Three Perfect Days: Munich
Day 1
Gothic landmarks, ancient taverns, and museum-quality espresso machines
Apart from the famously beery Oktoberfest, we are generally reminded of Munich only when it pops up on one of those most-livable city lists. And boy, are locals thrilled to be here. This is the northern-most city of Italy, they say, only half-joking, referring to the classical architecture, the alfresco lifestyle, and the great food. They whip out maps to show how close they are to the Bavarian Alps or Lake Constance. They extol the convenience of having Zurich and Salzburg on their doorstep for when they need investment advice or a waltz.
They seem to have hit the jackpot—maybe literally—here on the shores of the winding Isar River. In the parking bays of glitzy Maximilianstrasse, Lamborghinis nuzzle Ferraris, Bentleys spoon Porsches. A necklace of showroom-shiny Mercedes roadsters slinks around the corner. These are just the cars I can see from my table in the elegant, wood-paneled breakfast room of the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski. I only manage to gulp down some juice, however, because I've overslept and my Tours By Locals guide, Stefan, is in front of me at 9 o'clock sharp. We're not actually in Italy, after all. The plan is to wander around the Altstadt (Old Town), which, conveniently, is right outside.
Marienplatz, the city's main square since 1158, is dominated by its neo-Gothic New Town Hall, built at the turn of the 20th century. The architect did not hold back: The 300-foot wide facade is a riot of spouting gargoyles, bristling pinnacles, and carvings of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918. The star attraction is the Glockenspiel, with its 32 life-size figures enacting folk tales, along with a dance to celebrate the end of the Black Death.
The Gothic Old Town Hall
On the square's east side is the Old Town Hall. This spired building was constructed in the 1470s but badly damaged during World War II, after which it was patched up, apparently with the same materials used by Walt Disney for Cinderella's castle. Around the corner is the Hofbräuhaus brewery, established in 1607 by Duke Wilhelm V to supply beer for the royal family. It's now Munich's most famous tavern, which is some feat. Some of the patrons today are wearing lederhosen, or trachten vests and felt Alpine hats. Barmaids twirl around in dirndl dresses, balancing trays of pork knuckles. I feel as if I'm hanging out with the townsfolk from Shrek in a medieval Hooters. (The brewery also has a dark history: This is where, in 1920, Hitler laid out his 25-point plan, essentially founding the Nazi party.)
Walking southeast, we hit Viktualienmarkt, a 19th-century farmers market that has evolved into a global gourmet destination. Around a striped maypole—an ancient symbol of seasonal rebirth—shoppers appraise the latest exotic superfoods. I sample the local delicacy leberkäse, which means "liver cheese" but is really a meatloaf made from corned beef and pork. Let's just say it's an acquired taste.
Zigzagging around the medieval lanes, we come to the city's oldest church, St. Peter's, built circa 1180 but best known for its lantern-dome tower, attached as part of a Baroque facelift 500 years later. The church is also famous for its relics: On one aisle is a glass case containing the reclining skeleton of Christian martyr Saint Munditia dressed in her finery. It looks like a magic trick gone horribly wrong.
After a spin past numerous other ecclesiastical marvels, I find myself peckish again. At the Dallmayr Delicatessen, I have sea bass with mashed potatoes, as I watch the local burghers select deli treats and visitors buy souvenir tins of white sausage soup and jars of sweet mustard.
From here, the efficient U-Bahn metro system whisks me to where the university district meets Neuhausen, a leafy section of 19th-century residences, northwest of the city center. I'm here to visit the new European HQ of Montreal special effects house RodeoFX, which has worked on everything from Game of Thrones to Star Wars.
Thomas Hullin, the head of the Munich studio, is keen to show me around the area, which smells of malt, thanks to the nearby Löwenbräu brewery. We walk down Brienner Strasse, with its two stately squares, Königsplatz—housing the Glyptothek, where Ludwig I stashed Greek and Roman statues—and Karolinenplatz, which has an obelisk made from the bronze of captured cannons to honor soldiers who died fighting Napoleon.
I love Munich's diversity, Hullin says. "Within an hour, you can be in the Alps or doing outdoorsy stuff in the forests. And the city itself is so varied—you can travel five centuries in a couple of subway stops."
Lively Türkenstrasse takes us past Asian street food vendors, Middle Eastern falafel counters, and English tea rooms. We stop for a coffee outside Café Soda, whose wicker chairs remind Hullin of Paris. "Munich is a city with a soul," he says, sipping an espresso.
A display at The Design Museum
I say goodbye and head to The Design Museum, a repository of cool 20th-century stuff. I check out the architectural typewriters and sculptural espresso machines; then I'm gripped by a sudden desire to sit down, possibly because I've reached the chair section. I take a cab back to the Vier Jahreszeiten, where I float for a bit in the rooftop pool, then head for dinner at the hotel's Schwarzreiter Tagesbar & Restaurant. Here, in unfussy surroundings, the kitchen serves up what it calls Young Bavarian Cuisine. The thinking is "satt, nicht platt," or "full, but not too full."
