Hofbrauhaus

Hofbrauhaus. What a party! They really do know how to imitate Oktoberfest, 365 days a year. My dad happened to be visiting during Starkbierzeit (Strong Beer Time). During Lent (ironically) the brewries all bring out their special recipes and it's strong stuff! There's nothing in the world like German beer...

Doe, a deer...

Last picture of Salzburg. In the foreground is the garden of Schloss Mirabella, which was the setting of several scenes in the Sound of Music. See the fountain in the middle? And the archway of vines on the right? Yeah, it looks a bit different in the snow.

Mozart!

Back in Salzburg, the home of Mozart. And boy will they never let you forget that! This town sure enjoys capitalizing on Mozart...it's their favorite pastime. Well, I sure do enjoy the chocolate, but I'm not the biggest fan of his music. Sorry.

Zell am See

From Salzburg we went skiing at Zell am See, one of the four million ski resorts in Austria. I didn't get any pictures up on the slops because it was snowing and visibility was horrible. It was a nice trip nonetheless and here's a picture of me standing somewhere insignificant in the town of Zell am See.

Night lights of Salzburg. 

Yet another tour

If you're aquainted with the new 'Tour' methods, you'll understand this picture. They give everyone a little hand held device so that everyone can hear the tour in their own language. It's really weird to see everyone wander around a room...the voice will say something about the floor and everyone in the room looks at it even though the room is silent. I bet these weird devices could lead a whole tour group off of a cliff without many people noticing. Well, all conspiracy theories aside, after a few tours you get used to holding the stupid thing up to your ear and it's not too bad.

Salzburg from above

Looking down on Salzburg from the fortress. It was a gray, snowy day, but the city is just too beautiful to let that get in the way.

Fire away!

Here's a picture of my dad up in the fortress. It's crazy to think how well fortified the thing was throughout history just because of it's location up on the hill. It was built in like the 700s or something and was never once taken by force.

On the way to the fortress

I convinced my dad to hike up to the fortress instead of taking the train. The icy trail was kinda a bummer, but we were able to get a better view from the various points on the way. This is one of those.

Salzburg

Salzburg is never short on charm...what a nice place to visit. It's ridiculously touristy, but for very obvious reasons. Here's my dad standing on a bridge with the old town behind him and the fortress up on the hill above. We spent a little more than two days there.

Munich Residnce

Next stop was the Munich Residence. The castle right in downtown Munich. This was my favorite room. We ended up getting ourselves lost in this place. It's deceptively large. We ended up, in our confusion, getting a bigger and better tour than we paid for. It's a confusing castle, just trust me.

Odeonsplatz

I call this church 'The Yellow Church'...wish I knew the real name...

Paulaner Brewpub

Back in Munich. I'm standing in front of a cool German restaurant with some sort of pig statue. Um...who knows why...

Perfect conditions... 

New hat

Nice shot with the expanse of mountains in the frame. Those mountains are most likely in Austria. The ski resort at Garmisch is almost exactly on the Austrian border. Notice my dad's new FC Bayern hat...

More of that Zugspitze

Zugspitze in the background. Dad checking the map in the foreground.

Zugspitze

The Zugspitze. Highest point in the German Alps.

Garmisch - Partenkirche

We spent one day in Garmisch (location of the highest peak in the German Alps). The weather was amazing, the slopes weren't crowded at all, and we had a great time. I'm going to show off my photography skills now.

Deutsches Museum

Dad and I really loved the Deutsches Museum. It's like the Smithsonian of Germany and has some awesome exhibits. We spent hours and hours wandering around it. Way cool. This is kinda a lame picture of me in front of some sort of plane. (very specific, huh?)

Icy/snowy Munich - view from a bridge on the Isar. Though not the most desirable weather, it sure was beautiful. 

Champion's League!!!

Bayern Munich v. London Arsenal. Champion's League. One of the biggest soccer games of the year (until the playoffs this summer). The place was sold out and it was loud and crazy. During half time, we witnessed the largest snow ball fight ever - 65,000 ppl. Bayern won 3-1. They are awesome.

Where's the sunshine?

The first couple of days of my dad's visit in Munich was snowy and cold. We did our best to work through the weather and have fun. This is a picture of the Olympiapark in Munich, built for the '72 Olympics and still in frequent use.

Departure

My dad left yesterday. I just got a call from him to confirm his safe return home.

More photos and stories soon to come!

Update: still the place to be

Well, in reference to my previous post claiming that 'Germany is the place to be in February' :

Bush is here today.

Oh, and my dad is here.

