Another Traveler

My friend Rebekah has just returned from a visit to Mozambique, where she previously lived for over a year with the Peace Corps. I was very happy to wake up this morning and read all about her trip in this entry. If you think the cultural differences between Munich and the US are pronounced, check out her weblog!

I am so glad she had a good trip. I was thinking of her the whole time she was away! Welcome back, Rebekah!

Sie haben eMail erhalten.

That's what my computer tells me when I get online. "Sie haben eMail erhalten." It's the German equivalent of the AOL "You've got mail." Except it's a woman's voice.

I think the e-mail situation is cleared up -- I received a big backlog of messages yesterday from the last week or two. I don't know what's up with my address. If you write me and it comes back to you, just try again. Sorry about this.

So! We are having a nice weekend so far. Our friend Bill is in from the US (he was on a business trip this week and stopped here afterwards) so last night we went to dinner at a nice place out in Karlsfeld. While we were eating, a couple came in with their German Shepard and sat down for dinner. For an American it takes some getting used to, seeing dogs in restaurants. But the dogs are so well-behaved that often you don't even realize they're in the restaurant until they get up to leave.

Marty and I did some shopping this morning (you absolutely have to shop on Saturdays, if you work during the week -- there is no other option) and later this afternoon we are meeting Bill and some German friends at the Oktoberfest. It is finally sunny today after five straight days of rain, so I will take my camera and try to take some pictures. I expect Oktoberfest will be exceptionally busy today since the weather was so awful all week. I hope we can find a place or two at the table. I will be back later this weekend with a full report, I hope.

German class has been good this week. I feel like I have really learned a lot so far, and I have a lot of homework over the weekend as well. I am very impressed with the teachers. They are both just great, and the class flies by every day. I hardly ever even glance at my watch; in fact, twice this week I only realized it was 5:00 when the teacher wrapped up the class. I don't think I've ever been in a class that was so engaging. But then, I am really learning. I come home exhausted at the end of the day, spent from trying to wrap my brain around all these language concepts.

I really, really want to speak German well. I am trying very hard to learn as much as I can in these two weeks. Then I'll practice for a month or two, and probably take another course later this fall or in the winter.

Well, I should get a little homework or housework done before time to go out. So I will stop here now.

Schönes Wochenende! (Have a good weekend!)

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.

Update from Munich

This week Munich is having the worst Oktoberfest weather in history. Everyone is talking about it. On Tuesday it actually snowed -- the first snow in September on record, apparently -- and all the other days this week have been cold and wet and miserable.

And all the people are cold and wet and miserable, too.

I am on lunch break from my German class. I had to run by the bank and the post office so I thought I would stop in at my old haunt, the Internet Cafe, and try to use up my last ticket before it expires.

They aren't kidding when they call this German course "Super-Intensive." Two weeks of German for eight hours a day is about as intensive as I want to go (although they also offer a 4-week option). I am learning a lot and the teachers are great. I think I may come back for two more weeks later this fall or in the winter, but first I want to take some time to use the German I'm learning now.

Oh -- my e-mail address is apparently not working properly. Amanda sent me a message to Hotmail and cc'd my other address and the Hotmail one never showed up. If you have my other address and need to write me, please use it rather than Hotmail. (Or just leave me a comment here and I will send you the other address. I don't like to put it here because any address I use on RW becomes a spam-magnet.) I haven't had much mail to speak of in the last week or so, but I just figured everyone was busy like me. Now I'm not so sure. If you've written me recently and haven't heard back, I may not have received it. Sorry.

It is snowing here in Munich tonight.

No, I'm not kidding.

I'm writing late in the evening after my second day of German class. The intensive German course at the Goethe Institut seems good so far. We learned a tongue twister yesterday that is very useful for practicing the pronunciation of the German Z:

Zwischen zwei Zwetschgenbäumen zwitschern zwei Schwalben.

Today we learned (among many, many other things) an entire page of verbs about cleaning the house. Are you out there, Hausfrau?

We've had terrible weather the last two days. Cold, cold rain that just falls hard all day long, and tonight this snow. It does not appear to be sticking, but it's definitely snow. It doesn't matter. Across town at the Theresienwiese the Oktoberfest tents are still full.

Tonight I had plans to go on a tour of the city and attend a Stammtisch (um, a discussion hour kind of thing for practicing German) but the weather was so bad that the activities were cancelled and I came on home. I was glad I did, because Marty got in at a somewhat reasonable hour (7:30 pm) and I had dinner on the table. So we got to have a nice quiet dinner at home. Now Paul Simon is on the stereo, Marty's in the recliner, and Ziggy's cuddled up against my keyboard. I've finished my homework (Hausaufgabe) and thought I would post some more of my pictures from last weekend.

