It is the German Bavarian capital, known for Oktoberfest. If you are a soccer fan you have probably heard about their best team FCBayern and if you are crazy about cars , then Munich is the birthplace of BMW and Mercedes Benz , the 11th and 12th ranked cars in the world.If you are a foodie you will love Munich for its white sausages, roasted potatoes, lieberkese , dumplings, baked pretzels, apple strudel and beer, lots of it. It is also a tech start-up hub.
Munich is consistently ranked as having one of the best qualities of life world wide and I was not surprised. People love their communities and their environment. Thecity showcases it's culture and traditions through festivals, street fairs, organized eents year long. I was there in May an could see that the city really know how to celebrate life and community. Spotted families , friends and neighbors gathering by the river, in a park or at the biergarten. People had a cozy, unhurried and a relaxed demeanor. It was delightful to see families and their dogs in parks, or riding bikes or walking along their neighborhood or sitting and enjoying the evening in their backyards or cheering their kids at a game of soccer.
Munich is also extremely environment friendly. We spotted a bike room on the ground floor in every apartment building, bike coach in a train, bike area on a metro, bike stands in public areas, all for free. It is as if if you don't have a bike you don't exist in Munich. There are bike city maps, bike route planners, bike tours and adventures, annual bike events etc. You can spot parents with bike trailers , people riding to/ from the office in their suits, to/ from supermarkets with grocery bags, to / from parties on weekends in heels. There is miles and miles of bike lanes in the city. I was shooed away by a biker when I happened to be walking in the bike lane while crossing the road at a traffic light.
Another notable thing was that Munich seems to have a very serious and meticulous recycling system. I spotted atleast three or four big garbage containers in people's patio. You will definitely need to learn what goes where. Blue container for paper, Brown container for organic waste, Grey for remaining household waste. Not to forget that plastic and glass bottles along with the cans should not be thrown away but brought back to the store where there are automatic machines to return them and you get back your money 10 or 20 cents which was an extra payment you made when you bought your beer. It is like a deposit to make sure you recycle. It is called Pfand in Germany. You can't forget your grocery bags when you go shopping because you will be charged for plastic bags.
The most impressionable were the solar panels and the windmills in the suburbs. As we travelled to Dachau and Fussen by train you couldn't help noticing that almost every building be it a big school, or a small house or a supermarket or a corporate building or a farm had solar panels on the top. Conserving energy is certainly part of daily life here.
Munich is consistently ranked as having one of the best qualities of life world wide and I was not surprised. People love their communities and their environment. Thecity showcases it's culture and traditions through festivals, street fairs, organized eents year long. I was there in May an could see that the city really know how to celebrate life and community. Spotted families , friends and neighbors gathering by the river, in a park or at the biergarten. People had a cozy, unhurried and a relaxed demeanor. It was delightful to see families and their dogs in parks, or riding bikes or walking along their neighborhood or sitting and enjoying the evening in their backyards or cheering their kids at a game of soccer.
Munich is also extremely environment friendly. We spotted a bike room on the ground floor in every apartment building, bike coach in a train, bike area on a metro, bike stands in public areas, all for free. It is as if if you don't have a bike you don't exist in Munich. There are bike city maps, bike route planners, bike tours and adventures, annual bike events etc. You can spot parents with bike trailers , people riding to/ from the office in their suits, to/ from supermarkets with grocery bags, to / from parties on weekends in heels. There is miles and miles of bike lanes in the city. I was shooed away by a biker when I happened to be walking in the bike lane while crossing the road at a traffic light.
Another notable thing was that Munich seems to have a very serious and meticulous recycling system. I spotted atleast three or four big garbage containers in people's patio. You will definitely need to learn what goes where. Blue container for paper, Brown container for organic waste, Grey for remaining household waste. Not to forget that plastic and glass bottles along with the cans should not be thrown away but brought back to the store where there are automatic machines to return them and you get back your money 10 or 20 cents which was an extra payment you made when you bought your beer. It is like a deposit to make sure you recycle. It is called Pfand in Germany. You can't forget your grocery bags when you go shopping because you will be charged for plastic bags.
The most impressionable were the solar panels and the windmills in the suburbs. As we travelled to Dachau and Fussen by train you couldn't help noticing that almost every building be it a big school, or a small house or a supermarket or a corporate building or a farm had solar panels on the top. Conserving energy is certainly part of daily life here.