środa, 16 kwietnia 2014

A slice of Munich (München)

It was the first time I went to Munich.
Originally, the visit of the students of the Motor Technical School was meant as a study tour to make them see the assembly halls of the MAN truck maker. And so it was, sponsored by the Provincial Authority within the UE programmes designed for young people looking for potential employers.
So, off we went on a 3-day tour.
As usual, such study tours aiming at specific occupational objects do not include any sightseeing. It is up to me, the tour leader, or the participants themselves, to organise time in order to accomodate a short trip.
Thus, the next morning we sacrifised a little sleep and had an early breakfast which allowed us to take a short look at the old city centre.
We took a local bus and the U-Bahn.

Tube station

The target - of course the Marienplatz which took the name from the column with the figure of Holy Virgin on top:

The Holy Virgin column stand opposite the New Townhall in the neogothic style

Decoration of the column against Neues Rathaus


In the lower part of the column something dear to every Pole and Catholic



No regular old town market square is complete without a fountain

Neues Rathaus from 19 centrury with bells

The Munich cathedral 

which to my surprise proved protestant (in catholic Bayern) 

The entrance to the Dom zu Munich

Der Eingang zu den Dom

In the city 

funny figures on the building corners 

There was too little time to find out who it is

This figure seemed funny to me, specifically when there is a row of decent looking other monuments

Like this one - seems a historic VIP 

or this one - the information appealed to me more than the head of the VIP :)


Traditional Bayerishe Trachten 


An Oktoberfest site - no doubt 

Well, finally a catholic church

St. Michael's Church

Looks nice

The font

The Holy Mary - probably a miraculous figure 


Lent 


A shopping centre close to the church. Well.... one might think it is Christmas, not Lent time ....

The Church and a neighbouring historic building

The hunting museum

A palace of a duke
The tour was limited to 1.5 hour ....

Then off to the MAN Truck works. Altghough engineering is by no means my cup of tea, the interpreting went smooth :) 
It is strictly fobidden to take pictures along the assembly lines, so only the showpieces in the Truck Forum.
The name MAN comes from Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg. In 1959, the works expanded and started to develop also in Munich.

The first steam engine manufactured by the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg.

An oldie 

The contrast
New trucks waiting for the customers.



 The trucks are only made to order. One complete truck is ready in 7 hours. 148 trucks are assembled per day. And they are never stored. The customers collect them on the spot.


On the way, we stopped for lunch and for the night.
Here some pictures of a funny inn in the medieval style called Chrobry in Torzym, a place close to the A2 motorway. The whole facility, dating back to 1990s, made me laugh :)










And almost opposite, a real old-style manor:


On the way back we stayed overnight in a small facility called Pensjonat Paskal in the village of Czerlejno.

I had a single with one modest bed, but the bathroom seemd to have been built for a different type of accommodation :)
Paskal

The inadequate bathroom, yet very appealing .....



The village itself is old with an 18c wooden church and a small cemetry  around it:





I can't fix the pictures

There is also a deserted palace dating from early 20c. It is for sale for PLN 4 million .....





Across the road, an old frence and buildings, probably once part of the owner's estate



And a trace of social life :)