Soon I hope to write about our ongoing bathroom (Badezimmer) adventures here in Munich. What, you thought it would end simply because we left Connecticut? Ha! It is to laugh!

Now for the pictures (hover for comments; click to enlarge)...











And tonight, it's snowing.

Lederhosen



Greetings from Bavaria, where leg warmers never went out of style.

Oktoberfest 2002 has begun and the city is alive with tourists, parades, and Germans dressed in traditional clothing. It's not so unusual to see people dressed that way here anytime -- it seems much more common in Bavaria than in other parts of Germany I have visited -- but right now it is very normal to ride the subway with men in lederhosen and women in dirndls.

The picture above is from this morning's parade, the Trachtenzug (the parade of costumes). Over the course of about 2.5 hrs, hundreds of groups from all over southern Germany marched by in the traditional costumes (Tracht) of their villages. Many of the groups featured marching bands, as well, so it was a lively and fun parade to watch.

There were also horses, goats, sheep, oxen, dogs, and hunting hawks.

These fellows above were sporting one of my favorite looks -- short lederhosen (as opposed to the ones that reach below the knee) and hand-knitted leg warmers instead of socks.

I understand men buy their lederhosen (leather pants, literally) when they are young and grow into them. The older men tend to have very well-worn, form fitting pants. The younger boys in the marching bands often wore hosen that were obviously brand new, and still a little too big. Then there's the little boy in the picture above, who is too young to have his real grown-up lederhosen yet, but I suppose the ones for children can be passed on to younger cousins or brothers.

A German friend here (whom we met up with yesterday for a different parade) tells us that sometimes fathers pass their lederhosen down to their sons. But our friend had his own pants on yesterday; he said his father is still using his and doesn't want to give them up.

The women were mostly dressed in dirndls although there was a huge variety in types and styles. All of the costumes were very, very beautiful. I took about a hundred pictures.

After the parade we went to lunch near Marienplatz and had some Nurnberger wurstl. They are a real treat if you like wurst at all. And after lunch, we climbed the Alter Peter (a very old church tower here in Munich) from which we could see all across the city in every direction. We could see the Oktoberfest grounds, the Olympic stadium and tower, the English Garden, the church right near our apartment, and to the south, the Alps.

Okay, so there are probably just three people reading this page who will even get why this snack, Knoppers, cracks me up. Let's just say that you can run from grad school, but you can't hide.

Good morning! It's Saturday here and it looks like drier weather than yesterday, which is fortunate since Oktoberfest starts today. We are meeting some friends for the opening ceremony later this morning.

Ziggy's Stamp of Approval



Well, Ziggy clearly likes the kitchen. I took this picture in our kitchen last week during the unpacking (hence the box and stuff all over the counter). Also note we have not yet bought light fixtures -- they don't come with the apartment -- so that is why we have the lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.

It's been a rainy day in Munich today. And it's very busy here in the city, with the start of Oktoberfest tomorrow. I have been working around the apartment some, getting ready for our overnight guest.

Ziggy has been busy too. Here he is supervising the unloading of the beer truck on the sidewalk below our apartment:

Comin' at you live from my own machine, baby!

Above is a picture of the Easy Everything internet cafe here in Munich. This is where I've been checking my e-mail and updating from for the last two weeks. They have about 800 terminals in that place and you can get online for as little as a dollar (one Euro). It's right across the street from the Hauptbahnhof, if you're coming here and you need to check your mail.

But I am hoping I won't be back there anytime soon!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dare I hope that I am actually. Online. At. Home?

I think it's true. I really think it's true. Oh my god. Now I have to download two months of e-mail and re-learn where the Y is on my keyboard. More soon, I hope.

Back to School Excitement

Last night I was in Karstadt, a big department store near our apartment, looking for a guest book to use when people come and stay with us (have I mentioned we have our first guest coming tomorrow?). It's back to school time here so the place was full of kids and parents with lists of what they needed to buy. Karstadt has a whole big section set up right now next to the books and stationery department with back to school stuff like notebooks, organizers, etc.

Anyway, I was just cruising around checking things out when I noticed a big display of calendars for 2003 just across the aisle from the back to school stuff. And right on the rack (no pun intended) with all the teddy bear calendars and landscape photo calendars were two different titty girl calendars. Like, I'm talking calendars with pictures of naked women, openly displayed six feet away from the back to school merchandise, right next to the entrance of what is basically Macy's.

Now that is an example of cultural differences between here and there. Something you would never see in the US in a million years. It didn't appear to be causing anyone any emotional trauma though. (Not even me, yo.)