I don't believe there is such a thing as "too full," so I work my way through plump Bavarian prawns with crab, pink lamb with salsify and mushrooms, and a dessert of bananas, whiskey, chocolate, and pecans. Upstairs in my room, I fall asleep almost instantly—counting BMWs.
Day 2
Submarines, fashionable dirndls, and the world's best baby food
I start the day west of the hotel, in up-and-coming Schwanthalerhöhe (SchwoHo, anyone?). I have coffee and apple cake at Marais, a café in a former haberdashery. It's full of hipsters who seem entranced by the chintzy crockery and doilies.
Until a few years ago, this area was home to families from Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans. Now young professionals are moving in, followed by shops selling single-origin coffee and ironic clothing. I watch boys in kufis kicking a soccer ball on a street, then pop into the concept store Raumwerk, where I lust over a $100 artisanal tool for chopping herbs.
From Central Station, it's three stops to the Deutsches Museum, a sprawling century-old building where more than 100,000 objects relating to science and technology are displayed chronologically. This figure does not convey the scale of the place: The maritime floor contains dozens of vessels, including a 137-foot U1 submarine; the aeronautics collection has more than 70 planes, among them the first motorized aircraft built by the Wright brothers. Elsewhere, steam generators and combustion engines are displayed like art installations. I spend an unexpectedly fun half-hour down a reconstructed coal mine, then watch two men create lightning in a lab straight out of Frankenstein. This must be one of those rare museums where kids hassle their parents to stay longer.
A cab takes me back to Schwanthalerhöhe, where I check into Roomers, a buzzy new design hotel with a cinema screen in its moodily lit spa. My room has an open bathroom with a circular tub so large I could use one of those brass diving suits from the museum. Instead, I visit the hotel's Japanese–Latin American restaurant, Izakaya, where I order a lunchtime bento box containing beef with coriander and spicy lime dressing, ceviche, and corn tempura—which is possibly the best thing since popcorn.
My next stop is Glockenbachviertel, the artsy district that runs along the north bank of the Isar. Once filled with Jewish families and millworkers, this area was the center of Munich's gay scene in the 1980s. Today, it teems with artisan jewelers, chocolatiers, and cafés that employ convoluted ways to brew matcha. At tiny Club Do Vinho, a woman named Ana Maria makes me taste vintage port and force-feeds me madeira cake. It is too good. I flee before she can open a vat of sardines.
On trendy Jahnstrasse, I meet dress designer Svenja Jander at her eponymous atelier. Jander specializes in making traditional dirndls using modern designs and colors. Inside, three serious-looking people with pins in their mouths are cutting paper shapes. Others are a blur of elbows, reaching for bolts of cotton and silk. It all looks terribly urgent.
“Unlike the rest of Germany, women in Munich love dressing up," Jander tells me at Aroma, a café and retro toy shop close by. “I think most would always choose clothes over holidays." We are eating flourless pistachio brownies that look like pieces of soggy lawn but taste delicious. “This is by far my favorite part of the city," Jander adds. “It is like a village here."
It certainly is relaxed. On nearby Stephansplatz, people laze around eating ice cream or drinking beer at the dinky taverns around Sendlinger Tor, the Gothic gate that marked the Old Town's southern entrance. On Sendlinger Strasse, I stumble across Asam Church, an 18th-century Baroque structure sandwiched between two apartment blocks. Inside is a glaring ceiling fresco by Cosmas Damian Asam, one of the two artist brothers who built the church. It fits neatly with the overall design ethos, which could be summed up as: If it doesn't move, gild it.
My next stop is another local institution known for its bold style. Tantris is a two-Michelin-starred restaurant that opened in 1971 and has stuck with its original look for so long it's bang on-trend again. The walls are lined with orange carpet, and the tables are lit by plastic globe lamps. I half expect Roger Moore to crash through a skylight with a Walther PPK and a double entendre.
The glaring ceiling fresco at Asam Church fits neatly with the overall design ethos: If it doesn't move, gild it.
For a nightcap, I cab to Schumann's Bar, which is based on “the perfect American cocktail bar." All dark wood, amber lighting, and Miles Davis, it's a place that makes you a little cooler just for having walked in. The owner for 36 years, Charles Schumann—in an impeccable white shirt and with slicked-back hair—greets everyone as if he is throwing a party for his most fabulous friends.
And, in a way, he is. I ask if he has a signature cocktail. “Every drink made well is my signature," he says, then produces one based on my preferences—whiskey and citrus—adding egg white and honey. It's fantastic, and I have a couple more. “You must come back tomorrow," Schumann says as I stumble out. “I'm making my famous seared steak tartare."
Day 3
Fancy cars, urban surfing, and hip dive bars
With my luggage dispatched to the Mandarin Oriental, I catch an early metro train to beat the traffic—which is ironic, as I'm off to visit the headquarters of BMW. This is Disneyland for car buffs, featuring the BMW Museum, whose exhibits include a gleaming 303 runabout made in 1933, and the BMW Welt, where visitors can see current models and concept cars.
Future cars will have a hard time outdoing the curvy BMW 507 roadster bought by Elvis Presley while he was stationed in Germany in the late '50s. Elvis had the chalk-white vehicle painted red, because so many fans were leaving lipstick marks on it. Here, before less amorous admirers, it has been restored to its former color.
