October 15-21

Monday, October 15

Today started off with the usual Spiel: short run along the Isar after seeing the girls off to school, a quick shower, then errands. I worked on the blog some and hung out a load of wash. J called and wanted me to join him outside "in the pretty" as he likes to say. Since I needed to head out to the DHL shop to mail our absentee ballots (BLUE WAVE) anyway, I said I'd come up to join him after I'd sent those on their way. He'd made his way from the Viktualienmarkt to his "office" at the Max Planck Institute and then decided it was too nice to work inside and went to the Englischer Garten to read instead. I biked through the Innenstadt and joined him at the Chinesischen Turm for a cup of coffee and some sun. Glorious!

Booyah.

When the shade started to take over the tables by the Turm, we moved to the Monopteros. Too soon it was time to race home to meet GE and HR. HR called to say that she was going to drop off her things at the apartment and then meet a classmate who lives nearby. They took a walk (and got Eis, of course) and also ran an errand for her friend's mom (toilet paper from the REWE City). It was nice to see HR chilling out a little--she's been working really hard on school work and adjusting to life. It's sort of amazing how much growing up (literally--too tall for her pants--and figuratively) she's done in just a couple of months (tomorrow is actually the 2 month mark!!! WHAT?!).

When I got home, GE proudly announced she had passed her practical Fahrrad Prüfung! She only made three mistakes and the police trainer was very impressed that she had done so well considering the language barrier and her short time riding a bike in München (a couple of classmates didn't pass and will have to take it again in a week or so). ME had to take this same training course and test through the Bonn city police in 2013, but hers took place towards the end of our year there and GE only had a few weeks to get exam-ready.

"Ihr Kind hat's geschafft!" (Your child has achieved it!) She gets to put the little sticker on her bike to confirm that she has completed the certification training.

Later in the evening I took two buses to get to Perlach, one of the small southeastern suburbs, for Frauenchor rehearsal. Our usual rehearsal space was being used for a concert, so we practiced at a tiny Evangelische church in Perlach instead. I ran into one of the other choir members when I was switching buses, so had a nice chat with her on the second stretch and the short walk from the Haltestelle to the church (she kindly showed me the way from the bus stop). Rehearsal went well--I can really tell that I've been singing a lot. The director asked me to solo sing a couple of the high notes (high C and high A) so that there wasn't so much of a "splatter" (wish I could remember the word she used in German--one of those words that doesn't quite translate literally into English, but I knew exactly what it meant).

Rush hour at the Baldeplatz where the bus stop is. This plaza is right next to the river and a major thoroughfare for traffic coming and going from the suburbs. Multiple buses stop at 4 different Haltestellen at this crossroads.

Tuesday, October 16

I was nervous about and hyper-focused on the afternoon appointment at the Bayerische Staatsoper with Stellario. 4 p.m. loomed and I simultaneously wished I hadn't arranged it and couldn't wait for it to begin. I kept myself busy: made a big batch of pasta sauce for quick meals, hung out another load of wash on the balcony, practiced, and did some guided meditation. I left early--I wanted to swing by the sheet music store behind the Rathaus to pick up some anthologies and to have time to search out the Künstler Eingang (performer's entrance) where I was supposed to meet him. Just as I thought I might not be in the right place, I noticed him coming down the sidewalk towards me--thank goodness I'd introduced myself to him Sunday evening since he was able to recognize me before I saw him. He kindly showed me the entrance, told me that anytime I was coming to work with him, I just needed to tell the security guard that I had an appointment with him, and they would buzz me through. We took the elevator to the 5th floor and then the stairs to the 6th (the elevator doesn't go all the way to the top). He then led me through a series of unmarked doors, through the carpeted halls outside the balcony entrances for audience members, and through another set of unmarked doors to the rehearsal rooms. I felt a little like I had before competitions in grad school: standing in the back hallway waiting for my turn to go out on the stage and trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. But Herr Fagone was really calm, inviting, and unpretentious and immediately put me at ease. After getting settled around the grand piano, I filled him in on my background: training, medical history (if you didn't know already, I had a benign tumor in my neck and had a delicate operation to remove it almost 4 years ago, followed by physical therapy for my jaw and tongue), and my typical repertoire. We then jumped right into music making, working through the Haydn Schöpfung arias. As we discussed my goals for this year, I could see that he was thinking of options right away. Sure enough, he launched into a list of repertoire he wants me to start learning. I'm supposed to find or push my "Grenze," (limits, so to speak) with my now-recovered voice, more mature sound, and time to commit to daily practicing. He talked about passion, dance, and phrasing all auf Deutsch with a thick Italian accent. And then we set a time for next week. Just like that.

