munich

Bavaria

Münich. Home of Puma, BMW, and a bunch of other huge German conglomerates. Like in Stuttgart, everyone wears masks here too. At least in public spaces and until it’s time to eat. Germans don’t hesitate a second to give you a somewhat perturbed, reprimanding look if you don’t have a mask strapped on.

Arrived in the Bavarian capital kinda late last night after a full day of meetings in Stuttgart. No doubt that it’s “big boy business” down here. The niche, fringe, and edge-case stuff isn’t exactly frowned upon, but it’s still traditional, old school industry that rules the day here.

Traveling for a couple of hours along the busy Autobahn A8 yesterday evening, frequently passed by a slew of vehicles, most at well above 200km/h, it became perfectly clear why there are so many supercharged cars here. Makes much less sense to own an AMG GLC or a Lamborghini Urus in Sweden with its low-bar speed limitations.

Took an off-the-street taxi to a meeting today, a Mercedes S Class (6 cyl/300hp/2019) which according to the driver cost about €150k – including some extra bells and whistles. I can’t wrap my head around how much money that represents and, above all, how many passengers that taxi has to transport before getting some kind of ROI.