(Translation: How's it going?)
Thanks to our German language tutoring sessions that began this week, we now know some basic verbs and phrases. We meet with our German tutor, Helena, every day for about 90 (neunzig) minutes. So far, we're just learning some basic words and verbs, conjugating in the present tense, and putting small questions and responses together. It's frustrating at times because many of the sounds are difficult to make, but I think we're getting the hang of it. We're really excited about being able to communicate better when we're out and about in Munich. Although, like I mentioned before, it's pretty easy to get around as the majority of people know at least basic English. Matt also is learning outside of class, as our German friends enjoy teaching him German curse words and phrases haha. Our friends are eager for us to improve our German language skills. Four of our friends went on a weekend trip and sent us a postcard written completely in German as "motivation" for us to improve our skills. We can't read much, but we're going to work on it!
We've also made "some" progress with our apartment. Our washer and dryer arrived this week. Unfortunately, we have to return the dryer and get a different one and we also have to wait to hook up the washer (Both long stories not worth explaining haha). But at least we made some progress! We also received our internet router in the mail, so now we are ready to go on September 4th when they activate our internet service here at our apartment. Our IKEA furniture is arriving tomorrow as well, so hopefully we will be able to build it over the next week or so. We're excited to get our furniture in the apartment so it feels a little more like "ours." Hopefully, we can put together the furniture with little frustration haha. We'll upload some photos once everything is finished. Sometimes it feels like our "to do" list is never ending, but we'll get there eventually. We just have to be patient, which is not easy for either of us ha!
The weather here has been beautiful, though a little warm without air conditioning. On Wednesday night, we went with friends to a rooftop bar. Although there are no extremely tall buildings in the city, we still had a great view with great drinks and great company. We got to watch the sunset, which was really beautiful.
On Friday, we went out with a group of friends. One of our friends was able to get us into P1, arguably the trendiest bar in the city. It was originally an officer's club for American soldiers following WWII. It was a pretty interesting club. We had lots of fun dancing with our friends until 3:30 AM. They play a lot of American music, but sometimes, it's songs that you wouldn't expect. Still, it's nice to be able to dance and sing to songs we know. Our only complaint with Munich nightlife -- Other than McDonald's and Burger King and the occasional (Read: Very few and far between) currywurst joing, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get food late at night. Great for our waistlines, not so great when you're drunk and desperately craving pizza.
On Saturday, we ran some errands around the city. We love being able to walk or ride our bikes everywhere. It really is a lot of fun living in a city. Every day, we explore and find neat little shops, cafes, and restaurants. We had an amazing dinner at a Vietnamese Place near the city center. We're looking forward to getting to know the city even better.
On Thursday, we'll be leaving for the Netherlands for a week. We'll be visiting Luxembourg, Brussels, Bruge, Antwerp, and Amsterdam. Belgium and Amsterdam are two places that we've been interested in visiting for awhile now, so we're very excited. Matt's excited to see the architecture and beer; Kristin is excited for waffles, chocolate, and pommes frites (French fries--Oddly enough, it's the Dutch who make the best). No pictures for this post, but we'll promise to share lots when we get back from vacation.
Cheers,
Matt and Kristin
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
The Great Outdoors
Although we've been busy getting the apartment together, we've also had plenty of time to enjoy some of the natural beauty that Munich has to offer. Munich itself has two main parks, the English Garden and Olympiapark.
The English Garden is Munich's largest public park. It's actually even bigger than Central Park. A man-made stream runs through it and people often swim in it during the summer months, even though the water is freezing cold. There's also an area where a "wave" is created by a pumping mechanism. Surfers surf this "wave" during the day, during all months of the year. Yes, even the winter. We saw them in late November last year. There is also a lake in the park where you can rent paddle boats. We spent a Sunday afternoon relaxing here. We can be there in 15 minutes on our bikes, so it's pretty convenient.
While it is legal to bring your own alcoholic beverages into the park, many people choose to drink at the various beer gardens throughout the park. The largest is the Chinese Tower. (I know, I know, a Chinese tower in the English Garden in Germany...bizarre) Traditional Bavarian bands often play in the afternoon.
