Guten Tag from Munich

The husband and I are in Munich at the moment where I am attending a conference in a few days time.  

(Someone asked whether we were on our second honeymoon - I replied that every day is like a second honeymoon with my husband. I was joking. Although it is quite nice to be alone together. Nice but weird. I miss my kids terribly and it has only been one day.)

Marko and I after our long flight, waiting to check in at the hotel.  We were early but they very kindly allowed us to check in early.  Hotel selfie!

I have never been to Germany before, even though my grandfather was from Germany.  My grandfather and his family were German Jews who escaped the persecution during Hitler's reign of Germany. The family was split up, some ended up in America, some in South Africa. All the Loebenbergs in South Africa are family.

Today Marko and I visited Dachau, one of the first concentration camps established in Germany. It was an incredibly moving / painful / intense / overwhelming experience.  But so important.  Besides the personal connection I have through my father's family, I think it is very important not only to honour those who lost their lives in such a brutal way, but also to face up to man's inhumanity to man, to ensure that we never allow that to happen again.  It is beyond comprehension how human beings can be so cruel. The suffering.... it is almost unbelievable.  It was very painful to see that. I am still in disbelief. The executions were bad enough, but the suffering... the suffering was immense. Unspeakable.  Appalling. I don't have the words. 

I don't usually do tours because I hate being stuck somewhere I don't want to be. If I want to go home / back to the hotel, I want to go RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE. But it was a good tour, even if it was painful to see and hear.  Excellent guide. Highly recommended: Radius Tours Munich

We were a smallish group who went on the tour. On the tour, a young woman started chatting to us. She said she recognized our accents.  She was an American woman (probably around 20 years old?) who had extended family in South Africa.  I was so impressed with this young woman!  She was backpacking through Europe on her own.  Going to several countries. Staying in hostels, meeting people.  I was very impressed. How brave of her! All by herself.  Her parents should be very proud of her. What a lovely, independent, brave young woman.  (That makes me sound very old.  Which I am.)

Munich is an interesting place.  It isn't a pretty city (maybe I haven't seen enough of it yet) and it is bloody expensive!!! But then again, everything is expensive if you are South African. It is a friendly city though, interesting. So much history. People have been really helpful to us.  

A tip to anyone visiting Munich / Germany - DO NOT JAYWALK! Marko and weren't even here for an hour when we were pulled over by the cops and fined for crossing the road before the green man came on.  I thought Marko was going to have a heart attack!  Eventually I had to tell him to go away because he was getting so cross.  I didn't think it was a great idea to get into a fight with a German cop on day one. He was not a very warm, friendly person. But we were in the wrong and that is that. It was actually amusing, and made me realize how very different the culture is in South Africa compared to Germany.  There is a strong regard for the rules / law here. In SA, not so much. Here in Germany you do not cross the road if the green man isn't on, even if there are no cars coming for miles. You vill not cross ze road!

Side note:  Do other South African's also keep remarking "that would never work in South Africa" when they travel abroad?  We keep seeing things and remarking how that would never work in South Africa. ('Honesty boxes' / Car2Go / leaving keys in the ignition / being fined for jaywalking... :) )

The thing I hate most about travelling (ok, second most - the thing I hate most is being away from my kids!  I miss them terribly :( ) is that I can't eat my usual food.  I am a creature of habit when it comes to food (and may I just say, that is a HUGE understatement. To the point of being decidedly odd) and so not being able to eat my usual food is a little concerning.  I am sure if I had to travel far enough and spend enough, I could come close'ish to what I usually eat, but I have neither the time nor money to do so. So I am stuck eating a lot more carbs / processed food than I usually do. Which doesn't make me feel great.  But anyway, let's not complain.  (BTW, the Germans love their sausage!  Especially a very scary looking white sausage that Marko and I are way too scared to try)

I miss my children terribly. I never feel complete if I am away from them. I miss them so much. Thank goodness for Skype!  And thank goodness for so many people in my 'village' who are taking care of them while I am away. 

But it's all good - I am getting to learn more about the world, about history, about other cultures and countries. And I am getting to spend quality time with the husband.  Which is a good thing.

Auf Wiedersehen from Munich!

Comments

[Sue Harris]

Liam and I have just finished reading a kid's biography of Anne Frank and a graphic novel of her diary. He asked lots of good questions for an 8 year old. I even learnt a lot about the family. Worthwhile reading for Kate and Adam.

