Since this was started September 4, 2010, here is what has happened this past month. Jay arrived in Munich August 1 and was working at his new job on August 2. Jay’s first day at work started with him getting his new computer and promptly causing it to lock up. Then he spent the next hour with the help desk getting the computer unlocked. Then he spent another hour with the help desk changing all the software from German to English. By the way a German keyboard is different than the US keyboard, the “Y” and “Z” are switched.
After spending most of the day on computer and administrative issues, he went to catch his train back to the apartment. He made it to the train station near the hotel, which is our temporary apartment. It was raining, he had no umbrella and he exited the wrong stairway from the UBahn station. He spent 15 minutes walking in the rain trying to find the hotel, not even knowing the address of the hotel. Eventually he made it to the hotel and now he always carries an umbrella with him. The rest of the week was an improvement over the first day.
We are not going to have a car here in Munich, so the way we get around is walking and the train (which in Germany it is called the “UBahn“). Once our bikes get here in October, it will be a little easier to get places. Munich is a very bike friendly city with designated bike lanes throughout the city. You just have to be careful not to walk in them as they would run you over. When we get off at our UBahn stop we walk up about 82 stairs to get to the street level. They do have an escalator, that works some of the time, but that only gets you up half way. They do have an elevator that will get you to street level. Then it is about a 4 block walk to our current place.
Linda arrived in Munich last Friday, August 27. It was really good to see Jay after we were apart for a month. Friday night we went out for dinner and ate outside since the weather was so nice. A big difference from Houston, with temperatures in the upper 50’s.
Saturday, Aug. 28 - We got German cell phones to replace our US cells, which cost $1.00 per minute. All our messages and voice mail were in German, but the folks at the store were able to change some to English. We made dinner at home that night. Cooking in our apartment is very difficult. Our kitchen is very very very small. We have two burners on the stove and a small sink. It is probably about as big as a kitchen in a pop-up camper.
Sunday, Aug. 29 - We didn’t do too much. Grocery stores and shopping malls are not open on Sunday. Sunday is reserved for family time. We went to the movie theater on Sunday morning. There is a theater that shows movies in English. Sunday night we went to a German restaurant with an outdoor eating area. We had German beer and a German meal. Jay had pork with a mushroom sauce, which was very good and I had roasted Turkey. Jay’s was better than mine. Pork is very big here.
Monday, Aug. 30 and Tuesday, Aug. 31 - The weather was very cool and rainy all day. Jay went to work and I did some laundry, ironing and cooked dinner. Jay appreciated a cooked meal when he got home since he has been making dinner in the microwave.
Wednesday, Sept. 1 - I ventured out by myself. I needed to meet Jay at his office since we had an appointment with the banker. I didn’t get lost. Most Germans speak English and they speak it very well. I asked for help, just to make sure I was taking the right train.
Thursday, Sept. 2, and Friday Sept. 3 – Jay and I had Intercultural Training. The training was to help us understand the German way. It was a very interesting class. We also figured out that we are not the “typical American” which is a good thing. We learned that Germans are very punctual, they like to have a plan, and they keep their private and business life separate. I noticed when I visited Jay’s office and when I was introduced to several people that they didn’t have any family pictures in their office. A German is always willing to help, but you are the one that needs to ask for help. They will not offer. If you want to invite a German friend to dinner, you have to ask them 2 to 3 weeks in advance. They don’t do spur of the moment things. They need to plan. We also learned to you don’t just drop in if you are in the neighborhood.
Friday night we went out for our typical Friday night meal (Margaritas and fajitas’). The presentation of the fajitas was very different from what you would see in Houston. It wasn’t quite like Rodeo, but it was very good. Also, on Friday we went shopping for Lederhosen for Jay since Oktoberfest is two weeks away. This year is the 200th Oktoberfest. Jay had an interesting time trying on Lederhosen. The Store was crowded and there weren’t enough dressing rooms, so the men would just stand in-between a wall rack and a center rack and take off their clothes and try on the shirt and pants. There were women walking up and down aisle very near to where the men are changing. We figure – when in Germany do as the Germans. Even when we are out walking you see people wearing their Lederhosen. Jay said that one day one of the men that he works with wore his Lederhosen to work. When they wear their Lederhosen they show that they are proud of their Bavarian heritage. You also see women wearing their Dirndl, which is a Bavarian style dress with an apron.
Saturday, Sept. 4 – Today we went to Lake Ammersee, which is about an hour train ride southwest of Munich. The weather forecast was sunny and cool, but so much for the forecast. It was cloudy and rainy. Our plan was to visit the Kloster Andechs Monastery and to take a boat ride. We visited the Monastery and while we were there a wedding was taking place in the church. The reception was also on the grounds and on each of the tables they had a tree of pretzels. The German word for pretzel is Brez’n.
We went into the church after the wedding and we were in awe of the beauty inside. The architecture, paintings and gold was just beautiful. We also enjoyed a beer and a pretzel with cheese. The monks brew the beer at the Monastery. Since it was still raining, we passed on the boat ride and came back to Munich and went to the shopping mall. 
The mall was a two-story mall, very similar to the malls in the US. It was very crowded and it reminded me of shopping at Christmas. People everywhere. We shopped for my Bavarian outfit for Oktoberfest. The sizing of clothes is completely different, but we managed to find the right size. I found a very nice Dirndl at one of the department stores. 
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