The second largest park is Olympiapark, which was created solely for the Olympic summer games that Munich hosted in 1972. It includes many of the facilities used for the games, including a huge stadium, pool, tennis courts, track, etc. There are also a few artificial lakes and ponds. This park is much closer to us, as we can get there within 5 minutes by bike. Kristin also runs here in the mornings. Many festivals are held here throughout the year. We went to Tollwood back in June. In the middle of the park, there is a huge hill created from rubble from the war. If you take the trail up to the top, you can have a great view of Munich.
Full disclosure: We didn't actually take this photo, but the one we took looks exactly like it and right now, I'm too lazy to go get the camera and attach it to the computer for one measly photo.
One thing that is obvious from the view from Olympiapark is how "flat" of a city Munich is. There aren't really any large sky scrapers like in most other large cities. It definitely gives the city a more historic, traditional, and "quaint" feel.
On the public holiday last week, we also traveled by train about an hour outside of Munich to Tegernsee. Tegernsee is a town located on the Tegernsee lake in the Bavarian Alps. People come here to sail, swim, and hike. It's really quite beautiful. There are also many cafes and beer gardens.
We rented a rowboat to go out on the lake and Matt rowed it for us. How sweet.
And it wouldn't be a German town without great beer...
There's a monastery located in Tegernsee which also brews another Bavarian beer. It's actually one of Matt's favorites. There are two rumors as to why the monks began brewing beer. The first (and most realistic) is that they sold the beer to fund the operation of the monastery. The second is that the monks brewed and drank the beer when they were fasting (Kristin is dubious). Either way, the beer is delicious.
A great thing about Munich is that we get to live in a big city, but still enjoy beautiful parks, lakes, etc. We're trying to take advantage of it as much as possible before the weather gets colder in the fall. Looking forward to many more picnics in the parks!
Cheers,
Matt and Kristin
The English Garden is Munich's largest public park. It's actually even bigger than Central Park. A man-made stream runs through it and people often swim in it during the summer months, even though the water is freezing cold. There's also an area where a "wave" is created by a pumping mechanism. Surfers surf this "wave" during the day, during all months of the year. Yes, even the winter. We saw them in late November last year. There is also a lake in the park where you can rent paddle boats. We spent a Sunday afternoon relaxing here. We can be there in 15 minutes on our bikes, so it's pretty convenient.
While it is legal to bring your own alcoholic beverages into the park, many people choose to drink at the various beer gardens throughout the park. The largest is the Chinese Tower. (I know, I know, a Chinese tower in the English Garden in Germany...bizarre) Traditional Bavarian bands often play in the afternoon.
The second largest park is Olympiapark, which was created solely for the Olympic summer games that Munich hosted in 1972. It includes many of the facilities used for the games, including a huge stadium, pool, tennis courts, track, etc. There are also a few artificial lakes and ponds. This park is much closer to us, as we can get there within 5 minutes by bike. Kristin also runs here in the mornings. Many festivals are held here throughout the year. We went to Tollwood back in June. In the middle of the park, there is a huge hill created from rubble from the war. If you take the trail up to the top, you can have a great view of Munich.
Full disclosure: We didn't actually take this photo, but the one we took looks exactly like it and right now, I'm too lazy to go get the camera and attach it to the computer for one measly photo.
One thing that is obvious from the view from Olympiapark is how "flat" of a city Munich is. There aren't really any large sky scrapers like in most other large cities. It definitely gives the city a more historic, traditional, and "quaint" feel.
On the public holiday last week, we also traveled by train about an hour outside of Munich to Tegernsee. Tegernsee is a town located on the Tegernsee lake in the Bavarian Alps. People come here to sail, swim, and hike. It's really quite beautiful. There are also many cafes and beer gardens.
We rented a rowboat to go out on the lake and Matt rowed it for us. How sweet.
And it wouldn't be a German town without great beer...
There's a monastery located in Tegernsee which also brews another Bavarian beer. It's actually one of Matt's favorites. There are two rumors as to why the monks began brewing beer. The first (and most realistic) is that they sold the beer to fund the operation of the monastery. The second is that the monks brewed and drank the beer when they were fasting (Kristin is dubious). Either way, the beer is delicious.
