Dirndl Shoppin in Munich

I'm sure you'll get around to this as you continue to write, but you may as well answer the important Dirndl question right away- busom-y or modest?

(My husband headed over to the BMW museum, he's not ready to commit to lederhosen just yet!) Our first stop was a block from the markt, the famous chain Angermaier. Beautiful dresses, but very expensive. For a tourist I think it would be a fun place to browse (since you're likely not going to be buying a dirndl anyway!) And right across the street was an outlet of the "Wies'n Tracht und Mehr" shop, and this one included second-hand dirndls (don't worry, they didn't smell like beer!) I was able to pick up a vintage dirndl from the 60s for only 50 euro with beautiful embrodiery, and it fits me perfectly. Score! So I was able to devote the rest of our stops to shopping for accessories (blouse, apron, bag, shoes, necklace are the other components of the costume). My friends went a little more upmarket and ended up spending about a total of 200 euro on their outfits, but my total with the accessories was under 100. Far cheaper than I'd seen in Stuttgart, so I was pleased with my frugality. Shopping made us thirsty, so we did what one has to do in Munich and went to the Hofbrauhaus, but just for a beer. My husband met up with us there. I was surprised he didn't spend more time in the BMW museum and welt, but he was somewhat disappointed. He says that the Porsche Museum and Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart are far more impressive in terms of displays and the history of the companies easier to understand at those museums. I was surprised, with the BMW welt being so famous and all! We did try to get him a reservation for a factory tour in advance, but they didn't have any tours in English that day. He would tell anyone but the biggest Beemer enthusiasts to skip the BMW Welt if you don't have a factory tour reservation. So that's his perspective.

Tom - busty! I have decided that fest season in Germany is like Halloween for us Americans - an excuse for us ladies to show a lot of cleavage! Gotta show off the "balcon". We did a little more shopping after the Hofbrauhaus but stores were beginning to close. Typical Munich weather, the day started off warm and humid, but the rain really kicked in around this time, killing our plans to chill in the Augustiner Keller Biergarten back by the train station until our City Night Line train back to Stuttgart at 10:47 p.m. And given that this was a Saturday night in Munich in August and we hadn't made prior reservations, all of the restaurants I'd liked before that were nearby were full, so we decided to try to Augustiner Am Dom (by the Frauenkirchen). Big mistake. I had forgotten how high touristy Munich restaurant prices are. We were all starving so I got the Wienerschnitzel with potato salad and berry sauce. The portions were not as huge as you'd expect, but my dish was 16.90. My husband paid similar price for half of a pork knuckle and didn't love it or the gummy potato dumpling it came with. The wine prices were high too, despite the wine tasting cheap (and I usually love Austrian Gruner Veltiners), and our Augustiner bier was flat AND foamy. My husband noted that after the foam subsided his beer did not reach the 0.5 liter line and he must be turning Swabian because he seriously considered complaining to the waiter. I restrained him. On a positive note, well, we weren't out in the rain. Still had some time to kill before our train so we hung out in a very nice cafe with covered outdoor seating right across from the Rathaus - Bohnen & something was the name. Prices were better here for a glass of wine, at least.

And just a little note for the train nerds: Boy the City Night Line is a weird train. This was our second time taking back from Munich to Stuttgart. It takes about 2 1/2 hours, just slightly longer than the ICE train (but the CNL has more stops). We walked the length of the train - half of it was going to Amsterdam, the other half to Paris - and marveled at how many different types of cars they put on the train. We were in a compartment (we made reservations, which everyone should do for these trains, they get surprisingly full) but there were lots of couchette cars and a few cars with private rooms. Our car looked like nothing I'd ever seen before - my husband said it was like a "McDonald's playground from the 80s" - crazy faded color schemes, weird open areas where everything was plastic and all the seats were all over the place, including jump seats, not at all like you'd expect. Our compartment seated 5 instead of 6, and since there was 4 of us I think the person who'd reserved the seat with us chose to go somewhere else. Lots of backpacking kids from all over on this train but particularly a lot of Germans and Australians. I can't say the couchettes looked too comfortable. Maybe if there was 4 of us friends in one, but I wouldn't want to be stuffed in there with strangers. It's also worth noting that they don't announce the stops on these trains. So you'd best note when it's supposed to arrive at your destination and set an alarm!

I'll add my piece as the husband who went to BMW Welt and the museum. The trip out to the museum was about 20 minutes from the Hauptbahnhof by U-bahn and a euro twenty or so. The exit from the train station puts you at the entrance to BMW Welt. As I entered, a friendly young man handed me a brochure featuring a map, which proved entirely useless. The first building is the Welt, which is just a BMW/Rolls Royce show room and gift shop. You can sit in the latest model BMWs an price out the builds, discovering that a new four door six series will set you back a not so modest 151,000 euro once the option boxes have been checked. Up the stairs and across a walkway, you get to the museum. Tickets are nine euro per person, which is definitely on the high side for German museums. The audio guide is extra and entirely superfluous as the audioguide only tells you what the exhibit text does. Once inside, all the pieces have explanations in both German and English. Unfortunately, the English portion is written in white over frosted back-lit glass, making difficult or often impossible to read, possibly making a case for the audioguide. As with the other car museums I've been to here, there's very little about company activity from 1936 to 1945. Business must have been very slow. The presentations are good, but not as well done as at Porsche or Mercedes. Both of those do a better job of tying the company accomplishments to the different eras.
(cont.)

Overall, the BMW museum was good, but it failed to establish a narrative beyond the company as a purveyor of aspirational products. Porsche pushes its innovation and racing. Mercedes about the great figures who have drive their cars. BMW lets you know that people who like to show off BMWs have always paid premium prices. This is not a slam on the museum or the company. I'm looking to buy one soon. It's just that the museum was not as entertaining nor as capable of leaving one with a lasting positive impression of the brand. I'm glad I went, and it gave me a chance to see many significant historical racing and commercial cars, but I'd strongly recommend the other German car museums first.

Chris, next time...lederhosen ;-)

BTW, Oberstdorf also has a good collection of Tracht shops. The outfits on display appeared to be of pretty good quality, in both traditional and modern stylings. I was tempted to buy a full outfit- checkered shirt, sweater, jacket and pants (no, not lederhosen!), but I ended up passing.

Obviously we need a place here to post photos. Sarah in her busty dirndl, Chris in his lederhosen, and Tom in his folksy outfit. I don't know about the nudie ones from the public baths.

Karen, Do you mean the ones with "all the good china showing"? Yeah, we can skip that. We used to be able to post photos, but there was this one guy that ruined it for everyone. I think his name began with an "S". Perhaps our Webmaster would be willing to give the kids here another chance if we all promise to behave.

Sorry to disappoint, Karen, but didn't buy the outfit. But I came close... Jo, "S" ruined A LOT of things for everyone on this website!