Not Living From a Suitcase

Sunday, April 3rd

I greet you know with my first blog entry from my new place of residence! I have been ready to unload that cumbersome suitcase for a while now. Whew… much better now. Let me catch you up from Friday…

Saturday morning, I woke up early to a nice breakfast downstairs. These youth hostels really do know how to present a good breakfast! Again, it was fresh bread, fruit, and cold cuts – a traditional German breakfast. I then spent some time on the web researching where the residency registration offices were and such. Micah and I were going to make a trip up to the BMW Wohnheim around noon, so I hit up mass at Alter Peter church around 9am. There are several VERY large churches in Munich’s central district. They are all also very old. Alter Peter was absolutely stunning, especially in the morning. The windows behind the altar were facing east, so the sun’s rays only enhanced the heavenly scene painted on the back wall.

At noon, Micah and I made the 10 minute bus ride up to Frankfurter Ring, where our apartment complex is located off of. When we arrived, I found that my key was already available for me! This was a surprise, as I didn’t think it would be available until Monday morning! We went up to room 321 and met my roommate, Peter. Peter is from Slavokia, so my cultural interactions seem to only get deeper as this trip progresses. He’s a pretty cool guy and I think sharing a room with him will work out very well. Unfortunately, he is moving out in two weeks after finishing a one year internship. He mentioned that he had had two previous roommates and that one of them was also from Cincinnati. It turns out that he actually roomed with one of the ICP participants from last year! Very cool! Since I didn’t have my stuff with me, I decided to move in the next day since I already had paid for the night at the youth hostel. I was also able to later get a refund for my 3rd night. That was a relief!

We arrived back in the Marienplatz district around 2pm and I ran some errands in the afternoon. At 6pm, Micah and I decided to try out a beer-garden tour offered through one of the groups down here. It was only 12 Euros and included three drinks, so we were game. Unfortunately, Micah had to duck out because of a bad stomach ache, but I went ahead and still went. I met some pretty great people on the tour. There were about 12 of us altogether. Many were from the US and a few were from Spain. One was actually from Bloomington, Indiana! I told her I went to UC and she said that she went to all the home games in the fall! When I told her I was drum major there, she immediately knew why I looked so familiar. Small world! Another gentleman in the group was from Minnesota. His family comes from Japan and Poland, and he was just returning from a trip to visit them after being in China to set up some plants for 3M. Big stuff. A third person was a student from a place close to Cologne. She knew four languages and studied business law. We had a good time conversing in both German and English throughout the evening. Good beers and good conversations.

In the morning, I checked out of the hostel and moved my stuff to my apartment. I then made a noon mass at St. Michael’s (another old church in Marienplatz). This church was under construction/restoration, so there was scaffolding and equipment inside and out. We must have gone to an Italian mass, because it was certainly not in English, German, or Latin!

In the afternoon, I headed back to my apartment to unpack and familiarize myself with the surroundings. With regards to the room… it is basically a Calhoun Hall dorm room with a kitchen and bathroom appended to the front. I suppose for six months and a decently low rent, I can tolerate that. I created a list of items I would need for my place (food, towels, plates, etc.), but immediately realized… it’s Sunday. NOTHING here is open on Sunday. Perhaps a few beer gardens, but otherwise, you are S.O.L. if you want to do ANY shopping on a Sunday… even in the busy parts of the city. Since I didn’t want to look like a poor unkempt college student, I decided to see if I could find someplace open that sold razors (the last two weeks have been bare necessities when it comes to such things, so I hadn’t shaved for a while). It was beautiful out today anyway, so a walk was merited. 65 degrees and sunny. AMAZING! I made my way down the street into the neighborhood and found a gas station that had razors and… AND… DR. PEPPER! I was so excited! I didn’t think they sold it over here! All I have seen is Coke products. I made the impulse-buy and had my first European Dr. Pepper. It satisfied, but I will say it comes nowhere close the good taste of a US Dr. Pepper… or the great taste of a Skyline Dr. Pepper. Oh how I miss such things.

Later in the walk, I discovered that the city district I am in is absolutely beautiful! Olympian park is breathtaking. Rolling hills, fine cut grass, and several ponds with streams attaching their outlets filled the park. Bike paths, running paths, and walking paths shot in multiple directions. Blossoming trees lined the walkways, and literally hundreds of families, couples, runners, and walkers filled the very large park. That is when I realized why stores being closed on a Sunday are a great thing. A Sabbath is a Sabbath for a reason. Kudos to the Germans for making it happen. In any case, I will be spending a lot of free time this summer in the park. It is literally 5 minutes walking distance from my apartment.

When I returned I spent the evening prepping paperwork for tomorrow’s first day. I have a lot of other small details I’d like to post right now, but I’ll wait until things develop this week and update as I get settled in.

Tomorrow's the first day! Wish me luck!