So there's even more evidence for my argument.

The Dadster has arrived

Just a short post to announce the arrival of my dad. I was worried that the snow would hold up his plane...but he was lucky...or maybe it's me that's lucky. Almost all subsequent arrivals into Munich were delayed or canceled because of the weather, but not Dad's flight. YAY!

The place to be

It seems like Germany is the place to be in February.

Two weeks ago Condaleeza Rice and Hilary Clinton were in Munich for some special Euro-Treaty or something.

The past ten days a big Film Festival took place in Berlin and all the biggest Hollywood stars were in Berlin. Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Dustin Hoffman, Bruce Willis...

Weird.

I'm rambling here...

I just went to the German version of Home Depot, Obi, for no real reason. I realized that I had never been there, so I needed to check it out. It's really weird what you'll do for fun on a Saturday morning when you do watch cartoons and your friends are out of town. I ended up learning some new vocabulary...which I can totally also learn watching Tim Allen dubbed over in German...and buying some duct tape and two other random things from the sale bin. I couldn't help myself...55 cents each.

I feel really old today. No reason really. And I bet I will feel older tonight. I'm going to some Reggae Party with Astrid and her friends...who are all younger than me. But maybe being around younger people will make me feel younger? It could go either way. By the way, isn't it really weird that out of all the Germans I could make friends with, I picked one's obsessed with Reggae music? Yeah, that's random. German and Reggae = the new Peanut Butter and Jelly (which is a combination that the Germans never implement...but they have discovered Pineapple and Ham, which they use in Hawaii Pizzas and stuff...I don't get how they could see that combination of sweet and salty as legitimate while completely disregarding PB&J)

Oh, I need to admit to something that may be suprising to many of you. The whole European style of drinking bubbly mineral water finally got to me. I crave it. The other day I tried to order a bottle of water (with my wonderful chocolate croissant) and the lady said that she only had the non-bubbly, normal kind. I was really disappointed. The disappointment leads me to believe that I've been in Europe for too long. Just 5 months ago you would've had to pay me to drink that water...wow...I'm gonna need some Americanization therapy upon my return.

Two things that go together really well...like better than pineapple and ham...are public transportation and an ipod. It just enables you to tune out all of the annoying people on the train/bus and be in your own little world. I thoroughly enjoy it.

Well, my dad is coming in two days...I'm soooo excited!!!

Don't really know why I felt like rambling so, but I did...

The Grippe

I really don't think the term 'flu' fits how horrible it makes you feel. I prefer the German word 'Grippe.' It sounds scarier. I guess 'influenza' sounds scary too, but no one refers to it as that.

I'm just gonna say it - Last week, the Grippe got me. Right at the end of my semester. The Grippe also attacked over half of the people I know...it was certainly an epidemic. For a few moments, I thought it could have been bioterrorism targeting the Americans...but I rethought that one as a bit too farfetched. It's just apparent that the high level of stress at the end of the semester made our bodies much more vulnerable.

It's all over the city. I saw three people this morning on the U-bahn with face masks on. These people must be afraid of the Grippe. I would be too...but I already got it.

Be afraid, be very afraid...the Grippe is here.

Let's just be glad the Cold War ended the way it did...

...or at least that we don't live in North Korea.

You've gotta read this article. It is both hilarious and unbelievable.

Ein Augenblick vor dem Sterben

I just got back from seeing a really cool play at the University. Tiffany's friend Anja is a theater major and she invited us to their current production - Ein Augenblick vor dem Sterben (A Moment Before the Death).

They created a very intimate stage in the middle of a circle, with the audience sitting around the stage. Tiffany and I became props at times...a heroine addict hid her drugs under Tiffany's seat! The scenes were all really short and had all new characters. At the end of each scene, someone died. Then half way through, one of the women that died went back and changed her actions. So she ended up surviving. Her survival changed everything else and all of the deaths that had previously happened. It was at this point that I realized that all of the people were connected. For example, because the motorcyclist survived his accident, he and his mother were in the hospital room and were able to call for the nurse when the man in the neighboring hospital bed experienced a collapsed lung. It was really fun to watch how everything connected and came full circle just because of the small change.

I haven't seen such a well done (without all the bells and whistles of a broadway musical) play before. I was able to understand all of the German, but it was partly because the actors did a good job. We brought Ingrid's friend with us, who speaks absolutely no German...thankfully the actors were good enough to make it so understandable.

Overall, what started out to be a rather morbid play, ended up suprising me and being really intriguing/interesting/thought-provoking.

Deep is SO in...