I am offered a chance to be driven around the campus in an Isetta, an egg-shaped three-wheeler from the '50s. The car is so tiny its entire front end hinges outward to allow entry. Climbing into the thing is not a dignified procedure, particularly for those who share the car's body type. Inevitably, 200 Japanese visitors are on hand to capture my efforts on their phones. I am surely a YouTube sensation throughout Asia.
I ask Domagoj Dukec, BMW's design supremo, why drivers in Munich seem to be more courteous than in other cities. “Germans are taught from an early age that there are consequences if they don't follow rules," he replies. “They are also very practical: They don't want to damage their cars."
Having successfully extracted myself from the Isetta, I treat myself to schnitzel and a mound of potato salad at Bavarie Brasserie, one of five restaurants at the carmaker's campus. Unfortunately, I now need a shoehorn to get out of my chair.
Heading back to the university district, I pass the Siegestor, Ludwig I's 69-foot-high triumphal arch, topped by a statue of a woman—the personification of Bavaria—with four lions on leashes. She looks as if she's taking them for walkies.
I'm here to visit the Neue Pinakothek, which was established in the mid-19th century as Europe's first public contemporary art museum. After the building's destruction during World War II, a replacement was built to house the collection. Big draws include one of Van Gogh's five Sunflower paintings, plus works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are also some terrific paintings from lesser-known artists, such as Johan Christian Dahl's Morning After a Stormy Night, a Romantic study of nature's fury and the inherent gloominess of Norwegians.
After a dip in the rooftop pool, I realize I can now find my way around the whole of Munich—but only from the air.
From here, a 20-minute stroll takes me to the south end of the English Garden, a park best known for its beer gardens, Chinese pagoda, and nude sunbathers. From a bridge overlooking a fast-flowing stretch of the Eisbach River, I spot something even odder: dozens of surfers in full wetsuits riding waves.
Sitting on the long grass by a calmer stretch of the river, I get to talking to a young couple: Martina, a high-school teacher, and Wolfgang, an architect. They seem eager to dispel the notion that nightlife in Munich involves clanking steins together while shouting “ Prost!" so they invite me to join them this evening at a couple of the city's trendier establishments.
First, I need to relax. This is easy to do in my room at the Mandarin Oriental, with its cherrywood furnishings, plush fabrics, and earth-tone walls. After a dip in the rooftop pool, taking in the views, I realize I can now find my way around the whole of Munich—but only from the air.
Dinner is at the hotel restaurant, Matsuhisa Munich, opened a couple of years ago by world-conquering chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose slick decor and Japanese-Peruvian menu have had Bavarians climbing over each other to get in. I go for the signature black cod, mind-blowing yellowtail-jalapeño sashimi, and a rib-eye anticucho. It is all extraordinary.
Later, having forced myself into a pair of semi-skinny jeans, I meet Martina and Wolfgang at the café-fringed Gartnerplatz. The streets are filled with young people holding beer bottles. It seems rude not to join them, so we grab some brews and head off in search of these fashionable bars my new friends have been telling me about.
Our first stop is a dive called Klenze 17, which has an equal number of look-at-me hipsters and don't-dare-look-at-me old-timers, but which turns out to be surprisingly relaxed. Afterward, we head to The Flushing Meadows Bar, on the top floor of a “hidden" hotel in an industrial building. In a room crammed with people in their 20s, on a sofa that might have been found on the sidewalk, we drink whiskey gingers in near darkness, trying to hear each other over the thud-thud of electronic music.
At closing time, we queue for the elevator. There are whispers about a club in converted shipping containers. There are murmurs of kebabs and currywurst. I am sure Munich has many other hidden delights, but I suddenly have the urge to climb into my comfortable hotel bed—not just because I'm tired, but because I'm eager for tomorrow, when I'll wake to the sun rising over the toy-town roofs, a breakfast tray within reach, and a few precious hours left to explore what is, I have discovered, a very livable city indeed.
Day 1
Gothic landmarks, ancient taverns, and museum-quality espresso machines
Apart from the famously beery Oktoberfest, we are generally reminded of Munich only when it pops up on one of those most-livable city lists. And boy, are locals thrilled to be here. This is the northern-most city of Italy, they say, only half-joking, referring to the classical architecture, the alfresco lifestyle, and the great food. They whip out maps to show how close they are to the Bavarian Alps or Lake Constance. They extol the convenience of having Zurich and Salzburg on their doorstep for when they need investment advice or a waltz.
They seem to have hit the jackpot—maybe literally—here on the shores of the winding Isar River. In the parking bays of glitzy Maximilianstrasse, Lamborghinis nuzzle Ferraris, Bentleys spoon Porsches. A necklace of showroom-shiny Mercedes roadsters slinks around the corner. These are just the cars I can see from my table in the elegant, wood-paneled breakfast room of the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski. I only manage to gulp down some juice, however, because I've overslept and my Tours By Locals guide, Stefan, is in front of me at 9 o'clock sharp. We're not actually in Italy, after all. The plan is to wander around the Altstadt (Old Town), which, conveniently, is right outside.
Marienplatz, the city's main square since 1158, is dominated by its neo-Gothic New Town Hall, built at the turn of the 20th century. The architect did not hold back: The 300-foot wide facade is a riot of spouting gargoyles, bristling pinnacles, and carvings of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918. The star attraction is the Glockenspiel, with its 32 life-size figures enacting folk tales, along with a dance to celebrate the end of the Black Death.
The Gothic Old Town Hall
On the square's east side is the Old Town Hall. This spired building was constructed in the 1470s but badly damaged during World War II, after which it was patched up, apparently with the same materials used by Walt Disney for Cinderella's castle. Around the corner is the Hofbräuhaus brewery, established in 1607 by Duke Wilhelm V to supply beer for the royal family. It's now Munich's most famous tavern, which is some feat. Some of the patrons today are wearing lederhosen, or trachten vests and felt Alpine hats. Barmaids twirl around in dirndl dresses, balancing trays of pork knuckles. I feel as if I'm hanging out with the townsfolk from Shrek in a medieval Hooters. (The brewery also has a dark history: This is where, in 1920, Hitler laid out his 25-point plan, essentially founding the Nazi party.)
Walking southeast, we hit Viktualienmarkt, a 19th-century farmers market that has evolved into a global gourmet destination. Around a striped maypole—an ancient symbol of seasonal rebirth—shoppers appraise the latest exotic superfoods. I sample the local delicacy leberkäse, which means "liver cheese" but is really a meatloaf made from corned beef and pork. Let's just say it's an acquired taste.
Zigzagging around the medieval lanes, we come to the city's oldest church, St. Peter's, built circa 1180 but best known for its lantern-dome tower, attached as part of a Baroque facelift 500 years later. The church is also famous for its relics: On one aisle is a glass case containing the reclining skeleton of Christian martyr Saint Munditia dressed in her finery. It looks like a magic trick gone horribly wrong.
After a spin past numerous other ecclesiastical marvels, I find myself peckish again. At the Dallmayr Delicatessen, I have sea bass with mashed potatoes, as I watch the local burghers select deli treats and visitors buy souvenir tins of white sausage soup and jars of sweet mustard.
From here, the efficient U-Bahn metro system whisks me to where the university district meets Neuhausen, a leafy section of 19th-century residences, northwest of the city center. I'm here to visit the new European HQ of Montreal special effects house RodeoFX, which has worked on everything from Game of Thrones to Star Wars.
Thomas Hullin, the head of the Munich studio, is keen to show me around the area, which smells of malt, thanks to the nearby Löwenbräu brewery. We walk down Brienner Strasse, with its two stately squares, Königsplatz—housing the Glyptothek, where Ludwig I stashed Greek and Roman statues—and Karolinenplatz, which has an obelisk made from the bronze of captured cannons to honor soldiers who died fighting Napoleon.
I love Munich's diversity, Hullin says. "Within an hour, you can be in the Alps or doing outdoorsy stuff in the forests. And the city itself is so varied—you can travel five centuries in a couple of subway stops."
Lively Türkenstrasse takes us past Asian street food vendors, Middle Eastern falafel counters, and English tea rooms. We stop for a coffee outside Café Soda, whose wicker chairs remind Hullin of Paris. "Munich is a city with a soul," he says, sipping an espresso.
A display at The Design Museum
I say goodbye and head to The Design Museum, a repository of cool 20th-century stuff. I check out the architectural typewriters and sculptural espresso machines; then I'm gripped by a sudden desire to sit down, possibly because I've reached the chair section. I take a cab back to the Vier Jahreszeiten, where I float for a bit in the rooftop pool, then head for dinner at the hotel's Schwarzreiter Tagesbar & Restaurant. Here, in unfussy surroundings, the kitchen serves up what it calls Young Bavarian Cuisine. The thinking is "satt, nicht platt," or "full, but not too full."
I don't believe there is such a thing as "too full," so I work my way through plump Bavarian prawns with crab, pink lamb with salsify and mushrooms, and a dessert of bananas, whiskey, chocolate, and pecans. Upstairs in my room, I fall asleep almost instantly—counting BMWs.
Day 2
Submarines, fashionable dirndls, and the world's best baby food
I start the day west of the hotel, in up-and-coming Schwanthalerhöhe (SchwoHo, anyone?). I have coffee and apple cake at Marais, a café in a former haberdashery. It's full of hipsters who seem entranced by the chintzy crockery and doilies.
Until a few years ago, this area was home to families from Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans. Now young professionals are moving in, followed by shops selling single-origin coffee and ironic clothing. I watch boys in kufis kicking a soccer ball on a street, then pop into the concept store Raumwerk, where I lust over a $100 artisanal tool for chopping herbs.
From Central Station, it's three stops to the Deutsches Museum, a sprawling century-old building where more than 100,000 objects relating to science and technology are displayed chronologically. This figure does not convey the scale of the place: The maritime floor contains dozens of vessels, including a 137-foot U1 submarine; the aeronautics collection has more than 70 planes, among them the first motorized aircraft built by the Wright brothers. Elsewhere, steam generators and combustion engines are displayed like art installations. I spend an unexpectedly fun half-hour down a reconstructed coal mine, then watch two men create lightning in a lab straight out of Frankenstein. This must be one of those rare museums where kids hassle their parents to stay longer.
