Alles Gute Zum Geburtstag!, Harry Potter, The Incoming Christmas Season, and Other November Events

So much has been happening in my German world lately and, without any real excuses other than my laziness slash writer’s block, I have been neglecting a proper update of this blog. I am sorry for that and I hope that this super, super long post will suffice as a proper apology.

November is in full swing here in Munich and a lot has been going on. I don’t think that I need to admit that I love November, though - I always have. Not only is it my birthday month but it’s also got Thanksgiving and long-anticipated new movie releases. And it’s kind of like a pre-game for Christmas, too – as the holiday spirit starts showing up in store windows and on the radio waves and the weather starts to change for the worse. Here in Munich it’s been a bit of a different experience, of course. The weather has been kind of indecisive about it’s honest intentions. A few weekends ago we had gorgeous, warm t-shirt weather and so we made sure to take advantage of the good day and we spent half of the day at Olympiapark playing football (or watching, in mine and Catherine’s case) and enjoying the sun and warm weather. We also caught a beautiful sunset – which, so far – has been the best part of the sun now setting at 4:45 pm everyday. Unfortunately, that warm weekend weather has passed and we’re back to rain and frigid cold and frosty mornings. The weather forecast calls for snow this week. Fun.

Last week I went to the opening of Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part 1 and it was every bit the amazing movie that I expected it to be. Of course, I’m always a critic of the book-to-movie adaptation so I was skeptical but, to be honest, they did a really good job of keeping the basic plot line in order and the movie turned out fabulous. It’s not the first time that HP has released in November, that’s half of the reason why I like November so much – long awaited movies usually make their debut. Last year (and the year before) I had Twilight releases and about 5 years ago, I had HP and the Goblet of Fire, three years before that was Chamber of Secrets and when I turned 15, I had Sorcerer’s Stone. I don’t know what’s going to happen when all of these movies are done and are no longer being released. Hopefully something amazing takes their place or I just grow up a little bit more to let it go. Ha.

My birthday just passed and I had a Munich-style celebration. It was actually a bit of a birthday weekend, seeing as Helen’s birthday was on Friday, so we celebrated birthdays from Thursday to Sunday. Thursday was a messy accident and I hadn’t planned on anything getting too crazy but we ended up moving on to a second bar after the first bar turned on the lights and shouted last call and we all ended up going home somewhere around 4 in the morning. So, happy birthday to you, Helen! On Friday we went out again for her “real” celebration and we started at our age old favorite, Jaeger’s Hostel where Cris treated us to free birthday shots in Helen’s honor. After Jaeger’s we danced all night at Neuraum night club before Lauren, Helen, and I decided that we’d had enough and we wanted to go home. With way too much money spent and our attitudes and enthusiasm going down the crapper, we caught a cab to Helen’s place and the three of us snuggled in her bed before Lauren and I headed to our respective residences at 7:30 in the morning. Saturday was spent sleeping it off – I managed 3 1/2  hours – and then that evening, we celebrated my birthday at Peaches bar in our tracht wear – Bavarian style! We got two Zombies (the second with a birthday discount!) and managed to stay at that particular bar until 1 am before we tried to find a worthy club and then failed. But it was all right, seeing as we’d had a rough couple of nights, and I was more than happy to head home and crash in my bed. Birthday party success! On Sunday, my girlfriends and I wandered aimlessly around Munich doing everything and nothing (read: eating everything in sight, keeping warm in pizzerias and coffee shops, ogling Christmas window displays, watching ice skating in Karlsplatz, and eating ice cream at McDonalds) and the day ended with cocktails and dinner at Roxy cafe on Leopoldstrasse. It was a lovely, wonderful birthday and I was (and still remain to be!) so grateful to have so many wonderful friends to share it with me. Danke schon, my lovelies!

Wing, Fio, and me at Roxy

My birthday hat?

