der Bayerische July/August 2020 - 21

D R I V I N G A N X 1 I N G E R M A N Y - C H R I S T M A S S H O P P I N G AT T H E C H R I S T K I N D L M A R K T
(who also founded the world famous
Hofbräuhaus) to Renata of Lorraine.
In honor of the happy couple, there is
a joust with life-sized knights on
horseback representing Bavaria (in
white and blue) and Lothringen (in
red and white). Oddly enough, the
Bavarian always prevails.
This is then followed by the
bottom half of the Glockenspiel and
the second story. According to myth,
1517 was a year of plague in Munich.
The coopers are said to have danced
through the streets to "bring fresh
vitality to fearful dispositions".
The coopers remained loyal to the
duke, and their dance came to
symbolize perseverance and loyalty
to authority through difficult times.
The whole show lasts between
12 and 15 minutes, depending on
which tune it plays that day. A very
small golden rooster at the top of the
Glockenspiel chirps quietly three
times, marking the end of the show.
If you've not been to the BMW
Welt, you'll need to see it to believe it.
Think of the "ultimate" BMW
showroom that's staffed by BMW
Geniuses, then you'll get the idea.
Design seminars are held throughout
the day, and while the displayed
vehicles are locked, there are many
BMW Geniuses who will gladly
unlock them. Since we were in
Germany to see the Christmas
markets, we did not have time to visit
the BMW Museum. We're saving that
for our next trip.
While most of the BMW faithful
will focus on the BMW Welt and the
BMW Museum, you should do
yourself a favor and go around the
corner from the BMW four-cylinder
tower to see the BMW Group Classic
Museum. Within that compound is a
BMW "Classic" shop, which restores
and repairs classic BMWs.
Taking a day trip via S-bahn to
Salzburg was well worth the time.
The Austrians are a proud people with
a rich heritage. They proudly point
out that Salzburg is the birthplace of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the
birthplace of the Christmas carol,
"Silent Night". Their Christkindl-

July I August

market is located within Cathedral
Square, which is surrounded by
a cathedral as a palace-turnedmuseum. It's well worth your time to
visit both. While the stalls within
their Christmas market were filled
with locally made goods, we decided
that bringing home some Viennese
chocolates would make fine, unique
Christmas gifts. Based on a
recommendation from locals, we
found a local restaurant with
outstanding local cuisine and very
reasonable prices.
Our last stop was Stuttgart.
Here, the name of the Christmas
market changed from Christkindlmarket to Weihnachtsmarket. Home
of Daimler, Porsche, and Bosch, our
time constraints again had us
skipping the wonderful car museums
in favor of visiting the Christmas
markets.
Located in their shopping
district, the Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarket has rather a "swap meet"
atmosphere. While also quite busy,
some of the stalls featured everyday
household items, business clothing,
and cleaning supplies. Again we
asked the locals for a restaurant
recommendation and again, we were
not disappointed with the quality nor
the price.
Some travel trips when
planning your German Christmas
market tour:

Weather - Late December is the
beginning of winter in Germany,
which means that it's gray, cold, wet,
and windy. Also, don't be surprised if
it snows.

Rental Car Fuel - Don't assume
that you'll have a diesel-powered
vehicle. This is the third time in a row
that I've rented a gasoline-powered
vehicle.

Navigation - Whatever vehicle you
select to rent, do yourself a favor and
learn how to change the language
setting on the navigation system
before you arrive.

Fuel Prices - They are per LITER,
not per gallon (3.8 liters is 1 gallon).

Have Cash - Most of the local
restaurants we patronized were cash
only.
ATMs - We found that all German
post offices have ATMs. For our
bank, they were fee-free.
(Below) The food is wonderful and
inexpensive. (Bottom) Mozart had
this view.

Roundabouts - Learn to love them.
Autobahn Driving - Don't drive
recklessly and don't hang out in the
left lane.
Public Restrooms - Keep some
euro coins handy to use the
restrooms.
Our time with the X1 again
proved that it's one of the few SUVs
(I know, SAVs) in today's market
that has been graced with sport sedan
moves. All BMW SAVs share a
common athleticism, which comes
from its "Ultimate Driving Machine"
product development foundation.
In our thousand kilometer plus
driving experience, we averaged a
combined 29 miles per gallon.
Well, that's one more driving
and cultural experience crossed off
the bucket list. But the next time I'm
in this area, I'm focusing more on
"car things!"

der Bayerische July/August 2020

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