The traditional stereotypes still exist in Munich. Men on occasion wear lederhosen, at least at Oktoberfest, when the ladies put on their dirndls. They still drink as much beer as ever in the beer halls and gardens, and the oompah bands are heard throughout the night.
Munich is also the country's headquarters for high-tech industry. It competes with Berlin, and some local industry leaders are concerned that Berlin as the capital of a reunified Germany could also shift trade and power to the north and east of Germany.
That's not likely to happen soon, if ever. Munich is rather firmly entrenched in the industrial market and is a base for such worldwide industries as the electronics company Siemens and the car manufacturer BMW. Munich is actually more prosperous than Berlin. As the home of three universities, the city has both a vibrant cultural scene and a bustling nightlife.
Munich believes in keeping up to date with changing travel patterns. In decades gone by, Bavarians were traditional and many of them homophobic. Although pockets of that still exist, Munich has blossomed into one of Europe's most gay-friendly destinations. Gays and lesbians by the thousands are moving from the countryside into Munich, and gays and lesbians from abroad constitute about 10% of the local tourist revenue, which currently is around US$63 million a year.
Munich aggressively pursues conventions today, and its International Congress Center is the most modern convention facility in Europe, seating 6,500 people.
Munich is also the goal of the immigrants flooding in, mainly from Turkey, the ex-Yugoslav states, Italy, and the countries that once composed the Soviet Union, including Russia itself. The native English-speaking population, however, remains relatively small at an estimated 15,000 citizens.