Also, something I should mention about my birthday… as a gift, some of my friends bought me a ticket to see one of my favorite bands, Angus & Julia Stone, as they passed through Munich on the 14th and the concert was wonderful. I absolutely loved every minute of it and my ever so delightful company! They are such wonderful performers and their music is even more incredible when it’s live. I highly recommend that you check them out and I can help! Here’s a video that I took from the show of their performance of  “For You” which is one of my favorite tracks off of Down the Way. Enjoy!

Now that I’m officially 24 and my birthday is done and over, it’d be only normal for me to start thinking about Thanksgiving and getting all geared up for that. Unfortunately, the holiday will not be as traditional as usual because I’m not in the United States and because Thanksgiving is an American holiday. My friends and I are going to try to host our own international Thanksgiving dinner in celebration of the true holiday but with a bit of a foreign twist to it. Everyone can bring whatever kind of food they want and we have a Thanksgiving buffet, probably sans turkey but with a lot of other fun and interesting stuff. Of course, I’m going to miss my family this year – Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I will really be aching for my family this week. Hopefully it will pass without too much anguish and I’ll be okay until Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, Munich is ready for the holidays – officially. The Christkindlmarkt starts on Saturday and their already preparing Marienplatz for the big show. Basically, the market runs from November 28th until Christmas Eve and it’s just a big fancy market of Christmas vendors and pretty lights and eventually, snowy Christmas scenes. I’m really excited for it to start though – it’s something new and exciting and I love Christmas time so it’s the perfect venue to get into the spirit of the season. The Tollwood winter festival is starting up on Wednesday too and runs until December 31st. It’s a Christmas folk festival, much like the market but in a different place. Ha. And, of course, all of the stores in the city are putting up their Christmas displays and they’re especially delightful – probably just because I’m in a new country and it’s more exciting than being at the Del Monte mall or Cannery Row. Needless to say, I am super excited for the Christmas season to come in, full swing. And maybe I’m kind of, a little bit looking forward to the snow. A little bit…

Creepy Christmas puppets…

Gross.

   Putting up the massive Christmas tree in Marienplatz

Ice skating at Karlsplatz

Get your toasty, warm Christmas snacks – Gluhwein indeed!

In closing, I should say that I have about 5 zillion blank postcards that I need to send out, many of which are long overdue. So, if you’d like a post card – let me know. No promises though! I’m quite lazy and going to the post office takes a lot of effort. But I will try. ;)

The Seasons of Change and A Trip Down Memory Lane

As of today, it is officially September and here in Munich, fall has fell. I went out last weekend and could just feel the change, a bite in the air that made a scarf and a warm jacket absolutely necessary. Too bad I don’t have a warm jacket right now. Actually, I don’t have any warm clothes. I left them all at home in hopes that my mom could send them to me in mid September but it looks like I’m going to need them sooner than that. Honestly, all that I have at the moment are tank tops and wimpy t-shirts. My only backup are a few pairs of jeans and some warm hoodies. That’s it. I want my pea coat so badly right now.  Ma? You’re on it!

The last time that I experienced honest to God real fall weather, I lived here:

 Missoula, Montana

I was 15 years old and a freshmen in high school – 8 years ago. Growing up, I remember one of my favorite things to do was rake leaves and jump into the piles that my siblings and I made in our front yard. We’d bury stuff in there and dive deep searching for them – Ninja Turtle action figures, GI Joes, Barbies or whatever else. And then in the end we’d stuff all the leaves into yard bags that looked like pumpkins and stack them in front of the house. My childhood best friend and I used to walk around our neighborhood in Missoula with rakes twice our size offering our $5/hour yard raking services. Some of the best hard labor of my life. Ha.

Needless to say, I absolutely love fall. The smell of it reminds me of school, of Halloween, of turkey and Thanksgiving, of mittens and scarves. Where I live in California, the weather doesn’t change into four distinct seasons. It’s more like 2 1/2. Summer, spring, and rain. The trees don’t burst into flames of unbelievably beautiful autumn colors. The air outside doesn’t suddenly feel crisp and clean. It’s hard to explain but you can just feel the coming of fall. I’ve missed that and I can’t wait to enjoy it here. I’m actually looking forward to the changing of all the seasons here. Even winter. But maybe check in with me again when winter is actually here. I might have changed my story.

