Our trips 2019, part 2

Dear Readers,

It has been a tradition on this blog to take a look back at some of the places we visited last year. In Part 1, we posted photos of places we visited in the second half of 2019. Here are the places we visited in the first half.

In reverse chronological order:

Rapperswil on the shore of Lake Zurich

Feusisberg overlooking Lake Zurich, Switzerland, the boats were waiting for the firework on Swiss National Day (August 1) to start after dark

Feusisberg, fireworks from towns around Lake Zurich on Swiss National Day (August 1) – looking in the direction of Zurich – hope it is not too dark online

Place de la liberation, Dijon, France – of course, we visited a mustard factory

Vignoble de Bourgogne (Burgundy) – off D974 between Beaune and Dijon

Rincon Park – San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge

Powell and O’Farrell, San Francisco

Santa Barbara, view from Belmond El Encanto

Santa Barbara, view from tower at County Courthouse

Lake Cachuma, on the way to St Ynez – lots of rain recently

Heading north out of Los Angeles near Malibu, due to the rain, yellow flowers were blooming

Albertina, Vienna

Hotel Bristol, Vienna

Hlavné námestie, Bratislava, Slovakia

Lenbahhaus, Munich

Munich in January, Frauenkirch (cathedral) visible in a distance

Let’s see where we will go in 2020.

Our trips 2018, part 2

Dear Readers,

It has been a tradition on this blog to take a look back at some of the places we visited last year. In Part 1, we posted photos of places we visited in the second half of 2018. Here are the places we visited in the first half.

Click on the links, where provided to read more about the places of interest. There are usually a series of related posts per location, you can discover them easily in the calendar at the bottom of the post.

In reverse chronological order:

Entrance to Harbor of Lindau, on the shore of Lake Constance in the summer

Red carpet area in St Gallen, Switzerland

Champions League Final in Kiev, Ukraine

Real Madrid scored against Liverpool and went on to win the title 3-1 –  Marcelo, Bale (2 goals – 64′ and 83′), Benzema (1 goal at 51′), Modric and Ronaldo

The Lavra, Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine

Neues Rathaus at Marienplatz, Munich

Late night Ginza, Tokyo, in April

Zhengyang Gate, Qianmen, Beijing – 正阳门箭楼

Wanchai, Hong Kong in April

WYK, Hong Kong

Wadi Rum, Jordan

Dead sea resort, Jordan

Petra, Jordan

Oslo, Norway where we spent the beginning of the new year

Nobel Peace Center, Oslo

Let’s see where we will go in 2019.

Our trips 2015, part 2

Dear Readers, Happy New Year !

Continuing with our first post of 2016, this post takes a look back at the places we visited in the first half of last year. In 2015, there were 94 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 650 posts. The post that had the highest number of views in 2015 was about our visit to a durian stand in a night market in Malaysia.

Click on links, where provided to read more about the places of interest. There are usually a series of related posts per location, you can discover them easily in the calendar at the bottom of the post.

In reverse chronological order from June:

Berlin, Germany in June to see the Champions League final – a part of the wall

München, Germany in April for work, Asam’s church

Catania, Sicily, Italy during Easter – Teatro Bellini

Taormina, Sicily

Siracusa and Ortigia, Sicily

Half way up Mount Etna and Meditterranean sea, Sicily

Langkawi, Malaysia in January

Hong Kong

Georgetown in Penang, Malaysia

Penang, Malaysia in January

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016.

 

 

BMW Museum, Munich

The BMW Musuem is located across the street from and connected via a footbridge to BMW World. Go to our earlier post to see a bird’s eye view of the whole complex which includes the main manufacturing plant behind the HQ.

The silver bowl-shaped building was built in 1973 by the architect who built the tall HQ building next to it. It was closed for renovation from 2004 and reopened with the BMW World in 2008.

View of the hourglass of BMW Welt from the museum side.

The museum shows off BMW’s technical development throughout the company’s history.

Although several pre-BMW brand era cars were displayed at the entrance to the museum, the exhibition is theme-based rather than chronologically structured, allowing the exhibits to highlight the developments in various areas such as design, engines and motor sport.

According to the museum’s web site, the inner structure of the round building is created with the concept of a continuation of the road in an enclosed space. The museum building appears closed and small from the outside while it looks very open and spacious inside.

After having spent too much time in the BMW Welt and that we had to go back to the hotel for the Champions League Final pre-game events, we did not enter the museum proper.