A cab takes me back to Schwanthalerhöhe, where I check into Roomers, a buzzy new design hotel with a cinema screen in its moodily lit spa. My room has an open bathroom with a circular tub so large I could use one of those brass diving suits from the museum. Instead, I visit the hotel's Japanese–Latin American restaurant, Izakaya, where I order a lunchtime bento box containing beef with coriander and spicy lime dressing, ceviche, and corn tempura—which is possibly the best thing since popcorn.
My next stop is Glockenbachviertel, the artsy district that runs along the north bank of the Isar. Once filled with Jewish families and millworkers, this area was the center of Munich's gay scene in the 1980s. Today, it teems with artisan jewelers, chocolatiers, and cafés that employ convoluted ways to brew matcha. At tiny Club Do Vinho, a woman named Ana Maria makes me taste vintage port and force-feeds me madeira cake. It is too good. I flee before she can open a vat of sardines.
On trendy Jahnstrasse, I meet dress designer Svenja Jander at her eponymous atelier. Jander specializes in making traditional dirndls using modern designs and colors. Inside, three serious-looking people with pins in their mouths are cutting paper shapes. Others are a blur of elbows, reaching for bolts of cotton and silk. It all looks terribly urgent.
“Unlike the rest of Germany, women in Munich love dressing up," Jander tells me at Aroma, a café and retro toy shop close by. “I think most would always choose clothes over holidays." We are eating flourless pistachio brownies that look like pieces of soggy lawn but taste delicious. “This is by far my favorite part of the city," Jander adds. “It is like a village here."
It certainly is relaxed. On nearby Stephansplatz, people laze around eating ice cream or drinking beer at the dinky taverns around Sendlinger Tor, the Gothic gate that marked the Old Town's southern entrance. On Sendlinger Strasse, I stumble across Asam Church, an 18th-century Baroque structure sandwiched between two apartment blocks. Inside is a glaring ceiling fresco by Cosmas Damian Asam, one of the two artist brothers who built the church. It fits neatly with the overall design ethos, which could be summed up as: If it doesn't move, gild it.
My next stop is another local institution known for its bold style. Tantris is a two-Michelin-starred restaurant that opened in 1971 and has stuck with its original look for so long it's bang on-trend again. The walls are lined with orange carpet, and the tables are lit by plastic globe lamps. I half expect Roger Moore to crash through a skylight with a Walther PPK and a double entendre.
The glaring ceiling fresco at Asam Church fits neatly with the overall design ethos: If it doesn't move, gild it.
For a nightcap, I cab to Schumann's Bar, which is based on “the perfect American cocktail bar." All dark wood, amber lighting, and Miles Davis, it's a place that makes you a little cooler just for having walked in. The owner for 36 years, Charles Schumann—in an impeccable white shirt and with slicked-back hair—greets everyone as if he is throwing a party for his most fabulous friends.
And, in a way, he is. I ask if he has a signature cocktail. “Every drink made well is my signature," he says, then produces one based on my preferences—whiskey and citrus—adding egg white and honey. It's fantastic, and I have a couple more. “You must come back tomorrow," Schumann says as I stumble out. “I'm making my famous seared steak tartare."
Day 3
Fancy cars, urban surfing, and hip dive bars
With my luggage dispatched to the Mandarin Oriental, I catch an early metro train to beat the traffic—which is ironic, as I'm off to visit the headquarters of BMW. This is Disneyland for car buffs, featuring the BMW Museum, whose exhibits include a gleaming 303 runabout made in 1933, and the BMW Welt, where visitors can see current models and concept cars.
Future cars will have a hard time outdoing the curvy BMW 507 roadster bought by Elvis Presley while he was stationed in Germany in the late '50s. Elvis had the chalk-white vehicle painted red, because so many fans were leaving lipstick marks on it. Here, before less amorous admirers, it has been restored to its former color.
I am offered a chance to be driven around the campus in an Isetta, an egg-shaped three-wheeler from the '50s. The car is so tiny its entire front end hinges outward to allow entry. Climbing into the thing is not a dignified procedure, particularly for those who share the car's body type. Inevitably, 200 Japanese visitors are on hand to capture my efforts on their phones. I am surely a YouTube sensation throughout Asia.
I ask Domagoj Dukec, BMW's design supremo, why drivers in Munich seem to be more courteous than in other cities. “Germans are taught from an early age that there are consequences if they don't follow rules," he replies. “They are also very practical: They don't want to damage their cars."
Having successfully extracted myself from the Isetta, I treat myself to schnitzel and a mound of potato salad at Bavarie Brasserie, one of five restaurants at the carmaker's campus. Unfortunately, I now need a shoehorn to get out of my chair.
Heading back to the university district, I pass the Siegestor, Ludwig I's 69-foot-high triumphal arch, topped by a statue of a woman—the personification of Bavaria—with four lions on leashes. She looks as if she's taking them for walkies.
