Lazy days in Munich
We are coming up to almost two weeks in Munich and have settled into a delightfully relaxed pace of life here. There have been lots of long walks in the surrounding forests:
I have to confess, I've spent a lot of our time walking in the forest looking for bunnies - doesn't this look just like a Disney forest that should be full of bunnies?? So far, no dice...
Ahhh - peaceful by the water... about two minutes after this pic a big, black dog bounded into the water chasing a tennis ball and proceeded to leap out and shake himself all over Phil and I... I absolutely loved it, of course. Phil was slightly more perturbed.
Some Barvarian Tradition
Despite now having spent several weeks in Germany, I realised that I had not yet set foot in a pub - a truly disgraceful oversight. So to remedy that, we headed to the local Biergarten - the Forsthaus Kasten in case you're ever in the area - they also have an amazing hunter's style restaurant with wild boar and venison stew - yummmm.
It was a little quiet given it's just clicked over to Spring and still a little chilly in the late afternoon.
Just a little bit empty... Makes one feel like a bit of a lush being the only person in the pub!
But we got over it...
The birds aka Swan Lake
One of the more memorable walks was along the Isar river from Munich zoo to the city centre. It's about a 6km walk, which Phil spruiked by promising "f&cktons of swans" along the river. And I do love a swan... So along we went, and it more than delivered. Look at all the swans!!
And they were curious swans too - this one got a little too close for comfort... I said "hello pretty swan" and it was all "I'm coming to eat you!!" - aargghhh:
It was more menacing that it looks - just trust me on this one!!
As you can (sorta) see, it was a gorgeous day. The first really sunny day of our time in Munich -16 degrees - and it was a pleasure to bask in. Notwithstanding, I was a bit surprised to see people out sunbaking on the shore.
Even more surprised to find quite a few German pensioners sunbaking nude on the shore!! Cmon people, it's 16 degrees, I really don't think it's lets-get-our-kit-off-asap weather!! I have no photos of the nudists - shame, huh? But here are some of the sunbathing folk and the beautiful river:
It was my ideal kind of walk - heaps of people out walking their dogs (at 11am on a Wednesday - doesn't anybody work??), gorgeous, albeit slightly over-enthused swans and beautiful scenery.
We had intended to walk into the city centre and go to museum of modern art because it's free on Wednesday, but whilst we made it into town, we spent so long walking around the gorgeous city centre, we didn't make it... Ah well, maybe next Wednesday!
The bee aka Building a School
The working "bee" portion of this post was our day of volunteering yesterday. I've mentioned previously that one of my goals for this trip is to eschew goals - try and live a little more in the moment.
However, there are some underpinning aims, including volunteering when the opportunity arises. So when Phil's dad, Klaus told us that he's been working (as a volunteer) on construction projects at a new-ish Rudolf Steiner school for quite a while now, I offered our services at the working bee held on Saturday.
It will not shock you to know that I possess no secret talent for construction work. But I have done a bunch of house renos over the years, and I really enjoy doing it from time to time. So come Saturday morning, Phil and I got all kitted up in borrowed clothes from Klaus and got stuck into a day of sanding and refurbishing some furniture for the kindergarten and the canteen:
Phil hard at work...
It was a really fun day, and we - together with a group of volunteer parents - were quite productive! A fence was built and all the kinder kids will have good-as-new desks on Monday.
Of course, there's always a few volunteer parents who don't 100% get with the program. Especially the couple who thought it was a good idea to bring their toddlers to a construction site and then let them run around carrying adult sized shovels, pointed at their faces, on their unstable little legs. The safety lawyer in me spent some tense moments thinking "no, no, no, no, no..." but it was all good in the end.
The school itself is truly incredible - all the classroom interiors are fitted out with handmade timber including desks, chairs, bag racks - there is not a plastic desk or chair in sight! They have kitchens built by the volunteers in many of the classrooms and the site also includes housing for multiple generations of families.
These are definitely a lucky bunch of kids... just shows what dedication can achieve. Plus I got to have some fun with the power sander...
What's next?
With all of this intense winding down, we've allowed ourselves to get a bit vague about our upcoming plans...
We are keen to get on some bikes and take advantage of the great weather and longer rides in the area. Since I survived cross-country skiing, this should be a breeze!
Plus, it's Phil's birthday in just over a week, so there's some planning to be done... Since I can't decide what to plan, go to the blog site to vote on Phil's birthday celebrations...
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