Munich - Last Thoughts

Going to back track a bit since I didn’t have time to post yesterday.

Yesterday Morning we went to a Munich bank (UniCredit). The first portion of this visit was spent speaking with corporate leaders and executives about their jobs/rolls within the bank. We spoke to people in Economics Research, Investment, Strategic planning. It was interesting to note that in supporting their larger corporate clients, they need to be very aware of world news, economic happenings, and financial events. They read a lot and write even more. I expect that It’s like that for analysts in the states.

After the company visit, we had lunch at did a great tour of the BMW Welt and the BMW Plant.





A traditional Bavarian Dinner at the famous Hofbrauhaus (a beer hall that is supposedly a place Hitler liked to frequent) completed the trip.



So in conclusion, Munich was an awesome city. Its an 850 year old city that has a lot of the traditional elements and feel even though so much of it was destroyed and rebuilt. By European Standards, the city is fairly young. (Prague, the next city on the trip is over 1000 years old). The streets don’t always make sense because they aren’t situated in a grid like our cities in the states. There are also no number streets and as I think I mentioned before, the streets change names frequently. You need a good map and some guts to navigate it. In forcing myself to try, I learned quickly that its not so bad. Munich is friendly, safe, and clean. It’s inviting and warm, and I truly enjoyed my visit there. Though I didn’t visit all of Germany or Bavaria even for that matter, I learned a lot about the German culture. Most things are very well made. Everything from drinking glasses to public bathroom door handles are sturdy and well made. Nothing Cheap. Another main characteristic is that Germans are not wasteful of energy and resources. Escalators don’t run without a need, there isn’t unnecessary air-conditioning in buildings (which was difficult to get used to) and all in all you get the sense that the people think twice about over consumption (of all things except meat and beer that is!) and wastefulness. Apparently, we can learn a lot from the Germans.

There are a few people that are a little perturbed by non-German speaking visitors, but for the most part people were patient and kind. I appreciated that very much.