The Great Outdoors

Jack Wolfskin may not be a Munich-based company (it is based in Idstein, 200 KM Northwest of Munich), but fewer brands are more engrained in the Munich outdoor lifestyle than this outdoor apparel, footwear, and equipment manufacturer and retailer. Jack Wolfskin is generally listed as one of Munich’s coolest assets, and a celebrated part of the culture as it becomes more and more fashionable and used in everyday situations rather than in the extreme outdoors. I tend to think of the brand as being very similar to Timberland, but there are claims that Jack Wolfskin is the largest outdoor clothing manufacturer in the world – although I can’t confirm. It. The company was founded in 1981, and now has stores across Europe and Asia selling everything from mountaineering to leisure clothing.

Ready…Aim…Fire

A shooter’s view at one of the most recognized shooting ranges in the world, The Olympic Shooting facility north of Munich, which was built for the 1972 Olympics. The facility received a several million euro face-lift over the past few years as it hosted the ISSF World Cup back in May, and will host the world shooting championships in 2010. A big part of that renovation was adding a new five-range shotgun venue, as well as five new Olympic Bunkers with superimposed skeet fields. All five bunkers are connected by a service tunnel that parallels the shooting stations. The facility is quite interesting in that it has its own sub-culture, which most people don’t get to see. When I stopped by, there were only about 10 shooters in what seemed about 150 shooting bays. They were all “kitted out” with the latest firing outfits, equipment, and attitude. When someone saw me taking pictures, I was promptly chased out of there. But then again, when they all have guns you get right back on your bike and ride, ride, ride.

Fields of Gold

The Mustard Seeds have returned in and around Munich. As you get to the city boundary of Munich, the terrain quickly turns to farmland all around the city. And in many of the fields through Bavaria, Austria, and Switzerland you will find fields of gold, mustard gold or senf gold as it is known in German. Munich has its own flavor called Munich Mustard, a unique blend of mixing mustard seeds with water, vinegar, etc, to turn this plant into the condiment that is loved throughout Bavaria. The seeds can also be pressed to make mustard oil and the edible leaves can be eaten as mustard greens. They all end up on wurst or pretzels, and the locals can’t seem to get enough of it. As much as Americans love Ketchup, the Bavarians love mustard.

Out in the Burbs

The Munich region has approx 2.4 million inhabitants, and 1.1 million live outside the city limits of Munich – out in the burbs. Not surprisingly, Munich, has had 800+ years of “city planning” but due to the fact that it has few natural physical boundaries (the Isar is about the only one as the Alps are well beyond Munich boundaries), urban growth has remained largely unrestricted. Most of the urban growth occurred between 1871 and the turn of the 19th century, growing from 170,000 to 500,000 inhabitants. but unlike many other European centers, the city has avoided endless sprawl. Instead, parks and forests of the Bavarian kings have been incorporated into the urban fabric, making it one of the greener cities in Europe.