I'm here to visit the Neue Pinakothek, which was established in the mid-19th century as Europe's first public contemporary art museum. After the building's destruction during World War II, a replacement was built to house the collection. Big draws include one of Van Gogh's five Sunflower paintings, plus works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are also some terrific paintings from lesser-known artists, such as Johan Christian Dahl's Morning After a Stormy Night, a Romantic study of nature's fury and the inherent gloominess of Norwegians.
After a dip in the rooftop pool, I realize I can now find my way around the whole of Munich—but only from the air.
From here, a 20-minute stroll takes me to the south end of the English Garden, a park best known for its beer gardens, Chinese pagoda, and nude sunbathers. From a bridge overlooking a fast-flowing stretch of the Eisbach River, I spot something even odder: dozens of surfers in full wetsuits riding waves.
Sitting on the long grass by a calmer stretch of the river, I get to talking to a young couple: Martina, a high-school teacher, and Wolfgang, an architect. They seem eager to dispel the notion that nightlife in Munich involves clanking steins together while shouting “ Prost!" so they invite me to join them this evening at a couple of the city's trendier establishments.
First, I need to relax. This is easy to do in my room at the Mandarin Oriental, with its cherrywood furnishings, plush fabrics, and earth-tone walls. After a dip in the rooftop pool, taking in the views, I realize I can now find my way around the whole of Munich—but only from the air.
Dinner is at the hotel restaurant, Matsuhisa Munich, opened a couple of years ago by world-conquering chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose slick decor and Japanese-Peruvian menu have had Bavarians climbing over each other to get in. I go for the signature black cod, mind-blowing yellowtail-jalapeño sashimi, and a rib-eye anticucho. It is all extraordinary.
Later, having forced myself into a pair of semi-skinny jeans, I meet Martina and Wolfgang at the café-fringed Gartnerplatz. The streets are filled with young people holding beer bottles. It seems rude not to join them, so we grab some brews and head off in search of these fashionable bars my new friends have been telling me about.
Our first stop is a dive called Klenze 17, which has an equal number of look-at-me hipsters and don't-dare-look-at-me old-timers, but which turns out to be surprisingly relaxed. Afterward, we head to The Flushing Meadows Bar, on the top floor of a “hidden" hotel in an industrial building. In a room crammed with people in their 20s, on a sofa that might have been found on the sidewalk, we drink whiskey gingers in near darkness, trying to hear each other over the thud-thud of electronic music.
At closing time, we queue for the elevator. There are whispers about a club in converted shipping containers. There are murmurs of kebabs and currywurst. I am sure Munich has many other hidden delights, but I suddenly have the urge to climb into my comfortable hotel bed—not just because I'm tired, but because I'm eager for tomorrow, when I'll wake to the sun rising over the toy-town roofs, a breakfast tray within reach, and a few precious hours left to explore what is, I have discovered, a very livable city indeed.
These industry firsts, along with other new options like the ability to combine multiple travel credits and use them on partner airlines, give United customers more flexibility than any other airline. For customers who have travel credits issued on or before August 31, 2021, United is also allowing a one-time opportunity to share these credits with friends and family.
This represents the continuation of the customer experience transformation underway at United, putting the customer first every step of the way. United continues to invest in ways to enhance the travel experience including introducing new policies to encourage and make it simple for customers to return to travel.
"Unlike most airlines where travel credits are difficult to use, at United we're doing something different," said Toby Enqvist, chief customer office for United. "We're showing our customers they have credits – and we're making them easier than ever to use. It's not just the right thing to do for our customers, but it's also the right way to re-introduce more customers to the United travel experience, which we're convinced will make them more likely to fly with us in the future."
Using the United app or United.com, customers with an electronic travel certificate (ETC) or a future flight credit (FFC), can enjoy more options and flexibility than ever including the ability to:
- Automatically see and apply available travel credits on the check-out page when rebooking travel – this is will be available to MileagePlus members first with availability for all customers in the near future
- Combine multiple travel credits to apply when booking new travel plans (customers can now combine multiple Future Flight Credits (FFCs) or Electronic Travel Certificates (ETCs), and will soon be able to combine ETCs and FTCs together)
- Book travel on partner airlines
- Purchase extra legroom seats and pre-pay for checked baggage at time of check-out
- Share travel credits with a friend or family member from wholly unused travel credits issued on or before August 31, 2021 by applying travel credits as payment on check-out screen
As customers return to flying with United, they will notice other new service upgrades including the option to pre-order snacks and beverages online and through United's app. And customers can book trips with confidence knowing that if their plans change, they have the flexibility to adjust their travel with no change fees. United was the first global U.S. airline to eliminate change fees on most tickets and to allow all customers to fly standby for free on the same day of travel to the same destination.
United Next
United is more focused than ever on its commitment to customers and employees. In addition to today's announcement, United has recently:
- Launched an ambitious plan to transform the United customer experience by adding and upgrading hundreds of aircraft as well as investing in features like larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat and the industry's fastest available Wi-Fi.
- Announced a goal to create 25,000 unionized jobs by 2026 that includes careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians, and dispatchers.
- Announced that United will train at least 5,000 pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the plan of at least half being women and people of color.
- Required all U.S. employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
- Became the first airline to offer customers the ability to check their destination's travel requirements, schedule COVID-19 tests and more on its mobile app and website.
