T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
Julie 
It has been so eerily quiet around this blog for the last couple weeks; I blame the fact that I’ve been spending all my time getting ready for this, my next group art show in Munich. You (and everyone you know) are invited to join me Tuesday evening (13 March) at 7pm for the opening. … Read more
On a recent sunny weekend, we headed south for some mountainy winter fun (it’s the best kind of winter fun, after all).
Our adventure started in Garmisch, where we bundled up in our warmest hiking gear and walked to the Partnach Gorge (Partnachklamm).
The best part about the crazy cold spell we’ve been having is all the natural ice skating opportunities that came with it.
So much frozen water, just begging me to glide around on top of it. How could I say no?
Read moreMunich: ice skating in the English Garden and other fun places
A typical ski day for a Münchner starts with a painfully early wake up. Well before dawn, you toss on your ski clothes and haul your gear to the ski bus, or if you’re lucky, the car. Grab some coffee and a pretzel from your nearest bakery (the only thing open at this predawn hour) and hit the road.
And now for something completely different.
Tiring of our glamorous European lifestyle, we decided to hop across the pond for Christmas in the Deep South. It’s possible that our decision was swayed by the generous invitation of my parents to join them there, but in the end we found Charleston to be a most pleasant place to spend a few days (lack of appropriate Christmas weather notwithstanding).
Ever since we did the flying fox across Munich’s Olympic Stadium, I’ve wanted to do another zip line. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s got all of the outdoorsy fun of an adventure sport without any of that pesky physical exertion.
Ah, here we are back in Germany after spending the holidays in the US. We’ve made the transatlantic journey dozens of times by now, and while I still dread the long flights, at least I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with jet lag (although people who have repeatedly watched me fall asleep in my first-night-in-the-US dinner might disagree). Given that I’ve never been good with sleep deprivation (even in college I couldn’t swing all-nighters), I’m feeling rather accomplished.
There are many approaches to jet lag, but mine is a simple one: you need to be overtired going into your first night in the new time zone. That way, when you finally fall into bed, you’ll sleep for a a good solid night and wake up at a reasonable time the next morning. After that first night, you’re most of the way home.
Traveling from Europe to the US
When in doubt, go to Italy for the weekend. The Dolomites are just a few hours away from Munich by car, so you really have no excuse not to. Last weekend we set out for Brunico (Bruneck in German), a small town in the Puster Valley. Normally the drive should have taken less than three hours, but thanks to the weather it was closer to four. I didn’t mind at all, given the snowy paradise that presented itself upon our arrival.
It’s time for my annual I-love-Christmas-in-Germany post. The Christmas markets opened last week, looking much as they do every year. I’ve noticed a couple new stands here and there, but for the most part everything is in its place. Now if we could just have some snow to make them even cuter, I’d be in heaven.
I’ve written several posts about the markets over the years, such as this one about the best Munich Christmas markets for pretty much everything (or you could just view all my posts about Christmas markets). One stop I haven’t talked about yet (but is worth a mention) is the Alpen Wahn, a cozy little stand outside Der Pschorr serving red and white glühwein until 11pm each night (which is later than most of the other markets are open). Look for it at the north end of the Schrannenhalle, just off the Viktualienmarkt.
Recently I had the opportunity to go on a press trip with Creative Tourism Austria. We spent the first day in the lovely little town of Schlierbach. I am pretty familiar with the Alpy part of Austria, and the Viennese part of Austria, but I think this was my first visit to the gently-hilly part of Upper Austria. We were assured that the landscapes and views are lovely in this part of the world, but alas, heavy fog kept us from enjoying them with our own eyes. No matter, as we found plenty to do indoors at Stift Schlierbach, a monastery full of activities that don’t require the least bit of chastity or charity.