A very impressive feature of the interior is the projection walls – where line drawings of various models, engine designs, etc. are projected and the outlines of cars, like traffic, move slowly passing from panel to panel around the building.

The design of the indirect lighting successfully created a hi-tech and yet serene atmosphere for the lobby area. Most of the time these two concepts don’t come together naturally. It worked well here.

The company started making cars around 1928 – originally a maker of aircraft engine (used in Wold War I) and then motorcycle. Every BMW fanboy must come here for a pilgrimage tour.

View of the HQ from the hourglass.

As much as we wanted to look at the museum more closely, we had to rush back to the hotel for the pickup to the stadium for the Champions League Final.  Next time when we return to Munich, we will come back and revisit the BMW museum properly.

BMW Welt, München

The headquarters of BMW (Bayerische Motoren-Werke) is located in Munich, capital of Bavaria, a prominent state in southern Germany.

On the day of the Champions League Final, we went to see the BMW Welt (BMW World) and the BMW Museum. BMW Welt was designed by Wolf Prix of the Viennese firm – Coop Himmelb(l)au. This is how a New York Times article described the building:

“An hourglass-shaped events hall grounds the building at one end, its torqued glass-and-steel form evoking a tornado drilling into the earth, sucking up energy from the passing cars. From here, the roof unfolds like a gigantic carpet draped over the main hall. Its curvaceous form billows up at some points and then sags at others, echoing the contours of the nearby park. A vertical band of glass cut into the main facade is set on an axis with the corporate tower across the street, locking the composition into its surroundings.”

From this footbridge, one can enter the hourglass by a spiral ramp which descends onto a showroom of new cars – but this is not the main space which is on the other side. The footbridge continues into and traverses the main hall which is gigantic with spaces dedicated to motorcycles, interiors, engines, and the cars.

BMW Welt is located next to the old Olympic stadium (Olympiapark) which was opened for football fans to see the football game live on the big screen (the Final was played at the Allianz Arena). As a result, huge crowds were visiting the BMW welt and museum on the day we were there.

As this is the flagship showroom of the brand,  every effort has been exerted to promote its image of superior technology and luxury.

The latest models are on display.

Also shown are many M variants.

BMW Welt is also the delivery center of the brand where it provides an individualized program to those customers who come to collect their new car.

Visitors can see the handover process from the other side across the exhibition hall with envy. Like being on a stage, the new owner feels like he/she is receiving a prize. That’s what the dramatic architecture provides.

This is the main shop which carries every type of merchandise that carries a BMW logo, from kids cars, models, motor oil, paints, bags, books, and clothings (including the golfing and sailing collection). In addition to this shop, there are a couple of books and souvenir stands scattered around the building.

This place has several restaurants and cafes and has become one of the top tourist attractions in Munich reportedly receiving 850,000 visitors per year.

A bird’s eye view of the BMW plant, HQ, Welt and Museum (the picture borrowed from e-architect.co.uk)

Champions League Final Munich 2012

As mentioned in the last post, we were the guests of a broadcaster of the Champions League Final in Munich. We were so excited.

Go back to the post and see us holding the cup !

The game started with the usual fanfare, which we normally ignore when watching the game on TV. The two finalists are Bayern Munich and Chelsea. The fans of the home team was on our left.

Chelsea was on our right. The Munich fans won the visual display of support with better props and more fans participating than the other side.

Flares in the Munich camp. The smoke was choking when it reached us.

Munich scored first at the 83rd minutes by Thomas Mueller.

Chelsea fought back and scored at the 88th minute by Didier Drogba. So near the end … , it is destiny.

The unthinkable happened to the home team – they lost the championship game. Chelsea beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties.

The Munich players were paralyzed on the ground with the pain of losing while the workers brought out the podium for the winners. Notice the line of policeman facing the Chelesa fans preventing from rushing into the field.

The winners posed for the world’s press.

The Allianz Arena (known as the Fußball Arena München during UEFA-organised games) looked stunning at night, just what a giant flying saucer from the 60’s would look like. It is normally entirely red or blue. The home team supporters left quietly.

Back to the Champions Village for more food, drinks and entertainment, I imagined the parties would be a lot more energetic and celebratory had the home team won.

A beautiful game in a beautiful stadium. For more info on the match and clips of it, go to the UEFA site here.

