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Munich, Germany

We took a break from longer train travel for a town and around day starting with a visit to the BMW World, Museum and Production line. You can tour all 3, but need to reserve the production line tour which we tried to however they were booked up. To get around the city we used our holiday acquired subway skills and a day pass which was only €10.60 combined for 24 hour unlimited use.

The BMW complex is situated on the fringe of the city centre by the Olympic stadium and boasts some impressive architecture. Shame it was not air conditioned though with a 36 degree day! We have noticed that a lot of hotels, shops, restaurants, trains and buses in Germany do not have air conditioning and it is no fun in this heat zipping around, correction you do not zip around when its this hot – you do your best just to keep going.

Car buffs of course will know that BMW owns Mini and Rolls Royce so in the show room you can drool over all the latest models and of course motorbikes. My favourites were the new Mini’s and I have put one on my wish list.

The museum is in a futuristic building and covers three levels with all sorts of displays, interactive screens and movies on walls. There was a special Rolls Royce exhibition and loads of BMW cars and bikes, and engines from aircraft and boats and cars. Unfortunately Vern got a migraine so that slowed him down a bit till it eased, but he enjoyed it anyway. I enjoyed the one at Mullhouse a lot more, but Vern assures me that if you are a BMW devotee you would find it well worth while.

It was late afternoon by the time we left to take some shots of some of the points of interest we had seen on our bus tour. Our self tour popping in and out of the subway (Ubahn) went well together with the aid of our google map and SIM card enabled iPad. This helped us to identify Ubahn stations and the quickest way from there, also they can be big and its not easy to know which exit to take when you arrive without the help of the GPS. A big plus of the underground is that it is definitely cool down there – like air conditioning is on, so it was a relief to spend time there.

We were both keen to look at the English Gardens as they are a green oasis and have a river running through it where people swim and surf! We were especially looking forward to putting our sizzling feet and more in it as it was still over 30 degrees and at least 60% humidity even at 5pm. The park comes with a warning that you may see nude people, as it is a Munich thing to get ‘natural’ in the park.

We got a frozen yoghurt with fresh fruit just outside our entry point and found a shady grassy spot under a tree to enjoy it. Nec minute a brown Adam (naked man) strolls past and relieves himself on a tree. OK, surely he could have gone behind it? In our eye view alone (the bit we first looked at) there must have been a thousand people or more. It is a huge park, bigger than Central Park (USA) and one of the biggest in the world.

The Isar river winds through the park as well as a couple of streams – one called the Ice stream and the other the Schwabing, they are clear and swift and of various depths. The park is divided between north and south, with the north having sheep, meadow flowers and shepherds and the south more trees and parks, and the surfing section. We only had time for the south.

The river was not far from the entry point and lots of brave people were splashing in and floating in the swift flow. I say brave as its the coldest water I have ever stuck my feet in. So painfully cold I could only keep them in for about 15 seconds at a time. I was ready to put more of me in the water, but it was just too cold. Maybe thats why one of them is called the ice stream. We sat on a nice shaded bank and cooled off for a while (putting our feet and legs in and out as we could stand it. And enjoyed watching others having a fantastic time, especially the late teens – early twenties who are clearly a lot tougher than us. The joys of youth for sure!

WARNING delicate readers skip a paragraph

Our walk continued along the river and in and out of shaded areas for another kilometre weaving our way through the locals. I do not consider myself overly sheltered or prudish but it was a very weird experience as I didn’t know where to look – there were young to old penises swaying as people passed by and others laying jauntily sunning themselves not to mention shiny tanned testicles displayed from side or rear view points. There was also an abundance of the female free form.

Just as natural as they day they were born, people (mostly men) were walking along or laying down in varied relaxed positions amongst clothed people. No one seemed to take any notice – it was as normal as the next person. As for me, I felt I had accidentally walked into someones bedroom and averted my eyes as quickly as possible but they were like right there all around you when you least expected your eyes to see them.

I actually admire naturalists as they are very comfortable in their skins (literally) but I just felt awkward seeing other people naked so close as its not something I am used to outside my marriage!

I also think its cool to have a city of people who are quite ok with having a “garden of eden” dress (undress) code in their park – it epitomises the relaxed atmosphere around the city and defines the people as a diverse relaxed bunch.

Anyway feeling slightly surprised and not knowing what was going to pop up next we came around the corner to the brave surfies. So bizarre to see them river surfing, but when you don’t have a sea, why not make some surf in the river? It also looked great fun, but I can’t understand how some of them could do it without wet suits on.

Other than the dining options being few – (I am sure there are some great places and chefs but I just haven’t found them) we are both enjoying Munich as far as a city goes. There are many lovely sites, statues, water features, museums and parks that we have not had time to visit and I can only imagine what it must be like when October Fest is on (perhaps not so tidy LOL). Certainly a place worth visiting and not short of something for everyone and if getting natural is not your thing thats ok too!

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