Excursion to Garmisch-Partenkirche (Zugspitze), Burgheim, Neuburg and Kelheim

A friend visited from Braunschweig who had an exchange student in Bayern. She was visiting the family and I was invited to tag along. The Ruisinger Family was absolutely delightful. The dinner was amazing and the next day they showed us around three beautiful areas of Bayern. Burgheim which was the town we stayed in was very very quiet. The area was absolutely stunning.


Nikki, one of two cats of the great family that hosted us.

NEUBURG
Neuburg was not far. We drove and saw Schloss Neuburg. This palace is quite impressive and is in its original state (read: not war damaged). Schloss Neuburg was once residence to Counts of Pfalz-Neuburg; a principality founded in 1505. It was initially Gothic, then three Renaissance wings were added in 1530.  It has some beautiful hand etched stone of Biblical scenes which makes up an entire inner face of the courtyard (see pictures below). The technique used is called Sgraffito. Later between 1664 and 1668 a Baroque east wing and two towers were added. This was one of the very first Baroque palaces in all of Germany, but it covers an amazing array of styles, I honestly consider it an artistic marvel. 


Sgraffito

everything lined with shells

KELHEIM
Kelheim was about an hour away. It is well known for die Befreiungshalle (The Hall of Liberation). King Ludwig I commissioned the construction to comemorate both the victorious battles against Napoleon during the Wars of Liberation 1813-1815 and the unification of all the German races. It was modeled after buildings from Ancient Rome and midieval Italy. The outside houses 18 monumental statues with the names of German tribes. Inside there are 34 Goddesses of Victory made from white marble all joined in hands; they symbolise the 34 german  states of the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund) founded in 1815. The floor inscription reads:


MOECHTEN DIE TEUTSCHEN NIE VERGESSEN WAS DEN BEFREIUNGSKAMP NOTHWENDIG MACHTE UND WODURCH SIE GESIEGT.


Which translates to (according to wiki): May the Germans never forget what made necessary the Struggle for Freedom and by what means they won. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL FLICKR SET




A special thanks to the Ruisinger Family in Burgheim for their hospitality, friendliness and willingness to show us around. They are genuinely kind folks and it was a pleasure to have the chance to talk to them (in german/bayerisch)




The day before, on Saturday, we had gone to the Garmisch-Partenkirche to see the Zugspitze. It was a beautiful day and we took a cog train up to Zugspitzplatz where it then connected to a cable car to the summit. But the weather is unpredictable at the highest peak in Germany. It was snowing when we arrives but within 15 minutes, the sun was breaking through the clouds. 

taking a cog train; the center of the track has a grooved track for the teeth of a large gear to roll over and index. This pulls the train up steep inclines it would normally slide down.

View from the loading dock of the cable car

Germany's Highest Biergarten

A small map was found depicting what the view should have looked like. It was pretty close...

Then it Finally Cleared

Click here for the full set to Garmisch-Partenkirche on my Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22512029@N06/sets/72157626515704475/with/5691254184/


I give photo credit to Rachel Harper for any photos in which I appear. Thanks!

Sorry for the delay

I haven't been able to update much because I have been without internet since I moved out of the Hostel. The BMW Apartment quite is quite nice and is directly on a subway (U-Bahn) line making it convenient to get to work. I finally got internet last Friday and will be spending some time uploading photos and posting pictures for you all.

I have been given new levels of responsibility at work, and have been lucky to drive on the handling course under the instruction of my supervisor (the race car driver). He is very informative and gives excellent feedback and advice even while I'm diving into corner after corner. I think i'm going to ask for his autograph before I leave  ;)

I have been assisting some colleagues with setting up cars and learning some of the software used at BMW. I am sad that a month has passed so quickly. I honestly hate weekends because most of the time I have nothing to do. I always look forward to Monday's because I get to go back to work. I know it sounds backwards, but it's the truth. I am having a blast at this internship and learning a lot of suspension theory which is completely relevant to my interests in Motorsports.