I generally like to consider myself a deep person, or at least a person who enjoys deep conversation/thoughts. I'm gonna go out on a limb and provide a counterexample:

My away message last night: Do you think listening to Rod Stewart has a positive or negative effect on one's sanity?

(could be thought provoking depending on your point of view, but really not a very deep message behind it)

My friend Deepthi's away message at the corresponding time: The root of all evil is selfishness.

(without a doubt a thought-provoking and deep message)

Ok...so as it turns out, I do have my moments where humor overpowers my tendency towards deep thoughts.

Back to the message at hand 'the root of all evil is selfishness':

Being the introspective person that I am, this statement got me thinking about my own selfishness and when it is most apparent. The perfect example showed its face to me amidst this thought. I have a horrible habit of not calling/writing/messaging people back. I used to use the excuse that I dislike the telephone (which I do), but when my habit extended into other mediums that was disproven. For some reason, I dislike the inconvience of making these 'return-calls' (which will hereon refer to letters, phone calls, emails, instant message and the like to which a cordial response is requested and expected). I have even done this type of avoidance to people that I really love and care about, so there has to be some better explanation.

It's true that 'small talk' is one of the few things that I actually hate. So when these 'return-calls' require such cordial 'small talk,' that could be one reason why I have such a strong aversion. 'Small-talk' makes me feel nervous and pressured to say something interesting, even though by definition (or at least my definition) 'small-talk' is uninteresting. I avoid this uncomfortable situation. That makes sense. But why do I just ignore the fact that this avoidance is hurtful, disrespectful, and rude to other people???

That's where the selfishness comes in. I have concluded that this is an aspect of my life where I do exibit selfishness (surely not the only one, but hopefully one of few). I have taken the time to console myself in the fact that everyone has parts of their lives that they go about selfishly. For example, people who only talk about themselves, who refuse to learn about anything that resides outside his or her social bubble, who bring other people down to make themselves feel better, people who mooch off of others and never consider repayment... and well the list could go onward to more overt selfishness, like suicide....but that's not really relevant to my argument.

I am going to have to admit that I am very recently guilty of my selfishness, towards a handful of people, and one person specifically decided to 'give up on me.' It's really not as dramatic as it sounds, but did cause a bit (this entire blog entries worth) of reflection. I really do hope that most people who know and love me realize something that usually remains unspoken: If I receive a letter/email/phone call about something really important, I would respond/react/jump without a second thought. I will truly profess that my loyalty is unwavering. Please don't ever doubt that. However, if I do fail to return a call about a tuna cassarole recipe, it is entirely my own selfishness and DO NOT take it personally.

Now that I have acknowledged my selfishness it does seem prudent to work on it. And of course I will try. And of course, going back to Deepthi's original quote, I'm sure there could have a few wars started in the history of the world due to some leader's inability to cordially communicate with others...which would confirm that the root of all evil is selfishness. It is my duty as a supporter of goodness to work on my selfish habit. I do hope everyday to become a better friend, daughter, sister, and everything inbetween.

Some things do work out...

In honor of the 60th Anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, here's an endearing article that reminds me that some things do work out...

Napola

Went and saw a newly released German film this evening. It was called Napola - in reference to the elite Nazi training camps/boarding schools for boys during the war. It was seriously difficult to watch, but all in all an amazing movie.

At first the German was moving a bit fast for me to understand...but there were just too many deep themes that were so powerful and overt...so I really didn't miss anything. The filmmakers were not afraid to portray many of the young boys to be enthusiatic participators in the horror, while others went through moral struggles. It was so honest and emotional. It makes me question what types of people there are in the world: those that only care about themselves, those that hold their morals too loosely to be able to act against such force, those that would kill themselves instead of being dragged along... I mean, how can you really know what type of person you would have been unless you were there? You can't. If only a few more people were willing to kill themselves or give up their life's glory instead of kill innocent people for no reason, things might not have turned out the way they did. I think humanity has to be honest with itself about that, in order to learn from such things. If only I could say the world has really learned...(...Sudan...)

The End is Near

Well, the end of the semester is finally here. I have papers and tests attacking me from all angles. It's not a pleasant feeling. At the same time, I'm trying to plan my adventures over the upcoming break. I am so very excited that I am having trouble focusing on all of the current tasks at hand. Needless to say, I am experiencing some conflicting emotions: dread, excitment, anticipation, stress, worry, happiness, ahhhhhh...

