It's nice having friends here. Finally. It's really nice having such an international group of friends here. One of the best benefits of German language classes is that you meet other people in the same situation but with very different back stories. Our little group consists of Spain, China, Greece, and Japan. German is our only common language so it's a great way to socialize and practice your German at the same time.
Yesterday was supposed to be a gorgeous spring day so we decided to meet up at the Chinesischer Turm Biergarten in the Englischer Garten. I was sweating as I ordered my beer. Just as I was lamenting that we were going to bypass spring and head straight into summer, the storm clouds blew in and our potato chip bag blew away. From sweating to wishing for a sweater in half a beer. Looks like spring will put in an appearance after all.
Talk about a perfect weekend. It began on Friday night at Hacker-Pschorr Bräu where we met some American friends and a German friend for beer, schnitzel, beer and a schnapps to wash it all down. From there, Joachim gave us inside scoop on one of the best local bars in the city. It's a yodeling bar. Complete with accordion player. No need to ask twice. We set off for Jodlerwirt. Authentic. Crowded. Loud and laughtastic. We drank. We danced. We sang. We had a blast. That night.
The next day - not so much. All I can say is thank goodness for my husband who, at 3:00 in the morning, when I was begging and pleading for just one more round or to hit another place on the way home, had the where-with-all to steer me straight home. It could have been so much worse. As it was, I needed all day and another grease-laden schnitzel to soak up the alcohol before I felt remotely human again.
Did you know that you can't get Advil/aspirin over-the-counter here? You have to go to a pharmacist, brave a consultation auf Deutsch after which they will hopefully dole out a few precious acetaminophen tablets and not some herbal concoction of chamomile and coriander. Note to all business travelers, tourists, expats, etc. - bring Advil. A lot. I find I need at least 7-9 to get me through a good hang-over. Oh, and apparently Jodlerwirt isn't really an insider's secret since I found it in two of my guidebooks this morning. But it was still great, not touristy at all and I thank Joachim from the bottom of my beer-bloated belly for the introduction.
After dropping Caryn at the airport, Thomas and I headed south for a winter weekend get-away in the charming town of Mittenwald. It's the epicenter of handmade violins, cellos and violas but I love it for its alfresco paintings depicting traditional Bavarian life. The town center is quite small but it's nice to wander among all the chalets and look at the paintings. I really think of it as an outdoor art gallery. And, with the backdrop of the alps, well it's hard to beat in the pure, simple beauty category. We meandered, got massages, ate the aforementioned schnitzel, slept late, took a winter walk and just relaxed. Like I said, perfect!
Germany is quite proud of their Olympic Gold Medal winners and on Tuesday they celebrated their victories on Marienplatz. I thought it would be a good "real life in Germany" moment so I headed into town for the festivities. According to the website I checked the day before, the party was to start at three. Basically, a car cavalcade wound it's way through town ending on Marienplatz where the Olympians would greet their fans from the Rathaus balcony.
Small problem. It was cold and rainy. I got there at 3:10 to find a huge screen replaying the best Olympic moments accompanied by uplifting (mostly American) pop songs and a smattering of soggy people wielding umbrellas. I waited. And waited. And then the party meister, crowd instigator type guy announced that they were running behind schedule and would be another half hour or so. Did I mention it was cold? And rainy? I ducked inside a cozy Chinese place for a plate of hot noodles and a cold beer. And from my seat by the window, I could see the blue lights of the cavalcade as it drove past a half hour later. I was warm. I was dry. I was full.
I walked back over to Marienplatz a short while later. The music was still blaring but I had missed the Evita balcony moment. Later, I heard on the news that over 5,000 people had been there to help celebrate. I'm not sure about that number. I saw about five hundred people. What I am sure about is that Olympic mindset of overcoming adversity and physical discomfort in the pursuit of a goal - yeah, I don't have that.
We've had our first family visitors. Hopefully, not our last. My brother Neal, his wife Angela and the cutest baby in the world, Bennett, spent the week with us. We did it all:
