évasion
fly away
ّ
لنتحـلق
voyage dans le temps I journey through time I
رحلـة عبـر الزمـن
1
Last year, Munich was celebrating its 850th anniversary. The
old lady has bravely crossed the centuries, building in the
meantime her own identity, and there she is, at the dawn of the
21st century, showing an incredible panache and a fantastic
cultural and economical energy.
r
La Gazelle 56 I
138
ich and proud to be, the capital
of Bavière features multiple
exterior signs of wealth,
without any false modesty
:
« In Germany, it is said that
rich people of Hambourg hide
their fortune, while people of
Munich show it », explains Anja Martin, a journalist
who has long worked for Elle Decoration. « We see
a lot of extremely expensive cars, sumptuous villas
(in Grünwald). Women wear luxury brands, men buy
very expensive shoes. We buy works of art, we go to
the opera… Munich is both traditional and worldly. »
Traditional, yes, but not traditionalist. There is a quite
difference. The neoclassical façades and the large
avenues seem austere, but sometimes there is more
to it than meets the eye. Inhabitants of Munich aren’t
all strong fellows wearing lederhosen, felt jacket and
feather hat. The tall, handsome and ultra-trendy
specimens, dressed in Hugo Boss from head to toe,
getting out of the latest BMW coupé, are living proof
that Munich can also be ultra chic and sophisticated.
Italy has surely been of great influence. Here, people
like to repeat that Munich is the most northerly city
of Italy, in other words the most Mediterranean of
Germany. « In Munich, note Anja Martin, we speak