September 24-30

I can't believe September is over! This month literally flew by in a blink of an eye.

This past week included more Oktoberfest adventures, more settling in and meeting new people, a trip to Augsburg (for me) and GE's first play date with a classmate.

On Monday I went to Frauenchor rehearsal. I'm really loving this group. #1 - It's small--about 16-20 voices--so I feel like I'm getting to know names and faces much more quickly. #2 - I like the director's style. She pushes the group to really be musical, but doesn't spend a lot of time trying to *fix* so the pace of the rehearsal stays interesting. #3 - Diction. We're singing songs in German, German dialects, Swedish, and English. She corrects, but doesn't dwell on it and the singers respond. #4 - The song selections are almost all new to me with a nice mixture of challenging (Ola Gjelilo; Eriks Esenvalds) and easy (German Volkslieder settings), as well as a range of periods (Renaissance to 20th C.). I'm hoping their spring concert repertoire is as interesting!

I've wrapped up the little editing/proof-reading job I had and have put out feelers to a couple people for more. (If you know anyone working on something, who needs another set of eyes...) But I'm also digging into the music I brought along--plus I just bought some scores at a shop in the Altstadt, so I'm going to get into those too (Händel's Brockes-Passion). J is continuing to read voraciously and has begun to write in earnest on his sabbatical project: a book on how law can keep up with technology. So, we make "work" dates at different cafés: he reads, I study my scores and listen to recordings, or we talk about what we're working on, what challenges the girls are facing and how we can support them, and just generally enjoy having the time to connect.

Coffee at another café around the corner from our apartment building. Just a cup of decaf, always with a cup of spring water.

Tuesday evening we attended the Gymnasium Klassen Elternabend (parent meetings at the upper school). J went to the meeting for the 10te. Klasse and got some vague info about their class trip in November (apparently, the teacher doing the planning failed to show up so the other chaperones gave as much info as they had--basically, dates--and apologized for the missing teacher!) while I went to the 7te. Klasse and met the class teachers and some of the parents. Afterwards, J and I decided to see what the night scene was like... at the Oktoberfest. The weather has just continued to be pleasant and perfect for the festival--some are saying it's one of the bests years they can remember. We say, we brought the weather with us (sorry, Virginia--we left all the rain at home for you). This time we got a spot at a table in the balcony of one of the Wein Zelten (wine tents) where we were entertained by a live cover band and marveled over Germans' love for kitch. Watch the video here: Nymphenburg Sekt Zelt. 
 

The ceiling decorations in the Nymphenburg Sekt Zelt had an almost Christmas-y sort of feel to it!

The view from our balcony seats.

After we finished our drinks, we went wandering through the grounds and other tents, taking pictures and absorbing the ambience and celebratory spirit.

Inside the Paulaner Festzelt.

Inside a Kaffeezelt (coffee tents had live music too)! Click HERE to watch the cutest couple dancing.

The ceiling of the Hofbräu Festzelt.

We walked up to the upper level of the Hofbräu Festzelt for a view of the crowd.

The moon over the rides!

Oktoberfest at night!

On Wednesday I stayed home and did laundry, helped HR with homework, and later in the afternoon met GE at her school. She wanted me to walk home with her so I could meet her friend's mother and see where they live (near us), since the girls had started walking back after school together. They are Ethiopian, but have been living in Germany for some time. The mother's German is good, and E and GE hit it off at school. We made plans for GE to go to their apartment building to play on Friday afternoon--their building has an inner Hof (courtyard) with playground where they can play safely unsupervised. It's just on the other side of the canal from our building and GE can easily walk home on her own.

