(formerly known as) the pretzel cathedral

I am having a very lovely fall weekend in Haindling, a small village near Regensburg. We are staying with our friends the Thuns, who have an incredible house, and enjoying the autumnal foliage. Last night we saw David Thun in a production of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros in Straubing. This morning Honza and I went on a walk in the village. We picked lots of delish apples and found some ponies in a field, so we fed them some apples too and patted their soft noses. We also got to go into the local pub, which is not actually a pub but a Society so that the members do not have to abide by legal pub ordinances. It is in the Alteschmiede (old blacksmith). We went inside the church and walked around it, and then after lunch, Honza and the boys played soccer and following this we went inside to play Fußball-kicker-foosball depending on what nationality one might be. Sadly, Honza and I lost miserably to Constantin Thun, who is fifteen. Oy.

Pictures to come! Oh, and happy Halloween for those Americans out there.

p.s. Honza would like me to mention he is sore from playing soccer. Very sore. So sore, that he mentions it about every five minutes or so, and then I get nervous if six minutes go by and it has not yet been mentioned.

p.p.s Honza is a little obsessive compulsive. He made me edit this entry twice.

Dear Pommes Boutique, Amalienstrasse, Munich, Germany,

Thank you for providing me with many succulent morsels today of perfectly fried golden Belgian pommes frites. What a delight. And oh, the sauces, the unlimited sauces! From the fragrant garlic aioli, to the curry sauce, to the “Andalusia,” you did not fail to utterly please my entire palate. The way you dissolved in my mouth after each crunch was a satisfaction I had not perhaps known before. Merci beaucoup, viva le Belgique.

Love,

self

P.S. Happy half birthday Baby Ludwig! Zum halbegeburtstag!

You know you live in Munich when….

-the amount of hairdressers on every block is comparable to Starbucks on every block back in the States

-at first you find the bikers aggressive but then, quite quickly, you transform into one of Them

-Seeing someone in tracht is absolutely to be expected and hardly a novelty

-you can guess somebody’s occupation by their car (or lack thereof)

-you have devout loyalties to Augustiner, Hopfisterei and Lowenbrau

-you frequently run into people you know on the street and forget you live in a “city”

-you wait gleefully for your favorite Bavarian U-bahn driver’s voice to announce “Nachsterrrrrrr Halt: Munchener Frrrrrreiheit”

-you say “Gruss Gott,” and “Servus” to shopkeepers

-you find yourself defending Munich vigorously over Berlin

I really enjoy reading aloud in German to the kids, even if I sometimes have no idea what I am saying. It makes me sound competent, I think.

The weather has been absolutely horrendous. ARRGGHRRRGHHHFRAGGLE. Last night I babysat for baby Ludwig. He was very tired and cried for about an hour but finally after walking around the room with him for a while he passed out in my arms and I put him to bed. Then I made some yummy Irish soda bread. Om nom nom. It was a very gourmet night; I had made polenta with roast veggies for dinner.

Today Honza and I watched WALL-E and stumbled upon a beautiful acapella sacred music concert in a neighborhood church and had pad thai to eat. I am thinking of making Elisabeth and Amelie an Advent calendar. I also need to think about Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. And all things excellent in the world. Coming soon in the mail: “I Know How To Cook.” YES!

Playing backgammon, chess and checkers with Honza in the English Garden

Homemade pizza and drinking Ovaltine HOT

Riding my bike. Everywhere.

The old Greek couple who runs the local fruit-and-vegetable stand

Bavarian accents

Carcassonne

Muscat grapes

Watching dogs frolic

Autumn leaves

Some points of late…

…I started German classes at the Volkshochschule. So far so good. I have about twenty people in my class from Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Ireland, England, Kenya and (one other) American. Right now we are learning very basic things such as “I am from….” “How are you…” and some grammatical concepts. I ride my bike there and feel very adult-like. I practiced my Czech with the Czech girl, Jana, and we might have a little au pair get together for coffee next week with the other au pairs in the class. I feel a bit bad for the Greek guy because he literally knows no other language but Greek and is completely lost. He basically memorizes a few phrases and uses them in the hopes that they are the correct responses. Ahhhh well. The Spanish students are usually quite late and have started a bit of their own Spanish mafia. (About half the class is from Spain.) I even have homework now (haus aufgabe). What a professional student I am, clearly.

…I have been having a very good time so far with my new au pair family. The mother and father are warm and friendly and really interesting to talk to. The girls, Elisabeth and Amelie, have enormous brown eyes and are total cuties. They have their “moments” but are mostly quite fun. They teach me a lot of German and I am trying to teach them some English. Next week we will go to the zoo and at the end of the month we are going to a marionette show. Elisabeth is obsessed with Oktoberfest even though it is over and she always requests that I draw pictures of Oktoberfest-related objects. Amelie’s new favorite English phrase is “pony ride.” (She learned it quickly because she wants to ride on my back all the time!) The baby, Ludwig, is my chill buddy. He is a little Buddha and I love him. I like to nibble on his smooshy cheeks. He started to eat solid food and is now getting his first tooth. It is kind of cool I am witnessing all his major milestones. I realized that by the time I leave this job he will have known me most of his life.

…Some cooking adventures as of late: pumpkin risotto, savory palacinky with spinach, onion, mushrooms and feta, sugar cookies, lots of Thai food, and making pasta sauce with our new fresh herbs.

…When Honza and I cook we listen to jazz music. Lately we’ve been really into Joshua Redman, Avishai Cohen and John Scofield.

…Tomorrow I go to the Bayerisches Museum which is free on Sundays. w00t Bavaria.