Welcome to Bavaria and Hello –Willkommen in Bayern und Grüss Gott！

Bavaria – Land of Oktoberfest， Castle Neuschwanstein， King Ludwig II and FC Bayern， of BMW and AUDI alike. Coming to Bavaria， people all over the world have some kind of expectation that goes along those lines. And yes， reality meets expectation. You arrive in one of the most modern and efficient airports worldwide， you see blue skies with white clouds， the alp mountains in the background and yes， you will see a lot of sleek and fast driving cars while at the same time everybody seems to be pedaling on their bicycles to enjoy a relaxed gulp of beer in the “Biergarten”.

So is Bavaria the ultimate Land of “Yin and Yang”？

“Laptop and Lederhosen” was a long used slogan to capture the spirit of Modern Bavaria. Being born in Munich some 52 years ago and having grown up in my hometown Ingolstadt， one hour north of Munich， I consider myself a true Bavarian， a German citizen and an European， in this order. And yes I do own a Lederhose （leather trouser）， which I inherited from my grandfather as well as a laptop computer， although one not inherited by my grandfather…

If you ask one of the 12，5 million Bavarians where they would rather live， they sometimes have a hard time to comprehend. Why live elsewhere， we never even thought about that！ There is a century old house of a family of fishermen in Tutzing， situated on the shore of beautiful Lake Starnberg. It has an ancient Latin inscription on the fa?ade saying “ Extra Bavariam non est vita， et si est， non est ita” – meaning “there is no living/life outside Bavaria， and if there is， it is not the same”.

In terms of facts and figures this is easily understood as well. Bavaria has the lowest rate of unemployment as well as the highest mountain （Zugspitze） of Germany. It is close to Bella Italia / Beautiful Italy and at the same time by itself by far the most booked travel destination in Germany. Thinking of Germany most people all over the world truly think about Bavaria， Bavarian traditional clothing and garments （Lederhosen and Dirndl）， Bavarian Beer and world famous FC Bayern München， European Soccer League Champion once again in 2013.

Bavaria’s Economy is booming， next to well known Global Players like Adidas， Allianz， AUDI， BMW， EADS， MAN， Siemens， among others， there is also a broad spectrum of small and medium sized “Hidden Champions” that are internationally successful and thriving. And it is a world leader in energy efficient technologies， industrial design， satellite navigation， biotechnology and the IT industry alike.

Coming as a tourist to Bavaria you have almost too many alternatives to choose from. A wine tasting tour in Frankonia， visiting a glass factory in Eastern Bavaria or head for the Alps for a chilling ski ride or sled tour in a winter wonder land？ Everyone of these and thousand more options can easily be arranged and make every visit to Bavaria a memorable experience for life.

But how do you best experience Bavaria？ My personal favorite is renting a bicycle and going for a ride through the countryside. From Munich downtown you can simply link up to the bike path running along the river Isar， head North or South and simply keep going until you feel the need for a relaxing break in one of the beergardens along the route. After that you might as well take another break in the shade of a tree watching the blue and white Bavarian skies drift by until you drift off yourself for an all Bavarian nap.

Feels like China？ Yes， Chinese and Bavarian culture have a lot in common indeed， most of all a clear vision for what life is all about.

Refreshed you might consider taking in some culture on the road as you enter the still coolness of an old village church or chapel. Inside， sitting on one of the age old wooden benches， feeling the cold stone from below and admiring the heavenly paintings of angels above， you will surely be able to feel the centuries that have passed by since village people erected this spiritual building. Take some time， come to a rest， light a candle and think about loved one’s and the essence of life.

After a long day out in the countryside， take your bike to any of the suburban train stations and head back to town. And now it is all up to your personal favorites， from downtown shopping， a night visit to one of the many museums， a classical open air concert or simply enjoying a stroll through the lively streets and eating out in any of the chic open-air restaurants or bars.

This is life from it’s best side. Come and see Bavaria by yourself. You will love it a much as I do love my home country.

Dr. Markus Wittmann

www.bayern.cn

State of Bavaria - China Office