- Invested in emerging technologies that are designed to decarbonize air travel, like an agreement to work with urban air mobility company Archer, an investment in aircraft startup Heart Aerospace and a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
- Committed to going 100% green by 2050 by reducing 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions without relying on traditional carbon offsets, including a recent agreement to purchase one and a half times the amount of all of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments combined.
- Eliminated change fees for all economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." In 2019, United and United Express® carriers operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. United has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more about how to join the United team, please visit united.com/careers and more information about the company is at united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
SOURCE United Airlines
For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, +1-872-825-8640, media.relations@united.com
"This new flight to Lagos has been highly anticipated by our customers and offers the first ever nonstop service between Washington, D.C. and Nigeria, as well as convenient, one-stop connections to over 80 destinations throughout the Americas including Houston and Chicago," said Patrick Quayle, United's vice president of international network and alliances. "On behalf of all of United we'd like to offer our sincere thanks to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and U.S. Department of Transportation for supporting our plans to provide this service."
"We are honored to work with our partners at United Airlines to welcome their second nonstop connection from Dulles International to the African continent," said Carl Schultz, acting vice president of airline business development at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. "Lagos joins nearly 50 other nonstop international destinations currently served by the National Capital Region's gateway to the world."
United will operate this route with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 28 United Polaris® business class lie-flat seats, 21 United Premium Plus® premium economy seats, 36 Economy Plus® seats and 158 standard economy seats. This flight is the only service between the U.S. and Nigeria to offer premium economy product. Flights will depart Washington, D.C. on Monday, Thursday and Saturday and return from Lagos on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
This new flight builds on United's expansion into Africa and solidifies United's leadership position to Africa from the D.C. metro area, with more flights to the continent than any other airline. Just this year, United launched new service between New York/Newark and Johannesburg, South Africa and between Washington, D.C. and Accra, Ghana. And this December and January, United will increase its service to Accra from three weekly flights to daily* as customers travel home for the winter holidays. United is also returning its popular service between New York/Newark and Cape Town, South Africa on December 1.
United's new flights comply with each country's COVID-19 protocols and customers should check destination requirements before traveling.
Making International Travel Easier
United is the only U.S. airline to offer its own one-stop-shop where customers can conveniently get "travel-ready" by finding a location to schedule a COVID-19 test as well as upload and store their test results and vaccination records directly through the airline's website and award-winning mobile app with the Travel-Ready Center. The airline's easy-to-use travel tool available on United's mobile app enables customers to reduce stress and save valuable time at the airport right from the palm of their hand. United also announced a collaboration with Abbott and became the first U.S. carrier to set up an easy way for international travelers to bring a CDC-approved test with them, self-administer while abroad, and return home.
United Next
United is more focused than ever on its commitment to customers and employees. In addition to today's announcement, United has recently:
- Launched an ambitious plan to transform the United customer experience by adding and upgrading hundreds of aircraft as well as investing in features like larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat and the industry's fastest available Wi-Fi.
- Announced a goal to create 25,000 unionized jobs by 2026 that includes careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians, and dispatchers.
- Announced that United will train at least 5,000 pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the plan of at least half being women and people of color.
- Required all U.S. employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
- Became the first airline to offer customers the ability to check their destination's travel requirements, schedule COVID-19 tests and more on its mobile app and website.
- Invested in emerging technologies that are designed to decarbonize air travel, like an agreement to work with urban air mobility company Archer, an investment in aircraft startup Heart Aerospace and a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
- Committed to going 100% green by 2050 by reducing 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions without relying on traditional carbon offsets, including a recent agreement to purchase one and a half times the amount of all of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments combined.
- Eliminated change fees for all economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." In 2019, United and United Express® carriers operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. United has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more about how to join the United team, please visit united.com/careers and more information about the company is at united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
*daily flights to Accra this winter are subject to government approval
SOURCE United Airlines
For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, +1-872-825-8640, media.relations@united.com
CHICAGO and DES PLAINES, Ill., Sept. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United and Honeywell today announced a joint multimillion-dollar investment in Alder Fuels – a cleantech company that is pioneering first-of-its-kind technologies for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at scale by converting abundant biomass, such as forest and crop waste, into sustainable low-carbon, drop-in replacement crude oil that can be used to produce aviation fuel. When used together across the fuel lifecycle, the Alder technologies, coupled with Honeywell's Ecofining™ process, could have the ability to produce a carbon-negative fuel at spec with today's jet fuel. The goal of the technologies is to produce fuel that is a 100% drop-in replacement for petroleum jet fuel.
As part of the agreement, United is committing to purchase 1.5 billion gallons of SAF from Alder when produced to United's requirements. United's purchase agreement, which is one and a half times the size of the known purchase commitments of all global airlines combined, makes this easily the largest publicly announced SAF agreement in aviation history. United's purchase agreement with Alder also surpasses the previous record set by the airline in 2015 through its investment in Fulcrum BioEnergy with its option to purchase up to 900 million gallons of SAF.