The twins and I are back to our weekday routine. Card games, puzzles, painting, and movies. I’ve tried to suggest the zoo multiple times but it never ends up happening. Weather or lack of planning or tennis lessons. The girls have requested going to the Olympic tower but that fell. We need to get out of the house, out of the neighborhood, and out to see the city. Seriously, we just stay home all the time. It gets to be pretty boring. One of these days I’m just going to ask her if I can take them to Marienplatz or something for ice cream and a fancy lunch. At least it’s somewhere.

Coming up this week – the family is going away again, this time to Frankfurt and I am having another dinner party here at the house with a few friends. Not sure on the culinary theme yet. Some time this weekend, we’re going to Dachau which was the first Nazi concentration camp in Germany. I’m looking forward to seeing it but at the same time, I’m not. That’s really hard history to bare witness to, even 70 years later. Every movie or documentary that I’ve watched on concentration camps or the Holocaust (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, HELLO?!) has brought me to weeping tears so I can only imagine how this will affect me. To be standing right there knowing what happened all of those years ago… damn. It’ll be rough.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Kind of a pointless blog post, isn’t it? Haha. Never! Although, I did forget to say that I definitely think I am cheating with all of this “American” food that I’ve brought back from Garmisch. Today I made a grilled cheese sandwich with Kraft sharp cheddar and for the last three mornings, I’ve had a blueberry bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. I now put ranch dressing on my salad and yellow mustard on my sandwiches and eat it with my french fries. It’s kind of like I’m cheating on German culture or something. And getting fat again. Haha. Damn you, American food. I love you but I can’t wait until you’re gone again.

Now I’m really leaving. But first, a random picture of Munich because, to be honest, Neus Rathaus never gets old.

 

Oh, and P.S. - Yes, Harry you are my official photographer (at least when you’re capturing better pictures than I am and let’s face it, that’s a lot) and lots of kudos to Lauren Beckwith, a former Munich au pair who doesn’t even know me but still sent me a really nice Facebook message about how much she appreciates this blog and wants me to keep writing it. Don’t worry, so long as I’m still an au pair in Munich, I will! And keep reading!

Mary Poppins and Mahltauschen, “SLOSH” Nymphenburg, Buses That Go Nowhere, A 3 EUR Maß, and the Deutsches Museum

For the relaxing weekend that I had, it was actually pretty busy. Nothing, however, can beat the shenanigans of the Neuschwanstein Misadventures. In an attempt to slow down from all of the excessive bier drinking and overspending that I’ve been doing lately, I decided to take it easy this weekend and tried to plan for a day/weekend trip to Garmisch to visit a family friend and relax with a friend in the mountains. I spent the week trying to organize the trip but it fell through due to lack of interest from friends and due to money troubles. So what else is new? Fortunately, I full intend to go visit and soon, even if I go alone. I’m looking forward to breathing in the mountain air and visiting with a beloved friend.

Instead of Garmisch, Jessica and I spent the weekend in Munich, taking in the sights and putting good use to our tourist books. On Friday night we stayed in and made dinner – Mahltauschen with grilled onions, shallots, and Schmand - and listened to Angus & Julia Stone, my new favorite band. And then Zainab came over and passed out on the couch while Jess and I watched Mary Poppins. Zainab tried to explain to us how representative the movie is of her hometown, London, but we just thought it was incredibly weird. Sorry, Z. Haha. I’ve seen it before but I never realized how trippy that movie is.

  

Saturday morning, instead of getting up early to catch a train to Garmisch, Jessica and I took our time and decided to go to Theresienwiese to see the progress for Oktoberfest. They’re already putting up the beer tents! Eric met up with us at Bavaria which is this incredibly cool bronze monument that looks over the Oktoberfest grounds.

