Most of my German Dreams Came True in Munich

Last weekend I went to Munich with 3 goals in mind. First, to see the Christmas markets. Second, to try currywurst and leberkase. Third, to drink a German beer.

There is still no snow in Ljubljana, but Austria has plenty. This is a terrible picture because it does not show how beautiful the scenery was. We went to Munich by car. Basically, we went online to a website where you can hitch-hike. Someone with a car is going on a trip, and you offer to split the gas money for a ride. We rode with a German man who works in Croatia and must drive from Zagreb to Munich twice a week. By car the trip was 4.5 hours.

We rode in a fairly new Audi, and thus were stopped by the police. If the police see a nice car with a foreign license plate coming out of former Yugoslavia, they will pull over the driver. Sybil, Ivan and I were waiting to get back in the car.

Sybil studied in Munich last semester, so we were able to stay in the dorms with her friend. The dorm had community mattresses that students can use when friends visit. The three of us (Sybil, Ivan and I) slept on two mattresses on the floor. We were actually quite comfortable. Our first night in Munich we visited the University. This picture is in the main hall, where all the students are protesting. Most of the other Universities in Germany do not charge tuition. Munich recently started charging 500EUR per year. The students refuse to allow classes to take place in the main auditorium until tuition charges are abolished.

The University of Munich takes protesting very seriously. This is a monument to the students of the 'White Rose' underground organization. They were a group of several students and teachers who anonymously printed flyers protesting the Nazi regime. Eventually, they were discovered and later beheaded. Their flyers have been written in stone on the pavement.

Ivanna (with whom we stayed), Ivan and I enjoying cook wine, a German christmas tradition.

New Town square at night.

Entrance to the Christmas markets.

After a night of wandering the christmas markets in the cold, we stopped at the most famous beer house in Munich. This is suckling pig with dumplings. Good hearty German food.

The inside of the beer house.

The next morning we went in search of more christmas markets.

I found currywurst!! (Not all it's cracked up to be!!)

One of the largest parks in Munich is the English Garden. It was designed in the 1800's to model after English gardens. A man made stream flows throughout the garden. The area where the water is pumped into the stream has become a popular SURFING hangout. It was really amazing to see.

Another monument to the students of the 'White Rose' outside German Parliment. They are pretty much the heroes of Munich.

German Parliment.

Old Town Square

More of the Christmas markets.

As the sun went down, we headed to BMW headquarters. Apparently, Santa drives a BMW.

Inside the BMW museum.

Near to the BMW headquarters, we visited the site of the 1972 Olympics. The Olympic games most remembered for the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes. Most of the grounds were closed for renovation, as they are turning the park into a fitness training facility.

After all this, we returned home to meet with Ivanna. She works at the Munich airport and wasn't able to sight-see with us. She had a hard day at work and we decided to make some more cook wine.

Before our mad dash to the train station, we stopped at Subway. There are no Subways in Slovenia. . and I was really excited.

After eating Subway and sipping Starbucks, we headed back to Ljbuljana via train. We passed through Austria again. . only to find more snow.

Sybil and Ivan checking out the dining car.

German trains are really nice. This is a first class car.

So, while in Munich I achieved most of my goals. I saw many Christmas markets, I ate currywurst and I drank a German beer. I didn't ever get around to trying leberkase, but I'm going to visit Jan in Hamburg in February. I sent out a few post cards, so if you receive one it will probably be a re-run of all the info just discussed. I'm really excited for Christmas now though!! Christmas markets, Christmas music, sugar coated toasted almonds. . etc. Only 12 days until I'm back in the US!

I love drugs (the perfectly legal non-perscription kind)

Yesterday was a very sad day indeed. I took my last tablet of loratodine (allergy med) and said a little prayer. For it seems that the further I am from the US, the further my allergies amplify. Whilst in the Czech Republic, I had such a cough that my friends referred to it as 'the plague.' Upon returning home, my doctor informed me the cough was due to allergies left untreated.

My allergies have redoubled as a result of my being abroad, and the cough returns when I forget a day of allergy meds. Having miscalculated the number of pills needed before leaving the US, I had run out. Today, I gathered my dictionary translations for itch, cough and sneeze and I made my way to the Lekarna (Pharmacy).

I explained (in Slovene) that I have allergies and that I had run out of medicine. The woman asked me what my allergies were (I really have no idea) so I told her dust and pollen. Low and behold she offered me CLARITIN!! Oh how my heart sang! The very drug I was after (although I always buy the generic kind) is available in Slovenia!!

The strangest part of my tale, is that Claritin is CHEAPER in SLOVENIA than in the UNITED STATES. I paid something like $12 for 20 tablets. In the states, this would cost me at least $25.

As explained in my previous blog about the Czech Republic, Europeans have a different relationship with over-the-counter medications than we in the states have. You cannot simply walk into a Lekarna, pluck the drug of your choice from the shelf, pay and leave. You must discuss with the clerk what your symptoms are, and they recommend something for you. All the medicines are kept behind the counter. I took a picture to demonstrate.

P.S. I know I just wrote an entire blog about Claritin. . but this excites me so!

Hvaladajedan (Thanksgiving)

It all started with an oven. The oven in my flat is broken beyond repair. The owner will need to replace it. Without an oven, I didn't have a place to bake a Thanksgiving turkey. My friend Josh offered to bring his oven to my flat. While my flat has a very large kitchen, it has virtually no dining room. In addition, two of my roommates sleep in the living room. There wasn't much room to work with.

