Munich proved to be one of the friendliest places I’ve been to. On two separate occasions someone went out of their way to help to provide directions; there was a kindly old gentleman that traveled several train stops to ensure we were getting on the right train; and the Grandmother that continued with the conversation for 10 minutes even though the only reply she got were a few smiles and laughs.

While I was there I learnt a lot about not only Munich but also Istanbul:

• Munich is the capital city of Bavaria which considers itself quite distinct from the rest of Germany. Bavarians are proud of their unique and distinct heritage.
• TÜV is a independent technical laboratory that certifies technical standards in and around Germany.
• Istanbul is divided lies between both Europe and Asia and the two sides of the city are connected by a bridge. One side of the bridge is in Asia, and the other is in Europe.
• The city is also growing very rapidly. There has been an influx of workers from Eastern Turkey and as a result the population has been growing quickly.
• As a consequence it’s not uncommon to spent 2-3 hours commuting to work … hmm, sounds even worse than commuting in Seattle!
• “Es kommt darauft en” means “It depends” in German.

Team: Munich Explorer
The Munich Explorer team did a great My-City brochure. I particularly liked their module framework which allowed them to change things quite dynamically. Here’s the team with their product:




Team: Doggies Woof-Woof
Doggies Woof Woof were certainly a team with a sense of humour, as you can probably tell from their name. One of the team members (Steffen) inherited one of my training props and posted a flickr photo which you can view here. And here are some photos of the team and their brochure: