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Essen- Köln –Düsseldorf Essen is a suburban town near the large city of Düsseldorf. We found the town an excellent base to do some sightseeing. The city of Köln (Cologne to us non-Germans) is a mere half-hour's drive away. We rode in a typical family car, a diesel VW Golf, complete with sleeping infant in a child seat. Our pilot for the day seemed like a typical house-frau, but she could drive like the wind, too, keeping up with the other traffic going at a sustained 140 km/h. The massive Gothic Cathedral, the Köln Dom, looked otherworldly, surrounded by modern day streets and shops. Our friends generously arranged to spend a day test driving two of the newest European cars, the quick-change artist Peugeot 206CC and the diminutive Smart & Pulse cabriolet. We finally got away from Burger King and Chinese takeout food, and had our fill of German food, as well as Italian and American style adaptations. We spent a happy and all-too-short handful of days visiting Essen, arriving as complete strangers and leaving with many new friends.
Munich Like moths to the flame, we were drawn to the four cylinders of the BMW building and its surrounding museum and factory. But first, we toured the Olympic Park just across the BMW complex. The park, with its vast gardens and ponds, was constructed for the 1972 Olympic Games, but it still looks modern even now. Its trademark is the architecturally controversial suspension roofs that cover the various stadia, making them resemble huge steel tents. The architect described them as spider webs floating over the landscape. During the 1972 Olympic Games, eight Arab commandos slipped into the village, killed two Israeli team members and seized nine others as hostages. Later that night, all nine were killed in a shootout between the terrorists and West German police at a military airport. The tragedy stunned the world and stopped the XXth Olympiad in its tracks. But after suspending competition for 24 hours and holding a memorial service attended by 80,000 at the main stadium, 84-year-old outgoing IOC president Avery Brundage and his committee ordered the Games to continue. BMW’s own history began in 1916, when the company started building aircraft engines, six and twelve-cylinder units that powered flying boats and other commercial planes. Even now, the company's logo is that of a spinning propeller. The company began building motorcycles in 1923, and its first model, the R32 incorporated a flat-twin engine with a shaft drive. BMW acquired the Eisenach automobile company in 1928—the start of its remarkable success as a car manufacturer. The factory was started nearly from scratch after World War II, first producing motorcycles and then in 1951, cars once again. The BMW plant gives nothing up to its rivals. Modern, sprawling buildings occupy a small town, beginning with the main building itself. The four outer cylinders containing the office floors were assembled storey by storey at ground level then hoisted by steel cables up the central core. The building was thus constructed from top to bottom, and there's the distinct illusion that the cylinders are floating in midair. The plant is capable of customizing each car on the assembly line: engine, trim and option choices are recorded on a small radio transceiver attached to the emerging chassis. The robots then know exactly what to bolt on. The bowl shaped BWM museum is adjacent to the main four-cylinder building. The cars are arranged in an ascending spiral, with historic racers sharing the space with landmark models. This museum has more interactivity, with interior mock ups, computer displays and controls that visitors can see and touch. Some of the remarkable cars on display were the Isetta, with its single front door and 300-cc BMW motorcycle engine and the lovely 507, with its 3.2 liter V8 engine and 220 km/h top speed, inspiration for today's 400-bhp Z8 roadster. |
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