As many of you know i love my Brazilian Jujitsu and mix martial arts.
Im suffering withdrawal right now and really missing my great club Strikeforce in Aotearoa.
I havent found a gym to train at in Munich but in Chur found i could do the closest Swiss equivalent. It's called Schwingen :)
(which is actually more similar greko roman wrestling)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Life in Munich
Leon is such fun! Every day he is so smily and so happy. We are keeping him busy taking him around Munich and Bavarian, having an incredible time. Its really special actually and we are loving every day. Nadjas mum and brother have visited a couple of times already (as have we) and we have many more friends planning to come over soon. We still havent got our own apartment (living at the companies apartment) but hope to move into our own place soon. We just applied for a great place right in the heart of town, a very trendy place. High ceilings, French restaurant downstairs, room with a view. Anyway, if we get it we will move in on the 15th August.
Munich is really a wonderful city, i love it. It's low rise, so it feels like a big village, very very easy to get around, awesome publich transport so we probably go without a car. SO much to see and do, its really feels like we are on a holiday. Probably our favourite place is the famous Munich Bier Gartens (Beer Gardens), or their lovely Isar (river).
Of course we are missing our wonderful friends in NZ, and when people ask me about NZ i sound like i work for the tourist commision as i cannot stop saying enough things about how wonderful it is.
Work Summer Party
July 2010 in Baveria (near the Austrian border), 35C and a beautiful day for the company summer party.400+ people, (lake) beach, human table footbal, a bull ride, boats to hop on, climbing walls, tones of wonderful food (Bavarian BBQ), unlimited drinks, great band, hotels for all, and lots of fun.
Im not used to having company parties in July, i kept wishing everyone Merry Xmas. Apparently the company xmas party is another big event that usually takes place high up in the Austrian Alps.
PS im in the second photo playing the human table soccer
i used to think Mac fans were a little crazy
but now im one of them.My work got me a beauty, a top of the like MacBook Pro, 8GB ram, and SSD (i mainly run Windows on it though).
Still waiting for the wider release of the iPhone4.
Im also shopping for a cool MacBook Bag or Sleeve, if you have any recommendations let me know.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Summer in Munich.Been about 33C.
Here are some more photos from the permanent wave on the river.
These photos are taken from the bridge over head, the width of the river here is only about 10 meters. The surfers are amazing, they do 360s and tricks.
As an Australian I shame my country for not being able to surf it!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Nadja's first impressions of Muenchen
Unfortunately, we are still without internet connection at home. I have to go down to the internet cafe on the corner to get my fix, coffee and emails in one go :-). It's not too bad as it is close and the people, as everywhere in Munich, are absolutely lovely and extra helpful when I arrive with Leon's truck of a stroller. The little one is thriving and "talking" more every day. Sticking out his tongue and making all sorts of entertaining tongue-related sounds is his latest obsession and provides us with hours of free entertainment. His "table" manners are somewhat lacking as he has started to announce he is finished with his meal by starting to talk or blow raspberries while still attached to the milk bar.
Munich is lovely and now, with summer finally presenting itself, warm in all aspects. I still can't get over how friendly people are. Everyone seems to love kids - none of that "rugrats, best not heard" attitude. Leon regularly charms all the old ladies when we are out and about. They usually coo over him and say something nice in their incomprehensible Bavarian dialect. I usually nod and smile broadly and it seems to do the trick but I wish I could understand them better.
Yesterday, I came across the only rude person in Munich, and I am sure she must have been from somewhere else. A rather surly woman who, after I had explained in my now rather confused mix of Swiss High German and English that I was waiting for the big changing room to go in with my pram, spoke to me as if I was not only rather dim-witted but also hard of hearing. My retort would have been that I was neither, last time I checked, just from over the border where people just speak slow rather than are slow (even though this stereotype about the Swiss is not entirely unjustified ;-). Of course, I only thought of this as I was descending in yet another pee-drenched lift into the depths of the underground train system.
These lifts are one of the very few negatives we have discovered in Munich so far and might have to do more with the Bavarian devotion to beer than a very un-German willingness to dirty public places. Which brings me to the wonders of public transport in Munich. There are two types of trains (mostly underground) to choose from - the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn, busses and trams. In short, everything the car-tired heart may desire. I haven't touched a steering wheel since moving here.
Another big bad habit of Bavarians and other Europeans is dropping cigarette buds EVERYWHERE! Even as a happy yet understanding ex-smoker who still feels the urge whenever people light up in movies and look cool, I have to admit that these little stinky reminders of that filthy habit are a total public nuisance, as are the thousands (and that is no exaggeration as there are never just a couple but always the majority) of people wrapping everyone in walls of toxic smoke at every beer garden.
