Art & culture

One of my favorite places in Munich is the Olympiapark – and when I am there, I almost always stop by the BMW World, which serves as a museum and delivery center for the car maker.

Ever since they started building this thing, I’ve been strangely drawn to it. I do like BMWs as cars, but I wouldn’t consider myself a fan. The museum is just a cool place to have a coffee, enjoy the architecture (check out some good shots on flickr) and see some nice cars on the way.

Beside the latest and greatest, there are always some vintage models on display. Also you get to play around with a couple exhibition items explaining the technology behind some of BMW’s new features.

Admission is free, and there is a lot of other stuff to do around it, like having lunch at the rotating restaurant inside the Olympic tower or just exploring the park.

When people visit Munich they see only one side of the city: tall buildings and perfect- looking people in expensive clothes, holding iPhones, shopping in expensive designer shops, while their Porsche car is parked outside, (the so-called “Schickimickis”, a not so flattering term outside Munich).

Although this is a part of it, it is not the whole truth. The real city lies outside the limits of the historical centre. If you take the line U2 of the underground in the direction of Messestadt West, you’ll land in another Munich that lies just 5 minutes away and is never visited by tourists.

Originally a village, it became part of the city around the middle of the 19th century, and today the village character is still to be seen in the small streets lined with small houses in Altgiesing. Today it is a quiet, working-class neighborhood away from the Schickimicki-hype, where the Munich dialect (a version of the Bavarian dialect) is still spoken like it was years ago.

Take some time to get lost in the small streets around the Alpenplatz, visit the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche (see the Heilig Kreuz Kirche article), walk past the Ostfriedhof (check my Ostfriedhof article) and end up at the Paulaner Brewery on the Nockherberg hill.

If people look at you weirdly, do not worry: you will probably be the first tourist that arrives there, be proud of this! When you are back home, you can boast that you saw the real face of Munich!

While having a well noted love for the arts, Munich isn’t necessarily a city that’s known for a thriving street art scene, which could be viewed here as slightly provincial. Despite this sentiment, there are some rebellious citizens that decorate this conservative city with various tags, stencils, stickers, and freestyle paint.

One of the best areas to see a bit of the urban art or to exercise some creative licensing is on Tumblingerstraße, near the Schlachthofviertel. Large walls surrounding the Großmarkthalle are decorated with some very beautiful images. This area serves as a legal canvas for those that want to perfect their visual and artistic expression on the city streets and bring the art from museums and galleries to the proletariat.

The colors are beautiful and the tapestry of social commentary and working art space is always evolving.

What I love most is the dynamic and colorful juxtaposition on the typically maintained and austere city streets demonstrates that slight uprising that seems to bubble beneath the surface, plus it’s constantly changing. 

You may also be interested in checking out this beautiful and impressive stop motion video of this dynamic city street before experiencing it yourself.

To get there take the U3/U6 to Poccistraße or Bus 131 towards Klenzestraße / St.-Maximilian, exiting at Tumblingerstraße.

In the middle of the city, not far from Marienplatz, is Fünf Höfe (the Five Courtyards). Upon first glance from the main streets, it’s pretty unassuming, however there is something for everyone here. It’s one of my very favorite places to go shopping, stop for lunch, or swing by a museum. 

The modern architecture is an interesting contrast in this conservative city, but inside there are plenty of beautiful stores, an art museum, a grocery, bars (such as Comercial + the ‘see and be seen’ Schumann’s TagesBar) as well as several reasonably priced restaurants (including Dean + David, Kaimug, and Vapiano to name a few).

The live ivy that hangs overhead is also a nice touch of melding nature into the city. Make sure you wander through the various courtyards to see the quiet areas, hidden shops, and vibrant colors before stopping for some food or letting window shopping get the best of you.  

The Kunsthalle also provides interesting exhibits for those that enjoy visiting art museums. 

To get there – S-bahn: exit at Marienplatz and walk up Theatinerstrasse where it will be on your left.

U-bahn: exit at Odeonsplatz and walk down Theatinerstrasse where it will be on your right.

Tram: 19 to Theatinerstaße.

The Museum Brandhorst is a contemporary art collection that opened in 2009. It was previously privately held by patrons Udo and Anette Brandhorst who have been gracious enough to share their cultural treasures with the city of Munich and its visitors.

The building itself is covered in ceramic pieces that resemble an artist’s pastels – twenty three different colors decorate the facade, which make it appear slightly abstract. It is nice to stroll past at various points through the day to see how the light creates a distinctive, yet beautiful interactive piece of architecture. It certainly beckons people to visit the impressive collection.

Among the artists represented are: Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Damian Hirst, and Jean-Michel Basquiat to name a few. The collection boasts over 700 works, including several illustrated books.

The museum also features a café and book store, as well as tours and workshops.

Thursdays the museum is open until 20:00.

If you are short on cash or don’t mind dealing with the crowds, you can also visit on Sunday when the reduced admission is only € 1.

The current exhibition includes a room installation from Cady Nolan and British concept artist Gillian Wearing.