A great thing about Munich is that we get to live in a big city, but still enjoy beautiful parks, lakes, etc. We're trying to take advantage of it as much as possible before the weather gets colder in the fall. Looking forward to many more picnics in the parks!
Cheers,
Matt and Kristin
Friday, August 17, 2012
Our New Home!
Sorry for the delay in posting, but we have been very busy moving into our new apartment and running errands like crazy! We officially moved in on Tuesday. Our apartment is in a great spot, right in the heart of Schwabing, one of the nicest areas of the city. We also are very close to many of our friends. Our landlords are German, but they spent five years living in London, so they speak great English and are very friendly.
The move itself was fairly easy, as all we brought with us was clothing mostly. The rest of our belongings are en route from Philadelphia as we speak. We hope to have them arrive in Munich in a few weeks. The apartment is fully furnished, so we do have a couch to sit on, a bed to sleep on, and a table to eat at. It was nice to move into an apartment that was live-in ready, but we're not crazy about the living room furniture (see photos below), so we have ordered some different furniture from IKEA. It should be arriving around August 27th. We'll post more photos of the apartment once we get our furniture in it. So for now, please do not judge too harshly, as we did not choose the red sofa or any of the other living room furniture. We will also need to replace the bedding with our own, add another wardrobe, add our own pictures, paintings, finishing touches, etc. So it is a work in process. But, it's our new home here in Munich and we love it!
Our building
The kitchen
Hallway
Bedroom
Bathroom
And the living room...Remember, red couch and other furniture is GOING. haha
It's really nice to be in an apartment as opposed to a hotel. It really makes the move feel "real." But getting everything that we need is pretty all-consuming. However, doing this in Germany has it's perks... For example, when we rented a car to go out to IKEA, they gave away our original car so they let us take this one instead...
Matt was super pumped! But sadly, at the end of the day, we had to give it back. And instead, purchase these sweet rides...
Of course, we got matching ones. We didn't intend for it, but the guy at the bike shop said they were great bikes, both the guy's and the girl's version. So we got both. We just got back from a ride up to Olympiapark and we are very satisfied. Though that BMW would be pretty great...
So that's what we've been up to the past week. Hope everyone is doing great back in the States! Talk to you all soon.
Cheers,
Matt and Kristin
The move itself was fairly easy, as all we brought with us was clothing mostly. The rest of our belongings are en route from Philadelphia as we speak. We hope to have them arrive in Munich in a few weeks. The apartment is fully furnished, so we do have a couch to sit on, a bed to sleep on, and a table to eat at. It was nice to move into an apartment that was live-in ready, but we're not crazy about the living room furniture (see photos below), so we have ordered some different furniture from IKEA. It should be arriving around August 27th. We'll post more photos of the apartment once we get our furniture in it. So for now, please do not judge too harshly, as we did not choose the red sofa or any of the other living room furniture. We will also need to replace the bedding with our own, add another wardrobe, add our own pictures, paintings, finishing touches, etc. So it is a work in process. But, it's our new home here in Munich and we love it!
Our building
The kitchen
Hallway
Bedroom
Bathroom
And the living room...Remember, red couch and other furniture is GOING. haha
It's really nice to be in an apartment as opposed to a hotel. It really makes the move feel "real." But getting everything that we need is pretty all-consuming. However, doing this in Germany has it's perks... For example, when we rented a car to go out to IKEA, they gave away our original car so they let us take this one instead...
Matt was super pumped! But sadly, at the end of the day, we had to give it back. And instead, purchase these sweet rides...
Of course, we got matching ones. We didn't intend for it, but the guy at the bike shop said they were great bikes, both the guy's and the girl's version. So we got both. We just got back from a ride up to Olympiapark and we are very satisfied. Though that BMW would be pretty great...
So that's what we've been up to the past week. Hope everyone is doing great back in the States! Talk to you all soon.