Someone stop me now, I've been thinking about purchasing a German Textbook on Kinematik/Elastokinematiks for some light reading!

The BMW 320TC is a very very special and beautiful WTCC Race Car. Because new regulations have restricted the displacement of DTM/WTCC cars to 1.6 Liters this car is using the same motor that comes in a Mini. The team supporting it from ///M are all very friendly folks and answered the millions of questions I had with great enthusiasm. My boss is quite the driver as well, and is definitely one of the easiest people to get along with. I thought I knew about racing, but I always take something away when talking to him. He is also giving me a peek behind the scenes for things like testing and setups, which I will never have been able to do on my own.

<3 BMW

Today while at Ascheim I got to meet and talk to two ex-Formula 1 chief mechanics, a rep from Dunlop, and a gentleman that was taking calibration for exhaust sound, ride height and wheel distance (Basically log booking) for a very very special classic race car. What a day, I hope I can somehow get involved with motorsports when I graduate. I don't want to submit to a 100% desk job. These people were so awesome, and just having fun doing what they like to do best. BMW does a lot of amazing work, and i still consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to get some experience  in what I consider, my Dream Job. 

This past saturday, I visited a friend in Kaufering (40 minutes train from München). We took bikes and explored many trails in the next town over (Landsberg am Lech). The river Lech flows from the Füssen (Neuschwanstein Castle) area and is right now a lot of ice melt. The water is crystal clear and a very strange tint of blue. like Port-o-potty BLUE. Only with a polarizer do the colors show true. I get internet 28th (been tethering android) so i will have a lot to upload for those who only check the thread for pics lol.

After riding around for 4 hours, we went to a local market to buy beer. 4 euros got me a Löwenbräu, Weihenstephaner, Chiemsee, and some other local brew. We then headed off to the Night Groove. Night Groove is a musik festival that is observed every year where there are some 10 venues and 15 performing artists/groups that just play live music. It's a great time, lots of beer, lots of people, huge variety of music from Chili Pepper cover bands to Salsa/Latin music and even original German Blues/Jazz which actually sounds good. It was a great time, ending at 3am.

Sunday.....I did nothing. Washed laundry and went for a walk essentially. I did find a really awesome place for Phở. That made my tummy really happy as soup is my comfort food...and man i miss good soup.

Today was semi-interesting. Drove a Cooper S 4wd. Great peppy car, but a little soggy on the suspension.

I keep swinging back and fourth in thought about Turbo s50 when i get home, or just build another e30 with a special motor. I dunno, i should probably just sell the motorcycle and finish school before playing. If anyone reading this is in Munich and needs help working on their car, or need a passenger to the Nürburgring, let me know.

Tomorrow, i'll be at the test track with my boss (the race car driver). Should be a fun day  :)

BMW Mobile Tradition/Classic Warehouse

Today I got a personal tour of the BMW Classic Warehouse. It's quite a special place, preserving and observing the history and heritage of the BMW brand. There are stories behind every car, and it's more than just a museum full of old vehicles.

Some special highlights include a V16 prototype 7 series that never went into production. Dozens and dozens of motorsports cars from Dakar, WRC, DTM, and F1. An X5 with a 700hp LeMans V12 race motor. and many original cars that are of historical significance to the growth and evolution of the company.

I didnt take my camera, but there are several links available on the internet with pictures.

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/bmw-classic-warehouse

http://www.streetfire.net/video/very-very-fast-bmw-x5-le-mans-v12-700-hp_12678.htm

Rode in the Porsche 911 Carerra S, what a fun car. We were at 243kmh on the autobahn in slightly damp conditions. it's pretty comfortable for a sports car but still handles curves well. A part of the job of my supervisors is to test the handling of other (competitor) vehicles. It is always good to know what another firm is doing, so you can compare and analyse new technologies. Every day, a new adventure