How many of you have traveled overseas or to another part of the US, only to meet someone who you have some connection to, or who shares a place/experience/acquaintance? I think of these connections as "it's a small world" stories. Often they're rooted in a Mennonite or family connection and those don't surprise me so much anymore, but sometimes there are others. Here's one of them: Thursday I went to the larger SATB church choir, the Himmelsfahrtkirchen Chor. The registration form for the their weekend choir retreat (in October) was due, but I still needed some information on how to sign up for the bus ride and who to give the money to. So, I asked the woman sitting next to me. She filled me in--she's a longtime regular--and introduced herself as J. We talked for while during the break about where we're from, what we do, etc. Then on Friday afternoon I took a train to Augsburg. I had arranged to meet with Liat Himmelheber, a mezzo soprano and voice teacher who is friends with a JMU piano professor, Gabe, who works with a JMU voice professor, Kevin, who I sing with on occasion in the Harrisonburg area. Gabe gave me some names and contact information for singers/teachers he knows from his years in Augsburg, which is just a 30 minute train ride west of München. Liat invited me to come to her home to talk shop. I had a quiet ride on a Regionalbahn, despite Oktoberfest tourists, and took my time walking to her home, detouring through the little pedestrian zone in the town's center. Once I arrived, we settled down at a table on her balcony over a pot of Chinese tea. As we exchanged personal information, I mentioned that I worked at a private school in Harrisonburg. "Oh! Which school?" she asked. I was sure she couldn't possibly have heard of EMS, but I said "Eastern Mennonite School" and began to try to explain what it was, but she interrupted and said, "That's where our son, QN, went for a semester!" WHAT?! When their youngest son (Q) was a junior, he spent a semester at EMS as an exchange student since the public school wouldn't take him. She told me he lived with the V family (they don't have any current students at EMS but have at least one graduate) who were friends of Gabe. IT'S-A-SMALL-WORLD-MOMENT. A little while later, we were chatting about what else I've been doing since moving to München and I mentioned that I'd joined two choirs. When I said I was singing with the Himmelfahrtskirchen Chor, she said, "My sister, J, sings with that choir in the soprano section!" The woman I sat next to at Thursday's rehearsal and who had helped me to get signed up for the bus, was named J and fit the description of Liat's sister. What are the odds?! ANOTHER IT'S-A-SMALL-WORLD-MOMENT.

On the way to Liat's home: a cat, surveying his domain. I miss my kitties...

Downtown Augsburg and a trolley. I didn't have a chance to see the Dom or much more than a quick walk through a corner of the Altstadt--so a day trip is in our future...

Beautiful open-air Markt on the edge of the Altstadt pedestrian zone.

Saturday morning I got up around 8 a.m. and went for a long run (I'm up to 4.5 miles now, peeps!). I've been enjoying crossing over the Isar by the nearest bridge and then running down to the next bridge south, crossing back over and coming up on the city side. This time I went to the 2nd bridge south. It continues to amaze me how I can be running in a huge city and feel like I'm in a huge green park, rather than a sprawling metropolis. I picked up fresh Semmeln (Brötchen) for the girls' breakfast from the Ihle Bäkerai at the corner behind our building on the way back.


After getting cleaned up, I abandoned the family again and rode my bike across town to the Café Katzentempel. I joined a MeetUp group: a woman's conversation group called "The Happiness Club." A life coach, JL, from Scotland, moved to München with her Italian partner four years ago and started a coaching business as well as support groups and conversation groups for women which she advertises through the MeetUp app. About 14 women met over coffee and brunch to share about the theme of "resilience." Really interesting group! Only one other American. The rest were from all over the world: Poland, India, Russia, Italy, Spain, Scotland, one German, China, and me.

On the way home I got the weekend groceries and then helped the little girls get some of their homework done. ME had made plans to meet up with a friend from school for lunch and then to hang out at our apartment. The little girls and I went to find J at the Oktoberfest grounds, but didn't stay long since it was crazy packed with people--literally like sardines and really hard to even walk through the grounds, let alone get inside any of the tents! We rode one roller-coaster and then, after finding J--no small feat in the crowd--we made our way back to our bikes and home.

The Alpina Bahn.

Sunday morning dawned crisp and clear. The Alpenhorn concert was scheduled for this morning on the stairs below the Bavaria statue at the Oktoberfest. Thousands of people turned out--by far the most German crowd we've experienced so far. We got turned out in our Tracht and rode our bikes to the Wiesn again. More rides, more good coffee, more German food, more people watching! I keep thinking I've had enough, but every time it's fun--I think half the fun (maybe more than half) is the fact that we're so close that we can just pop in for a while and satisfy the urge to see what's happening but don't feel like we have to stay for long because we can go back at any time. You can watch/listen to some Alpenhorns here and a woman singing a traditional German folk song here and some folk dancing here.

Best view in the house (in order to see the horn ensemble over the huge crowd)!