Cheers,
Matt and Kristin
Monday, August 13, 2012
Gaubodenolksfest 2012
Note: I have added the "Follower" function to the blog so you should now be able to enter your e-mail address and receive e-mails from Blogger when the blog is updated. This way, I don't have to send e-mails to everyone haha. (It's to the right of this entry)
We had a very busy, but fun, weekend. We went out for drinks with some friends on Friday night. On Saturday, we traveled by train to Straubing, which is a town in Bavaria. Our friend Markus is from the Straubing area, and so he coordinated the trip for the nine of us that went. By train, it was a little less than two hours outside of Munich. But we found ways to keep ourselves entertained!(In Germany, it is legal to drink beer on many of the trains haha!)
The festival is called Gaubodenvolksfest, and it is very similar to Oktoberfest, just on a smaller scale. Still, approximately 1.35 million people attended the festival in 2011 - very impressive. The festival includes various rides and attractions (even a ferris wheel and small roller coasters), as well as plenty of food and drink. There are 6 large beer "tents" where everyone can sit to eat traditional Bavarian food and drink liters of beer from the breweries.
There is one tent for each brewery in the Straubing area. It was nice to try some different German beer, as Munich really only serves from the large Munich breweries. To get into a tent in the evening, you usually need to book reservations well in advance. But lucky for us, as a local, Markus was able to get us in at his uncle's table. The tents are enormous inside and very elaborate. It's hard to believe that they take them all down and rebuild them again the next year.
Later in the evening, each tent has some form of entertainment, usually being a live band. When the band came on in our tent, everyone started dancing on the tables and singing along. It was like being at a concert.
Though many of the songs were German, they also played some American favorites, too. I got very excited when I could sing along.
Although our outfits may look a bit silly, believe it or not, 90% of the people in attendance were wearing lederhosen (leather pants for the men) and dirndls (traditional dresses with aprons for the women). Bavarians take a lot of pride in the quality of their traditional attire. One of our friends has a pair of lederhosen that he paid 1,000 Euro for (that's not a typo!). It may seem silly and old-fashioned to us, but to them, it's an important part of their traditions. Our friends approved of our attire, even if we didn't go for the highest quality.
All in all, we had a fantastic time enjoying one the greatest festivals in Bavaria. One thing is for sure -- Germans sure know how to have a good time! We can't wait for Oktoberfest!
We're moving into our apartment tomorrow, so I'll post some pictures later this week.
Until then, cheers!
Kristin and Matt
P.S. And just because I can't get over how gorgeous this baby boy is, here's yet another pic (that I'm sure most of your have already seen). Can't wait to meet Avi in a few weeks!!
We had a very busy, but fun, weekend. We went out for drinks with some friends on Friday night. On Saturday, we traveled by train to Straubing, which is a town in Bavaria. Our friend Markus is from the Straubing area, and so he coordinated the trip for the nine of us that went. By train, it was a little less than two hours outside of Munich. But we found ways to keep ourselves entertained!(In Germany, it is legal to drink beer on many of the trains haha!)
The festival is called Gaubodenvolksfest, and it is very similar to Oktoberfest, just on a smaller scale. Still, approximately 1.35 million people attended the festival in 2011 - very impressive. The festival includes various rides and attractions (even a ferris wheel and small roller coasters), as well as plenty of food and drink. There are 6 large beer "tents" where everyone can sit to eat traditional Bavarian food and drink liters of beer from the breweries.
There is one tent for each brewery in the Straubing area. It was nice to try some different German beer, as Munich really only serves from the large Munich breweries. To get into a tent in the evening, you usually need to book reservations well in advance. But lucky for us, as a local, Markus was able to get us in at his uncle's table. The tents are enormous inside and very elaborate. It's hard to believe that they take them all down and rebuild them again the next year.
Later in the evening, each tent has some form of entertainment, usually being a live band. When the band came on in our tent, everyone started dancing on the tables and singing along. It was like being at a concert.
Though many of the songs were German, they also played some American favorites, too. I got very excited when I could sing along.
Although our outfits may look a bit silly, believe it or not, 90% of the people in attendance were wearing lederhosen (leather pants for the men) and dirndls (traditional dresses with aprons for the women). Bavarians take a lot of pride in the quality of their traditional attire. One of our friends has a pair of lederhosen that he paid 1,000 Euro for (that's not a typo!). It may seem silly and old-fashioned to us, but to them, it's an important part of their traditions. Our friends approved of our attire, even if we didn't go for the highest quality.