The rehearsal room (I think it's one of the chorus rehearsal rooms) where we worked.

One of the many halls I passed when I took the stairs down (instead of the elevator). Costumes and wigs! Who do you suppose gets to wear the green one?!

A billboard outside for Verdi's Otello in November. Might be some tickets for me in the future...

On the way home I stopped at the sheet music store again to pick up the rest of the music he had assigned (some of it was in the anthologies I'd picked up earlier): Puccini, Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Richard Strauss, Händel, Bach, and the rest of the Haydn Schöpfung soprano parts. I have some work to do!

The vocal scores are in the basement. I'm now quite familiar with the layout and how things are organized... and I think the Mitarbeitern know my face by now too.

Beginning to be a daily grind. Yay!

 
Wednesday, October 17

The morning air was distinctly cooler this morning. I layered up and rode my bike to the Englischer Garten for an early morning walk with the same MeetUp group as last week. It was a smaller group this time: one German, one South African, two Americans (including me). We talked and walked all together this time, instead of in pairs. 5.5 km! They kept up a brisk pace--I think I was actually the slowest and had to keep pushing myself to walk faster to keep up (my kids would have been amazed since they are usually asking me to slow down, saying "You walk too fast!").

Stopped on the way to capture the mist over the lawns in the Englischer Garten.

Two from the group had other appointments they had to hurry off to, but M (the German) and I wrapped up the walk with a coffee at the Café Königin again--sitting out on the Terrasse in the sun despite the chilly air--before going our separate ways. We switched to German after the others left and we may meet again outside the walking group so I can practice my German more. By the time I got home, it was warming up and I could hang out wash again on the drying rack on the balcony.

Returning along the bike path following the Isar river.

I am thankful for this funny little thing: having the time to hang out the laundry on a drying rack. At home I have a wonderful huge clothesline in the back yard. And I hardly ever get to use it. Because I'm either hurrying off early in the morning or coming home so late. Laundry is typically a job for the weekend, hurriedly stuffed from the washer into the dryer in order to get it all done by Sunday evening for the week ahead. Here I have time: time to run a load through every 3 days or so; time to hang it on the drying rack; time to set it out on the balcony in the sun and bring it inside at night to finish drying; time to fold it right off the rack so everyone can grab their piles and put it immediately away; time to appreciate the sun and air while it dries. The laundry gets to breathe and so do I.

Thursday, October 18

Today was more relaxed. J and I did some writing together at Coffee Fellows downtown and then split up to meet some folks for lunch--J with someone from the MPI who is working on digital currencies and I went to an Internations "Healthy Eating" group for women. Ended up just being me and the organizer--that happens sometimes. We met at the Isar Poke Café. "Poke" is a trendy new food and restaurant movement which has its roots in a traditional Hawaiian dish. I've seen several around town. This one was set up sort of like a Subway/Chipotle "bar" where you choose your base, then add a protein (I picked tofu rather than raw fish), salad toppings, and the "finishing" toppings (crushed cashews, sesame seeds, seaweed, cilantro, and other condiments). Finally it's all doused with a sauce of your choice (I went with plain soy sauce since the others were all creamy and sugary). Yum! I enjoyed the conversation with the host, MB. I'll try to go to another meal gathering if I can--she usually sets up one lunch and one dinner meeting each month. Afterwards, I headed home to practice and round out the evening with dinner and my book club book (The Little Paris Bookshop)...

Yummy Poke bowl lunch!