We got the girls little name clips (wood engraving on tiny clothespins) and a souvenir board for ourselves.

Balloons released at the end of the horn concert.

Getting ready to ride a crazy spinning "coal mining" coaster.

Trying out Kaiserschmarrn (What is Kaiserschmarrn, you may ask? It's a traditional chopped up pancake sort of dessert/breakfast that was the Bavarian emperor's favorite food).

We blend right in, don't we?

Sharing hot chocolate at the Guglhupf coffee tent.

And just to tickle your funny bone... The red squirrels that run around here... are impossible to photograph. I think I probably took about 20 just to get a few usable ones.

September 17-23

Monday, September 17 through Friday, September 21

The week was pretty run-of-the-mill: morning runs along the Isar, hanging out clean laundry--the weather continued to be amazingly warm and sunny--working on the editing job from home or cafés, grocery runs, and such. I went to the Frauenchor on Monday evening and enjoyed another great rehearsal. They have an "art and music" concert in November and then a Christmas concert (singing Britten's Ceremony of Carols). The girls are all "launched" at school and can get to and from school without me or J. On Wednesday morning I attended the Anfangsgottesdienst (beginning of the year worship service) for the Grundschule at the neighborhood Catholic church, Antoniuskirche. The whole Tumblingerschule walked with their respective classes to the church for the hour-long service.

Café in the Maxvorstadt where I worked for a couple of hours on Tuesday morning.

J's Lederhosen finally arrived! Ready for Oktoberfest.

On Thursday the big girls' school had their beginning-of-the-year Wandertag where each class plans a small local outing and goes out to do something fun instead of having lessons for the day. ME's class walked through the Isar park to a garden with café where they got some food and drinks, hung out, and then walked back to the school. HR's class took the subway to the Olympiapark and were allowed to split up into small groups to explore, hang out, and do whatever they wanted until the appointed meet up time to return to the school. HR and her friends took the elevator to the top of the Olympiaturm and had an epic view of the city. Both enjoyed the day off from class and got to know some of their classmates better. They have expressed joy at how phrases and words are popping back into their brains and their understanding and communication skills are exploding. They both also have classmates who have warmly taken up the job of looking out for them--making sure they've got the homework right, explaining how things at the school work, putting them in touch with the music teachers, theater group, and so on.

GE's teacher told me she needed to practice her multiplication facts to catch up with the class since they will be done with their review soon and moving on to more complicated arithmetic (not surprised by this--plus she had a HUGE summer break with our school ending at the end of May and the German school year not starting until mid-September!), so we made flashcards... And not only did GE practice her multiplication facts, but she did so auf Deutsch! She has started to notice that she can understand her classmates if they speak slowly and clearly, so I taught her how to remind them to do so: "Bitte ganz deutlich und langsam sprechen! Dann verstehe ich besser."

GE practicing her multiplication facts... auf Deutsch!

Working through a book for his research. Cafés continue to be a great third-space and it's entirely too much fun trying out all the different ones in the neighborhood! We've only just scratched the surface, but we definitely have some favorites so far.

Inside Tagträumer Café which is just around the corner from our apartment building.

On Thursday evening J and ME attended a game night at a local gaming shop. They played some board games and someone taught ME how to play Magic (the card game)--all auf Deutsch. Meanwhile I attended the Elternabend for GE's class at the Grundschule. I met a bunch of parents--all very friendly and welcoming. We seem to have gotten very lucky again with both of the girls' schools.

I recently joined an online expats forum and on Friday evening there was a party event for members, so I signed J and myself up... It was a kickoff for the Oktoberfest (which starts Saturday) so attendees were encouraged to wear Trachtenmode (traditional fashion; i.e. Dirndl/Lederhosen). We had some good conversations with other expats and a couple of Germans, and enjoyed an evening together out of the apartment. However, the music was loud and it became hard to hear as the crowd kept talking louder over the music, so we didn't stay out terribly late.

