Music and Munich

As soon as we’d been in Munich long enough to get our bearings, we noticed these posters everywhere: 

Supposedly your €15 ticket would get you access to 400 concerts in venues around the city. It seemed too good to be true, but we decided to give it a go.

There were three different routes you could follow, complete with shuttle bus stops, or you could make your own way to see whichever bands or types of music you wanted. 

We were lucky to have several venues in our own neighborhood, so we wandered from café to restaurant sampling bands doing covers from the 50s and 60s, the 90s, playing salsa, and singing chants to African drumming.

 It’s good to know Munich's musical legacy
for my generation of non-Germans doesn't
start and end with Milli Vanilli!

It was a fun night and an eye-opener to how much Munich loves music. Not surprisingly, music's prominence in Munich--like so many things--originated with the Wittelsbach family. 

The Wittelsbachs were important patrons of music, not just for its entertainment value, but because it added to their personal prestige and helped boost outsiders’ views on Munich.

It's hard to look at the city now and see it as the provincial back-water it was considered to be in its distant past. Particularly in light of some now-familiar names contributing to its reputation:

• Mozart wrote a piece for the palace orchestra, but was not offered the position as court composer, and moved on to Vienna.

• Richard Wagner was a favorite of Ludwig II. Four of Wagner's operas premiered in Munich.

• Richard Strauss, a Munich native, gave up philosophy and art studies to become a composer. He enjoyed a stint as musical director of the Munich Court Opera.

In terms of style, there’s quite a difference between what Munich residents experienced centuries ago, and what we experienced last month during the Long Night of Music.

My personal preferences, for example, are all over the map. I'm a fan of most popular music, select country artists, hard rock but not most metal, and love a good cheesy ballad.In terms of more "highbrow" musical entertainment, I also have my particular classical music likes and dislikes. 

So with my buffet style of music appreciation, I've been surprised to realize that I have not yet met an opera I didn’t like. To me, opera is the perfect blend of pomp, precision, and musical poetry. That's why I was intrigued to see an event on the Munich city calendar called Oper für alle. 

Opera for All begins each year with a free open-air concert on the plaza in front of the Nationaltheater, home to the Bavarian State Opera (founded in 1653). The event is part of an effort to inspire a love of the arts in everyone.

I attended the concert Saturday night, which began with the Bavarian youth symphony, followed by the state symphony and an accompanying singer. Listening to the music and trilling arias fill the air and echo off the historic buildings and cobblestone of the plaza was like traveling back in time.

So how do you follow up such a great experience? With an annual Opera Festival, which includes opera, concert, and ballet performances. This year the event will feature 17 operas in 6 weeks!

I've been scanning the schedule for possibilities, and may even be able to convince Larry to join me. With a mix of song and dance, both old and new, there should be something we both can appreciate.

From contemporary to canon and back again. Ah, the musical magic of Munich…

Happy Birthday, Munich!

Every year, Münchner celebrate the first documented mention of Munich (1158) as its founding date. That makes Munich 859 years old this year!

Here’s a taste of how the city celebrated its birthday this past weekend:

Getting things ready for the opening ceremony on Marienplatz,in front of the old city hall building

Like with most celebrations in
Munich, there was plenty of
traditional clothing on hand.

As well as a different type of festive, like
the costumes of these stilt-walkers

No, city hall wasn't on fire.
That smoke was from the cannon
volley between this tower and
a church tower across the square.
 Loud, but cool!

The mayor, flanked by traditional guards and backed by the
Munich brass band, gave opening remarks.

There were performance stages and craft vendors in different
spots around the city. This little enclave on the plaza in
front of Theatiner church was a bit different...

...It featured masters and apprentices for various types of hand work.
These two were roofers, working with slate tiles. There were also
chimney workers, glass makers, woodworkers, metal craftsmen, and more.

It may not have been as wild as
this infamous Munich birthday party,
but it was definitely a fun day!

Shameless Self-Promotion: ExpatFinder Interview & Additional Thoughts

A few weeks ago, ExpatFinder contacted me to answer some questions about living in Germany. Their website is a resource for practical guidance on making a life for yourself overseas, so their questions were a mix of pragmatic and personal.

(Once you get past my massive headshot, you can read my ExpatFinder interview here.)

Afterwards, I thought about other questions in that second vein—the types of questions I sometimes get from other non-natives, as well as Germans, about living here.

So, I decided to ask and answer them below, with the same caveat I’d apply to many of my interview answers: always subject to evolution!

🌟 What do you do / How do you spend your time?

This question pops up a lot, and I’ve grown to loathe it. It’s only slightly mitigated when preceded by “Do you have a job here?”

This is how I feel when
I hear any variant of this
question these days...

