We had an early breakfast and Carlo got ready for his first day at the office. Dressed in a suit and warm jacket, gloves in hand, he set out to the subway station. Two minutes later I received a very excited phone call: "IT IS SNOWING!!!" Indeed, as soon as he had stepped outside it started to snow very lightly!!! Looking out the window now, I can see the rooftops with a white dusting of snow. :-)
The flakes are still coming down ever so lightly and I cannot wait for a morning where we will wake up and see a thick layer on the buildings across from our window. I'm sure it won't be long anymore.
Munich usually gets much snow during the winter, more than many other cities in Germany.
Whatever happens, Thursday morning we are flying to Sicily, Italy to spend Christmas with Carlo's parents. It will we wonderful being next to the ocean again. It is not the same as the wild Pacific, but nonetheless a wide open body of water with seagulls and fresh fish to eat. :-)
Wishing you all happy moments with family and friends and time to stop and reflect on how precious and blessed our lives truly are.
Many snowy Christmas greetings from Munich, Germany!!!
Until very soon,
XOXOXO,
Ines
Tuesday, 19 December 2006
Christmas markets galore
Sunday morning rolled around and still no snow. Our internet was down all day and Carlo was so very curious to find out if we would see some snowflakes soon. The weather had turned colder and started to rain for the first time since we arrived.
Our plan for the day was to resist the jetlag and NOT take a nap in the afternoon. It still has a firm grip on us both.:-( We finished organizing clothes, documents and our kitchen. At noon I couldn't resist and ended up sleeping for two hours! Carlo showed more determination and stayed awake watching a bit of Italian television. We have one Italian channel, three American channels including CNN and MSNBC. Other channels we have, but likely will not use as much, are Al Jazeera, numerous channels from Poland, Turkey, Greece and Russia.
In the evening we set out to another Christmas market across town. It was much smaller and a little less crowded than the one on Marienplatz in the center of the city. There they had a live nativity scene with real people as Mary and Joseph, even a huge oxen and a very cute black donkey. The four sheep outside the barn looked warm in their pen, but not very happy. I think they were dreaming of green pastures and summer...:-0
Before going to bed last night, Carlo couldn't resist looking out the window numerous times to check if it had snowed already. All was still brown. During the night we awoke at 5AM - again the jet lag was rearing its ugly head. Carlo checked the window again. Nothing white and fluffy in sight anywhere.
Monday, 18 December 2006
First Weekend together
Good Morning dear friends!
Thank you all for your wonderful emails and greetings. It is so nice to hear from your corner(s) of the world. In order to keep you in the loop of your adventures and new experiences, here the second entry into our Munich diary....
After Carlo's whirlwind trip to Torino, Italy and office Christmas party (with mechanical bull (!) yes, you will have to ask him for details on that...) we managed to finally get organized in our place. With only two closets and no drawers, it still is a bit awkward to sort and place all socks, T-shirts and sweaters. The biggest dilemma: where to store all the big winter coats! The hallway allows for two jackets and a few scarfs to be comfortably stored, not much more. Two of our medium sized suitcases will serve as temporary dressers. Saturday afternoon, after a well deserved late morning, Carlo and I planned on visiting the famous Christmas market on Marienplatz. Hopefully open this time. It was!
The entire inner city was filled with holiday shoppers, stores brightly lit and the marktplatz, oh-so- wonderfully filled with typical arts and crafts booths, food booths selling "Gluehwein" (a spicy red wine served hot only during christmas time). We drifted aimlessly through the crowds uuuhhing and ahhhing at the beautiful craftsmanship of the local woodsmiths, craftsmen and women. Every now and then we would stop at a booth and try another typical local food. Some questions arose... which the locals were very eager and happy to help answer.. "What is the difference between a Nurnberger sausage and a regular Scweinwurstel?" Apparently they are both pig sausage but only the ones made in the city of Nurnberg can be called "Nurnberger". They must have thought we were from outer space!!! It took some explaining that I lived in the US for the past 14 years and that Carlo is not American, but Italian. Many thought that he was american! Once told that he was Italian, many of them asked even more questions! :-) How did you end up here? How did you meet?
Everyone was so very friendly and after several purchases of Gluehwein, arts and crafts for Carlo's parents, and a very special little " Raeuchermaennchen" (A little figurine which is hollow on the inside and once fitted with a little incense packet inside looks like it is smoking a pipe and spreading holiday fragrance of needles and myhrre...or any kind you like) ... we headed for home.
