Trap Family: The BMW Museum

Monday, April 23, 2012

The BMW Museum - Munich

While we were in Munich this past weekend, we had some extra time and decided to check out the BMW Museum. We'd seen the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz Museums in Stuttgart, so BMW seemed like the next logical step. Volkswagen and Audi are also located in Germany, but I don't know if we'll make it to either of them, as they aren't located in major cities.

This image made Andy's day. This was the first thing we saw when we got off at the U-bahn stop. These are the cars coming right off the line. You can see the tube on the right where they're coming out. Having worked in a plant in South Carolina, Andy loves learning about the production aspect.

First we walked through the factory's showroom, where they were actually selling BMWs. There were even signs for car pickup, so people were picking up their brand new BMWs right off the line. Andy was loving that. The next few pics are from the showroom.

A very common sight in Europe. The luxury station wagon. It's pretty much the only thing that has a decent trunk over here.

Before we headed across the street to the actual museum, we poked our noses in the gift shop.

I guess if you're going to get a BMW, you might as go all out and get the matching car seat for your kids.

You could get this toy car for you kids either Flintstone style or powered like a Power Wheels. Even Flintstone style, it cost more than a Power Wheels would in the States.

Actual headquarters. The museum was located in that bowl shaped building that's on the right.

BMW was founded in 1917 as an aircraft engine manufacturing firm. After WWI, they were forced to shut down aircraft engine production and shifted their focus to motorcycle production in 1923. In 1928, they began producing automobiles. The BMW symbol is actually a white propeller against a blue sky. It's also no coincidence that blue and white are the Bavarian colors.