Munchen (Munich)

Here are some DB EMU's outside of Munchen Hbf as we approached the station (I was shooting back). I don't know the classes since I can't read the numbers (they're blurred), but they would be either Class 422, 423, 424, 425, or 426, as they have very similar carbodies to each other.

I was very happy when we arrived in Munchen Hbf to see several classic German locomotives, in addition to some original Class 401 ICE sets. This is a Class 111, introduced in 1974, and so well-known that it made it into the strategy computer game "Railroad Tycoon II," one of my all-time favorite games. In real life, these locomotives were so successful that 227 were built by various contractors until 1984, and the only ones scrapped to date (two of them) were totalled in accidents. These locomotives have 4990 horsepower, and can reach a maximum operating speed of 160Km/h (99 m.p.h.), although they don't generally work too many express trains anymore. Originally, they weren't used in express service, and weren't even rated for 160, but from 1980 onwards they were upgraded to support the even-faster (and older) Class 103 express locomotives, although both the 111 and the 103 have now been mostly replaced in this role by the 101 and similar newer classes.

This is another classic that I spotted, a Class 218 diesel. Although it resembles the old (and even more classic) V200 diesel of the late 1950's, the Class 218 was introduced in 1966, and was initially classified as the V164 before DB changed their numbering and classification system in 1968. It was part of the V160 series of diesel classes intended to replace the V200, which was the first mainline express passenger diesel used extensively by DB. Today, very few diesel locomotives are used in express service in Germany due to extensive electrification, so most work locals on branchlines. We had actually spent much of our trip behind diesels because of diversions and construction work, but this wasn't the usual situation for our train. Getting back to the Class 218, the Class 2,467 horsepower in prototype form (the first 12 in service 1966-1968), but this was upgraded to 2,763 from 1968 onwards, putting it close to American diesels, which at the time were some of the more powerful diesels in the world. Maximum operating speed was and still is 140Km/h, just as fast as all of the electrics of the day except for the 103 (which was allowed a maximum of either 160 or 200 depending on the service, making it the fastest in the world at the time). The 218 was more interesting than is obvious, though. Firstly, it isn't a diesel-electric but a diesel-hydraulic, and in spite of the terrible reputation of this technology, the 218 has been in continuous service for 44 years. In addition, because it's a mixed traffic locomotive, it has both a high and a low gear, the low one limiting the top speed to 100Km/h, doubling the tractive effort. Some locomotives originally had a third gear that tripled the tractive effort, although I don't know how many still do. At least one source cites the low-gear top speed as 90Km/h, so this may refer to these units. In 1996-1998, 10 units were re-geared in the opposite way for 160Km/h express services, interestingly out of Munich, being classified during that time as Class 210. Finally, while modern diesel-electric locomotives have dynamic brakes, using the traction motors for braking, the 218 has hydraulic braking that accomplishes the same goal.

Strangely, I've had trouble getting information on these. I've seen them before, but I can't find information on them on the internet.

Leopoldstrasse immediately struck me as looking very un-German, although not unattractive. The main thing that makes it look odd are these (generally attractive) trees. I looked up photos on an arborist website to try and find out what they were, but because I'm not an arborist I really didn't learn anything. I've seen trees that look similar to this in Italy and Greece, and I know that there are some that look similar on the Le Mans racecourse in France. Does anybody know the correct term for these?

Here's an alternate shot that I took just of the trees.

The Augustiner Brewery isn't as well known, and Augustiner beer isn't as well known, internationally as for example Becks, but it is a major manufacturer, as you can see. There's an equally impressive brewpub attached to it that I drank at on the night that I took this photo (It was dusk already.). In addition to the rather old brewery (which dates to 1328, although these particular buildings look newer since they were built in 1885, this being the brewery's third location.), I think that the street outside is also interesting. This is Landsbergerstrasse, which hosts car, tram, and bike traffic, each with their own dedicated lanes. This is quite a contrast from where I'm from in the U.S. where the auto lobby are able to monopolize the taxpayers' money. The bike lanes in Munich are especially impressive to me, mainly because they're everywhere and quite usable, even in comparison with Prague. Bikes work best in city centres, but in Prague the irony is that they're most useful (or at least safest) in the suburbs, where there are better bike lanes!! In Munich it doesn't matter where you ride, at least as far as I can tell, as every neighborhood is well provided with bike lanes.

Here's the brewpub at the Augustiner brewery, which looks deceptively small. In reality, that corner building is only the entrance and one of the smaller bars. Most of the action is over to the right, in a building that's several times longer than you can see here.

Here's the Augustiner logo on the corner of Landsbergerstrasse and Holzapfelstrasse.

Although you can still get the EU standard half-litre mugs at the Augustiner brewpub, they seem to prefer the full-litre mugs that they're known for, and which my flatmates back in Prague have.

This room looks big, but I have maybe a third of the room behind me, plus the corner building, and behind the big screen television there's another whole room. All in all, I think this may have been the biggest pub I've ever been in, and it took me 10 or 20 minutes to get a beer and a seat. In the end, I had to get my dinner elsewhere since there was no way that I would be served before closing time. The most interesting thing about this place, in my opinion, is that in spite of globalization, and the obvious intention at this pub of catering to tourists, almost everybody there was German (with the exception of one or two tables of Americans), and the food was traditional German in every way.

This was the horse stable at the brewery, surprisingly right next to the brewpub. Although it's a bit hard to see the horses, they're in there hidden in the shadows of those stalls on the left.

Very strangely, I also can't find too much information on this Cathedral, which is actually small enough to look like just a normal gothic (in style at least) church. It's a few blocks from the Augustiner brewery, in St. Paul's Platz. I really liked how it looked lit up at night, though, so I took some photos.

This was my second attempt at photographing the cathedral, only from the opposite side, where the front portal is.

I had forgotten all about this shot until I went through the roll of Kodacolor Gold 200 that I shot in Munich. So....this is jumping from the morning of the 18th back to the evening of the 17th. If you look carefully in the middle of the street, you can see some old tram tracks still in place. To the best of my knowledge, they're out of service due to there being no cantenary on this street. If you follow the tracks back, you eventually get to the park where they hold the Oktoberfest celebrations, arguably the most famous in Germany. Does anybody know the history of these tracks? I'm curious.

In contrast to Prague's DPP, MVV, the Munich transit authority, is absolutely meticulous about cleaning. DPP do indeed have cleaning staff, but my sense is that they're badly underfunded and/or understaffed, so there are few tram stops in Prague as well maintained as this one.

As I said earlier, the heavy use of bicycles in Germany is really striking in comparison with the Czech Republic (and of course the United States), and many of the bikes that I saw in Munich were either customised or were factory painted or designed to look custom. This bike particularly caught my eye, but there were plenty of others.

This building was also colourful and memorable, although as I understand it's just being used for offices. It's on Georgenstrasse, which is a bit out of the city centre, but still a nice neighborhood, partly because of the bikes and the U-Bahn keeping auto use down. Notice this building hasn't been trashed by air pollution yet. Those portraits are of famous intellectuals like Leonardo da Vinci, seen second from the left.