And Our Journey Begins :)

My turn to update the blog! And you might want to settle in (or just scan it for pictures) as this will be a long post covering our first few days in Munich. Also, I am writing this entry Sunday night (4.12) without knowing when exactly I will post this. I can’t believe that with all 16 wi-fi networks our computer can pick up around our apartment, every single one has a password! The nerve of the Germans! Anyways…

We flew out Thursday morning at 8am Arizona time and landed at 7am (an entire hour early) in Munich the following day. The flights went well - though Noah and I have never seen this before on a plane. Yes, this guy is sitting in his seat with his feet straight up, no shoes on. It lasted long enough to make it super creepy. I should be glad he didn’t sit behind me.

We met Noah’s aunt Ellen and made our way to our new apartment carrying our 4 checked bags and 4 carry on bags, for a total of 957 pounds of luggage (or at least it felt like that). I think Noah was ready to curse me for bringing so much, even if he refuses to admit it.

After a direct train ride to our train stop, Laim, and a 10 minute walk that felt like 45 minutes with all our bags, we finally arrived to our new apartment! We live above a dentist, and the entire 2^nd floor is our apartment. There are two apartments above us – so three all together. I feel bad for those folks, as there is no elevator. Here is a photo of me pointing to our living room window.

Thanks to Ellen, we arrived to an apartment that was livable. We knew people took the kitchen with them in Germany, but didn’t realize they took every light fixture as well. Thanks to the multitude of lamps Ellen left, we weren’t in the dark at night. We also had a bed to sleep in, plates and silverware and a small kitchen table, her patio furniture in the living room, and a place to hang our clothes. We don’t know how we would have done it without all of her help.

After a quick trip to the teeny tiny grocery store where we grabbed a few things so we wouldn’t starve, Noah whipped up our first dinner – Spaetzle, salad, and… wait for it… DR. PEPPER! It’s not easy to find, but I found it. I made Noah stop eating so we could capture this epic moment in our lives – the moment where we are both completely jet lagged, exhausted, looking like crap, and eating our first dinner in our first apartment in Munich! You’re welcome Noah.

After going to bed at 7pm, we woke up bright and early 6am Saturday. Noah’s friend from high school (he was a foreign exchange student), Jörn, came down from Schwabisch Hall to visit us. Little did he know he was in for a day of shopping and working in our apartment. He has one luxury we don’t – a car! We went to a giant store – Vmarkt – about the size of a Wal-mart. I had no idea there were stores that big here. We stocked up on ceiling lights, trash cans, a mirror, a microwave, and some dog bones. The dog bones were the most important; I need Sadie and Rita to know I was thinking about them. ;)

After a lunch break, we got back to the apartment and Jörn and Noah got to work hanging lights. As I write this, we have light in the living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. We still have the hallway, the toilet, guest room, and storage room to go. And by ‘we’, I mean Noah. Here is one before/after picture.

After a fancy dinner of PBJ’s, we fell asleep Saturday night dinner at 8pm. We are party animals.

Today we met up with Ellen and went to one of the numerous Christmas Markets in town. This one is called Tollwood – it is all eco-friendly items and food. It had food and booths from all over the world. We had Polish food for lunch, German Glühwein to drink, and a crepe to top it all off.

I even made a saguaro sighting!

Here is Noah and Ellen standing in front of a recycled flower statue with solar panels.

After Ellen dropped us back off at home and we took a break to rest our feet, we decided to explore the area around our apartment. We walked over to the train tracks, found a McDonalds for those days we want to feel like fatty Americans, and found a few places to walk the dogs.

As we made our way back home, we stumbled upon this little ole thing (Schloss Nymphenburg) just a few blocks away.

After feeling in awe of our new lives, we headed home. We passed by a pizza place, and decided to use our wonderful German skills to order dinner. As we sat to wait for our pizza, Noah says he thinks we just ordered two, not one. It turns out they have a special Sundays - buy one get one free. We think Noah’s wonderful German made them believe we knew what we were doing, so they didn’t try to get out of giving us the free pizza. At least that is what we are telling ourselves.

After the past three days, this place is beginning to feel like home. And pretty soon it will be – exactly 1 month from today we leave Houston with a one-way ticket. We definitely realize how lucky we are, even with Noah not realizing to look when someone is taking his picture. :)