Bavaria

MUNICH

A cold and windy ride to Munich. Two TT's tailing each other. After a little hour we are ready to sniff up some culture at one of the many museums in the Bavarian capitol. It is busy in the Pinakothek der Moderne. Silently the visitors walk from one section to the other. They cross the big round atrium as they move from Picasso to Warhol.

We decide to start at the temporary exhibition. It is all about wood. A forgotten material in a world of big buildings. The immaculate and finely detailed models show the potential of nature to span amazing arches in todays architecture. A range from Japan to Europe and beyond. Laser cut, computer customized.Inspiring. Great displays with a lot of warmth. Worth a visit.

Of course there is much more. Loosely painted graphics, colorful installations and heaps of master pieces. A journey back in to art history. Before we leave we have to take a look in the basement of the complex. The area below sea level is the industrial design department. An over dimensional Ikea Expedit filled with design classics is one of the big attractions. Sit down in one of the spacey rocker seats to chill out and stare at furniture, bikes, bob sleds and cars. Pinakothek sunday, let it be your pick of town.

-Matt.

SUSHI SATURDAY

A cold saturday some weeks after the Tokyo experience. A Japanese evening at home starts early. Get the fish when it's still fresh in the morning. The rest is all about improvisation and inspiration. The result after a good hour of modeling taste as good as it looks. Some Sake and you are ready to roll. Campai!

-Matt.

MUNICH

I have been here before. A couple of months ago the Haus der Kunst in Munich was the starting point of the Pass Masters '11. Back then it was the setting for a rainy breakfast, today I come back for some culture. A mellow "indian Summer" sunday. No car culture, or maybe a little bit? 

We start with the Goetz Sammlung, located in the revamped basement of the complex. Video installations in tight rooms that once functioned as bomb safe hide outs for the locals. One short movie after the other, surrounded by thick concrete walls.

The reason we are here is the main exhibition upstairs. Carlo Mollino. Architect, dandy, furniture designer, inventor, photographer, alpine junkie and speed freak. A room full of original sketches, prototypes and pictures. No cameras please. Nevertheless very inspiring. Downstairs in the foyer the vehicle is a fusion between motor cycle and car. An architect joining the 24 hours of Le Mans. Somehow a da Vinci of the 20th century. Go visit!

On our way back a final look at the Eisbach surfers. Locals looking for the ultimate cut back, riding an endless perfect wave. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A second visit to Ingolstadt's clock work, the Museum Mobile. Another look into the history of Lamborghini, beyond the icon cars like the Miura and Countach. There are a some rare prototypes from the early days and a bunch of strange leftovers from the nineties. I clearly remember my first days in Ingolstadt. A year before Audi had acquired the Italian brand. These were the days Outlook did not exist and the polaroid was an quick and dirty medium. I got hold of a stack of square formatted pictures of the dead born Diablo succesor, a car straight from the bio-design age.  Big bubbles accompanied by late Gandini squared off wheel arches. A dead end street, who knew? The Murcielago took another direction, inside out.

Gallardo, Reventon, Aventador. The path would have been very different if those flash colored sculptures would have seen the light. These days they look out of place in the museum. Studies that never happened. Unfinished business. Nevertheless a piece of "Zeitgeist", a part of history. An end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

CARS & COFFEE

Sunday, cars and coffee. In California you just have to drive around town to crash into some super car meeting, in Ingolstadt we have the museum. These months the first floor is filled with Italian metal from Sant' Agata. Before I enter the building I take a second look at the Aventador that is parked outside. Fresh from the box with a lot of crisp angles.

Inside one finds the the history of the brand, lined up on back lid floors. Well displayed cars in immaculate condition. Miura, Countach and others. After my first shots I got a tap on my shoulder. Steve has been here before. We stare into yellow reflections and then grab a coffee. Super Car Sunday in Ingolstadt.

CURBED

An amazing contraption, parked at a rastplatz somewhere in Bavaria. As we walk around this "car" we wonder who the owner could be. I keep thinking of Cruella de Vil somehow. If someone has the absurd idea to pack the full American car history in one vehicle, this would be the result. Low rider meets hot rod meets limousine meets Excalibur etc etc. One can find something like this in crazy California, but I never thought our local TUV would keep such an eye closed, allowing this car to drive on German roads. Wahnsinn!

SPRING

Mild weather on a sunday. A spontaneous first tour out with the TT. Chosen mission: ice cream in Eichstaett. We travel in a pack, taking the long and curvy roads through the hills. Every now and then a short break, a chance to compare both cars, the first and second generation of an icon. Bauhaus versus dynamic sporster, both loaded with love to detail. A pocket GT with a high feel good factor.

Eichstaett is mellow this sunday. Fantastic light bounces from the pastel houses. Spring time! The ice cream tastes good and so does the quattro. It sticks to the road. I crave for more. Have to come back soon to the Altmuhltal.

AUDIORAMA

Seen them in Berlin a couple of years ago, overpriced and full of dents. Just before X-mas I made a stop in Nuernberg, the home of Grundig. I heard the story the beginning of this year. A passionate architect with a soft spot for the Audiorama series. Carefully revamped, I took these classics home, packed in layers of bubble wrap. Digging deeper into that collection of black gold I conquered in California as the groovy sounds whirl through my living room. Pump up the volume for 2011

AROUND THE CORNER

What is left of a book store functions as an exhibition room. The decoration is simple, yet effective. Plastic foil wrapped around concrete pillars. And in between the design objects contrast with the old filthy carpet. Lots of handcrafted stuff, full of wit.

A small step for mankind, but a giant leap for Ingolstadt. First attempts to create something like a local Design Week.

GRAND FINALE

Prepping up for the grand final. The washing machine tumbles and shakes. With every rotation its content changes its hue. White suits turn orange.

We had to wait 32 years for this moment. A mellow sunday afternoon that will turn into a hot, bright orange night.

With a small group of orange supporters we head up to our local plaza. Although we lost, heaps of kudos came our way.