Beer gardens, by the way, are the most wonderful place you can possible imagine (apart from the aforementioned smokers). Usually located under the cooling shade of some large, ancient trees, rows of tables and chairs welcome the masses of the thirsty to remain and enjoy - the food (can be bought en place or brought along), the company of complete strangers who will strike up an animated conversation with you about anything under the sun but preferably football, the famous Fussballfieber that had gripped the nation until the tragic loss against Spain, and of course above all the beer! Beer gardens have also an added advantage this summer as most of them offer "public viewing". Now this is not some morbid Bavarian custom but the term Germans use for putting up a big screen (or someone's TV set they brought from their living room) in a public place such as a park or beer garden to watch football in the company of other equally enthusiastic people while drinking large quantities of beer.
German beer by the way is VERY good. So good in fact it is hard not to order beer and give the lame excuse of being good for milk production. There are lots of other drinks to choose from - my personal favorite being some type of Schorle, which is any kind of juice mixed with mineral water. Juices available range from apple (watch out, for some people this speeds up their digestive system), pear, black currant, passionfruit, rhubarb (YUM!), grape, grapefruit, pineapple, etc. The food served with beer is usually heavy and often contains some form of pork or other. Bavarians have found parts of the pig to cook other people haven't even heard of, or maybe it just seems that way because Bavarian menus are mostly unpronouncable, even for people from other parts of Germany. That is why even as a German speaker I often have to order blind so to speak.
Munich is lovely and now, with summer finally presenting itself, warm in all aspects. I still can't get over how friendly people are. Everyone seems to love kids - none of that "rugrats, best not heard" attitude. Leon regularly charms all the old ladies when we are out and about. They usually coo over him and say something nice in their incomprehensible Bavarian dialect. I usually nod and smile broadly and it seems to do the trick but I wish I could understand them better.
Yesterday, I came across the only rude person in Munich, and I am sure she must have been from somewhere else. A rather surly woman who, after I had explained in my now rather confused mix of Swiss High German and English that I was waiting for the big changing room to go in with my pram, spoke to me as if I was not only rather dim-witted but also hard of hearing. My retort would have been that I was neither, last time I checked, just from over the border where people just speak slow rather than are slow (even though this stereotype about the Swiss is not entirely unjustified ;-). Of course, I only thought of this as I was descending in yet another pee-drenched lift into the depths of the underground train system.
These lifts are one of the very few negatives we have discovered in Munich so far and might have to do more with the Bavarian devotion to beer than a very un-German willingness to dirty public places. Which brings me to the wonders of public transport in Munich. There are two types of trains (mostly underground) to choose from - the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn, busses and trams. In short, everything the car-tired heart may desire. I haven't touched a steering wheel since moving here.
Another big bad habit of Bavarians and other Europeans is dropping cigarette buds EVERYWHERE! Even as a happy yet understanding ex-smoker who still feels the urge whenever people light up in movies and look cool, I have to admit that these little stinky reminders of that filthy habit are a total public nuisance, as are the thousands (and that is no exaggeration as there are never just a couple but always the majority) of people wrapping everyone in walls of toxic smoke at every beer garden.
Beer gardens, by the way, are the most wonderful place you can possible imagine (apart from the aforementioned smokers). Usually located under the cooling shade of some large, ancient trees, rows of tables and chairs welcome the masses of the thirsty to remain and enjoy - the food (can be bought en place or brought along), the company of complete strangers who will strike up an animated conversation with you about anything under the sun but preferably football, the famous Fussballfieber that had gripped the nation until the tragic loss against Spain, and of course above all the beer! Beer gardens have also an added advantage this summer as most of them offer "public viewing". Now this is not some morbid Bavarian custom but the term Germans use for putting up a big screen (or someone's TV set they brought from their living room) in a public place such as a park or beer garden to watch football in the company of other equally enthusiastic people while drinking large quantities of beer.
German beer by the way is VERY good. So good in fact it is hard not to order beer and give the lame excuse of being good for milk production. There are lots of other drinks to choose from - my personal favorite being some type of Schorle, which is any kind of juice mixed with mineral water. Juices available range from apple (watch out, for some people this speeds up their digestive system), pear, black currant, passionfruit, rhubarb (YUM!), grape, grapefruit, pineapple, etc. The food served with beer is usually heavy and often contains some form of pork or other. Bavarians have found parts of the pig to cook other people haven't even heard of, or maybe it just seems that way because Bavarian menus are mostly unpronouncable, even for people from other parts of Germany. That is why even as a German speaker I often have to order blind so to speak.
A day at the beach in Munich Isar
http://picasaweb.google.com/fisher.jed/JulyDayAtTheIsaBeachInMunich?authkey=Gv1sRgCJnnk4PrgJ-5Kw&feat=directlink
http://www.google.com/images?q=surfing+in+munich&hl=en&rlz=1B7GGLL_enCH384CH384&prmd=miv&source=lnms&tbs=isch:1&ei=Pjk4TNDkBdWTOOvomIoK&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&ved=0CA8Q_AU
And check out the surf!
http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/surfing-in-munich4.jpg
http://www.google.com/images?q=surfing+in+munich&hl=en&rlz=1B7GGLL_enCH384CH384&prmd=miv&source=lnms&tbs=isch:1&ei=Pjk4TNDkBdWTOOvomIoK&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&ved=0CA8Q_AU
And check out the surf!
http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/surfing-in-munich4.jpg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)