Singing is my job this month

Or maybe I should title this post "The crazy Munich Bach Choir schedule for December".   I love singing, but if I had more responsibilities here than a household and family, this would be impossible!

Here is our rehearsal and concert schedule for the month:

So	25.11.12	10:00-17:00	MHS Raum 144	Bach Magnificat	Albrecht/Soller
Mo	26.11.12	19:00-21:30	MHS	Weihnachtslieder	Albrecht/Kofler
Mi	28.11.12	19:00-21:30	RSS	Weihnachtslieder	Albrecht/Kofler
Sa	01.12.12	10:00-15:00	MHS	Weihnachtslieder	Albrecht
So	02.12.12	14:00-19:00	MS Klinik und Aufkirchen	KONZERT Weihnachtslieder und Weihnachtsessen	Albrecht
Mo	03.12.12	19:00-21:30	MHS	Bach Magnificat	Albrecht/Kofler
Mi	05.12.12	19:00-21:30	RSS	Bach Magnificat	Albrecht/Kofler
Do	06.12.12	16:45-19:00	St. Markus	HP Magnifikat	Albrecht
Do	06.12.12	20:00-21:30	St. Markus	AKADEMIE KONZERT MAGNIFIKAT	Albrecht
Sa	08.12.12	09:40-13:00	Kulturhaus Pullach	GP Bach Magnificat	Albrecht
Sa	08.12.12	19:15-22:30	Kulturhaus Pullach	KONZERT Bach Magnificat	Albrecht
So	09.12.12	09:15-14:30	Pullach	CD-Aufnahme Magnificat, Nachaufnahme	Albrecht
Mo	10.12.12	19:00-21:30	MHS	Bach WO	Albrecht/Kofler
Mi	12.12.12	19:00-21:30	RSS	Bach WO	Albrecht/Kofler
Mo	17.12.12	19:30-22:00	St. Michael	GP Weihnachtslieder	Albrecht
Di	18.12.12	19:00-21:30	MHS, Raum 33	Bach WO und WL	Albrecht/Kofler
Mi	19.12.12		St. Michael	KONZERT Weihnachtslieder	Albrecht
Sa	22.12.12	09:40-13:00	Carl-Orff Saal Gasteig	HP Bach WO	Albrecht
Sa	22.12.12	14:30-17:30	Chorprobensaal Philharmonie	GP Bach WO	Albrecht
So	23.12.12	13:00	Philharmonie	KONZERT Bach Weihnachtsoratorium	Albrecht

Check out the number of Saturday (Sa) and Sunday (So) all-day rehearsals!  In case you're thinking of coming to a concert ;-) here is the English site for the concert schedule.

[If you're interested:  HP means Hauptprobe and GP means Generalproble, essentially both dress rehearsals, although I think for the GP he's not supposed to stop and "fix things" (but he does).  WO is short for the Weihnachtsoratorium i.e. Bach Christmas Oratorio.]

Part of the craziness is apparently the project to record a CD of Bach's Magnificat, which was originally to happen in the spring, somehow got moved into December (the weekend of the 8th and 9th).  So our director (Herr Direktor Albrecht) has been ultra picky about the Magnificat.  During rehearsals for that, he stops us every half-bar, I swear.  He's good at getting subtle shading and nuances, but sometimes I can't tell the difference from when he's happy versus not happy with a section (and neither can my neighbors... it's not just me).  Some of the altos have been keeping track of the number of times he'll restart the same measure, and I think the highest was 8 times -- but the average is something like 3 or 4 stops for every time we "start" singing...  But we do sound good!

 During these Magnificat rehearsals I'm reminded strongly of my friend Sheldon B.'s joke (during a Peter F. rehearsal many years ago):  chorus interruptus...

OK, on that note, I should get back to practicing the Christmas songs (Weihnachtslieder) which the rest of the group knows so well, but for which I need to practice getting my mouth around all the German.

Thanksgiving celebrations

Thanksgiving!  We celebrated twice, actually, despite my initial worries over the functionality of my new kitchen.

Since neither Thursday nor Friday were holidays here, of course, we decided to feast on Saturday and invite some of the kids' friends from school (who have never experienced a Thanksgiving dinner  -- we thought it might be fun for both our kids and their friends to try...)

