Fairfields in Germany: 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?