Despite all the eats and treats, at 10PM we decided that the TV programs were not that exciting and decided to call the restaurant in the hotel. We were told the kitchen closed at 11PM and the bar is open until 1AM! YES!!! Oh how we love Europe and it's late dinners. The restaurant is an Italian place called "Amadeo" and Carlo soon made friends with all the wait staff. He ordered in Italian and I received real mozarella cheese on my pizza instead of the Emmentaler they usually put. (A perk dating an Italian, hahah!) We couldn't decide on a dessert, when the waiter suggested a platter of little typical italian desserts. :-) We were wowed by a sampler plate with Tiramisu, panna cotta, strawberries and cream & two different sorts of ice cream. Oh how we have to start a diet sooon!!! Looking like two Penguins, we stumbled back to our room and loved the fact that we didn't have to get into a car or have a long walk home. (Even though we could have used one) :-)
Thank you all for your wonderful emails and greetings. It is so nice to hear from your corner(s) of the world. In order to keep you in the loop of your adventures and new experiences, here the second entry into our Munich diary....
After Carlo's whirlwind trip to Torino, Italy and office Christmas party (with mechanical bull (!) yes, you will have to ask him for details on that...) we managed to finally get organized in our place. With only two closets and no drawers, it still is a bit awkward to sort and place all socks, T-shirts and sweaters. The biggest dilemma: where to store all the big winter coats! The hallway allows for two jackets and a few scarfs to be comfortably stored, not much more. Two of our medium sized suitcases will serve as temporary dressers. Saturday afternoon, after a well deserved late morning, Carlo and I planned on visiting the famous Christmas market on Marienplatz. Hopefully open this time. It was!
The entire inner city was filled with holiday shoppers, stores brightly lit and the marktplatz, oh-so- wonderfully filled with typical arts and crafts booths, food booths selling "Gluehwein" (a spicy red wine served hot only during christmas time). We drifted aimlessly through the crowds uuuhhing and ahhhing at the beautiful craftsmanship of the local woodsmiths, craftsmen and women. Every now and then we would stop at a booth and try another typical local food. Some questions arose... which the locals were very eager and happy to help answer.. "What is the difference between a Nurnberger sausage and a regular Scweinwurstel?" Apparently they are both pig sausage but only the ones made in the city of Nurnberg can be called "Nurnberger". They must have thought we were from outer space!!! It took some explaining that I lived in the US for the past 14 years and that Carlo is not American, but Italian. Many thought that he was american! Once told that he was Italian, many of them asked even more questions! :-) How did you end up here? How did you meet?
Everyone was so very friendly and after several purchases of Gluehwein, arts and crafts for Carlo's parents, and a very special little " Raeuchermaennchen" (A little figurine which is hollow on the inside and once fitted with a little incense packet inside looks like it is smoking a pipe and spreading holiday fragrance of needles and myhrre...or any kind you like) ... we headed for home.
Despite all the eats and treats, at 10PM we decided that the TV programs were not that exciting and decided to call the restaurant in the hotel. We were told the kitchen closed at 11PM and the bar is open until 1AM! YES!!! Oh how we love Europe and it's late dinners. The restaurant is an Italian place called "Amadeo" and Carlo soon made friends with all the wait staff. He ordered in Italian and I received real mozarella cheese on my pizza instead of the Emmentaler they usually put. (A perk dating an Italian, hahah!) We couldn't decide on a dessert, when the waiter suggested a platter of little typical italian desserts. :-) We were wowed by a sampler plate with Tiramisu, panna cotta, strawberries and cream & two different sorts of ice cream. Oh how we have to start a diet sooon!!! Looking like two Penguins, we stumbled back to our room and loved the fact that we didn't have to get into a car or have a long walk home. (Even though we could have used one) :-)
Sunday, 17 December 2006
Taking care of business
This morning, I woke up to discover it was only 5AM! I started to try myself with a few Sudoku puzzles and after a short breakfast and quick talk with Carlo, I ended up sleeping until 2 PM!!! zzzzzz...
After a quick trip to the reception desk, we now also have internet in our room! I am excited to be able to chat with all of you on a regular basis and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Tomorrrow I am plannning on getting a german cell phone and in the afternoon Carlo and I will visit the Christmas market on Marienplatz. The weather is unseasonably warm with temps in the 40's and 50's and many of the locals are complaining that it doesn't feel like Christmas at all. Sunday will bring the first chance for snow. Personally, I'm glad that Munich is experiencing the warmest winter in years... it's just right for a couple of California-weather spoiled transplants. :-)
Lastly, I wanted to note our direct phone number to our room. This way you won't have to talk to the reception desk and the call will go to our room directly.
