Munchen

Hi everyone!

Anyone who knows me probably knows that I'm the biggest Grinch when it comes to Christmas. Honestly, I get annoyed how it seems like everyone is trying sell you something wrapped up in holiday cheer. But I have to admit, that after coming here and experiencing today, it's almost impossible not to get into the holiday mood. 

Our very first stop was the city center! Most of Munich was bombed flat in WWII, so a lot of the buildings are new, with a few exceptions here and there. The church bells ringing were really something to listen to, I got excited every time we hit the hour mark. Tanja said she didn't even notice them, which I can't believe since there had to be at least seven bells ringing! 

Here's a shot of our walk around the city.

Tanja definitely knows how to cater to her audience because then we went on a Christmas tram through the city! It went past all the major landmarks, like Germany's own version of Covent Garden, government buildings, famous hotels etc. Honestly, I think I was way more into than most of the people on the tram since I was dancing and singing along to the Christmas songs the entire time. 

With the inside all decorated and cute how could you not feel festive?

Most of the pictures from the tram didn't come out well. However, I did get this one amazing shot of the river that runs through the city. Apparently it is swimmable in the summer so Tanja says she'll bring me back here in the summer to go swimming and possibly river surfing! Who knew river surfing was even a thing?

After all that dancing, we had to fortify ourselves for the next few Christmas markets and we came across this cheese stand! First off, all the food looked enticing, but how can I say no when I have options like this! Forget about salads, I just wanted all the cheese and bread. 

As you can tell, I'm not happy about our snack choice at all ;) 

We got some pretzels and olive bread to eat our cheese with, but they're not pictured. The middle cheese is a Bavarian specialty. Tanja said she'd give me the recipe, so hopefully I can make it all for you when I come home. It was AMAZING. Maybe I shouldn't get the recipe, as I might make it everyday. I honestly thought it might be hard to eat here, since Germans are big on fish, pork, and nuts, but trust me when I say finding things to eat hasn't been hard at all!

Even though it was super cold, the sky was absolutely perfect today! This was snapped as we were going along to another market and passed by the government and church buildings. 

We were too late for the museum to be open, but it was really pretty all lit up. Apparently this is where one of the king's lived. My guess would be that his name was Maximilian, since practically all German kings were named Maximilian. 

Tanja then took me through the park to get to a Christmas market tucked away in the center. All I could think about as we were walking was that this was the Deathly Hallows and Tanja brought me here to kill me, even though I know it wasn't true, as evidenced by me writing this blog haha. Let's just say if I didn't have Tanja by my side I would not have been brave enough to go into the not lit park at night. It's not that nothing bad happens here in Munich, it just doesn't happen often and there's so many people out there's no reason to be afraid. Honestly, shocking since I won't even take the trash out at night in Irvine. It must be nice to live somewhere where walking at night isn't a big deal, but also it gets dark here at 4pm so people don't really have a choice but to brave the darkness. Either way, I really enjoyed this night time park stroll.

As you can see, we made it to the market! This one actually wasn't that crowded because it was out of the way, so Tanja and I went to every single stall. There were ornaments, scarves, soaps, and so much food! In Germany, Santa doesn't bring you gifts but rather a child angel does. Isn't that so weird? Like Saint Nicholas is a person, just not Santa. I'll see if I can find a picture of this angel, though don't expect too much, sometimes they have really creepy faces here. For instance, Tanja's mom told me that as kids Tanja and her brothers would band together to get candy from the witch at the Christmas markets. What a witch was doing at the Christmas markets? I don't know, and no one could really explain it to me either. But alas, that's what happens here in Germany. 

Do we look cold in this pictures? Because I can assure you I was freezing my ass off. Literally it hurt to walk because my toes were so cold. Tanja and Max just laughed at me and told me it wasn't winter if that didn't happen. Well, if you guys were worried about me moving here permanently, don't. No amount of cheese and bread can make up for the warm sunshine. I swear it took me an hour to thaw out after tonight's adventures and this is only the beginning of winter!

I can't believe another day is gone, it feels like time is flying here (except when I'm standing in the cold because Max won't say by to his friends, then time stands still for FOREVER hahaha). 

Talk to you all tomorrow! 

Love you,

Carolyn