Monday Day 22 June 11, 2012

Flawless, beautiful, elegant, and fast are what come to mind when I think of luxury cars. Today we had the privilege of visiting two of the top european car brands, Audi and BMW. My dad used to have a BMW Z3 before he sold it for an Audi TT...so I have definitely been a fan of these cars. We first visited the production site of Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany. It is the largest production site and group headquarters of Audi AG. I was really excited because they took us on a factory tour and we got to see and Audi A4 in production. I had no idea exactly how much time and work goes into the actual production of each car. They showed us everything from producing the sheet metal, to the body, paint, and engines. Audi vehicles are most definitely worth their pricey tag. This visit just reconfirmed the prestigious outlook I have for a company and brand.

BMW gave us a tour of their headquarters, but it was more of after the car is produced. They explained what goes into customization and working with their customers. BMW makes picking up their cars a special day for their customers. They get a company tour, lunch, and finally presented with their car displayed in a platform with show lights all around. I like that they want you to create a memory and have the best possible experience with BMW. Both companies had car museums we looked through before heading back to the hotel.

It was about 4:15 so we had some time to explore and wander the streets of Munich...things are actually open now yay. I went in a few shops and fell in love with Halluber. Scarves and a soft blue tunic made their way into my shopping bag. That evening we tried to go out, but Monday was not exactly Munich's college night. Once again the girls (Christi, Kelli, and Hannah) and I wandered around and found that church, Frauenkirche, with the devils footprint. A local actually told us the real story behind it and apparently the devil was pulled by a carriage of wind. When he angrily left, he left the winds. She said that by the trees in front of the church the wind never leaves. We decided to go check it out and sure enough, that area of the still night was windy. It was really neat, kind of creepy...but I'm glad we went.

All of us continued to walk up and down Statchus and Marienplatz until we found Augustiner Brau. I decided to wind down and have a Radler (beer+lemonade) and cheesecake strudel. Note of today: In America I am forever mixing half lemonade and beer...it's the only tolerable way to drink it.