We wandered around the Ruhmeshalle (hall of fame) and then eventually tried to bust in on the “biergarten” that was set up on the edge of the construction sites. It was a bust. But we did end up finding the weirdest ‘vending’ machine in the world. Let’s just say that if I need to find out if I have colon cancer or if I should ever need some odor spray, I know where I get some.

 

We wandered around the streets of Munich trying to find somewhere to eat lunch, only to end up in Marienplatz at Mr. Hot Dog. We met up with Harry after that and the four of us journeyed through Kaufingerstrasse to get to Karlzplatz where we could take a tram to Schloss Nymphenburg. Jessica got told off on the tram for taking pictures of someone’s baby and a giant green stink bug (or so we think) successfully molested all of us and then proceeded to flop around on it’s back the floor of the tram until Harry was able to get it outside. It was a lustig journey, to say the least.

 

As beautiful as it is, Schloss Nymphenburg is pretty boring. Haha. It’s a gorgeous palace and the gardens are beautiful but we found that it wasn’t very exciting. Nothing like Neuschwanstein. Haha. We wandered around the palace grounds taking pictures and making fun of the strange Greek statues and marveling at the duck families and enormous swans.

  

Harry left us after 4 and so Eric and Jessica and I decided that it would be more fun to go to a market and get cheap beer and just wander around Munich. We decided to get on Bus 51 which was a bad idea because after about 30 or so minutes of travel, we realized that we weren’t really getting anywhere. We ended up getting off at some random UBahn stop and then ventured back to Marienplatz where we had a delicious dinner at Schneide Weiße Bräuhaus. We did end up buying beer at the local Rewe and I was the only smart one – sticking to a bier that I knew. Neither Jess nor Eric enjoyed the beers that they bought so we ended up sharing the Augustiner. Eventually we ended up at Jaeger’s Youth Hostel where we made bank on the 7-9 Happy Hour and 3 EUR Maß. By 10:30 Jessica and I were drunk and had totaled between the two of us – three Maß and one Pilsner. Eric left me half of his and I filled that with half of one of Jess’s. It was an interesting bier extravaganza, to say the least. I did find the most delicious drunk snack food though – it’s called a Maxi Box and it’s from the Turkish doner stands. French fries, doner meat, and delicious white sauce (kind of like ranch dressing) all mixed together to delicious amazingness. At the end of the night, Jess and I got separated and I ended up at Giselastrase with Clare, Chris, and Jennie. Eventually Jess got a hold of me and I met her at my UBahn stop. We made it home and passed out in my bed. A Saturday night success.

Jessica and Eric at dinner

On Sunday morning I made pancakes from scratch and Jessica made scrambled eggs with cheese and garlic salt. Complete with maple syrup, peanut butter, and cold orange juice. It was the breakfast of champions. After breakfast we got ready to embrace the day and journey to the UBahn. Jess went home to explore Olympia park and I ventured into the heart of the city to meet Catherine for a trip to the Deutches Museum with Harry. It was a beautiful day – it’s a shame we spent it inside of the museum but we did manage to find the roof top viewing area just before it closed. Made from incredible photo opportunities of the city. And thank God Harry was there to explain half of the stuff inside there. Science and technology, however interesting and useful it may be, is so over my head. I was incredibly grateful to have him there to explain stuff like wind currents on airplane wings and math algorithms. After the museum, Harry disappeared to the gym and Catherine and I went to Munchner Freiheit to meet Clare for dinner. We went to Bento Box which was absolutely delicious. We talked girly things – boys and gossip, mostly, but trips to England and plans for Oktoberfest, and laughed at the restaurant’s heinous music selection - “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” sung by Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck - and ultimately enjoyed each other’s company as the ominous gray clouds began to unleash the rain that had been threatening to fall all afternoon.

View from the roof of the museum

   There’s always a silver lining, isn’t there?

