Hofbrauhaus @ Munich

Hofbrauhaus is a Must See/Do in Munich!Sure its a tourist trap, but its one of those touristy places that is worth getting caught up in. Munich's oldest beer hall is one of the best experiences in Munich, tradition and history along with great beer, oompah band and decent bavarian food.

 

 The beer hall is is enormous and can seem intimidating at first. The atmosphere is loud, joyous, chaotic, but not always friendly. The been hall is very open with the standard large tables and bench seating. The place does get very busy so find a bench and just sit on it! . There are 3 floors so you can normally find somewhere to sit. You just need to find a spot and claim it! No tables to yourself. Long communal tables basically force you to sit with people you don’t know. But, everyone's fine with that, since people come here to drink and socialize to their heart's content. . Finding a seat is hard work but you can always squeeze in somewhere

It took about 15 minutes to find a spot and another 5-6 for a server to come by. Don’t go here expecting Haute cuisine and attentive service. It is unlikely to be awarded Michelin Stars anytime soon. 

Apparently the locals have their own beer bugs which they lock at the Beer Mug Lockers which was a bit difficult for me to understand, but I don't know the whole story either.

Beer Lockers

We tried the pretzels,  the Hofbräu München Dunkel (dark lager) and  radler (half beer half lemonade). All were amazing

Radler & Dunkel

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Munich and BMW Welt

During my last visit to Munich, BMW Welt was still under construction, and the BMW Museum was in a temporary tent in the Olympicpark . Naturally, on my recent visit to Munich, BMW Welt and the Museum was  on top of my list.

My flight from San Francisco landed in Munich in the evening. I was staying at the Le Meridien, Munich which is right across the Munich Hauptbahnhof station. So I took the S-bahn S8 train from the airport to Hauptbahnhof station which is about 30 mins ride. 

After checking in to the hotel and relaxing a bit, I walked across Marienplatz to Hofbrauhaus for dinner. You can read about it in my other blog here. 

The next morning I took the subway to the Olympic Park station (Olympiazentrum) which drops you right at the BMW Welt. Since it was around 8am in the morning and BMW welt was not open yet, I strolled around the Olympic Park for an hour or so before walking across to the Welt

Looking at the Welt and BMW HQ from the Olympic Tower

BMW Welt and the BMW World Headquarters building

BMW Welt Double Cone

The BMW Welt building is amazing to look at and huge. Contrary to the popular notion, the BMW Welt and BMW Museum are not one and the same, they are two separate buildings on
the adjacent sides of the Lerchenauer Strasse but connected by a pedestrian over-bridge, but both are unique in their own ways and must see whether you are a car buff or not. BMW Welt houses all the latest offerings and the entrance is free whereas the BMW Museum houses the history in a chronological orientated display of its vehicles from past. 

BMW Welt is a massive car complex dedicated to everything BMW has to offer. I strolled around the building for couple of hours and what I realized is that the site is divided into 2 sections. The Welt ("world" in english) on the lower level.....a showcase of BMW's pursuit of engineering perfection and the company's vision for the future  and upper level..... entirely dedicated for the customer experience. This is where you come to pick up your BMW if decide to do the european delivery program, your car will be waiting for you in the building and BMW concierge will go thru a sequential ceremonial steps before you drive away in your new BMW.

Okay I will stop writing now as the pictures do the justice!

After I walked over to the museum from the Welt. You take an overhead bridge. Unlike the Welt, the Museum is not free. It cost 9 euros to get in but  worth the value. You get to see the past 100 years in the history of BMW and its evolution, from the first engine till the newest models including some futuristic designs too. It's pointless to describe, you need to see it yourself.

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