We ended up going to Josh's house. His oven was not much larger than a microwave. We were only able to cook one dish at a time.

I made a pumpkin pie!! Some missionary friends had recently been in Germany, and were able to buy a can of pumpkin from an army base. I had to buy a type of filio dough and make a pie-ish shape. BEFORE PICTURE.

AFTER PICTURE - They don't have condensed milk here, so I had to use coffee creamer. Coffee creamer is not as thick as condensed milk, so the pie was a little less solid than normal. It tasted normal.

The missionaries also smuggled in Stove Top and cranberry jelly. We added chestnuts, carrots and mushrooms to our stuffing. It was really good!

THE TURKEY. I couldn't find a whole turkey, so I purchased half a turkey breast. Half a turkey breast was 6 lbs. I can't imagine the size of the Turkey it came from.

Josh was the mastermind behind most of the actual cooking. Here he is being a freak and "carving" the turkey.

All in all, we had greenbean casserole, mashed potatos, jellied cranberry, turkey, pumpkin pie and stuffing.

Mathilde observing the damage.

Marta, Josh and Tasha.

Anna and Miljan enjoying their first Thanksgiving.

Miljan, Mathilde and Tasha.

It doesn't really feel like Thanksgiving because no one else is celebrating. I went to school today, and I must go back tomorrow. UGH!! Europe sucks during the Holidays!! I just need to remember that I only have 25 days left until I come home for Christmas!!

A touchy subject

It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something. - Don Cheadle (Crash)

Articles about foreign cultures seem to always reference the differences in personal space preferences. It makes perfect sense that countries with a condensed population would have a smaller "bubble." People cram into busses, trams and taxis. In rush hour, you must wade through the crowd just to get down the street. What the articles fail to mention however, is the increased amount of intentional touching.

I am not a 'touchy-feely' person, so to speak. I've never even had a massage, because I feel awkward having a complete stranger touching me. I may not be the best case study, but the difference in amount of physical contact here is drastic.

For example, Miljan's family came to visit. We were all standing around talking, and his father put his arm around me. Something like only my father would do back in the states. He left the arm there for several minutes. He didn't intend to cause any harm, he just wanted me to feel comfortable. To the family, it was totally normal. To me, it was absolutely weird.

In class today we talked about kissing as a greeting. In France, the first time you meet someone; it is common to kiss them on both cheeks. The first time you meet someone! I have a few French friends here, and every time we meet, we must kiss on each cheek. I think back to my physical interactions in the states. I think I could go for weeks without touching anyone, unless my mother demands a hug. Think about it, we go to work, and unless you work in a field like medicine, where touching is mandatory, you don't really have to interact.

I don't have a spouse, so I wake up by myself. I drive to school by myself. I sit next to other students. I go to lunch with friends. I drive home or to work. I watch television, do homework or take calls at work. Again, no touching taking place. Even in social gatherings or parties, we get drinks and we sit across the table from one another. Really think about it, how many physical interactions do you have per day? Per week?

In Slovenia, I still don't have spouse, so again I wake up alone. But I go to school and I sit next to my friends Adel and Juliana. We are always touching. If they have a funny story, they put their hand on my back, or slap my knee to enhance a punch line. Almost every day when I come home, Miljan gives me a hug and asks me how my day was. If we have a party, or we go to a bar, everyone must kiss everyone upon introduction. Throughout the pub, people are putting their arms around one another, dancing closely and usually kissing.

I still wouldn't call myself a 'touchy-feely' person. I'm finding touching less awkward, but I do not feel the need to initiate such actions. I'm not sure yet if this is something I will miss when I get home. We shall see.

Spelunking and Korean Night

Well, I was a busy lady this weekend. On Friday, my class took a trip to the Skokjan Caves, which contain one of the world's largest underground canyons. The enviornment there totally reminded me of Lord of the Rings. . .

This is a picture taken outside of the caves. There's a huge waterfall where the river empties into the cave. The river is called the Reka Reka (River River). Pretty brilliant. I took this picture, but the following pictures are not mine. No photography was allowed inside the caves. . and my camera didn't get a good picture with such low light anyway!

Underground river mirroring the stalactites and stalagmites.

Sweet bridge like the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm!! A friend of mine kept chanting "You shall not pass!! Fly you fools!" haha (Lord of the Rings reference).

Another pic of the same bridge.

On the tour you walk around the top of the canyon and look down into the river.

Then we went to this church. It was built in the 1400's and never modernized.

Stone wall around the church.

One of the frescos in the church. The dance of the dead, showing that we are all equal in death. There was a child, a beggar, a businessman, a nobleman, the queen, the king and the pope.

These three lovely Korean ladies (Jisooh, Sanghyun & Sungho + Euna (not pictured)) made us a huge Korean dinner.

They made korean style sushi with ham, egg, tuna, cucumber etc. . sooo good!

Sanghyun & Sungho

They also made some spicy korean ramen. (Miljan & Sungho)

Everyone enjoying the dinner party. (Simon, Miljan, Mathilde, Cecil & Ana)

After the party, every dish in our flat was dirty. Today after 3 loads in the dishwasher. . I finally finished cleaning it all up! (Marta, Jisooh & me)