I ventured home in the rain listening to my country music playlists – I miss country music – and came home to a dark and empty house. The family is gone to Austria until tomorrow evening. Originally it was supposed to be until next Saturday afternoon but somehow, she shaved off about 5 days and they’ll be back sooner than I want them to. I was looking forward to a quiet house and some really lazy days but I guess I will actually have to be an au pair now. The girls are finished with kinderhaus and are on summer vacation until Septmber 14th so I’m going to have to do real au pair duties – like trips to the playground, day trips to the zoo, and full on entertainment of the girls for hours and hours at a time. It’s nothing I haven’t done before just something I’m not used to doing here.

The rest of the week is uncharted. I know that I have to babysit on Saturday night but everything else is up in the air. Shamrocks with the girls on Tuesday night and maybe Olympia Sommerfest on Wednesday. Toy Town on Thursday. Before I know it August will be over and we’ll be well into September. It’s hard to believe that Oktoberfest starts NEXT MONTH. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to go. I really need to get a dirndl. My friend Alison is coming via England to Munich for the weekend of the 24th-27th to celebrate with me so I’m really excited to have here with me, meeting my friends and getting ridiculously drunk off of German bier. Time is going by so fast here! I hope that it slows down this fall and into winter. I don’t want to feel like my time here in Munich is disappearing. I can’t imagine leaving at this point – I really don’t want to!

5 Am at Kultfabrik, Kinder Music, Yellow Mustard, and Vampire Love Sagas

It’s been almost a week since I last updated but it feels like a lot longer. Which is weird because time goes by so incredibly fast here. I’ve been here for five weeks already and each week goes by faster than the one before it. Take, for example, the fact that today is Wednesday and I feel like it was just last Wednesday. Does that sound stupid? Does it make sense? Ha. Probably not.

No need to explain why the past week was a blur. I’m in Germany. I’m doing crazy stuff and living a crazy life. Everything is new, everything is different. Why would it be boring? Granted, I do sleep a lot more than I ever did in California and I have absolutely nothing on my agenda. I pretty much just read (working on books 5 and 6 simultaneously), write (letters, blogs, fiction, etc), Facebook, watch Everwood on DVD (so good!), and go out with friends. Oh, and sometimes I work.

I wouldn’t say that I’ve been busy, just active. On Thursday night I went out with my girlfriends and we enjoyed some good German bier, as usual. I’m getting really good at this whole, Munich night life thing, save the problem that I keep missing the last train on weeknights. Helen and I had to pay for a taxi on Thursday night. And on Sunday night, we walked 1.5 hours at 1:30 in the morning to get home. You’d think I would learn my lesson on this one but I haven’t. Not yet. On Friday night I went out with Jessica and her cousin. He was visiting from his army base somewhere in Germany and he’d brought a bunch of friends with him. Overall, the night was a disaster, at least the parts where we had to hang out with the immature, obnoxious army boys. But I did enjoy dancing at clubs in Kultfabrik until 5 am and running in the pouring rain with my friend Ken to get cheeseburgers from the Turkish food stands. Plus, I met the coolest group of Irish guys ever. I really do love Munich nights.

On Saturday I slowed down a bit. After sleeping from only 6 am until about 8:30ish and getting myself home from Jessica’s apartment around 10, I showered, put my pajamas on and curled up in my bed. It was only right. I slept from about 11:30 until almost 4 and then went out into the world again. My friend Catherine and I went to see Eclipse (you know, the Twilight movie?) and oh my God, it was INCREDIBLE. It was my favorite movie thus far which is only to be expected since it was my favorite book as well. I actually liked Bella in this movie which is more than I can say for the first two films. And plus, there was a whole lot of half naked Jacob in this movie. And that is something I definitely agreed with. After the movie, Catherine and I went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and I had the most delicious hamburger and french fries. Oh, and bier. Of course. It was like home but better because it still had a bit of German style. Like sweet pickles instead of dill. But there was French’s Yellow Mustard on the table and I about had a heart attack of delight. I wanted to steal it. It was pouring rain throughout all of this and it didn’t help that Catherine and I got lost looking for the restaurant. Ha. So we were soaked by the time we got there. After dinner, we went our separate ways and went home. Even though it was a pretty low key Saturday, it was exactly what I needed.