Nostalgic Procratination

I just got through reading all of my blog posts for the month of September. It was such an amazing nostalgic experience and I totally recommend it to anyone who is bored enough to take the time. I wouldn't classify myself as bored right now, however, I am definitely procrastinating. I guess when it comes to procrastination, there are several variations. I usually only distinguish between Productive Procrastination and Unproductive Procrastination. Now, I think I might have to add Nostalgic Procrastination...I think it lies somewhere inbetween the two other types. Have you ever been cleaning your room and found an old box of something from your past? It's almost impossible to pull yourself away from nostalgic moments like that. This kind of procrastination cannot be considered necessarily productive because you can't cross anything off of that 'to-do list.' However, nostalgia is such a personal experience that reminds you of who you are and how far you've come...it's not inherently a waste of time, it just ends up obstructing you from other more urgent tasks. That's why I think it must land somewhere in the middle on the procrastination scale. Nostalgic Procratination.

Hockey

We went to a hockey game last night at Olympiazentrum. Munich totally killed this other team from Ravensberg or something. It was really low key, especially in comparison to soccer games around here. But low key is not necessarily a bad thing. I did enjoy yelling at the players (in half German/half English) because I feel proud that I still remember all the rules from the years of watching Brandon play.

Just a word about the nomenclature: Last week, Ingrid and I tried to go to a Hockey game. However, it is very important around these parts to distinguish between Hockey (field hockey) and Eishockey (ice hockey). But seriously, field hockey??? Who plays/watches that? Yeah, so this time we double checked and made sure we were headed to an Eishockey game.

Round of Applause for the Swiss

Kathleen had a little Fondue party last evening. I haven't had Fondue very many times in my life...but that's not the point. I truly think melted cheese tastes magnificent, but Fondue is not only delicious. It is also FUN. I would like to request a round of applause for the Swiss and their wonderful invention - FONDUE. So if everyone sitting at their computer right now would please take a moment to comemorate the greatness of FONDUE, I would appreciate it.

Wine Seminar

Herr Soeder held a Wine Seminar yesterday evening. It was a cute, educational event. I learned all about German white wines from the Rhine Valley. So if anyone has any questions about German wine, feel free to ask. I can't wait to get back home and make an extra effort to learn more about Californian wine.

Here's a cool little quote:

The Japanese eat a low fat diet and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

On the other hand, the French eat much more fat in their diet and still suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

On the other hand, the Japanese drink very little red wine and still suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

In conclusion: Eat and drink whatever you want, it's speaking English that'll kill you.

Closer to what?

I saw Closer (which just came out in Germany this week) last night. I really cannot recommend this movie to anyone. It has very intense adult themes, would be a horrible date movie, and left me in a ridiculously depressive mood. It sure did provoke some thought on my part...if people like that really do exist in this world, where am I to find the redeeming quality of humanity? How and when should you ever trust another human being with your heart or with anything for that matter? Tough stuff. Well...it is just a movie...

(The film did have a great soundtrack...filled with those kind of songs that can make your heart wrench immediately for no reason...)

The perfect shot of Munich....thanks Isidro! 

Cristina and I at sunset up atop Alter Peter. 

Markus and Cristina at the Maleika's. 

German Adventures with Cristina

Cristina arrived to visit me first thing in the morning on Tuesday. After dropping her things off and a quick nap, we went off to explore the city a bit. Up and down Marienplatz, along the Isar River, and back and forth. It was a beautiful, sunny day for such exploring. We ate at my favorite German restaurant and made sure to stop at a chocolate shop to pick up something for Astrid. We then went to a New Years Dinner at Astrid and Markus' house. The attendants of the party were all German speakers, but we did our best to integrate both English and German in the dinner conversations. And of course, Astrid's cooking was phenomenal. Cristina and Markus hit it off because Markus is studying Spanish in school and enjoyed speaking with her.

On Wednesday, we went for a beautiful stroll through the sunny Englisher Garten and stopped at a Bier Garten. We then tried to go to the Deutsches Museum, but ended up just chillin at a cafe for awhile. Exploration of the city again followed.

Thursday, a holiday in Germany, made it difficult to do too many things. So we jumped on the train to Augsburg. Augsburg is a cute little town that goes back like 2000 years to Roman civilization. We saw two amazing churches (what else do you do in Europe?). The weather was a bit gloomy, but I really enjoyed the calmness that was Augsburg on Epiphanie.

