Kreuth Pictures

A few pictures I took on a walk, while waiting for Winnie to finish his golf lesson.
The first is a church as seen from our house in Kreuth.
The second is a view of the Tegernsee, nearby, and the mountains behind it.

Third, we have a field. I really liked the perspective, and the fence. Don't ask why; I don't have an answer.

This is a flower. Isn't it purdy?

By the way, you can click on the pictures to see bigger versions. I did not know that, so I thought maybe you might not.

Traffic

Ok, this was the weekend of transit and traffic. Winnie and I missed our first train down to Kreuth, but luckily the one sitting right next to it was also going there. So much for German efficiency. The train didn't take long, and was comfortable, so all was well. Now, I must not be sleeping enough during the week, because when we got there, I put my bag down in my room, and basically fell into bed, asleep. Mind you, this was five o'clock in the evening. I woke up around eleven and got something to eat (from the strangest fondue machine I've ever seen) and went back to sleep. I then slept another ten hours. I need to go to sleep earlier during the week, and that's that.

Saturday, we went on a family bike ride. Nothing that we've done together has gone so well. I could say that if it weren't for the traffic we ran into. No, not cars; cars aren't allowed on the path we were taking. I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on. I thought we were approaching a church, but we never got to it. It was a church on wheels. Almost. This church had hooves. We came around the corner upon about fifty cows, each with a cowbell at least the size of my head. There was no way around them so, for about half an hour, we moved at about the slowest pace at which a bicycle can move, dodging land mines left and right. I found it hilariously absurd, but I seemed to be the only one. By the time the cows were turned off of the path and into a pasture, about thirty-five bikes had gathered in a gaggle (I've done a little research, for those whom such things interest, and that is the correct term) had gathered behind them and now sped off at various speeds. I can only apologize that my camera sat in my backpack the entire time, at the house, and say that I've done my best to portray it in words. I also drove a car for the first time in a foreign country. Huzzah!

Today, Sunday, not only did I drive the car, I drove fast. We (Winnie and I) spent about an hour sitting in almost stopped traffic. Then, we got on the Autobahn, and things started moving a little better. Actually, things started moving a lot better. Some of you might not know this, though you really should (it's the one thing everyone knows about Germany), but there is no speed limit, so to speak, on the Autobahn. I started out not going so fast, but as I got more comfortable, I noticed that the speedometer had moved up a bit, and I realized that I was ok with going faster. For the mothers (and other worriers) out there, fear not. I was very careful. I never passed anyone at such high speeds, and I had my mind on nothing but the road the entire time I was on the Autobahn. However, I did travel at 190 km/hr. I won't translate that to a less logical system, only so that those of you who do not want to know musn't, and those of you who do can let it hit you slowly. Thinking about it, it isn't that fast, but it's certainly much faster than I ever could have found myself comfortable driving in the US.

I'll leave you with that. More happened this weekend but, honestly, nothing so interesting.

One Week In

Ok, I've been here for a week, and things are starting to become routine. I help get the kids ready in the morning, make lunch when they get home, encourage them to do homework, make them dinner, try to get them to stop watching tv, then help them get to bed.

Writing it now, I realize that I'm a chef (and not a great one at that) who has to try to convince his "customers" that they should eat certain dishes more than others. I also cleaned the room of the little ones today. It's cleaner now than my room at home ever was, even now. At least, it was until they got home. Oh well. I should have taken a picture. Then I could have at least proved that I was capable of it. I also got to see the city in the last week. Almost all of it, too. I think, all told, I've walked a total of six hours just to get to know the city and our little part of it.

I like Munich, so far; some things remind me of Freiburg, and others of Berlin. I've also been parusing and testing all the ice cream shops I can find. (For those of you who don't know, I am by trade an ice cream man, at home, and ice cream is in my blood. Literally, sometimes.) There has only been one so far that I've really liked a lot. One had blah ice cream and a terrible cone. I won't be going back there. Pizza, also, I have vowed to try everywhere. I might even make it into the Pizza Hut, which claims to make pizza the American Way. I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much.

Today started Oktoberfest, which I will get to see tomorrow. I'm awfully excited. I started at just the right time, really. I can't wait to have a real wheat beer again. It's been so long since I had bread in a glass...

Geneva Airport

Well, I've got 3 hours in Geneva airport before I can get on my flight to Munich. I had thought that 3 hours in Geneva would be nice, but unfortunately, I was wrong. The Swiss have, as of yet, refused to submit to the European masses, and still make use of their Francs. So now I have CHF 15 and a raspberry torte that was supposed to grant me wireless access, along with no desire to spend the other 15. The five CHF coin is kind of neat. Also, why do they not have a symbol that is not CHF? I have yet to see anything but CHF ###.## without any € or ¢ or $ or even ¥. Maybe © or Ħ or ħ would work for them. I don't know; CHF seems to me cumbersome. Some of you may be able to tell that I haven't slept in what is shaping up to be twenty-four hours. Repetition and nonsense are strong indicators of this condition. More to come...

Lady on the Plane

Here I am, somewhere over the middle of the North Atlantic, and I've decided that recording my thoughts is one of the best things that I could do in order to actually feel like my mind is a cohesive place. I've just finished watching the Sex and the City movie. It was that or Speed Racer, and honestly, Sex and the City seemed more interesting. I was right. Good twists, story ok, funny. Campy, but funny. Now I'm half-watching Malcolm in the Middle. It was that or Speed Racer.

I'm finally starting to feel nervous about what my life's going to be for the next year, and that's mostly because I don't know what it'll be, exactly. I know I'll be living with a family in Munich, and helping with the kids. I'm almost certain that I'll be happy, because how could living in Germany with a big, fun family not make me happy? I know I'll miss family and friends (I do already. Sara got hit by a car. How can you not miss that? [She's fine]) The Lady on the Plane wants to know if I want another bag of Fun Mix. I do.