What It's Like
Cooking dinner tonight I've been playing the latest Sheryl Crow album. It always makes me think of the concert Amanda and I went to at Mohegan Sun back in May. Not that Sheryl Crow was there -- she wasn't! -- but they played her song "Soak Up The Sun" about 75 times that night. So it always reminds me of that evening.
Anyway I was just marveling about how things have changed. After that show on May 29, I drove home really late and found Marty lying awake in the bed after 2:00 AM. First I thought there must be something really wrong, but then he said, "What would you think if I said we could go to Germany for a couple of years?" And I didn't even think twice before I said, "I think that would be great."
Two weeks later, I gave notice at work. Less than four months since that first conversation about moving, here we are. It's amazing how things can change. (Of course, it also took an awful lot of doing.)
Anyway, I was thinking about all this tonight as I came home from class. And I was struck by the differences between how things are now and how they were then. Back in Connecticut, I'd drive home on the Interstate or the Parkway, which would take maybe 35 or 40 minutes. Then I might stop in at Stop & Shop or CVS on my way home for a few grocery items. But it's more likely I would come home, then go out and do the grocery shopping later in the evening or maybe Sunday afternoon.
How different life is now.
Here, first of all, I don't have a car. I actually haven't driven since I left the US on September 7, and it's probably going to be awhile before I do drive again. I have a monthly pass for the U-Bahn (subway) here in Munich, which I use daily. Second of all, there is no shopping later in the evening, or on Sunday, because all the stores are closed. The latest they can stay open on weekdays is 8:00 PM; on Saturdays, 2:00 PM. On Sundays, everything's closed. Period.
But here's how it is instead. It's rainy now so the streets tonight were crowded with people navigating between puddles and trying not to get their umbrellas tangled together. My walk from class to the U-Bahn was about 5 minutes, and my ride was about 8 or 10 minutes.
When I hopped out of the train at my station tonight, I could smell fresh bread all the way down on the platform. Many of the stations here are like little shopping centers, with newsstands, bakeries, and sometimes even department stores. My station is great; it has a good cafe, a DM (a store that sells health and beauty type products), and --yes -- a bakery. So on the way out into the rain I stopped and bought four Semmel (which is the name for Brötchen here in Munich). I had an extra bag with me, so I put the paper bag with the bread inside it and went on my way.
Then I headed back up, out into the rain, intending to stop by the grocery on the way home. Before I got there, I had to pass several stands for a local market they have here sometimes (I haven't figured out the frequency yet). I passed a stand selling local eggs and fowl, a fish stand, a butcher stand, a fruit and vegetable stand, a bakery stand, and then I finally got pulled in by a Greek olive stand. I stopped to look at all the different kinds of olives and salads they had, and ended up with a little package of Kalamatas and a couple of servings of marinated feta, all for about 3 dollars. I put the little boxes in my bag and went on.
As I was nearing the grocery store, I heard the church clock strike 5:45 so I knew I had some time. I stopped in at a permanent fruit and vegetable stand right beside the grocery for some broccoli, lettuce, and plums. Then I headed into the store.
By this time I didn't have that much to buy, having made all those other stops. So I didn't bother to pay my deposit and get a cart; I just walked around and picked up what I needed. This entire grocery store is about the size of one or two aisles at Stop & Shop, and it's always busy. I found what I needed -- apple juice, and milk that comes in a 1-liter carton, and a couple of other things. Then I checked out.
Checkout is always kind of challenging for me. I don't have any trouble (usually) understanding the total or counting the money, but everything moves so quickly, and you have to pay, and pack your groceries, and get out of the way of the next person, all at the same time. It's not like they give you grocery bags there, anyway. Everyone brings their own, or buys one for 15 or 20 cents at the checkout. I was carrying my bag with the bread, olives, and veggies in it so I piled in the rest of the stuff as fast as I could and walked home. The guy in line behind me was still out the door before I was finished packing up.
I was home by 6. Getting from the train to the apartment -- with all of that shopping -- took maybe 20 minutes, total.
