I spent a winter week in Munich with my friend Michael, before venturing on to start my new life in Kosice. After an 8 hour-20 minute flight from Atlanta, I arrived in Munich. It was cold, and snow covered the ground. Of course, Michael was there to greet me.
The flight was very good; small turbulence and the guys were not loud. The child was crying behind me. It made me sad and I felt like crying too. I stretched out and fell asleep on two seats.
All of my packs arrived. We took a train, a bus, and then walked to his Wohnung (apartment) on Strobelstrasse. I was a little tired, but determined to stay up until 21:00 or 22:00. Er hat eine schones Frustuck gemacht. (He had made a beautiful breakfast.) Wir haben fast zwei Stunden gefrustuckt und geredet. (We talked and ate breakfast for nearly two hours.) I called mom and felt content.
Then Michael und ich, wir sind mit dem Fahrrad -durch dem Schnee gefahren zum Schloss Nymphenburg (we rode the bicycles, in the snow to Nymphenburg Palace.) We walked around the park, along the frozen Isar River. It was very pretty. Kids were sledding on the hill and skating on the on the river ice. People were out walking in the snow. It was cold, but I quickly figured out how many layers were needed. Three.
Back at home, Michael hat schon gekokt (he had already cooked). We had a delicious red beet soup, a Polish recipe of his mother’s. And a rice curry salad with fruit. Yes, I made it awake until 22:00.
Der Haus der Kunst Art Museum
The next day, we leisurely frustucked beim Kertzenlicht (ate breakfast by candlelight). Michael hat auch diese Woche Urlaub gemacht (took days off for vacation this week). We bundled up and went to town to get my train pass, but I had left my passport at his house. (It was only my first day). Stopped in Soehnges, (where Michael works) and Michael checked my eyes and gave me some free contact lenses.
We went to see “Die Nacht” Austellung at Haus der Kunst. It was three hours of paintings related to nighttime. I enjoyed it, but it was a bit too much for Michael. Walked around and bought tickets for a Nigel Kennedy concert on Friday night. For supper, Michael hat etwas schones gemacht (made something awesome.) A potato fritta fried with cheese inside, with mushrooms, cheese, and onions on top. Yum!
Chiemsee
On the third day, we started a bit earlier. Caught the train to Prien, then a bus to Stock, and a small ferry to the Chiemsee. There were Herren, Frauen, and Kraut Inseln. (Man, woman, and vegetable islands.) The Herren Insel had a monastery and a Schloss (Palace) built by King Ludwig II (who else?). All modelled after Versailles. Including fountains, a Hall of Mirrors, and a kitchen table on a pulley. Only Ludwig ran out of money before he could finish it.
Frauen Insel had an artist colony, a church, and a nunnery that is 1200 years old. It’s the oldest nunnery in Germany. We took a cafe break there. Michael lit a candle in the church for his mother.
Out of Rosenheim
On the way home, we took an unexpected visit to die Schloss Stadt (palace town) Rosenheim. Bavarian efficiency prohibited us from travelling zwischen (between) 16:00 – 18:00 with our Bayern Passes (Bavarian rail passes). It was 20 minutes before 18:00, on the half empty train. We had to get off at the next stop, then wait an hour to catch the next train. We were laughing and calling it, “Out of Rosenheim.” How efficiently the country is running. Alles in Ordnung. (Everything is in order.)
Later getting home, wir haben einfach einfachlich Abend Brot gegessen. (We simply ate simple Evening Bread.) I convinced Michael that we needed only salad, bread, cheese and wine (and the leftover soup) for dinner. We proceeded to look at his photos from Thailand and at the cook book from his Thai cooking class mit Pip in Thailand. (Who incidentally, to this day, from 1999 until now, still offers Thai Cooking Lessons and a great place to stay in Thailand.)
Dallmayr Interview
Friday was the next day. We went into town about noon again. It was a quick trip to the markets for Michael, and I to Dallmayr’s for a look, a brochure, and an interview. Dallmayr is a 300-year-old famous brand of German coffee and confections. I had lined up an interview with one of the store managers, regarding their gift baskets and local food products, for the Gift Basket Review publication I was freelancing for.
Next I headed to the Internet Cafe to check my email and make U.S. contact. It was a pizza bar, cafe, with computers on each table, even at the bar. Friday evening, we quickly ate pasta at home then it started to snow quite hard and we took the umbrella with us. It was a good idea, and other people were doing it too, just like in the rain. I had never seen that before. We walked and took the U-Bahn (Munich subway) to the concert with Nigel Kennedy — a “Punk Paganini” with a mohawk style hair and “Adam Ant clothes.”
This is an excerpt from my Kosice Journal, documenting my exodus from a (relatively happy) bustling life in beautiful San Diego, to (voluntarily) take a post teaching English in the newly independent eastern capital of Slovakia 🇸🇰 during a very cold winter 1999.
