BMW about the new 7 series and I must say it’s a pretty attractive car. It features all the latest and greatest BMW tech too much of which I care to name. I think the car has an optional 5.0L V12 too if I’m not mistaken…might have to double check that if your thinking of buying one. Just so you know this car is over 100,000 Euro in Germany (roughly 130k).

Alright, so now we’ve seen most of the latest and greatest that BMW has to offer. My next blog post will feature the BMW museum and we’ll look into BMW’s past!

I miss everyone and hope that you enjoy this BMW stuff as much as I do! Ciao!

ART+COM, Berlijns interactive media bureau, heeft in opdracht van BMW Welt een nogal kunstzinnige vertaling gemaakt van 90 jaar BMW.

Ik ben fan. Maar dat wist u al toen u the Absolut Quartet – post las. Consumentenbeleving noemen ze dat.

Via

Apre dopo un paio d’anni di lavoro la nuova sede del museo della BMW in quel di Monaco. Lo spostamento rispetto alla vecchia sede e di poche centinaia di metri in linea d’aria (vicino al parco olimpico – che merita una visita a prescindere) ma aumenta anche in modo esponenziale lo spazio dedicato ai veicoli della casa tedesca. Io ovviamente sono stato nel vecchio museo e ho sbavato davanti ai progetti del nuovo.

La qualità della struttura precedente era scarsa così come lo spazio a disposizione per la mostra in cui i veicoli erano disposti quasi come in una concessionaria Fiat (anche se il prezzo è molto maggiore!). La nuova versione si adegua agli standard di design a cui ci ha abituato la BMW da sempre.

Got back from Germany on the 29th of April. Didn’t get a lot of time to ease back into work: went into 15 hour day mode immediately and stayed there until this week. It’ll be worth it. Meanwhile, I thought people who enjoy cars and technology might enjoy this trip report.

I spent my first few days in Munich being a tourist: doing a beer-making tour, visiting standard tourist sites, and so forth. I also got to tour the BMW factory in Europe, which was amazing. I was especially impressed by the paint shop, where there was a continuously moving waterfall under the line and the glass walls between us and the robots had no paint on them.

Picking up my car the next day at the BMW Welt was an experience: a bit over the top but also very cool. The architecture is amazing inside and out:

Had a good time driving my new car around Europe. First to Füssen, then Strasbourg.

Overall I did about 1200 km, most of it on the Autobahn at 100 mph+. Maximum speed I hit: 240 km/h (150 mph). But BMWs are kinda famous for exaggerating speeds, so don’t take that as gospel. Trust me when I say it felt pretty darn fast. Funnily enough, 100mph doesn’t feel fast at all on the Autobahn – in fact it felt a lot like going 65 mph here in California. Can’t say enough good things about the German road infrastructure – they do a marvelous job of keeping it in shape.

The highlight of the trip was the day I spent in Nürburg, Germany, home of the Nordschleife, one of the world’s longest and most difficult road courses. Stayed at a place called the RingHaus, which is a lot of fun – many visitors from England, and one group who had driven in from St. Petersburg.

I started the day by doing a lap around the ring in my own car. I was quite nervous about doing this as I’d never driven the course before and worried what would happen if I had an uninsured accident. But my one slow lap (13 minutes, anything less than 11 minutes is respectable) was without incident. Shortly thereafter a proud owner of a new Porsche was not so lucky: like me, he patoodled around the track at low speed, only to get rammed from behind by a motorcycle going to fast around a blind corner. The motorcyclist was seriously injured, unfortunately.

I then did a lap as a passenger in a race-prepped Alfa 75 sedan that had been rented by the English folks I met at the RingHaus – the interior had been stripped and a full roll cage, racing seats, and racing belts were installed. This car wasn’t as powerful as mine but it was far, far lighter. It went around that track pretty quickly. Unfortunately, my ride was a fairly short one – 6 km or so into the lap we spun out and hit the curb, bending the car’s front suspension and steering rack. Fortunately we didn’t get run over by anyone and we didn’t hit the wall, so we just put limped the car the rest of the way around the track. That spin was a little more excitement than I’d planned on – when we got off the track my shirt was soaked through with sweat and my heart was pounding.

As it happens, though, my day wasn’t over yet. A half hour later I got a call from the folks at the BMW Ring Taxi service – they had an open slot available in one of their two BMW M5s. These are extremely capable cars driven by professionals who know the Ring like the back of their hands. We went really, really fast – much faster than the Alfa 75 even though we had four people in the car AND the air conditioning was on. In fact we hit 240 km/h at one point (it feels even faster when you do it on a curvy racecourse!).  I was sitting in the right rear passenger seat, and got thrown around quite a bit as we carved through the turns – no fancy racing buckets here. I turned quit green, and a half hour later I threw up. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

From there I drove the car to Frankfurt, spent a day there, then dropped the car off and came home, just in time for my 9th wedding anniversary on the 1st of May. A great trip.

The original plan was to get up early and go off somewhere outside of Munich for the day but I woke up too late so we had a relaxing morning having breakfast in bed and watching Green Wing. Neither of us had watched the series for years, not since we first followed it devoutly in 2^nd year of Uni. We only ever watch it together because everyone else finds it too warped/surreal/bizarre, but it makes us laugh, a lot and we are suckers for a good love story, and because we love Mac. After dragging ourselves out of bed we decided to go to BMW Welt. I hadn’t been there and it seemed like a nice idea. It was brilliant! I can thoroughly recommend it, even if you’re not too into cars, which I’m not. But it’s free and they’ve got loads of hands-on stuff you can play with, including an area where you can design your own BMW. Hannah and I designed our perfect car and now we both REALLY want a BMW, which is the whole point of the place I guess, great marketing! We also got to play racing games (and annoy the 10 year old boys by hogging the consoles), look cool on the motorbikes, pretend to wind a sail (I was a weakling, surprise, surprise) and make fuel. Even the loos are brilliant. But the high point was definitely the marble run. This was a huge, complex metal affair with lots of different runs in a huge sphere. You could race marbles as well as make them run obstacle courses. It would have kept Hannah entertained all day.

We decided not to go into the BMW museum itself because we had already spent many hours looking at car-related things and the prospect of 7 exhibitions on more cars was a bit overwhelming. So instead we wandered round the Olympiapark and up the hill to have a view over the city. It was a beautiful clear, frosty day but the weather was wrong for a view as it was also slightly hazy. The weather had been so cold that the lake was mostly frozen over so we had fun in a very childlike manner poking at the ice and breaking bits off.

That evening, in order to warm up a bit we went to the Volksbad sauna. Tuesday is women only and it’s open until 11pm so we went for a relaxing evening. It’s REALLY nice in there. It’s all art deco style and has 2 pools with different temperatures. Then, in the sauna area there is a steam room, a traditional sauna and a series of warm rooms which go from 45 degrees to 80. Next time I’m going to take my flipflops because we couldn’t go into the warm rooms as the floors burned. There is a cold plunge pool and a torture instrument-like cold power shower which spurts horizontal sprays of cold water all up your body. I was too much of a wimp for that and just went through the cold plunge pool. Finally, there was a warm pool where you could just flob out, exhausted from all the sweating and plunging. There were lots of women in 2s and 3s and a fair few with books who had clearly just come for a relaxing evening on their own. I can really recommend this too!