"Since announcing our 100% green commitment in 2020, United has stayed focused on decarbonizing without relying on the use of traditional carbon offsets. Part of that commitment means increasing SAF usage and availability since it's the fastest way to reduce emissions across our fleet. However, to scale SAF as quickly as necessary, we need to look beyond existing solutions and invest in research and development for new pathways like the one Alder is developing," said United CEO Scott Kirby. "United has come further than any other airline making sustainable travel a reality by using SAF to power flights. Our leadership gives customers confidence that they are flying with an airline that recognizes the responsibility we have to help solve climate change."
"As a pioneer of the SAF market with UOP Ecofining™ technology, our work with United and Alder on this new technology will help transform the industry and support the growth of a zero-carbon economy," said Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer. "This solution will not only advance United's SAF commitment but can help the aviation industry meet its commitments to decouple increases in carbon emissions from growth in passengers."
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. forestry residues and agricultural residues alone could provide enough biomass energy to generate more than 17 billion gallons of jet fuel and displace 75% of U.S. aviation fuel consumption. If the U.S. were to broadly adopt regenerative agricultural practices, which capture more carbon in healthier soil compared to traditional methods, the U.S. could generate an additional seven billion gallons of SAF, which would completely replace the U.S.'s current fossil jet fuel consumption.
Alder's technology and demand for its fuel from the aviation industry create a large new market for biomass from regenerative practices. Use of this biomass further enables Alder's production process to be carbon negative over the fuel's lifecycle.
"Aviation poses one of the greatest technology challenges for addressing climate change and SAF has demonstrated the greatest potential. However, there is insufficient raw material to meet demand," said Bryan Sherbacow, CEO of Alder Fuels and senior advisor to World Energy, the company that owns and operates the world's first SAF refinery. "Alder's technology revolutionizes SAF production by enabling use of widely available, low-cost and low-carbon feedstock. The industry is now a major step closer to using 100% SAF with our drop-in fuel that accelerates the global transition to a zero-carbon economy."
Prior to founding Alder, Sherbacow built the world's first SAF refinery utilizing Honeywell's technology and subsequently contracted with United, enabling the airline to become the first globally to use SAF in regular operations on a continuous basis. Since then, United has purchased more SAF than any other airline and, with this agreement now, has more than 70% of the airline industry's publicly announced SAF commitments. Alder's research is supported by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency, the DOE and a partnership with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), focused on developing technology to process organic waste and sustainable, non-food plant material into carbon-negative transportation fuels.
Honeywell innovation established the SAF market with its UOP Ecofining process, which is the first technology used to maximize SAF production for commercial aviation. Building on Honeywell's focus to create sustainable technology, Honeywell will utilize its expertise and proven process of developing sustainable fuels alongside Alder, applying proprietary hydroprocessing design to the process to jointly commercialize the technology. Commercialization is expected by 2025. This announcement is a clear example of how Honeywell's Sustainable Technology Solutions business can partner with early-stage companies and help them scale faster, access customers and advance research and development to help drive sustainability at the global level.
United's joint investment in Alder is the latest by United Airlines Ventures, a venture fund launched earlier this year that focuses on startups, upcoming technologies, and sustainability concepts that will complement United's goal of net zero emissions by 2050 -- without relying on traditional carbon offsets. In 2020, United became the first airline to announce a commitment to invest in carbon capture and sequestration and has since followed with investments in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and 19-seat electric aircraft that have the potential to fly customers up to 250 miles before the decade's end.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of UAL is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
About United Airlines Ventures
United's corporate venture capital fund, United Airlines Ventures, allows the airline to continue investing in emerging companies that have the potential to influence the future of travel. The new fund will concentrate on sustainability concepts that will complement United's goal of net zero emissions by 2050 -- without relying on traditional carbon offsets -- as well as revolutionary aerospace developments and innovative technologies that are expected to create value for customers and United's operation. For more information about United Airlines Ventures, please visit https://www.united.com/ventures.
About Honeywell
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.
About Alder Fuels
Alder Fuels, founded by biofuel and aviation industry entrepreneur Bryan Sherbacow, is a process technology and project development company in the low-carbon energy industry. Alder is commercializing a process to produce crude oil that is carbon negative, scalable and cost-competitive with the petroleum it replaces. Critical to rapid, world-scale deployment, the process will be compatible with the existing petroleum refining and logistics infrastructure. The company's collaboration with United Airlines and Honeywell UOP is expected to propel use of new forms of biomass to power commercial aircraft, reduce fossil fuel consumption and commercialize technologies benefiting the flying public. It builds upon a decade-old relationship among the stakeholders in pioneering commercialization of industry-leading SAF technology. For more information about Alder Fuels, visit http://www.alderfuel.com/.
Forward Looking Statement
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking and thus reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to United's and Honeywell's operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals," "targets" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us on the date of this press release. Neither United nor Honeywell undertakes any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. United's and Honeywell's actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties set forth under Part II, Item 1A., "Risk Factors," of United Airlines Holdings, Inc.'s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 and Honeywell's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports United Airlines Holdings, Inc. and Honeywell file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE United Airlines
For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, +1-872-825-8640, media.relations@united.com; Honeywell, Mike Hockey, Mike.hockey@honeywell.com, 832 285 4933; Alder Fuels, Alex Gibson, 803-361-3016, agibson@apcoworldwide.com