It’s complicated. No, I don’t work in an office. Do I have a job? Yes, like any other Hausfrau / stay-at-home partner / trailing spouse—pick your phrase—I’m responsible for holding it all together.

That means managing the house—organizing, cleaning, shopping, cooking, and entertaining; managing the budget, including paying the bills and filing taxes both here and in the U.S., and navigating the everyday in another language—correspondence, signs, transportation announcements, product ingredients, appointments, phone calls, deliveries, etc.

It means studying key phrases before heading out the door to accomplish a new task or visit someplace I haven’t been before, and feeling silly but still celebrating when I make it through a task without stumbling.

It’s not glamorous or romantic, but it’s my reality of living abroad.

Luckily, I’m able to counter that with time spent exploring, for my personal enrichment and for this blog. I also continue to write fiction about worlds and circumstances far removed from this one.

And I do the other mundane things I would have done to relax at home: reading, walking in the park, watching TV (Netflix or other streaming content, though. German TV is not great.)

In my long-winded way, I’m trying to say that what I do over here is live. And it’s not always quaint or magical or cosmopolitan. But I’m enjoying finding the balance between commonplace and incomparable experiences.

🌟 What are the things you miss most about the U.S.?

Friends and family, for sure. If I could bring them along and we could travel the world in our own goofy enclave, I’d be happy wherever I landed. Beyond that, it’d be food. Or, more accurately, the highly convenient and over-processed food products in which the U.S. specializes. Bisquick, Cheetos, Steak-umms, tater tots…

🌟 What’s the most frustrating thing about living abroad?

Hmm, this changes based on the situation or my mood—there’s not one overarching, consistent pain point other than my lack of fluency. But to be fair, that would apply to any non-English-speaking situation for me. If I had a superpower, forget gadgets or super strength: I’d want the ability to communicate in every language on (and maybe off) the planet!

🌟 Which is better, living in the U.S. or Germany?

There’s no comparison. Literally. It’s like trying to determine the value of an apple versus a zebra. There are things I like and dislike about both, but I would never proclaim that one is better—either for me or for people in general—because everyone’s perception and needs are different and inconstant.

🌟 What would you do differently?

Expand our timeframe for moving here. Knowing what we now know, I’d have stayed in San Francisco a month or two longer, moved with the cats into an Airbnb or long-term hotel, and given myself more time to process all their paperwork, better cull/organize the things we would be leaving behind, and earn a bit of second income to help offset those initial relocation costs.

On my recent trip to Ulm,
birthplace of Albert Einstein

🌟 Do you have any regrets?

Absolutely not. I would not trade this experience—the good or the bad of it—for anything.

🌟Other general tips for expats?

• Make a calendar of local holidays. Bavaria is largely Catholic, so they have a lot more holidays down here than we had up in Hamburg. That’s critical to know when stores close on holidays and Sundays! 

         (Also note that Germany does Daylight Savings Time on a different schedule than the  U.S., which is                  important to note when you’re, say, coordinating an online chat with friends or making a call to folks                    stateside.)

• Make a note of important deadlines (e.g., bills and taxes) and make sure you meet or exceed them. Grace periods here are neither as prevalent nor as forgiving.

• Keep your documents in an easy-to-reach spot. I can’t even count the number of times I have had to provide identification, residency, or work permit information for one random thing or another.

• Scan to save space. Related to the above tip, I keep scans of all crucial documents on my computer for easy access. I have also started scanning other paperwork to have for future reference without having to keep binders full of correspondence and statements that German companies so love to send out.

Anything else you’re curious about? Send me questions and I’ll answer them in future posts!

Who and How We Remember

A couple of weeks ago I visited the Bavaria statue. My primary goal was to see the statue--a representation of the strength and glory of Bavaria--and the area she surveyed.

My secondary goal was to climb the statue herself. That's right, you can actually wind yourself up inside this 61-foot massive bronze monument to peep out tiny openings in the top. Amazing!

View from the inside

View looking out one of the small openings

Behind Bavaria, up on a hill, sits the open-air Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame), with three wings of busts mounted on the walls. I climbed the stairs to the display, expecting to find Bavarian royalty or political figures.

Each bust had the person’s name and occupation, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the people represented were painters and poets, musicians and writers, scientists and researchers. In short, it was a monument to intellectual and creative excellence.

The hall also included panels noting the people whose
busts were destroyed during World War II bombings.

The hall, along with the statue, was built in the 1800s by order of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. There are obvious recent additions; the tradition of honoring Bavarian contributors to politics, science, and the arts resumed in 1966.

Although in my quick perusal I didn’t see names I recognized, I was appreciative of how these people were being remembered for their role in society. 

Usually we see monuments to political leaders and soldiers, and plaques or museum displays for other "notable" citizens. It was heartening to see an expanded pantheon of achievement.

