Ride for Passion header  
So Many Roads, So Little Time
European Alps 2010
FOUR countries, SEVEN days, 1300kms….. & ONE Spectacular Ride in the Alps
 
 

 

Day 7 (BMW World & BMW Museum in Munich)

As a dedicated BMW motorcycle lover, this day was reserved to visit the home of BMW in Munich which consists of the BMW factory, BMW Welt (World) and BMW Museum all within arms length from the iconic Four-cylinder BMW headoffice tower in Munich, which I have seen umpteen number of times on TV which they show with rise & fall of BMW shares or BMW take-overs or BMW sales etc. Ofcourse, the factory visit needs to be scheduled many months in advance, which I couldn’t so I settled for the latter two.

After many days of cloud & rains, it was a very sunny day in Bavaria. We left in the morning from our B&B in Pliening, outside Munich to the BMW HQ which is about 24kms. And what better way than to arrive at this BMW landmark aboard a beautiful 2010 model steel blue BMW R1200RT motorcycle.



Watch the BMW S1000RR atop that building

At a distance the iconic four-cylinder BMW HQ coming into view



At the parking lot- Arriving in grand style on our trusty BMW

This C1 was parked next near to our bike

Pictures for the album- Been there, done it stuff…







Ofcourse, there is more to see & shop for the 4-wheeled BMWs, but the bike collection is also nice starting from the earliest motorcycle models made by BMW. Their technology pavilion with hands-on & static displays showcases some really high-tech stuff unrivalled in the motoring world. Also at the BMW welt you can watch people take delivery of their new custom ordered BMW cars, which are presented to them on their own individual turn tables. For BMW bike lovers there is also a free-for-all section where all the new models are displayed in the open and everybody is free to sit on the bikes of their choice and get a feel of the bikes and take pics. In this section there are no annoying stewards or boards saying ‘do not touch’. For scale model collectors, there is a whole range of new, classic & vintage models with super fine detailing to select from, but pricey and most of them run in 3-digit Euro figures! T-Shirts start at about Euro 14 and BMW bicycles start around Euro 800. So here let the pictures do the talking.

The show begins here







The Police version of our R1200RT



BMW bicycles. They retail for about Euros 800



The finely detailed BMW scale models at premium prices




















Some vintage beauties of BMW







Vintage, Classic & new generation BMW sports cars







The earliest Classic Luxury sedan



The Clay model used in the design stage



Some of the other exhibits







That’s a cool dude…..

THE MOTORCYCLE DISPLAYS









































Just to give you an indication how they are all arranged

BMW bikes in Motorsports









Its here that you are free to sit on any bike of your choice
I settled for the S1000RR and the R1200GS Adventure



The farewell shot saying goodbye to the BMW HQ

Depending on your level of interest, you could spend anything from 2-5 hours here. Entry to the BMW Welt is free, but the Museum charges Euro 8 per person and is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm.
Total kms traveled for the day 90kms.

Returned from there back to our B&B and then it was time to sadly bid goodbye to one of the most wonderful & trusted companion of the trip. Yes, its time to part with our sweet bike that almost became a third family member for the past 7 days & 7 nights.



I head to Karl Maier BMW and meet Karl & his wife Magdalena. They are happy to see me & bike in one piece and after the customary inspection of the bike for any damage etc, they give me the green signal. Well, I must admit that I looked after the bike as my very own and it did not have any scratches or marks, a point which I constantly reminded my wife of while climbing & alighting the bike (I think at times it would have really got onto her nerves). Karl & Magdalena see me off with the greeting “we hope to see you back on another trip” and believe me it was with a shiver in my throat and maybe a tear in my eye I said I am madly in love with Europe & hope I can come many more times to enjoy one of gods wonderful creations on this planet.

The following days were spent traveling on the super-fast ICE train visiting relatives with great hospitality & food at Kassel & then in Frankfurt before flying back home to Bangalore.

Our sweet kidos were super excited to greet us back at home.

So now its time to bring down the curtain on 7 days of undiluted fun aboard a beautiful bike, riding amidst absolutely gorgeous scenery, meeting wonderful people and an experience to relish for me & my wife for a long while to come. I thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed this ride report as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. I am also hoping that if any of you are inspired to do such a trip please go ahead, coz if myself as a sober rider & my wife as a first time rider could do this comfortably, then anybody can do it. All it needs is some planning and determination. Yes, it will cost you some money, but I guarantee its worth every penny you spend and will cherish it for life. But don’t forget to share it with us….

Please keep the comments coming.
 
 

 
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 
     

 
© RideforPassion.com. All rights reserved.