All in all, we had a fantastic time enjoying one the greatest festivals in Bavaria. One thing is for sure -- Germans sure know how to have a good time! We can't wait for Oktoberfest!
We're moving into our apartment tomorrow, so I'll post some pictures later this week.
Until then, cheers!
Kristin and Matt
P.S. And just because I can't get over how gorgeous this baby boy is, here's yet another pic (that I'm sure most of your have already seen). Can't wait to meet Avi in a few weeks!!
Friday, August 10, 2012
"But, how do I get in touch with you?"
If we had a Euro cent for every time someone has asked this question... But seriously, with international calling being expensive as it is, it's not as easy as picking up the phone and calling us like you did when we were in Philly. The good news is that technology makes it really easy to keep in touch. Below is a list of the different ways you can talk to us:
1. Call our "home" number (our Skype number). I think we have e-mailed the actual number to just about everyone. I don't want to post it on here because although no one else cares about this blog, it is on the very public Internet. So if you still need it, e-mail or FB message me or Matt and we'll pass it along. Don't be confused by the fact that it's a "Skype" number -- you don't have to be on the computer to call us. You can call us from literally any phone. Hopefully, when you call, we will be at home to answer the phone, or you can leave us a voicemail. We pay Skype a small fee so that when people call this number (from ANY phone), it rings on our computer. You don't have to be on Skype, you don't have to be at a computer, you don't have to call from a landline, etc. Just call it from any phone. It will work and it will be free, we promise.
2. Traditional Skype. This is the traditional computer-to-computer Skype method. Our user name is matthew.j.shoaf. You can also find us by searching for Matt's e-mail address. In order to use Skype, you must download it from Skype.com. It takes 5 minutes and is really easy to do. Then, you create an account with your own username and can add contacts, i.e. us. After that, you can "call" us, using either a video call or without video, like a regular call on speakerphone. Skype is nice because we can actually SEE all of you. If you want to download it, but need help, let us know and we can walk you through it. Note: Those with smartphones can also add the Skype app so that you can Skype from your cell phone. Exciting!
3. E-mail. As we mentioned in the last post, we would love to receive e-mails from all of you. Kristin's address is ksterdis@gmail.com and Matt's is matthew.j.shoaf@gmail.com.
4. Whats App messages. While traditional text messages will cost us, those of you with smartphones can download the Whats App app that will let you send unlimited free (emphasis on the 'free') messages to anyone else in your contact list, assuming they also have the app. It's just like regular texting. Very cool.
5. Facebook posts and messages. Warning: This method will only work for Kristin, as Matt checks Facebook on an annual basis.
6. Facetime. This is only for iPhone users (unfortunately). But it's easy and an alternative to video Skype calls. Basically, you enter our cell phone numbers as Contacts in your phone. Then, when you click on our Contact info, you'll have several options - Call, Send text message, or Facetime. Select Facetime and it will call us with video. It's cooler than Skype obviously because you can do it from anywhere, as long as you have your iPhone and your iPhone has WiFi. Since it works over WiFi and not the cellular network, it's free as well.
7. Cellphones. Once we get our cellphones working, we will pass along our new numbers. However, this is not the preferred method of communication, as it will cost everyone lots of money.
8. Last but not least... Good old snail mail. We will send out an e-mail with our apartment address soon. Again, that's info we would prefer not to post on the very public Internet.
Now, after reading all of these options, you're probably like, "Wow, this is going to be soooo easy!" While we try to be optimistic, we can't ignore the fact that the six hour time difference further complicates things. Trust us, we know from experience (Skypeing your husband from the audit room during lunchtime is less than ideal). Any heads up that you can give us for available time for phone calls and Skype chats is very helpful so that we can plan to be available to talk. :)
If you have any questions or concerns about above information (it's a lot, we know), don't hesitate to ask us for further clarification.
Talk to everyone soon!!
