Munich... the way city life should be.

Hello all!  Where to start?  My goal is to record here some of our experiences, musings, and of course pictures, of our year in Munich.  Naturally the first thing we did upon arrival was hit a beer garden, for which Munich is world famous.  Such a civilized way to socialize... great beer, good food (your own, or lots to buy there -- always soft pretzels), tables in the shade of the hickory trees, and the pleasant murmur of many people enjoying themselves.  I think we tested at least five different beer gardens in our first two weeks here.

  I know, it's surprising how much "Apfelschorle" looks like beer eh?  That's what the kids are drinking -- a mixture of apple juice and seltzer.  When it's really hot, like in our first week here, Thomas and I like to have a "Radler" which is half beer half lemonade.  It's amazingly refreshing, but comes only in "Mass" sizes (that's one liter).  Most of the regulars here have at least a Mass of pure beer -- I'm not quite there yet, but maybe soon!

As well as the 24(!) official "Biergarten"'s within city limits, Munich is full of lovely outdoor cafe's and good restaurants with seating along the sidewalks.  You can't walk anywhere without seeing people eating, drinking (an often smoking) at outdoor tables -- there is something very welcoming about all these people chatting over "kaffee und kuchen" as you walk around town.   I'll save my ravings about the bakeries for later!  Yummm.   And the wonderful yogurt and cheese, ahhh.

You can't help but be impressed by the city skyline here, with all the beautiful church steeples and impressive regal architecture.  The best view of downtown is from the the Alte Peter bell tower.  It's over 300 steps, and very narrow (interesting when people are going both directions on the tight stairway) but the sights from the top are well worth it.  (Too bad the city icon, the 2-steepled "Frauenkirche" has one steeple under construction here...)

Finally, besides food, drink and architecture, my description of "the way city life should be" would not be complete without praising the fabulous public transportation system.  The U-Bahn (subway), S-Bahn (commuter rail), tram and bus system in the city and beyond are efficient and easy and really not all that expensive.  I love that you just hop on and off without having to go through turnstiles or barriers, or pay the tram driver.  It's mostly an honor system, with easy ticket machines all over the place -- or monthly passes, as we now have -- although if you are caught without a ticket when the plainclothes "control" come on board, you can end up with a hefty fine.  Although the subway and S-bahn are faster, I mostly love the tram -- so smooth and quiet as it glides through city!
     And the BIKES!!! There are so many, and fun ones too.  I will try to get a picture of these elegant ladies in dresses on their commuter 3-speeds, as well as kids, parents, people in suits, students, everyone!  Really, as a pedestrian you have to keep your eye our more for bikes than cars by far, but the sidewalks are usually split (and marked) for bikes versus pedestrians.  We are in the market for 4 used bikes, so hopefully we will join them all soon.  There are really some lovely bike paths along the river (the Isar) and all through the city.   And you see lots of them on the commuter trains out to the Alps and everywhere.   More about the Alps coming soon...