Now to be fair, the Ruhmeshalle is not part of modern downtown Munich. It's not near the chief visitor sites, or part of one of the many clusters of museums. 

But with so much focus these days on larger-than-life world leaders and "me and mine," it was nice to be reminded--to see in one place--evidence of everyday people who brought into this world beauty and innovation and solutions to benefit the greater good.

Munich: Around Town

When I'm out running errands or on my way somewhere, I'm always looking around to note landmarks, architecture, and interesting everyday sights that give me a sense of the city.

Here are a few from my first couple of months here in Munich...

Transportation

I'm not sure what this is, but I love it.

Munich loves its bikes! 

I saw these wooden

versions outside a

funky store downtown.

Seen from my apartment window:
a blimp advertising the city's
official website. This thing seemed to
appear everywhere I went
over the next couple of days.

Airline ad seen on the side of a tram. "Make America cheap again."

 Weather

April 18, 2017. Two weeks before this picture, we had temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s. Welcome to Munich!

May 28, 2017. Surfers in the English Garden. I don't know how cool the water was, but the air temperature was,
and continues to be, in the mid- to upper-80s. I guess summer is officially here.

Sights

View of the old town hall and part of downtown.

View out over the Isar River.

The Bavaria Statue. Turns out you can climb up to the top, inside the statue itself.
It was neat to get that perspective, but it gets very warm in there!

I wanted to climb this installation, "Umschreibung,"
in the courtyard of a business complex,
but the stairs were blocked off.

Every park should have a giant gastropod statue in front of it! 😏

Or a cool massive ring,
reminding us of the interconnectedness
of everything (or so I assume).

Food 

Just in case you have a group of picky eaters,
this place serves Indian, Thai, and Italian. Done!

I'm continually amazed at food and other
items that are labeled "American."
Like this "American" pastry.
(That's its name.)
It's a cross between a cookie and cake.
Unfortunately, we do not have
an equivalent to the "American"
in America.

Probing Munich’s Past, Part II

One thing I love about places with medieval history are physical remnants of the past. In many German cities, those remnants include walls and/or gates.

Map of medieval Munich with its fortifications.

Munich is no exception. Three of the four large towers from the city’s old fortifications stand, allowing a real-world glimpse into the size of the historic city center and the impressive skill used to protect it.

Munich’s first wall was built sometime in the 1100s. The remaining towers are remnants of the “new” city wall built from the late 1200s to the mid-1300s.

Its location and affluence would have made Munich a tempting target, but in the face of a siege by a Swedish army during the Thirty Years’ War, the residents opened the gates and let the invaders in rather than risk destruction of their beloved town.

Today, Münchner are no less proud. In fact, the city has apparently had centuries of a popularity “problem.” The wall surrounding Munich was torn down way back in 1791 to accommodate the growing population!

With around 1.5 million residents, Munich is Germany’s third-largest city. But its compact core gives it a town-like feel that probably helps feed its devotion to tradition.

Sendlinger Tor is believed to be the city's oldest, built in 1318 to boost trade between Bavaria and Italy.
(See? And you thought my post last week was only about random sightseeing... ;)

Isartor was built in 1337, and is the only Munich gate that still has its middle main tower.
The frescos you see above the archways were created in 1835.

Karlstor was named after elector Karl Theodor, who was responsible for the removal of the city wall
in the face of Munich's steady expansion.

Travels by Train: Venice

Among the many appealing aspects of Munich is its proximity to other great German cities and European countries. Before we even moved here, I vowed to take full advantage of this, given how easy and affordable it is to travel by train (and the fact that we had planned to take regular trips in Hamburg and only did so near the end of our stay there).

Last year, I met up with a friend and former colleague for a day in the Netherlands. 

This year, when she said she'd be attending an event in Venice, I heartily agreed to meet her there for a few days. 

I've been to Rome, Cinque Terre, and Rimini, but Venice has been lingering on my bucket list for a while.

Maybe it's all that water, but Venice was instantly soothing. For the first time, I was perfectly content to wander and get lost in a strange city. 

I hit the main tourist spots, but was also inspired by the history and stories provided by my city walking tour guide.

St. Mark's Basilica

Interior of the Doge's Palace. The doges were nobility that ruled the Republic of Venice for a millennium.

View out over the city from the Campanile, which originally served as the city's watchtower/lighthouse.

With views like this, maybe there's hope for me to take in all of this European history after all!

One of the jokes about Munich is that it's the "northernmost city in Italy," and it's true that you'll hear Ciao more frequently than Tschüβ.

Traveling through the Alps into Austria and Italy was more a matter of changing landscapes than lands. Signs were in German and Italian, and one man near me on the train kept switching between German and Italian in his phone conversation with his daughter. 

Each of my adventures peaks my interest in learning more about the connections and converging histories of the places around me, so I'm going to take my time and enjoy connecting the dots!