Kristin and Matt
If we had a Euro cent for every time someone has asked this question... But seriously, with international calling being expensive as it is, it's not as easy as picking up the phone and calling us like you did when we were in Philly. The good news is that technology makes it really easy to keep in touch. Below is a list of the different ways you can talk to us:
1. Call our "home" number (our Skype number). I think we have e-mailed the actual number to just about everyone. I don't want to post it on here because although no one else cares about this blog, it is on the very public Internet. So if you still need it, e-mail or FB message me or Matt and we'll pass it along. Don't be confused by the fact that it's a "Skype" number -- you don't have to be on the computer to call us. You can call us from literally any phone. Hopefully, when you call, we will be at home to answer the phone, or you can leave us a voicemail. We pay Skype a small fee so that when people call this number (from ANY phone), it rings on our computer. You don't have to be on Skype, you don't have to be at a computer, you don't have to call from a landline, etc. Just call it from any phone. It will work and it will be free, we promise.
2. Traditional Skype. This is the traditional computer-to-computer Skype method. Our user name is matthew.j.shoaf. You can also find us by searching for Matt's e-mail address. In order to use Skype, you must download it from Skype.com. It takes 5 minutes and is really easy to do. Then, you create an account with your own username and can add contacts, i.e. us. After that, you can "call" us, using either a video call or without video, like a regular call on speakerphone. Skype is nice because we can actually SEE all of you. If you want to download it, but need help, let us know and we can walk you through it. Note: Those with smartphones can also add the Skype app so that you can Skype from your cell phone. Exciting!
3. E-mail. As we mentioned in the last post, we would love to receive e-mails from all of you. Kristin's address is ksterdis@gmail.com and Matt's is matthew.j.shoaf@gmail.com.
4. Whats App messages. While traditional text messages will cost us, those of you with smartphones can download the Whats App app that will let you send unlimited free (emphasis on the 'free') messages to anyone else in your contact list, assuming they also have the app. It's just like regular texting. Very cool.
5. Facebook posts and messages. Warning: This method will only work for Kristin, as Matt checks Facebook on an annual basis.
6. Facetime. This is only for iPhone users (unfortunately). But it's easy and an alternative to video Skype calls. Basically, you enter our cell phone numbers as Contacts in your phone. Then, when you click on our Contact info, you'll have several options - Call, Send text message, or Facetime. Select Facetime and it will call us with video. It's cooler than Skype obviously because you can do it from anywhere, as long as you have your iPhone and your iPhone has WiFi. Since it works over WiFi and not the cellular network, it's free as well.
7. Cellphones. Once we get our cellphones working, we will pass along our new numbers. However, this is not the preferred method of communication, as it will cost everyone lots of money.
8. Last but not least... Good old snail mail. We will send out an e-mail with our apartment address soon. Again, that's info we would prefer not to post on the very public Internet.
Now, after reading all of these options, you're probably like, "Wow, this is going to be soooo easy!" While we try to be optimistic, we can't ignore the fact that the six hour time difference further complicates things. Trust us, we know from experience (Skypeing your husband from the audit room during lunchtime is less than ideal). Any heads up that you can give us for available time for phone calls and Skype chats is very helpful so that we can plan to be available to talk. :)
If you have any questions or concerns about above information (it's a lot, we know), don't hesitate to ask us for further clarification.
Talk to everyone soon!!
Kristin and Matt
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
And so it begins! (Insert clever German phrase here)
Disclaimer: Although we recognize the dorkiness (is that a real word?) of this blog, we have chose to ignore said fact, as we believe that this will be the best way to let all of our loved ones back home in the States keep up with our lives while we're here in Munich. We hope you enjoy it, and if not, please lie to us and tell us you love it anyway.
We arrived in Munich on Tuesday morning after a "grueling" (see photo below)eight-hour flight. As our apartment is not ready until next week (more on that craziness in a later post), we will be shacking up at the Munich Marriott for the next week (rough life, we know). After checking in on Tuesday, we set up our online bank account with Deutsche Bank. We went with DB because they are one of the only German banks with online banking in English. However, nothing else is in English, so the 10+ letters they sent us with the instructions of setting up the online account, activating debit/credit cards, etc. were in German. Hooray. We managed to translate enough of it though, so our account is all ready to go! We also attempted to set up our cell phones with a provider here in Munich, but we are still experiencing technical difficulties. We'll figure it out sooner or later, I'm sure haha.
