We Made it to Munich. I mean München.
We did it! A carload of suitcases, months of planning, a 10-hour flight, too many dreams of big Alp-y mountains, and a cab ride later, we arrived to our new little apartment. It's adorably cozy with pretty views, vaulted ceilings, and skylights. And the white walls and open kitchen suit my very San Francisco aesthetic (more on the apartment later). What's important for right now is that we actually love our space which helped create a positive first moment after we swung open the door into what would be our first European address. The place was, thankfully, as precious as the Airbnb photos made it seem.
It might seem like I'm harping on the moment of our arrival. And if I were you, I'd be wondering why. Well, because I had done some sleuthing on Munich before we arrived - Google Street View is really good for that. Europeans take their privacy way more seriously than Americans (more on this later, too), so a lot of the scenery and building are blurred out. But what you can see just isn't very photogenic. Without knowing where to focus the little Google camera - like which streets or what neighborhoods - I zoomed my cursor up and down our street and a few other randoms. It looked so eastern European: Stark. Rigid. Cold. I secretly lamented about this to Dave quietly late at night, hoping that if I said it quiet enough or late enough my nervousness about Munich being u-g-l-y wouldn't be true, or worse, come true. At times, I was nervous we were going to this grim, bleak place and our grand adventure would be a giant, ugly disaster.
Very thankfully, my fears never materialized. Turns out, Munich is beautiful, and while our little street doesn't have the curb appeal of others, the city is quite pretty. It's pretty in a different way than San Francisco, of course. But pretty nonetheless. We've run around a few neighborhoods, taken walks to the market, found a local wine shop. There's a lot more to explore, but from what I've seen so far, I can feel myself falling toward smitten.
In our first few days, I learned what Glühwein is, and that Germans will sit outside to eat and drink in the rain, sleet, and cold. I've seen bicycles used as a real, legitimate source of transportation, not just for the 20 and 30-somethings, but for a much broader demographic. I've seen what a city and its suburbs look like when the community is fiercely (not just culturally, but also regulatorily) committed to local. And if I wasn't swooning enough already, there are solar panels everywhere.
And, perhaps most importantly, I've also learned to pronounce this place correctly, our dearest city of München.*
(*MUUU-nchen)
Top: Our apartment is on the top floor of the white-ish colored building. Left to right: our building (this is what I was afraid of); a pleasant green surprise on the landing going up to our apartment; our entryway with a little flare from home.