When I told Marty about it, he told me that people have titty girl calendars at work, too. (And they smoke in the office.) Make of it what you will.

Speaking of Marty, and work... he didn't go to Connecticut on business this week because three guys from Connecticut came here. But in the end I have seen him just about as much as if he'd been gone. They've been so busy that he doesn't get home until after I'm already in bed at night.

And as for back to school... next week begins my German class. And not a minute too soon, either. Yesterday morning I did actually manage a conversation with the lady who works in the dry cleaner's, but generally I am still rusty and slow. So a class should, I hope, help immensely.

No, still not online at home. Don't hold your breath, friends. I'm not...

Growling

Okay, I'm starting to get really pissed off now. The DSL is still not working at home, and it is starting to cause big problems for me. Like with my German class registration and my websites and just generally my life.

I am not complaining about the Internet cafe -- goodness knows I am grateful that this service exists -- but it is not convenient to have to take the subway to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) every time I need to check my e-mail.

This needs to be resolved quickly or I am going to be in a very bad state.

That's it for now. It was a nice weekend, but I am getting frustrated now. I am sorry if I owe you e-mail; I will catch up when I can.

Autofrei Leben!

Last night we went out with friends to the Streetlife Festival, a huge street festival that is going on here in Munich all weekend. It starts about two blocks south of our apartment and continues all through the city. The Streetlife Festival is a celebration of "Car Free Day," so the streets are blocked to cars and pedestrians roam freely, watching bands and other performances while drinking beer and socializing.

I was surprised to discover that there are a bunch of German (Bavarian?) Afrobeat percussion bands performing during this festival. Just last night we saw three different ones, and on the way to the subway station this morning I heard another one. I can't imagine how this trend got started here, except that it's such great music that everyone just wants to join in. I know if we had the opportunity, Marel and I would both do it, too.

So the big issue of the day is Autofrei Leben (living car-free), for which I am something of a poster-child these days. Well, okay, I cheat a little since my husband drives a car, but I haven't been behind the wheel myself since I left the US. In Munich, I haven't missed it. Not yet, anyway. The public transportation system is very thorough, and so much is within walking distance that I really don't even need a car most of the time. On Friday afternoon it took me all of thirty minutes to do the grocery shopping (from the time I left home to when I got back), and that included going to the grocery store and the fruit and vegetable market.

After walking around the festival for a few hours last night, we ended up at Mama's Kebap Haus for a Turkish kebap. It's a kind of Turkish fast food meat sandwich that is very popular here. Our German friends (who we were out with last night) told us that kebaps are more popular in Germany than McDonald's and Burger King combined.

We're having a fun and productive weekend, starting with a trip to IKEA yesterday morning for a medicine cabinet for the bathroom and a TV stand. We also ordered our sleeper sofa, to be delivered Tuesday! So we should be set up for visitors soon!

If all goes according to plan, I will most likely be taking a German class at the Goethe Institut starting next Monday (September 23). I registered online for the last spot in the class. The two-week course coincides with Oktoberfest.

Still don't have the Internet hooked up at home, so Marty and I are out at the Internet cafe today. Once I am online again, expect more regular updates (and more regular e-mail, too).

Pfifferlinge

Yum. Pfifferlinge are mushrooms that are widely available here in Munich. I have seen them in the market and have eaten them in numerous restaurant dishes. They are usually very small (much smaller than they appear here) and also very tasty. I love them!

The other night we went out to dinner at a place with a Steinpilzkarte -- a special menu featuring only dishes made with mushrooms! I had pfifferlinge. Again!

Please excuse the recent silence. I have not been able to get to the internet cafe for two days, and I am still not hooked up from home. But there is good news from München! Our sea shipment was delivered yesterday! We had been led to expect it next week sometime. It was great to receive it so soon. So last night I cooked our first dinner in the new place, and we slept in our own bed! Ziggy was so happy that his purrs shook the entire bed.

And more good news! The last box from the air shipment arrived with the sea shipment! So I was very happy to be reunited with my Lillian Vernon dishes, my mugs, my Sheffield silver knives (UKSusie, can you imagine my screams of anguish if they had really been lost?), my water glasses from Vermont, etc. What a relief!

I am hoping to get the internet working at home today (please please please) but I am waiting for a CD with the necessary software, username, and password to arrive in the mail. And every day I check the mail and it isn't here! But maybe today.

One more word on the beer, since I know Frank and Amanda need to know: We got a case of 20 half-liter bottles of Paulaner Oktoberfestbier for less than $13. Can you imagine?!

Oh, and the beer is much cheaper than Coke. Everywhere you go.