Since we're great at prioritizing, we also accomplished the very important task of purchasing lederhosen for Matt and a dirndl for Kristin. These are the traditional outfits that the Bavarians (read: people from Southern Germany)wear during Oktoberfest and many other festivals held throughout the year. This weekend, we'll be traveling with friends to the town of Straubing for Gaubodenvolksfest, the second largest beer festival in Bavaria (read: Southern Germany) behind Oktoberfest. Matt's friend Markus is from the town and is taking us and a few of our other friends from Munich to the festival for the day. Matt went to Oktoberfest last year, so this is old news for him, but I am very excited since I have yet to attend a German festival. We are both really excited to see another German town and experience the festival with the locals. We will be wearing aforementioned lederhosen and dirndl, so get excited for pictures!
And despite the jet lag and lack of sleep, we still went out with friends to celebrate a birthday on Tuesday night! Everyone that we have met is so friendly and welcoming. It's nice to have a group of friends already -- one less obstacle in our new city!
Overall, things are going (mostly) well so far. We have experienced a few challenges, as expected, mostly due to the language barrier. But our German friends are very helpful and Matt and I know we can get through it together. Once we get our cell phones up and running, we'll pass along the phone numbers. For now, you can call us at our "home" phone number on Skype(don't worry, it's free for you). We sent it to most of you via e-mail, but if you still need it, just let us know. If we don't answer, you can leave us a voicemail. And you can always e-mail us at ksterdis@gmail.com or matthew.j.shoaf@gmail.com.
In response to an overwhelming amount of questions regarding methods of communication, I will post later this week about the various ways to get in touch with us. Until then...
Cheers!
Matt and Kristin
We arrived in Munich on Tuesday morning after a "grueling" (see photo below)eight-hour flight. As our apartment is not ready until next week (more on that craziness in a later post), we will be shacking up at the Munich Marriott for the next week (rough life, we know). After checking in on Tuesday, we set up our online bank account with Deutsche Bank. We went with DB because they are one of the only German banks with online banking in English. However, nothing else is in English, so the 10+ letters they sent us with the instructions of setting up the online account, activating debit/credit cards, etc. were in German. Hooray. We managed to translate enough of it though, so our account is all ready to go! We also attempted to set up our cell phones with a provider here in Munich, but we are still experiencing technical difficulties. We'll figure it out sooner or later, I'm sure haha.
Since we're great at prioritizing, we also accomplished the very important task of purchasing lederhosen for Matt and a dirndl for Kristin. These are the traditional outfits that the Bavarians (read: people from Southern Germany)wear during Oktoberfest and many other festivals held throughout the year. This weekend, we'll be traveling with friends to the town of Straubing for Gaubodenvolksfest, the second largest beer festival in Bavaria (read: Southern Germany) behind Oktoberfest. Matt's friend Markus is from the town and is taking us and a few of our other friends from Munich to the festival for the day. Matt went to Oktoberfest last year, so this is old news for him, but I am very excited since I have yet to attend a German festival. We are both really excited to see another German town and experience the festival with the locals. We will be wearing aforementioned lederhosen and dirndl, so get excited for pictures!
And despite the jet lag and lack of sleep, we still went out with friends to celebrate a birthday on Tuesday night! Everyone that we have met is so friendly and welcoming. It's nice to have a group of friends already -- one less obstacle in our new city!
Overall, things are going (mostly) well so far. We have experienced a few challenges, as expected, mostly due to the language barrier. But our German friends are very helpful and Matt and I know we can get through it together. Once we get our cell phones up and running, we'll pass along the phone numbers. For now, you can call us at our "home" phone number on Skype(don't worry, it's free for you). We sent it to most of you via e-mail, but if you still need it, just let us know. If we don't answer, you can leave us a voicemail. And you can always e-mail us at ksterdis@gmail.com or matthew.j.shoaf@gmail.com.
In response to an overwhelming amount of questions regarding methods of communication, I will post later this week about the various ways to get in touch with us. Until then...
Cheers!
Matt and Kristin
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