Sunday was more interesting than Saturday. I told my hostess that I would get up at 9:00, so that I could find a church to go to, but I ended up oversleeping through my alarm, and was awake at 9:30. I felt kind of bad, because she provides breakfast to me, and had to wait for me. Then again, the friend I’m going to travel with told me that she slept until 3 in the afternoon! I think all of this is understandable, because I was so tired from not sleeping at the airport, or on the plane, or on the train, plus jet lag, combined for some serious sleep deprivation.
I first found where my German language schoolis, which is conveniently across the street from the train station. I decided to get to know that place, since I’ll need to use it again. While doing so, i came across a tour center, which gives waking tours and bike tours of the Munich area. I got a brochure, and planned a week of tours. I also found Deutsches Museum, where I bought a postcard. I walked more downtown, and explored several beautiful churches. The biggest and oldest church is called the Frauenkirche, and is located in the historic Marienplatz.
I met up with my friend when she finally woke up, and we got dinner at the Hofbräuhaus, which was for me sausage, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Oh, and the beer was good too. My friend was getting a little tipsy, so I finished some of her drink. It was a little pricey for my taste, at 17 EUR, but it was good food.
That’s pretty much it for Sunday. Monday was my first day of school, and I was around 5 minutes late. I was able to explain myself to my instructor in German, but I quickly realized that this is a basic class, and I didn’t want to be removed from the class if they knew I could already speak the language. We’re truly starting from the basics, which really bores me, but I’m okay with it.
After class, I decided to organize a little group of people to join us on our first tour. It was entitled, “A taste of Bavaria”, and included portions from each traditional Bavarian dish. Our tour guide was actually Italian, and she told us that Bavaria as a state is very different from the rest of Germany because of its Italian and French influence. We had weißwurst, obatzda, radishes, Bretzeln, and a couple other traditional dishes. This was at the Viktualienmarkt, which is a collection of old school shops. Afterward, we went back to Marienplatz to open a bank account, and check out the phones.
It was at this point in the day that I remembered that I was invited to a party by my hostess at 5:00. It was actually a birthday party, for her dog, Ela. She turned six years old. I thought it was going to be boring, but it was actually fun to chat up the locals with some Denglish. Afterward, my hostess had a little too much to drink, so I helped her clean up. She told me that one of the girls that I talked to was actually flirting with me. I had no idea! It’s hard enough to follow what people are saying, let alone understand those kinds of suttle cues.
While I would love to get caught up (today is Tuesday), I must go to bed, as it is almost 1 in the morning here.
Bis bald!
Tom Ziebro