[Antoinette Runsey]

Munich is beautiful! When we emigrated from south africa we lived in Munich for a year. Be sure to try and visit garmisch partenkirchen and Rothenburg ob der Tauber (which is on the romantic rd). Eat the white sausage, its the best!!!

[Jazz]

What an experience! One must never forget. Did you go to the little cemetery your mum mentioned?

Those white sausages are scary looking. There is a saying that the sausages should not be allowed to hear the church bells' noon chime and eaten as a snack between brekkie and lunch. Usually because there are no preservatives used and they also will turn a slight grey colour when boiled because there are no nitrates in it. Served with sweet honey and a bretzel. Enjoy!

My fav whenever in Munich is a brekkie coffee, drink or lunch on the terrace of the Reitschule - the riding school. Close to the English Garden for a stroll after.

Is Marco off to the BMW museum while you are at the conference?

If you like art and museums then the Neue Pinakothek Museum is good. There is also the old/Alte and Modern Pinakothek.
Have a great time!

BTW Sunday opening hours don't exist in Germany. And we can also get nabbed in HK for jay walking!

[Nicole]

Hm, you missed out on trying Weisswurst mit suessem Senf - the white sausage with sweet mustard that you mentioned. It is delicious. You must have seen very little of Munich - it is actually a very beautiful city. Interesting situation with the police man. First off, it is VERY unusual to be caught in such a situation. Basically, we Germans cross the roads at the red light all the time - but we do make sure there is no police car around. We also stop in front of the zebra stripes... In terms of the cops, when I compare our German ones with the Northamerican ones, the Northamerican ones are way, way, way scarier. You will not have those orifice searches they do in the US for some minor wrong-doing. In fact, I did not know what orifice searches are until somebody told me in the States. And please don't judge a person by his grumpiness. Yes, Bavarian cops can be very grumpy. But they will remain correct. And they don't wear tazers. And they don't shoot obviously schizophrenic people 8 times in the back in the streetcar and then tazer them after they are dead (happened here in Toronto not a long time ago). And to tell you, had Marco walked away from an US cop, there would have been some consequences. If you are unlucky, you might get arrested in such a situation. Meaning, handcuffed and thrown in jail. Here in Ontario they are having huge discussions that the police has a computer list of incidents where people are not being convicted. Just being involved in certain situations. For example, having being accused of something where the police got involved but later did not get convicted. But now the person is on their list. And then, when this person asks about a police certificate, he won't get cleared because he is on that list. Such things would never happen in Germany. Police here scares me in Northamerica. In Germany, I trust them. I have had many encounters with them working as an internist in ER's. They are good people - but often grumpy...

[Chantal]

Munich is beautiful, the town has stunning old buildings, there's a huge park, etc. and since you're in Bayern you must go to Schloss Neuschwanstein, the most beautiful castle I have visited. Someone mentioned Rothenburg ob der Tauber, I love that place and visited often growing up but not sure how close it is to Munich, we drove from the west of Germany and you're in the east. anyways, the food in Munich is not that great, if you have time drive or take a train to Baden-Wuerttemburg, it's the really beautiful scenic state and has the best food in the whole world, I am gonna be there I. 4 weeks n stuff my face with proper schnitzel n curry wurst n schweinelaende with spaetzle and croquettes and meat salad and tomatoes that taste like sweet tomatoes not South African crap. Go to a supermarket there like Rewe and buy caramel movenpick yoghurt, or any yoghurt just taste it n see the difference from South Africa. I jay walk when I'm in Germany, once it wa at night after a fest and no cars anywhere in sight n the Germans shouted at me "heyyyyy" but wtf it's okay then, just no jay walking if cars around. I once got picked up by German police n drove me home to show ID checking if I was a serial killer Lol.

Enjoy. And make sure to go to a nice Fest while there. And carbs don't count while you're on holiday ;) try a potato bread roll with cold meats n mustard or cheese. that's a Kartoffelbroetchen in the bakery.

I'd move to Germany in a heartbeat if it weren't so cold 9 months out of the year :( I like the order, the rules, the punctuality, not much litter, etc and it's really beautiful. Always lots happening, I live in Durban. It's the dirty armpit of South Africa.

[Evilisa]

Your hubby is still hot.