Athletes and Engineers
Olympic Village
The first thing on the agenda today was visiting Münchner Olympiastadion, the Munich Olympic Stadium. This stadium and the grounds surrounded it were the home of the 1972 Summer Olympics, the same games where the Israeli team was kidnapped and killed. Other than that unsportsmanlike conduct, the games went off without a hitch. The main stadium seats 57,450 and is used most often for soccer games as well as concerts (most recently Bruce Springsteen). The entire grounds, including the Olympic pool, Olympic hall, and beer garden are covered in a tent-like plastic structure that can be seen for miles around.
BMW Welt
The electric BMW i8. Do want.
Right next to the Olympic Village is the BMW Welt (showroom and delivery) and Museum. The showroom had dozens of cars, from the classic Beamer, to motorcycles, to Rolls Royce, to Mini Cooper. In the center of the showroom was the delivery service. Essentially, if you are lucky enough to live near Munich and purchase a BMW, it will be delivered to these headquarters and stylishly presented. We had a chance to witness this. In the center of the showfloor is an island elevated up to the second floor. Rising out of the middle of this is a large glass elevator. The cars are brought up from beneath via the elevator and then driven in a spiral down the velvet ramp to the bottom floor and out onto the road. The museum was a labyrinth-like time capsule. Starting at the entrance, one walks though the development of the company and its products, starting in World War I and leading up to now.
After a few hours of people watching in the Olympic park, we headed home. Around 7:30, our host Juergen, took us out to his favorite Greek tavern to watch a soccer game. Germany vs. Spain. Germany lost 1-0 and after listening to angry Germans yell at the TV we headed home for the night.
I think European license plates look much cooler than US ones. +1 point for the EU.