Stories from our Munich trip

Daisy and Chris playing soccer in the Englischer Garten





Daisy saying "Wawa" in the Hofgarten





On Schloss Nymphenburg's grounds


While Chris was working hard at Lindau, Daisy and I passed the time in Munich. We fell in love with the city in the middle of winter, and could not wait to see the gardens in bloom and the fountains running. Since we had lived there for two months - and had seen all the highlights - we didn't need a map or travel book and could truly spend our time as if we were locals. It was probably the most relaxing way for us to spend that week.


I had contacted some friends from the winter - Chiara and Francesco, the Italians living in the IBZ. One morning, we met at their apartment and walked to a playground that is actually in the middle of a cemetery. Chiara informed me that birthday parties are often thrown there, and you can see balloons peeping through the grave markers. She commented that it was nice to have life and youth in the place. Sunbathers scattered the quiet park. While we were there, I met some other mom-baby pairs who Chiara knew. I learned of one extraordinary coincidence: Chiara had worked with an Italian woman named Anna in a museum in France, had lost touch for about 8 years, and then ended up sharing a hospital room as they were both giving birth in Munich! So Daisy and I both had fun at the park. I have a strong attraction to Italy and will probably never forget how Anna yelled "Mamma mia" as her daughter Penelope narrowly missed getting whacked on the head with a see-saw. We joined Chiara, Francesco, and Chiara's husband Luca for lunch at their apartment, where I enjoyed some olive oil, cheese and marinated tomatoes they carry back with them from visits home. Luca's uncle is a pizza-maker in Naples, and as we discussed cooking he passed on a tip he once extracted from his uncle. I still haven't tried it. But he was told that the secret of Neapolitan pizza dough is to use a small amount of yeast and let the dough rise slowly in the refrigerator, over 3 days, kneading it down every time it doubles.

Later that day, we took the tram to Schloss Nymphenburg and explored the gardens. We had a picnic despite the threatening clouds and actually survived the whole evening without a rain drop. Daisy loved the swans, the water, and the stairs. I learned that the main "courtyard" looking garden, with fountains and statues, is a French concept, and that some English-style gardens were added in around it, which feature winding canals and thickets. Chris and I later came back here on the weekend, and it did rain then. We took shelter on a bench under the trees, watched people clear out, and had the thunderstorm and the gardens to ourselves.

It was wonderful when Chris joined us. We stayed at a hotel on the same street we lived before, and frequented our favorite bakeries and restaurants. We enjoyed breakfast at Cafe Puck, where we had our first morning in Munich, January 3! How far we'd come since then! Neither of us had taken a German course yet. 6 months later, we had adjusted. It was certainly trial by fire.

It took some effort to remember the 4th of July. I sang a little "Yankee Doodle" for Daisy.

One night, outside the opera house, they showed a live feed of "Lohengrin," an opera by Wagner. It was basically standing-room only and crowded, but we made it through about half an hour before Daisy protested. Blueberries get the credit for getting her that far.

I almost forgot another story! On the train ride down, Daisy and I met one of the most interesting people we possible could have met. He is a novelist named Thomas Meinecke. Over our shared few hours on the train, his conversationalism never wore off. His daughter attends Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, where he himself graduated from. Here is an excerpt about him that I found online:
"Thomas Meinecke is a writer whose numerous novels and stories published since 1986 by Suhrkamp Verlag have helped to make him a leading figure in contemporary German literature. As a musician, his new work includes a recently released album with his band F.S.K. on Daniel Richter’s Buback Label, collaborations with Move D., and solo projects as the one on the Clicks and Cuts compilation (Mille Plateaux label). Moreover, he is a dj who regularly performs in urban nightclubs, with his own show broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk. He lives in a Bavarian village with his wife Michaela Melián and their daughter Juno. Focusing on the threatening undertones of the afro-futuristic Diaspora related to scenarios that occurred in relation to Detroit Techno in the 1990s, he describes the archetype of the imagined threat of the other."

He spoke with me about philosophy, music, schools, his work, and his strange relationship with Elfriede Jelinek, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004. He knows where she lives in Munich, but she is a sort of recluse and they have never met, despite occasional plans that hatch. However, they have exchanged letters and emails for over 5 years and know everything about each other. And now I know everything about her.

The train ride home from Munich was another story. We had tickets which brought us home super late, around 1:30 AM! However, a late 2nd train caused us to miss our 3rd connecting train, which meant that we had an hour to kill in a deserted train station, watching the hands crawl to 2:45 AM. Miserable moment.

I will post a larger collection of pictures from our trip on Shutterfly.