Saturday, September 22

This morning we rolled the girls out of bed around 8 a.m. so we could get ready to go to the kickoff parade for the Münchener Oktoberfest. The Theresienwiese (otherwise known as the Wiesn) is barely a mile from our apartment. We rode our bikes, parked near the south entrance and then wandered through the park grounds until we figured out where the Trachtenumzug (parade) would enter and staked a spot right along the rope line. At a little after 11 a.m. the parade made its way onto the grounds and through the now packed crowds and dispersed their loads of people to the various Zelten (beer tents). CLICK HERE TO WATCH A LITTLE OF THE PARADE. We hadn't reserved a table anywhere because it's terribly expensive, so instead we wandered the grounds, bought food from the plentiful food stands/trucks, and rode a couple of fair rides (the giant spinning swings and a toboggan style roller-coaster). By then the kids were tiring of the hoopla, and we didn't want to spend any more money on silly rides or junk food, so we sent the girls home, and J and I finally found a place where he could get a Weissbier without having to have a reservation. It was still a tight squeeze and a couple of Colombian guys invited us to share their standing table. We chatted with them about their travels and what had brought them to Munich, what their impressions were, etc. All in all a fun experience--once in a lifetime.

All decked out! The weather is cool, but clear. Perfect!

Once in a lifetime!

Rides open at noon, but people are already showing up (it's about 9:30 in this photo) and staff are testing the rides.

Group photo for the servers!

Inside one of the Zelten. People have already staked out their tables even though the Bier isn't being served yet!

Waiting for the Trachtenumzug to start!

 

The horses pulling these carts which were either full of people or full of Bier kegs were amazing--decked out with bells and jingles of all kinds! Some were huge work horses with fancy braids and brushed coats. It was quite a show!

At one point a clown came down along the rope line and touched the girls' noses! Little did they know that he had black stuff on his thumb and had smeared a dark spot on the tips of their noses. It's a tradition, but I haven't figured out the source.

After the parade the crowd dispersed and we went hunting for food and the girls wanted flower circles for their hair to match their Dirndln.

The ride we were about to go on, from the ground looking up.

Waiting for our turn...

What a view!

An appropriately sweet treat for a sweet girl.

Eating all the frosting off before eating the Lebkuchen.

Finally!

Man learned to drink first and later to eat. Therefore as a good Christian, don't forget the drinking!

And after the party... I went grocery shopping in my Dirndl... on my bike. Only in Munich...

Sunday, September 23

The morning started out rainy and cold, so we thought we'd sleep in and hang out at home. The girls did their homework and we read our books, but by afternoon the sun was out and J got stir crazy, so we decided to just go back, the two of us, to the Oktoberfest Wiesn and see if we could get a spot at a table in a Zelt. We wandered around a bit and eventually found a table of 20-something American boys from Chicago and a couple of Canadians who had room for two 40-something parents! What a hoot! We talked, bought each other Mass of Löwenbräu and ordered a traditional platter for 2 to share with them (since they didn't have a clue what any of the food items on the menu were): pig's ankle, piglet's shoulder, duck, chicken, and little Wurstl with red cabbage and potato dumplings. They didn't know what to make of it all except that they thought they'd scored some luck by having us join their table.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO. And yes, yes, they are dancing on the tables!

After we'd had enough, we went back outside, meandered through the grounds and rode the Riesenrad to catch a glimpse of the Alpen beyond the city. At one point a group of drummers randomly walked through the crowd. (Watch HERE.)

Glorious skies, crisp, cool, low humidity, so the view was absolutely spectacular! And to think we almost stayed home this afternoon...

Bayerisch for "Heute ist eine schöne Tag." (Today is a beautiful day. -- Which it was!!)

Inside, on the upper level of the Löwenbräu tent.

The table of guys who offered to share.

Chatting with a Canadian guy at our table--actually it was his friend's table, but it wasn't full and we looked like OK people, so they invited us to join!

A table chatting cheerfully with one of the serving gals.

Not actually sure what their catch phrase is supposed to mean. Direct translation: A beer like Bavaria. One and only???

It's rambunctious, but for all the alcohol flowing, it was playful and joyous rather than becoming crass or violent.

After the Bier... an espresso (my preferred drink!). My, oh my, that smells good!

If you don't mind giving up getting your "Pfand" (glass deposit) back, then you can keep the cups for a souvenir. I now have a set of 2. Espresso, anyone?

Dallmayr, the official coffee brand of Bayern. 300 year old company!

I got a flower Kranz too!

 

Another traditional food at Oktoberfest and in Bayern: Kaiserschmarm