Friday morning we were back at Hauptbahnhof (the main train station) headed to Salzburg with Markus and Tiffany. I absolutely love the town of Mozart and The Sound of Music...it's fabulous. We saw a castle, convent, plenty of churches, catacombs, Mozart's home, etc. The view from the castle was amazing. Also, the catacombs were really interesting to think about all of the history that they have. Built by the Romans to use as burial chambers, then used by the first Christians to worship in secret...etc....wow. When we missed our train back and had to wait an extra hour, it was a blessing as well. We were able to watch the sunset over the Alps to end our wonderful daytrip. That night, we took Cristina out to some of our favorite bars and nightspots in Schwabing.

Saturday was like the warmest day a Munich winter has seen in long time. The sunshine was great for a nice long walk in the Englisher Garten again. Man do I love living right next to the biggest and best park in Germany! Then we met Markus, Astrid, Kati, and Ingrid at Tapas Tapas (Mexican restaurant in Schwabing with the best Happy Hour in town). Good times.

Sunday morning Markus picked us up in his car and we drove about half way to Austria. The road that runs towards the Alps is surely a beautiful one. We parked the car in Prien, a little town on the edge of the Chiemsee. Then we took a boat ride across the lake to the island in the middle. On this island stands one of Ludwig II's (the crazy Bavarian king...yall should look him up, he really was rather insane) castles. Herrnchiemsee Schloss is a small version of Versailles, outside of Paris. Again, this castle is much less touristy than Neuschwanstein, which makes it much more appealing. Then, since it is winter, the castle was almost empty. After going on a tour of the castle and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while walking around the island, we got back on the boat. We took the short boat ride to another, much smaller island, Fraueninsel. The only big thing on the island is a convent. Other than that, there are a few small cafes and really adorable homes. Walking all the way around the island takes approximately 15 minutes - it's that small. Each little home on the island has it's own mini-harbour for it's mini-boats. There are definitely no cars on the island. It was much cloudier than the day before, but the clouds were high enough so not as to interfere with Alpine backdrop. I'd go back to that mini-island and look up at the beautiful Alps any day.

Monday I had classes all day, so Cristina explored the city on her own. I am so proud of her. We went out to dinner with Will and Corine.

On Tuesday we walked around the University area. Then we made our way to the JYM office to pick up my Christmas packages. (Woo Woo...Merry Christmas to Courtney for the second time!) We met Isidro at Marienplatz and took him to lunch at my favorite German restaurant (again).
Ok, now I think I remember the name: Brautwuerstherzl (actually, that was just a guess). Then we went and climbed to the top of Alter Peter (the church bell tower). From there we watched the sunset. It was a beautifully clear day and we were able to see the entire city. After the sunset, we got to watch this weird traditional dance going on in a plaza below. It was really random, but fun. Then we walked down to the iceskating rink at Karlsplatz to get some Gluehwein. Sometimes Gluehwein is the only way to get warm after being cold for awhile. You can't experience a German winter without Gluehwein...that's a rule!

On Wednesday, I had classes all day again and Cristina went to a museum. We went out to dinner with Markus and Ingrid in Marienplatz and then to Schwabing for cocktails. It was a nice relaxing evening to end Cristina's stay here in Munich.

New Year, New Apologies

I need to apologize to all of you back home. I did send some Christmas cards out, but they are all assuredly late. I'd like to say, 'Better late than never.' But I'm not sure that's even the case. Some of you might not receive a card and some of you might receive it in the middle of February. I have no idea. I might just have to blame it on the postal service. But then again, that's not really fair. I'll just admit that I am horrible when it comes to sending out cards and such things.

I guess the main point is that I want everyone to know that I am thinking of you. I may not be the best at these formalities involving cards and greetings, but all of you are on my mind. I hope everyone's New Year is starting off on a great note.

Here's a little inspirational quote to start off the New Year (thanks Deepthi): The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Years celebration. My prayers are still with those in Southern Asia who were unable to celebrate.

New Years in Munich is actually quite dangerous, which is odd seeing as it is such a safe city. Walking down the streets late at night on December 31st is where one can get caught in the danger. They really enjoy throwing fireworks at passerbyers - from the windows or otherwise. It only happened to us a couple times, allowing me to practice my scolding yells at these stupid Germans, because we only stayed out until 7:30ish. I'm not sure if they do this in other cities of the world, but it was a relatively new experience for me.

So it was a mellow Silvester (New Year's Eve) for me. Dinner, a movie, champagne, chillin with my pals...the fireworks sure were fun to watch too. For over an hour, the entire city was lit up with fireworks in absolutely every direction. The people setting them off in the courtyard below my building continually misfired and hit buildings. But as long as they didn't hit my balcony, I was entertained by them.

Ringing in the new year in Germany...still working on my reflections for 2004. But I can already tell that 2005 is gonna be a great year.