Eclipse at Cinema, the English theater in Munich

Sunday was much of the same. Not a lot going on. I met up with Jessica and we wandered around Munich for a while, checking out the gay pride event in Marienplatz and then randomly stumbled across a Japanfest in the English Gardens. We found this little vendor that sold these AMAZING cheesecakes, oh Lord, they were SO delicious. Way better than in the states. In the evening, after I’d gone home (my feet hurt!), Helen invited me to go out with her and some friends and, of course, we had a lot of bier and that’s when Helen and I ended up walking home. Aside from Friday, it was a great weekend.

Life in the house has been fairly uneventful. The Frau hasn’t been too bad. She still confuses me sometimes with her expectations but it’s nothing to cry home about. Although on Friday I had a rough day. I was with the girls for 8 hours. Good Lord, that’s a long time. And the Frau was there the whole time, too. They had a music recital in the evening so at 1, when they came home from kinderhaus she wanted them to rest. I tried to get them to watch a movie but they didn’t want to (“It’s too long!” Nana said) but  just watched TV for 2 1/2 hours instead. It was a rather pointless afternoon seeing as all that I did was sit with them and read my book.  I went with the Frau to their recital which was so cute. Boring but cute. I had no idea what was going on seeing as it was all in German but they were happy to have me there anyway.

 
After the recital, we went to the sports club to have dinner. I had half a roasted chicken (I forget what it’s called in German) and pommes frits (my favorite!). And then I had to hobble back to the house to get the girls swim suits and bring them back. And then I had to sit at the pool with them in the hot sun for 45 minutes. And when we got home, I had to try to get them to go to bed. Eenie, of course, was sucked into the TV like always. And she wouldn’t budge. And I was so frustrated, I had to go into the kitchen and try not to cry. Eight hours! That was a lot more than I was used to. Eventually, the Frau let me go and then I released my frustrations with bier and club dancing, as previously mentioned.

I don’t mean to complain. I mean, I have every right to but I won’t. Sure, being an au pair has it’s downsides but it’s really not that bad. I have more free time than I know what to do with and my job’s actually not that hard. Besides, I elected to go to the music recital. I didn’t have to. Anyway, I really do like being an au pair. And I’m so blessed to have this opportunity. So don’t think that I’m ungrateful because I’m not. It’s really great getting to know the girls more and more everyday. It’s been a slow process but we’re getting used to each other every day. I’ve been teaching them new games and songs and I love reading to them, even though they know all the books by heart already. And I love going to the pool with them. I just can’t wait until I can jump in again!

Which reminds me, I get my stitches out tomorrow. A fellow au-pair friend of mine is working for a doctor lady and she’s graciously agreed to take them out for me tomorrow morning. I’m going to go over to their house and it’ll be quick and easy. Finally! This thing has been a pain in the ass… er, foot.

This week the girls are taking part in a local neighborhood circus next week, which is set up down the street. It’s a bunch of kids from a circus school putting on a show of acrobatics, balancing, rope walking and stuff like that. Eenie and Vee have cousins in the school so they get to be pretty butterflies and run around in circles. I haven’t been yet – I’m taking them to rehearsals tomorrow. They have shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night and I think I’m going to all three. Either as a guest or as a chaperone, not quite sure. And I have to babysit on Saturday night so Friday is the only night that I get to go out this weekend. Which is fine by me. I wore myself out last week!

I hope that I can start traveling soon. I haven’t been very good at budgeting or saving my money and so I haven’t really been thinking about traveling, mostly about how to live off of 70 EUR for a week and a half. It’s actually not that hard, to be honest. I’m just used to my frivolous spending habits of California and so I always think I’m going to be screwed. But really, I don’t buy anything more than a water bottle here or a snack there. And that’s usually only 3 or 4 EUR total. So I’m okay. For now. Hopefully I’ll have some friends visiting me in August and we can go to Austria or something. Haven’t really decided where yet!