Champions League Final Munich 2012 pre-game

We were very lucky to be the guests of a broadcast partner of the Champions League Final in Munich. For my American friends and readers, this is the Superbowl equivalent in European football (soccer) – so it is a very big deal here.

The final match was held on May 19, 2012 in Munich at the home stadium of one of the finalist – FC Bayern München – the city was packed with their fans wearing red and the atmosphere was incredible throughout the city and the biergartens. The other finalist was Chelsea FC from London, in blue, their fans were in smaller numbers but no less vocal than the locals.

A day before the match, the Cup was displayed in the Commercial Partner’s lounge, and as guests, we had a chance to hold the Cup! Apparently, it is one of three identical official cups – the one we posed with would be used on match day.

The stadium is named Allianz (an insurance company) but its name was not mentioned as it was not one of the commercial partner.

After we were bus-ed to the stadium, we were lead to an area (Champions Village) where the organizer served us pre- and post-game buffet and drinks. There was a fan shop and live entertainment.

Other partners like Ford, Mastercard, Sony, Heineken … had their own parties.

There was also a final result prediction lottery at the Champions Village. Of course, the result did not turn out as predicted.

In the UEFA lounge, we were watching the field before the broadcast transmission began around the world. See countdown clock below.

The sun was setting as we entered the stadium – it was a beautiful evening.

Our seat was in the middle of the stadium and half way up, a few rows below these TV cameras. Great seats.

More about the game in our next post.

Museum Brandhorst in Munich

The last museum that I “visited” in the Kunstareal was Museum Brandhorst which features 20th and 21st century art.  Unlike the Der Moderne which was mostly monochromatic concrete and glass, the building is colorful.  The facade of the building by Sauerbruch Hutton looks like an abstract painting, as if it is an advertisement of what is inside.  I was exhausted at the end of this brief “exterior” tour of the Kunstareal München.  I definitely want to come back and savor every one of them in a more leisurely pace.

Der Moderne, Munich

The other museum that I ran in and out of is the Pinokothek der Moderne that houses art from the 20th and 21st centuries.  Designed by the German Architect Stephan Braunfels, the Pinakothek der Moderne was opened in September 2002 after seven years of construction.  As it was drizzling that morning, the visitors deposited their wet umbrella outside and left it opened to dry.  The gray concrete walls provided a nice background for an abstract composition of colors and shapes.

Neue Pinakothek, Munich

On my last day in Munich, I had only 3 hours to do some sightseeing.  Several art museums are clustered in an area (Kunstareal; go check out its cool web site)  just north of the center of Munich which I can reach easily.  I would not have enough time to enter and view the art in any one of them.  So, I did what I considered the next best thing – checked out the museum shops and reception areas, and observed the architecture.  The first museum I encountered was Neue Pinakothek which displays art from the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum was built in 1981 by Alexander von Branca.

Shown below here is one side of Alte Pinakothek which features art from the 14th to 16th centuries.

Louis Hotel, Munich

At the end of July, I was to attend a business conference in Munich.  The conference hotel was fully booked so I had to find some place quickly.  Turning to New York Times for suggestions, I booked a room at the Louis Hotel.  As the rate was about the same as the conference hotel, it was within my budget.  Its notable features: its central location (Viktualienmarkt, just off Marienplatz), the hotel’s Japanese restaurant (Emiko), and the room interior.  Below is a mini tour of my room.  I will likely stay there again on my next visit.

Claustrophobic hallway with room numbers printed on the lights, but copper panel on each door (what for ?). 

My room is a “market deluxe” grade room with windows facing the market.   Note the untreated wooden floor (I did not miss the standard wall-to-wall carpet but was worried about splinters on my feet).  I guess the theme here is to use as much natural materials as possible.

Bose ipod docking station, Jacob Jensen telephone.

Check out the surprisingly well-stocked drinks cabinet in the room.An internal window allows direct view of the shower from the bedroom.

Yellow rubber duck was provided by the hotel. The same type of rattan screen is also found on the back of the chair and sofa.

An interesting thing in the room is this little tower.  The upholstered finish matches the other pieces of furniture.

A minibar, a DVD player and a TV is completely hidden from view inside the tower.   No wires poking out, nothing.

Louis Hotel is apparently a member of Design Hotels – a marketing group, the web site of which I highly recommend a visit, if you are looking for an interesting hotel.  Incidentally, I blogged about one of their member hotels in Playa del Carmen last year – I did not stay there, nor did I know about the group then – check out my post on Hotel Deseo.