If you ever want to add spice to your life, consider moving to a new country with a new language and doing a new job. Then be sure to work with a relocation company which proves incapable of finding a temp or permanent apartment (Moya found both of ours). Oh yeah, make sure you move during the busiest time of the year where there are no hotel rooms for 100 KM.
Needless to say, our first month in Munich has been an adventure. The good news is that we have selected a wonderful apartment, and will have a great temp apartment until we move in after Christmas. The other good news is that Sophia is going to the best school, and that Moya just seems to roll with the punches - no matter what.
On the fun side of things, we're taking the All Saints holiday and driving up for the day to Garmish up in the Bavarian Alps. And in a couple of weeks, we will migrate south for the Winter as we pay a visit to our wonderful friends Nick, Ana and their daughter Ida in Vincenza, Italy. It's about a 4.5 hour drive.
To keep our spirits high, two of the coolest people we know from Paris - Jon & Annie joined us in Munich for a few days. We took full advantage of their cancelled Air France flights (strike) to go on a walking tour of Munich, enjoy one of the last days of the year sunny enough to be outside, and became great fans of the Augustiner Brau (which just so happens to be right across the street from us). The famous beer hall is subsidized by the Augustiner brewery, which stands just beyond its entrance.
The costume party at school.
Sophia "forgot" her Koukala doll the day of the party (a bad day to forget given the ghosts & goblins that were at school that day) so she had to use another dolly for the remainder of the party.
She could have dressed as Snow White,
But she has declared her Snow White costume to be just for dancing.
With the pumpkins at Swansons in Seattle. Our only pumpkins for the year, although the pumpkin soup is fantastic in Munich!
Hoarding the boats...
Building Dams...
Stepping in the water...
We made the mistake of picking a holiday to visit one of Munich's favorite day-trip cities, which meant everything was closed - with the exception of the local beer garden. This was lucky for us as it was just sunny enough to sit outside. The historic town of Garmish was beautiful, and we stopped by one of mad King Ludwig's castles on the way back - one of his smallest, yet most visited by the King. We're convinced that it is because it was so remote, and it was one of the few places his enemies could not reach him. Something to be said for a peaceful night sleep, when you are King - I suppose.
Troy's new favorite little European city. Ljubljana is in the heart of the alps, just east of the Italian city of Venice. The small country is covered with 70% forest, and its capital is alive and exciting, yet safe and picturesque. During a business trip, we covered most of the country in one day - driving 90 min to the coast, and then 60 min to the south - near the Croatian border.
Central Ljubljana has a pedestrian zone leading through the historic town, and trails that lead up to the castle overlooking the city. The small town is surprisingly cosmopolitan with a very young and informal edge.
Jon & Annie at the famous Augustine Brau, one of many German dinners we had over the weekend
Catch a wave in Munich, with near freezing water. An outlet of the Isar river entering the English Gardens makes for a perfect wave and a wintertime outing.
Sophia getting ready for her big Halloween bash at school. Actually - she can't wait to wear her Cinderella outfit with her sparkly glass slippers.
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