(011)- 49- 8915708490 (our room number is 490 and makes up the last three digits of the number)
Hope you are all well and enjoying a happy pre-Christmas time.
Best wishes and big hugs,
XOXOXO,
Ines
Saturday, 16 December 2006
First steps
The next morning, after being wide-awake for 2 hours during the night, I awoke to Carlo looking for his Euros... He had gone to a local grocery store literally around the corner from our hotel and had gathered a huge cart full of groceries-yet the store accepted none of his credit or debit cards!
I quickyl jumped out of bed and into my jeans. Luckily I had managed to keep my Euros close at hand and we were able to purchase most of the items in the cart.
After a quick breakfast, a VERY patient and friendly hotel receptionist showed us numerous other rooms. We ended up settling on a bit bigger place with a loft - like bedroom on the second floor.
Since we were set on the price, we adjusted our linen and cleaning service to only once a week and therefore could afford the bigger suite with no extra cost. :-) Who needs cleaning service twice a week anyway?
Relieved for the prospect of a bigger place we quickly ran back to the very tiny first room and gathered our 8 suitcases and started a series of trips to the new suite. The friendly hotel employees could not believe the amount of luggage!!! Once settled, Carlo had to immediately change and get ready for a business trip to Turino, Italy. It was unbelievable!!! Once he was gone, I looked around and realized I could only tackle the chaos after a good nap.
Two hours later my mom called and woke me from my slumber. It was nice to hear a familiar voice in the new place. Once awake, I spend the rest of the day sorting and moving the content of the suitcases to more permanent places. The suitcases were like seed pods, bursting at the seams and once opened, scattered their contents all over the room.
I quickyl jumped out of bed and into my jeans. Luckily I had managed to keep my Euros close at hand and we were able to purchase most of the items in the cart.
After a quick breakfast, a VERY patient and friendly hotel receptionist showed us numerous other rooms. We ended up settling on a bit bigger place with a loft - like bedroom on the second floor.
Since we were set on the price, we adjusted our linen and cleaning service to only once a week and therefore could afford the bigger suite with no extra cost. :-) Who needs cleaning service twice a week anyway?
Relieved for the prospect of a bigger place we quickly ran back to the very tiny first room and gathered our 8 suitcases and started a series of trips to the new suite. The friendly hotel employees could not believe the amount of luggage!!! Once settled, Carlo had to immediately change and get ready for a business trip to Turino, Italy. It was unbelievable!!! Once he was gone, I looked around and realized I could only tackle the chaos after a good nap.
Two hours later my mom called and woke me from my slumber. It was nice to hear a familiar voice in the new place. Once awake, I spend the rest of the day sorting and moving the content of the suitcases to more permanent places. The suitcases were like seed pods, bursting at the seams and once opened, scattered their contents all over the room.
Friday, 15 December 2006
Munich - We made it!
Dear Friends!
We made it! Carlo and I safely landed in Munich, Germany.
It's my second full day in Munich and I am just now beginning to feel somewhat normal again.
I miss California and the beach already!
It was a pretty exhausting trip, even though we had premium accomodations on the plane.
The first night we checked into our room - overwhelmed with 8 pieces of luggage - and realized that the room was waaaay too small for the two of us and all the suitcases! :-0
We were promised the option of looking at a different room the next day. Exhausted and dirty from the road we settled in... Hungry to see the city and for food we set out to Marienplatz.
Unfortunately the subway ticket machine only took coins, no bills. After asking a friendly walkerby we scraped together our change and managed to buy two single tickets towards the innercity. Once we emerged from the subway we were greeted by the cold night air and wonderfully lit Christmas tree on Marienplatz. The Christmas market had just closed, but we wondered around looking at street signs that we only knew from the google maps.(So surreal) All the stores were so beautifully decorated for Christmas. White, small lights and many wooden carved figuerines. Real fir trees. :-) It was magical.
Carlo and I ended up eating a Schnitzel with a heap of deliciously crispy Pommes Frites (French Fries), and Carlo tried a typical "Weissbier". It is like a Hefeweizenbier only twice as thick - very typical in Munich. It was good, yet I was nursing a headache and chose to stick to Pellegrino. Close to 10PM the jetlag and the long trip was catching up with us and we splurged and resorted to taking a cab back to our hotel. It was wonderful to finally be able to rest.
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