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.
