It's just as catchy in German as it is in English!
The word Gemütlichkeit roughly translates to comfort, congeniality, friendliness, etc, and I think it really does capture the Bavarian way of life. The focus around here, especially on Sundays and holidays, seems to be on slowing down and simply enjoying life.
As an American, I am used to having everything open on Sundays and have often thought of Sunday as the ideal shopping day. I am definitely going to have to change my outlook though, as just about everything is closed on Sundays here. I'm sure this will be fine for me once I have more school work to be doing, but as today is the day before I start classes (I start tomorrow-finally!), I honestly don't know what to do with myself. I am all for slowing down and enjoying life more, and I'm sure I probably need to do that even more than most others, but as someone that loves to be very busy, I'm still not sure how I feel about this whole "nothing is open on Sunday thing!" I suppose it does give me a chance to sit down and blog though.
Here are some recent highlights:
-Tuesday I went to Oktoberfest one last time and paid €3 to get into the Oide Wiesn (Alte Wiesen, or old fairgrounds). It was well worth it because we could actually find a seat in the traditional Bavarian tent, and it was filled primarily with Bavarians rather than packed with tourists as most of the tents at Oktoberfest are. The beer that was served in that tent was Augustiner, my favorite beer here so far, which also made the tent just that much better. Fun fact: Augustiner is the oldest brewery in Munich! In the traditional tent I got to speak so much German with real Germans (imagine that!). I was flattered, because when I told someone I was from America they were surprised and thought I was from Sweden or Denmark... must have been the blond hair. We also got tips from a nice couple sitting at the table with us on how to drink in Bavaria. A few rules: Never drink alone. "Nur ein Schwein trinkt allein!" ("Only a pig drinks alone!"). Also, whenever you say "Prost" to someone and clink mugs, make sure you look them in the eyes. Trust me, it's important.
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| The traditional tent we were in, complete with a stage for Bavarian dancing. |
-Friday a small group of us from my program went on a hike to the Kloster Andechs. It was a beautiful day for a hike, there was plenty of sun (almost too much-I got a tiny bit sunburnt), and when we reached the Kloster, we were surprised to find that, in addition to plenty of sun, there was also plenty of people. It was family day there, as well as a German holiday, and therefore the place was mobbed. It took a long time to get food, but it was worth the wait and the Obazda cheese that I got on the recommendation of our group leader was delicious. It's a Bavarian specialty, and it sort of reminded me of pub cheese that I've had in the U.S. before. I would definitely recommend it! I think I would like to go back to the Kloster, not on family day, so I can better take it all in.
And, here we are at Sunday. I am so excited to begin the first week of classes tomorrow!
Random side note:
Many of you may be wondering... do they do anything else besides drink beer? The answer is yes, absolutely. However, I do have to say that beer truly is a big part of the culture here. After all, would you find beer mugs made out of construction paper in the windows of an American Kindergarten? I don't think so.
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| The outside of a German Kindergarten near JYM. Notice the cute handmade crafts in the window? They're mugs of beer. |
Another side note:
Some of you have been asking, so here is my address that mail can be sent to!
Laurianne Posch
c/o Junior Year in Munich
Richard-Wagner-Straße 27
80333 Munich, Germany