That’s all from me now. I have some laundry to finish and some cleaning to be done. Oh, Wednesdays how I loathe thee. Sigh.

Sunshine, Swimming Pools, and Lazy Days

So, far this au pair thing is pretty cool. I spent most of Monday afternoon lazing about in the Englischer Gartens. I rode my bike from the house to one of the lawns and set up camp under a shady tree. Half in the shade, half out. I brought a book, my crossword puzzles, and some snacks. And I just laid out and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. I tried to tan but most everyone knows my body isn’t very receptive to kind coloring. Usually I just burn red. But that didn’t happen either. Slow goes it, I guess! After doing this all day, I returned back to the house for work and was quickly barreled out of the house to go to the pool with the Frau and Die Kinder.

The pool is part of the BayernLB Sportarena, kind of like a members-only sports club. Technically I wasn’t allowed to be there seeing as I’m not a member but they snuck me in. The girls and I went swimming for almost three hours. It was glorious. I love swimming pools and water, especially on hot muggy days which is pretty much every day here. It was funny being at the pool because NO ONE spoke English and all of the families or kid surrounding us stared me all crazy whenever I talked and played with Die Kinder. I got a few points and some second glances. And it was pretty much just moms and their small children. I think I saw one dad there. Just one. And all of the little kids were running around naked. Well, not all of them but compared to the number of nakie kids at an American swimming pool, it was a lot.

Later in the evening, after I’d put the girls to sleep, Helen helped me fix my bed! Well, she kind of helped. Mostly she just laughed at my misfortune and doubted it’s hold but together, we managed to make it work. Here are a series of pictures showing our good efforts:

 
To celebrate our hard work I borrowed the DVD player from the Frau and Helen and I laid around in my room and watched a movie. On Tuesday, I went out to lunch with a fellow au pair (also named Heather) that I had met through  Toy Town and we kind of just wandered through the city and enjoyed the warm weather and Munich’s best flavors from a delicious gelateria. It was nice to have someone to spend time with during the day seeing as I’m usually off by myself adventuring and seeing the sights. She was also very helpful in the ordering of food. Although I’m getting better at it everyday! She also showed me where there is an English-only book store. Also, after accidentally buying a huge bottle of sparkling water, I’ve decided that the Germans are crazy and sparkling water is GROSS. But Heather was right when she advised me to drink some anyway. My hands and feet were all bloated again from the weather and it was comforting to actually hydrate myself. Overall, the outing was a success. I look forward to spending more time with her, especially since she’s leaving at the end of the summer.

Last night (Tuesday), I decided to go to the Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower) biergartens to meet up with some people from Toy Town but, unfortunately, I couldn’t find them. I didn’t have any credit left on my phone and there were a million people there. So I just waited by the bus stop for Jessica and when she showed up, we got some bier, pommes, and meat and went to town. They give you these huge pitchers of bier – just for one person! Needless to say, I got drunk. Who wouldn’t after drinking ONE LITER of bier? Fortunately, I was sober enough to be able to ride my bike home (sort of difficult, my light kept turning off) and pass out in my bed about an hour later.

Ein maß weißbier!

Today is Wednesday and as of this week and last, I’ve officially dubbed Mittwoch my lazy day. I went for a half-ass jog through the Englischer Garten, did my laundry, hung it out to dry (oh, how I miss dryer sheets), cleaned and organized my room, worked on writing and addressing my pile of postcards, and ran an errand to the store down the street. It was such a small errand but such a cool experience. None of the ladies there speak English so I just had to show them my list and squeeze my fingers together and say, “Little Deutsche.”  I don’t know why I didn’t just say, “EEK SPRECKA KINE DOY-TCH!” Ha. I’m getting really good at that one! But I was able to get the three things that I needed – coffee, fresh parsley, and garlic powder. Now I can make parmesean noodles for the girls for dinner and the Frau can have her coffee. Job well done.