It is so different.
Cooking dinner tonight I've been playing the latest Sheryl Crow album. It always makes me think of the concert Amanda and I went to at Mohegan Sun back in May. Not that Sheryl Crow was there -- she wasn't! -- but they played her song "Soak Up The Sun" about 75 times that night. So it always reminds me of that evening.
Anyway I was just marveling about how things have changed. After that show on May 29, I drove home really late and found Marty lying awake in the bed after 2:00 AM. First I thought there must be something really wrong, but then he said, "What would you think if I said we could go to Germany for a couple of years?" And I didn't even think twice before I said, "I think that would be great."
Two weeks later, I gave notice at work. Less than four months since that first conversation about moving, here we are. It's amazing how things can change. (Of course, it also took an awful lot of doing.)
Anyway, I was thinking about all this tonight as I came home from class. And I was struck by the differences between how things are now and how they were then. Back in Connecticut, I'd drive home on the Interstate or the Parkway, which would take maybe 35 or 40 minutes. Then I might stop in at Stop & Shop or CVS on my way home for a few grocery items. But it's more likely I would come home, then go out and do the grocery shopping later in the evening or maybe Sunday afternoon.
How different life is now.
Here, first of all, I don't have a car. I actually haven't driven since I left the US on September 7, and it's probably going to be awhile before I do drive again. I have a monthly pass for the U-Bahn (subway) here in Munich, which I use daily. Second of all, there is no shopping later in the evening, or on Sunday, because all the stores are closed. The latest they can stay open on weekdays is 8:00 PM; on Saturdays, 2:00 PM. On Sundays, everything's closed. Period.
But here's how it is instead. It's rainy now so the streets tonight were crowded with people navigating between puddles and trying not to get their umbrellas tangled together. My walk from class to the U-Bahn was about 5 minutes, and my ride was about 8 or 10 minutes.
When I hopped out of the train at my station tonight, I could smell fresh bread all the way down on the platform. Many of the stations here are like little shopping centers, with newsstands, bakeries, and sometimes even department stores. My station is great; it has a good cafe, a DM (a store that sells health and beauty type products), and --yes -- a bakery. So on the way out into the rain I stopped and bought four Semmel (which is the name for Brötchen here in Munich). I had an extra bag with me, so I put the paper bag with the bread inside it and went on my way.
Then I headed back up, out into the rain, intending to stop by the grocery on the way home. Before I got there, I had to pass several stands for a local market they have here sometimes (I haven't figured out the frequency yet). I passed a stand selling local eggs and fowl, a fish stand, a butcher stand, a fruit and vegetable stand, a bakery stand, and then I finally got pulled in by a Greek olive stand. I stopped to look at all the different kinds of olives and salads they had, and ended up with a little package of Kalamatas and a couple of servings of marinated feta, all for about 3 dollars. I put the little boxes in my bag and went on.
As I was nearing the grocery store, I heard the church clock strike 5:45 so I knew I had some time. I stopped in at a permanent fruit and vegetable stand right beside the grocery for some broccoli, lettuce, and plums. Then I headed into the store.
By this time I didn't have that much to buy, having made all those other stops. So I didn't bother to pay my deposit and get a cart; I just walked around and picked up what I needed. This entire grocery store is about the size of one or two aisles at Stop & Shop, and it's always busy. I found what I needed -- apple juice, and milk that comes in a 1-liter carton, and a couple of other things. Then I checked out.
Checkout is always kind of challenging for me. I don't have any trouble (usually) understanding the total or counting the money, but everything moves so quickly, and you have to pay, and pack your groceries, and get out of the way of the next person, all at the same time. It's not like they give you grocery bags there, anyway. Everyone brings their own, or buys one for 15 or 20 cents at the checkout. I was carrying my bag with the bread, olives, and veggies in it so I piled in the rest of the stuff as fast as I could and walked home. The guy in line behind me was still out the door before I was finished packing up.
I was home by 6. Getting from the train to the apartment -- with all of that shopping -- took maybe 20 minutes, total.
It is so different.
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