Better/Sunnier days in Munich.

(NOTE: For any friends out there who have wondered why I may have been bad at keeping in touch recently my laptop killed itself 2 days before I left Bangkok, Thailand. Instead of trying to fix it or cart it’s dead body around I gutted it’s hard drive and left the rest in Asia. So now I am travelling lighter, but am less connected. My apologies if you don’t get fast responses from me. )



Since my last words on this blog things have gotten better. I am no longer horribly ill and it is no longer freezing cold outside. (Oliver has many good qualities but when it comes to sick person bedside manner he is below average.) However there is a still a slight loneliness about being here.



One good thing is that we have moved from Oliver’s Aunts place on the outskirts of Munich into a small room in the city center in Glockenbachviertel. In most major town centers in Germany there is always a Rathaus (town hall) most of them seem to be complete with a giant bell tower which chimes multiple times a day plus every hour on the hour … I haven’t figured out when exactly they all go off, Oliver thinks it’s 11 and I have heard them at 5pm as well. Basically if you are in Munich’s city center then everywhere you hear a massive chorus of 4 clock towers (Glockenschpiel) ring for about 10 mins. It’s quite impressive. This is why where we now live is called Glockenbachviertel… I think it’s because of it’s close proxy to the bells, and the Rathaus (pictured here.)






Why do I bother to take the time to write about this? I don’t know… I guess it’s perhaps it is one of the most simple and yet most magical things about this place, and the sound of Munich is what is slowly seducing me into a happier mood at times.

You’d think it would be the sights, and the food perhaps? Nope. During my time in cultureshock –sick land while I was here all I could do was look around me at all the rich beauty in the buildings and only see how I didn’t know if I wanted to be around them. For every lovely Gothic arch or stately giant of a building I longed for the grim and shabby small wood structures of Seattle, it’s pot-holed filled streets and sometimes even it’s cloudy skies complete with mild winter temp.



I’m now starting to look at Munich with larger eyes and while the culture shock and questions of “What the hell have I done?! Was this the right choice?” looming around me. We/I had it so good in Seattle, now I must start all over again with my art and career, with my social life. When you are sick with low morale it’s really hard to fight these questions, but most days now I feel like everything will be ok, I just need to find where I fit and no knowing where that is makes me frustrated at times.

(side note: sometimes when I am frustrated I take a walk to take in the sites and sounds and look inside the magnificent churches here. this is a photo of a Rococo style church...super lovely.)



So with the weather no longer being so cold the other good thing is that we no longer have to walk around for hours looking at apartments since we finally found one of a reasonable price. We applied and were accepted out of all the applicants for it (remember it’s Munich- a hard city overall to find a house in so when good things come up they get snatched up quick). The only downside is that we cannot move in until May 1st. By this time I will be back in Seattle and Oliver will have to face the challenge of moving in alone.




For inquiring minds who want to know Oliver is doing well. His days are also up and down in mood and I am not alone in my homesickness for Seattle. I don’t think he would realize how much he felt Seattle was home if we didn’t move back. Funny how life works as times…

His days at work leave him frustrated while he tries to adapt to our new system of thick German Bureaucracy, and it seems that trying to get anything set up takes lots of running around and waiting. The common stereotype is that change happens slowly when working in Academic institutions or with German Bureaucracy. The two combined however must be inconceivably nightmarish.

I have been spending most of my mornings here in 4.5 hrs of German lessons at the (overpriced) Goethe-Institute with a couple of hours in the schools library studying. Oliver says I have made progress in my German and some days feel more progressive than others. Language takes time, but I just feel so impatient and wish I could make faster progress. On a good note I have begun to read advertisement in the subway and most major signs ones sees while walking around the city I can comprehend…so there is signs of hope for me yet.




So now that our basic needs seem to be met, a place to sleep a place to move into, etc. Oliver and I have been able to spend some time together relaxing and not pondering too much about what the future holds we spend most of our evenings watching movies in bed (mostly the Star Wars films) and some nights out at some shows I’ve found. Heading out to eat either pizza, german or Turkish food is common. Here a whole pizza is about 8-9 euros. super cheap compared to the US! It’s been my job here to find fun things for us to do, to located the laundry mat, to do the grocery shopping and by default cook dinner. I don’t feel like a housewife (yet) and running errands has been ok and has forced me to try and use German even though every time I do I get incredibly embarrassed.



We also took a weekend trip out to Passau, a lovely town on the boarder of Austria and Germany where three rivers converge quite closely, which houses the worlds largest Organ. I'm a fan of metal and a fan of big things and Oliver is a fan of old churches and musical instruments so we both really like organs and organ music. From May - October Passau's organ gives daily concerts. So if anyone is interested in visiting during those months we will totally have a day trip to this lovely city!

The streets of Passau were long and windy and narrow and prone to annual flooding. There are water lines all over the town with historic dates from 1509 -1956 to 2008 where water levels rose so much that they flooded the first floor of most houses in the center of town.

After a tour guided day with a boat ride included we met up with some locals who contacted me via couchsurfing.com for a beer by the riverside. After that a train back to Munich at 6pm and home for dinner at our local late night curry wurst diner (curry sausage and fries) Guten Nach Wurst! Living in the city center is super convenient that is for sure!

Alright well time to sign out here since it's time to study for my weekly German exams... miss you all!

Xoxox

-Mellington