BMW Welt - München, Deutschland

Those of you who have been following this blog from the early days know that I, well, had a brief fling with Bonnie shortly after I moved to Germany. We had some communication issues (who doesn't?) but we came to a certain understanding and she was instrumental in helping me get settled. She had a pleasant personality, a nice body, kept me safe and warm, was loyal to a fault and I will always have a special place in my heart for her. But like far too many good things, it came to an end. And one day she just left and went back to BMW Leasing without so much as an electronic security system chirp or headlight wink.

I relived some of our time together this past weekend when I went to BMW Welt (BMW World) in Munich. It is, if I haven't already mentioned it, one of my goals to visit the museums of the major German auto manufacturers before I am sent back to the US. So far, I have been to Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. So all that remains after the BMW visit is Porsche. Since I consider Opel to kind of be like GM in drag, I haven't searched to see whether they have a museum.

BMW Welt is a huge complex, including the BMW Tower (think of four cylinders joined kind of like a four-leaf clover of an office building), the BMW Welt visitor center (in which the current models are on display), BMW Museum (self-explanatory) and a production plant. I believe that, like Audi and probably the others, you can also pick up your vehicle somewhere here and there will be special VIP treatment when you meet your Bonnie (you should BE so lucky! she's mine!! do you hear me?! MINE!!) for the first time.

The BMW Welt visitor center is, architecturally, a very interesting building. Its rather swoopy design reminds me a bit of the Audi building that was specially constructed this year for the International Auto Show in Frankfurt, but augmented by an additional double/inverted cone thing that I didn't quite understand from a structural or design perspective. There are two levels of underground parking, which was convenient, but not free (it's free at Audi, in case you're wondering....). It really is an impressive structure, though, and the first floor is like a very high-end showroom for the cars with a restaurant, a lounge area and, of course, a shop. What I found most interesting in the shop, though, is what is pictured here - in addition to the BMW merchandise, there was a Mini store on the second floor - and an Apple shop. Hmmm.... Maybe this checked off the "something for everyone" qualities they were looking for in their

merchandise?

The visitor center is connected via (uncovered) bridge to the BMW Museum, which isn't much to look at from the outside. Inside, though, it is more interesting. Throughout most of the museum are opaque white/glass walls that somehow remind me of an Apple store (not to be confused with the second story of the visitor center gift shop)

and periodically images (some moving, some still) are projected on them, often with accompanying sound effects.

The flow of the museum seemed a bit awkward to me. There were often rooms where you walked in, looked about, but then had to retrace your steps to get back out, rather than another open walkway to the next item. And in some of these rooms, there was only material on one wall, so it's not as if you could see something different on the way out. The various exhibits also didn't seem to fit together - for example, they weren't in chronological or other apparent order and the motorcycle coverage was mixed in among the cars. It was more like a collection of disparate rooms - here are some motorcycles, here are some M-series vehicles, here are some of our old ads, here are some concept cars, have you seen our motorcycles with sidecars for racing? Overall, particularly as compared to the Mercedes-Benz (my favorite) and Audi museums (the Volkswagen museum was pitiful), I was very disappointed. And I didn't come out of it feeling like I was an idiot for not having a BMW (or maybe that's because my separation from Bonnie is still so raw?).

That said, here are my favorite features:

• View from the rear. A kind of artwork made out of the model numbers as you would see them from the back of a badged vehicle.
• An exhibit of enginesthroughout the years. Headphones were hanging from the ceiling and you could pull them down and hear the engine sounds from the respective engines revving and going through your head in stereo.
• 
  
• The infamous bubble car. I had not seen one in person before, but I particularly enjoyed their display of pictures of people taken with their bubble cars on vacation, in snowstorms, etc. Seems kind of like a pre-curser to the Mini.

All in all, not a bad experience for €6 plus parking fees if you love cars or BMWs and are in Munich.

And Hudson - I never said I loved Bonnie. You are my one and only. Until you leave me for Audi Leasing....