Friday, October 19

I did a larger shopping trip to the discount Lidl and then the REWE City since we have a day trip planned for tomorrow. Then it was the usual: practice, some writing, some reading, a nap (that's not usually on the agenda, but it seems I really needed it), and then dinner. Somehow the day flew by! It's a little cooler and cloudier today. In the evening ME and I went to the Leib & Siegel Café around the corner for a little Baroque chamber music concert. It was delightful! We each had a cup of tea and enjoyed the small gathering and atmosphere.

Saturday, October 20

We had decided earlier in the week to make a day trip for a hike somewhere. I used the Deutsche Bahn app to buy a Schönes Wochenende Bayern-Ticket which allows us, for a nominal fee, to use any regional and local trains or buses throughout Bayern from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday. We packed a picnic lunch into our backpacks and biked to the Hauptbahnhof to catch the train to Herrsching am Ammersee. From the train station in Herrsching we followed signs (and lots of people) up into the woods along a pleasant wide path for a 3.9 km hike to Kloster Andechs. It was delightful! Just a steady uphill climb following the Kiental until the final staircase up to the Kloster church and grounds. Like Kloster Baumberg where the choir retreat was held, Kloster Andechs has its own Brauerei, restaurant, and Biergarten. We had read on the website that you can bring your own food, so we found a table in the middle of the Terrasse and had a lovely lunch (and some really good beer and coffee). Afterwards, we got the girls some Kuchen from the café to share and then wandered around the gorgeous late-Baroque church before heading back down a different path (a steeper staircase that loops back to the main trail) into Herrsching and back to the train station. Glorious day in a glorious place. Only downside was that haze and clouds hid the Alps from view!

An old map at the center of town near the Hauptbahnhof helpd us get ourselves oriented. We took the "11" route on the way there and came down via the "10".

Another budding photographer?

The fall colors and smells were Herrlich!

Heading up the final stairway to the Klosterkirche.

Plaudern while eating our picnic lunch.

Sachertorte (on the left) and some kind of chocolate cherry Kuchen on the right.

No mountains in sight today. :(

I had no idea that the composer and music teacher (of Carmina Burana fame and the Orff hand symbol technique for teaching children music intervals) was buried here!

Alles, was Odem hat, Lobe den Herrn! Unser Land mit seine Pracht, seine Berge, seine fluren sind die Zeugen Deiner Macht, Deiner Vatergüte Spuren, Alles in uns betet an; Grosses hast Du uns getan. [All that has breath, Praise the Lord! Our country, with its splendor, its mountains, its halls, are the witnesses of Thy power, Thy fatherly good footsteps, Everything in us adores; You have done great things for us.]

Glad we went down this way and not up!! It was steep and a whole lotta stairs...

After we got home, I got online with MK to help her work through her college app essay edits. We both logged into Google Docs and called each other over WhatsApp with video, so we could be reading the same thing and talking live at the same time. It's almost like sitting across a table with her with our laptops open... Miss that girl!

Sunday, October 21

I woke up with an awful cold! I'd had a headache yesterday but just chalked it up to the weather changing, but around 6 a.m. I became aware of a burning in my chest and needles in my throat. My throat feels thick and my voice is definitely fuzzy. I spent the morning with tea and a book, then made a big batch of curried veggies with spinach for some quick meals this week and took a nap. I hope it doesn't stick around long! I've been pushing the fluids and tomorrow I'll take it easy too, but I was just getting on a roll with my daily practicing and this really puts a wrench in it.

Later in the afternoon I rallied enough to take HR to Sendling for another cello lesson. I think these lessons may be a bit of a turning point for HR--he encourages her to make mistakes and make them loudly, to play with feeling and fun, and yet he also gets her to pay attention to her tone and intonation. The music he's written is quirky and fun. She gets so involved that the 45 minute lesson flies by and runs over.

The almost-full moon over Kapuzinerstr. as we walked home from the bus stop after HR's cello lesson.

Meanwhile, J had a friend from the board game group over to play Mage Wars. They've been at it since noon (and it's about 8:40 p.m.)...