Becoming Bavarian

Hello there, good to see you, faithful readers! Quite some time has passed since my last post here. I already told you about the big move to Munich, which seems to be ages ago. Our apartment got very cozy and I really feel at home here. I have also started my new job at a marketing agency. Being the new girl is certainly not always easy, but I like the work and my colleagues and I keep learning new things every day. Even though my free time is limited, I am trying to get to know as much of my new home as possible. Since we have been blessed with a lot of national holidays in May, Lars and I had a few days extra to meet friends and explore the Munich area. I still don’t know too many people over here, but luckily, both my good friend Jessica who I went to university with and my uncle are living in Munich, so I never really lack on people keeping me company :) 

Before I'll start to give you the latest new, I still wanted to add a few pictures of our short trip to the Netherlands in April.

One of the first reunions was very special to me. I met up with Josi, who is living close to Munich, too. Josi is the Aupair who was living with my American host family before I did. We only met briefly and spent 2 weeks together in January 2012 when I started my year abroad. We got along very well, but due to our situation (her leaving, me coming), we hadn’t seen each other ever since. We met for coffee and of course we had a lot to talk about. So nice, that I will be seeing Josi more often now!

As a new Bavarian in training, of course I had to attend to the annual “Frühlingsfest” (spring celebration). It is kind of a smaller version of the famous Oktoberfest. I came to the conclusion that the Bavarians really love to party. Year round, there is always some kind of “Fest” at the fairgrounds! I took the opportunity to practice for visiting the Oktoberfest this fall. Since it is tradition to wear the traditionally German gear “Lederhosen” (for men) and “Dirndl” (for women), but I didn’t have the time and money yet to buy one (they cost a shit load of money), I borrowed one from Jessica (thank you) and together with our friends Nicole and Christoph, Lars and me we spent an afternoon full of beer and fun there. Btw, my uncle is now sowing me my personal and customized Dirdl! I’m lucky to have such talented people in my family :)

 

Prost!

The Zugspitze, which is the highest peak in Germany, is only about 1 hour away from our home. To its feet is the beautiful Eib Lake, where Lars and I went hiking the other day.

The beautiful Lake with the Alps in the background

A very pushy duck who obviously was hoping the get some of our lunch

Also the Ammer Lake is very nice. First, we made a trip there together with a group of friends (special guest was our friend Julia from Cologne) to enjoy the sun and view from a pedal boat and to visit the famous Andechs monastery (where they also happen to brew a delicious beer). I even visited the monastery a second time with my uncle, his partner and a friend. And this time we were brave enough to climb the steep and narrow stairs to the tower!

Aaaah! Enjoying the sun at Ammer Lake

The crew

yea, of course I let the others do all the work

Andechs monastery

Inside the monastery

Descending the bell tower

A highlight I had been looking forward to was the visit of the American grandparents. My ex-hostdad’s parents have old friends in Munich and besides travelling through Europe, they also paid them a visit. They invited Josi and me to have coffee (and a vast amount of food) with them and their very nice friends. It was so nice and strange at the same time, to have a part of North Carolina back at home. We got the latest news about NC and our hostkids. It was a wonderful afternoon!

The Dahlem family, Grandma&Grandpa Focke, Josi and Me