Exploring Munich

Alison and I went to visit my cousin Oliver in Munich. This gave us the opportunity to explore the area and drink lots of Augustiner.

We started our time in Munich with my cousin’s 40th birthday celebration. Here he is being an exemplary family man.

 My aunt came to the celebration as well. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time so it was great to meet up again.

We spent one day visiting Dachau. It was one of the first work concentration camps in Germany. I thought I already knew the story of this place: The evil Germans incarcerating the Jews. Turned out to be a lot more than that...

Thanks to a very interesting guide I learned a lot about the camp. In the beginning of the rise of the socialist party the camp incarcerated many German citizens, political opponents, homosexuals and anyone that did not fit the ideals of the party.

After all that I needed a beer. Good thing Augustiner is on tap all over the place. Yum!

We spent another rainy day visiting the German Museum. The place is huge and amazing. It covers just about any form of human technological development and probably would take weeks to explore the whole museum.

We meet our friend Ros and took a tour of the mining exhibit where we traversed salt mines, coal mines and precious metal mines with different technologies over time. Who could have guessed mining could be so exciting?

The museum has a giant Foucault pendulum that proves the earth is turning around and around.

After a day at the museum we met with Peter for a Gresshoff family reunion. Good beer and yummy pretzels were at the table as well.

We spent one day at the Münchner Residenz. The palace where the Bavarian royalty lived. Very impressive indeed.

Here is a room in the palace. It is probably what my mom wishes her living room looks like.

Note the elaborately adorned furniture. I am sure my mom would like to have that too!

Here is a ceiling decoration. The themes revolve around proper governance, such as having a justice system and law being as strong as the sword.

Here we found the dining set. Alison would like to have that set for her dinner parties! All those silver pieces were melted in a pinch and used for cash more than once.

The relicarium is considered the most valuable asset in the collection. Worth more than gold and Silver the bones and remnants of saints and other religious figures are supposed to bring good luck to the owner. See the feet and hands stuck in there?

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!