Birthday celebrations in Munich

We arrived in Switzerland to meet my cousin Nicole and she quickly whisked us away to Munich to meet my other cousin. Since it was my birthday weekend they treated me to a brewery tour, a trip to the BMW museum and even a birthday cake. It was a great celebration.

For my birthday we went on a brewery tour in Munich. We started at Augustiner, the oldest brewery in Munich that has been brewing beer since 1328. 

 Next we headed over to Paulaner Brauhaus where we got a tour of the brewery. I am a fan of Paulaner, but the stuff available at the brewhouse is top notch and not sold at BevMo. 

Here we are getting an explanation on how beer is made by our guide and a brew master in training. Ali found brewing incredibly exciting!

Who says breweries cannot be artsy?

Our last stop was at the HofBrauhaus. There we learned it's the royal brewery of Bavaria and was the beer first served at Oktoberfest. We also arrived to find a bunch of guys in traditional German outfits making music with whips.

Want a giant pretzel with your giant beer? Sure why not, and with a smile as well.

The celebrations continued with home made cake and yummy food.

I got to spend some quality family time playing with my second cousin.

Next we went to the BMW Museum, where Ali is demonstrating the latest and greatest qualities of BMW’s new turbocharged engine.

Ali's next car is probably going to be a Mini!

The BMW campus has uber awesome architecture.

The museum had incredible bikes. I would totally ride one of these!

We saw everything from giant aircraft engines to little scooter ones.

BMW's concept car - futuristic electric vehicles that are highly recyclable.

How about getting this gas saver model?  Eat your heart out Smart Car.

Here is a view of the BMW campus from the Olympic Park Tower - free ride for the birthday boy!

Our last day as we departed Munich, heading back to Switzerland, we visited Kloster Andechs. It is a Benedictine monastery whose biggest business is a microbrewery.

While mass was in session at the monastery the beer was flowing at the beer garden with live music and giant pretzels. I got down to business with a yummy dopple bock dunkel! Yum! What a  great birthday weekend!