I know that I should feel bad for wasting a sunny day inside but I don’t. It’s so hot and humid and I didn’t get paid until about 2 this afternoon, anyway, so it really doesn’t bother me. Plus, I have so many more days to explore and adventure and enjoy this city so I don’t regret my decision at all. Beside, every once in a while it just feels good to stop going and sit down for a day.

Oh, and you know what I forgot? This morning I woke up at 6:30 am to the sound of thunder outside my window. Loud, angry thunder that seemed to shake the skies. And the rain, torrents of rain. Hot, humid, muggy rain. Even though I fell back asleep, it was a great sound to wake up to. I wasn’t even annoyed.

For the rest of the week, I am ready for anything. Babysitting tonight, Toy Town tomorrow, BBQs and more babysitting over the weekend. Another Deutschland football game. Going out with Helen and meeting some of her friends (finally!). Even though the last two weeks have gone by so quickly, I can’t wait to enjoy the rest. I absolutely love being here. Have I said that lately?

Oh, I have? Well, it’s true. :)

Now for the end of this post, enjoy some more pictures:

 Weiner Schnitzel, boiled potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a salad. Oh, and bier.

Marienplatz in the fading daylight.

 A weird Michael Jackson shrine in the city.

 Postcards

 Joshua Heather Orange (J-Ho) and Veva: the comforts of home, all the way in Germany

New German Girl enjoying a sunshine Saturday

The Weekday Routine Plus a Little Extra

And so begins my second week…

It’s hard to believe that have been here for one week. Time is going by too fast already! I know I have so much more time to do all the things I am looking forward to which is why I don’t feel bad about taking it easy this week. At least until Thursday, anyway.

Yesterday I spent the entire day at the house. I had my first morning with the girls. I prepared the table and kitchen for breakfast and met the father for the first time. He is an international tax lawyer and is gone ALL the time. He comes home at like 9 pm and leaves at 9 am. So I don’t usually see him. But he’s very nice! He speaks English fluently, he went to school at Georgetown and works in the United States occasionally. It was nice to finally meet him, I was beginning to think he didn’t exist!

After breakfast, the girls were off to school. I cleaned their bedroom and play room (pretty routine schedule – I did the same today…) and then when the Frau returned, we went over the schedule for the rest of the week and through ‘til the end of the year. I have two weeks off over Christmas so I know when to buy my tickets for Christmas, the 24th through January 8th. ’m going to go to England and stay with my friend Alison. We’ll hop all over England, visiting friends. It should be fun! I have a few weekends off during the summer, mostly in August and, of course, for my birthday in November.

After my au pair duties yesterday, I went for a jog in the Englischer Gartens. I’m starting this new workout routine which is fairly do-able. When paired with my current meal routine it will make me look AWESOME. Mon/Wed/Fri will be my new routine and I have all the time in the world, seeing as I have pretty much the same schedule everyday. Plus, the Gartens are gorgeous. I hope to get some good pictures in there soon. The place is huge though… it will take me more than one trip to see it all, guaranteed.

This is pretty much the norm for my weekdays. I plan on taking it easy most of the time, sometimes venturing out into the city in the hours between my au pair responsibilities. Today I have to get a new train ticket – my first week has expired. And then I’ll actually go out and use it. I think I’m just going to get off on an UBahn stop and see what I run into. That’s the best way to explore. And the nice thing about the UBahn is that I can always find my way home in the end.

On Sunday, I did a bit of exploring with Jessica and another American au pair, Mikell. We wanted to go into the Gartens but it was raining ALL DAY so we just walked around Marienplatz, Munchner Freiheit and Odeonplatz. We went to the Hofbrauhaus for lunch. The food was delicious and the beer was incredible, as always. Plus, it was really cool to see it in the flesh and not just through touristy YouTube videos. We were sitting right next to the oompah! music so it was delightfully festive.

I always hold my beer in such strange ways…

  Incredible architecture!

We proceeded to wander around for the remainder of the afternoon. All in all, it was a successful Sunday. :)

Finally… one of me with the Neues Rathaus