Apfelschorle

My new favorite drink! Apfelschorle is a mix of about 50% apple juice and 50% sprudel (mineral water). You can make it at home, buy it in bottles, or get it at restaurants here in Germany. Very refreshing. Try it!

Yesterday when Marty finished work, he stopped by the apartment to pick me up and then we went to the Wal-Mart Super Center here in Munich. We needed a vacuum cleaner and some other items for the apartment. In some ways it seems very similar to Wal-Mart at home. They have similar goods, decent prices, etc. But it's also very German. To get a shopping cart, you pay a deposit which is returned when you bring the cart back at the end of your shopping trip. You don't see shopping carts rolling around loose in the parking lot, that's for sure. (They also do this at the grocery market around the corner from our apartment.) And at Wal-Mart you can buy big cases of beer for very cheap prices. Very, very cheap. I don't even want to tell you how cheap, or I will hear the screams all the way from Connecticut.

Uh-oh. I think a box may have been lost from our air shipment. We are missing our dishes, glasses, mugs, and tupperware. I know I had that stuff marked for the air shipment, and I will be very sad if it is really lost. I keep hoping it will show up when the sea shipment is delivered, but I don't know. Those were my favorite dishes of all time! They were from Lillian Vernon, man!

Guten Morgen!

My first morning in München! I woke up, had breakfast, and walked to the train station to buy my subway pass for September. It's called a Green Card (eine grüne karte), which is pretty funny, considering I don't have an actual green card here.

Now I am at the Internet cafe, and I'm about to head over to the apartment to see Ziggy and make some phone calls. I do need to get my residential papers taken care of soon.

It is a beautiful day here today! Sunny and breezy.

Now I am going to change the time on my weblog to Munich time. Remember, folks, that's six hours ahead of you on the East Coast (US), nine hours ahead of California.

Whee!

What a relief! We are here, safe and sound. Marty met us at the airport this morning and it was a happy happy reunion!

Ziggy did very well, all things considered. He went completely untranquilized (except for a very small amount of Rescue Remedy, which is not exactly a tranquilizer anyway). Yeah, he pretty much meowed the whole way to New York in the car and just about the whole way from NY to Munich, but the driver of the car liked cats, and the plane was so loud that not too many people could hear him.

He seems to like the apartment already. He checked it out while Marty and I went to lunch at an Italian restaurant right around the corner. He likes the wide windowsills -- I knew he would -- and I am sure that when the furniture arrives he will be very happy there with us.

I am totally exhausted -- did not sleep a wink on the plane -- but very happy and relieved. Except for the part about using this wackz German kezboard again! (The y is switched with the z.)

YAY!!!

Ganz Fertig

Well, Ziggy and I are just about ready to go. My suitcase is packed (and it appears to have come in 10 pounds lighter than the Lufthansa weight limit) and Ziggy's carrier is outfitted with new Fat Cat accessories and an extra lining just in case.

Next thing you hear from me will be a rousing rendition of "A Chicken Steak Ran Through My House." (The real song is here.)

Wish us luck! We are off today at 3:30. Marty will meet us in Munich tomorrow at 10 AM German time. (About 4 AM here.)

I'll be FORTY!!!

When my new driver's license expires, that is!

Yesterday I stopped by the Dept of Motor Vehicles to see about getting a new driver's license, since I'll be out of the country when mine expires in January. I didn't realize that the new Connecticut driver's licenses are good for seven years! My new one won't expire until 2009. Wow!

Luckily, it's about the best picture I've ever had on an ID. Or at least, the best one I've had in several years. My Penn State one wasn't too bad.

My passport picture is hideous. Ha!

In other news... I've been getting a lot done this week. I've had many many appointments and things to take care of, and I think I'm just about done now. Ziggy and I should be all set to leave on Saturday.

Oh, funny. Marty tells me he may have to come to Connecticut on a business trip in a couple of weeks. Yeah, like a week after I get to Germany. That would be the week that our household goods are scheduled to be delivered. What do you think? Will he manage to be out of the country for the unpacking as well as the packing? I'm betting yes...

Almost There

A week from now I'll be in Munich with Ziggy and Marty. It will be so good to have the whole crew back together again! We fly out of JFK next Saturday night, and next Sunday we'll be there. Now that the separation is almost over, I'm getting really antsy to get over there.

I just got back from New York where I spent the weekend with Alicia, who flew in from LA. We saw the musical RENT, which I saw back in January. But this time, JOEY was in it! Whee! He was great! The whole show was just really wonderful.

This'll be a busy week. I am still parceling myself around to friends' houses here in Connecticut. Everyone has been so kind, letting me stay on and on and on. But it's nearly all done now. And I can't wait to see Marty!

And one other thing: happy birthday, Amanda!