 First, however, on the actual T-day, I decided I needed to try out the pumpkins and my new spring-form pie pan, so I cooked up the pumpkin in the morning, made a pie, and surprised Julia (who loves pumpkin pie) that evening.  I also stuck some chicken and potatoes in the oven for dinner so it smelled like Thanksgiving.  With about two hours notice, we spontaneously invited our upstairs neighbors and also Annalena (Thomas's goddaughter, who's a student here) for dessert.  The pie turned out well, and it felt great to celebrate a mini-Thanksgiving with new friends.

Panida and Sylvain, from the D.C. area of Maryland (but originally from Thailand and Montreal, Canada respectively) join us with their son Sebastian (not in the picture).  Annalena is smiling in the foreground -- she's never had pumpkin pie!

But, the big day was Saturday, and I needed to prepare to feed 8 people, three of whom I hardly knew or had never met.
Here I am on Friday out to search for butternut squash and another pumpkin (and therefore wearing my new hiking pack, which is the easiest way for me to carry heavy groceries)

Success!  Of course, almost everything is available at the Victualienmarkt ("Victuals market") downtown.

 By noon the next day the pumpkin was a pie, and the squash was roasted.

 There had been "some concern" in our household during the previous few weeks over a turkey... they are not common here at all.   A fresh turkey here must be specially ordered at a butchery, and when I had asked about one a few weeks previously they told me 11 Euro per kg(!), and that the turkeys are usually about 7 kg.  With some currency conversion, that turns out to be a $100 bird...   So I didn't order a fresh one then. 
   After bumping into a American woman at my gym, I found I could also order a fresh turkey for 7 Euro/kg at the large  grocery store near my old apartment -- but that was less that a week before I needed it and they told me it was impossible to order one in only 5 days... and no they didn't know where I could find a frozen turkey.   Arg.  Turkey is truly not common here!
  But the next day I was in a large downtown department store, which has a pretty large and fancy grocery section on the ground floor.  I decided to check the frozen meat selection, and lo and behold, mixed in with mostly frozen duck and goose, there was a lovely little 4 kg (9 lb) turkey!  Perfect.  And only 4 Euro/kg!

   While I roasted pumpkin and squash Saturday morning, I sent Thomas and Julia out to look for summer savory, the only herb I was missing to make my usual turkey stuffing.  They succeeded in finding it fresh (again at the Victualienmarkt) and so by midday all the supplies were on hand.

After getting the turkey in the oven, we enjoyed the exceptionally warm November day with a walk in the Englischer Garten, which is larger than Central Park, and which we can enter within a 10 minute walk from our apartment.

The kids' friends arrived at 5:30 (each with a gift of flowers or chocolate... very civilized!)  We sat down around our re-arranged table, extended with our bedroom desk, and covered with the two tablecloths I found in a drawer here.

Turkey time!  

Benjamin, Jona, Julia, Jana, Sandra.  Too bad it's not a better picture but Julia (the teenager) was mortified that I was taking a picture anyway, so I tried to be quick.

Julia had invited her two favorite friends here, Jana and Sandra, and Benjamin invited his  new good friend Jona.  (Annalena was also invited, but called that afternoon to say she was sick, unfortunately.)  None of these kids had ever tried turkey or squash or pumpkin pie before, and they were all a little nervous but excited.  Turns out they all liked everything (much to my relief).  And the mashed potatoes and gravy were a big hit too.

After dinner, the girls relaxed together (chatting, giggling...)   I'm so glad Julia's German has reached the point where she can socialize pretty easily.

Jana, Julia, Sandra.  (Due to more embarrassing picture taking by Mom...)

Benjamin's German is also much improved in the last few months.  He and Jona were also chatting away in German about whatever games and cards and magic monsters etc.  (Boy-talk always sounds somewhat random to me, but what do I know...)

Benjamin and Jona play a game on the iPod.

All in all, a truly thankful day.  We are so delighted the kids have good friends and good schools here, and that we are enjoying Munich so much. 

It's good to remember what Thanksgiving should be all about.

Die zweite Wohnung (the second apartment)

On the 1st of November we moved from the Haidhausen quarter, which is east of downtown but still very urban, to a larger apartment in the University district, which is really central Munich.  Our new building is the Internationales Begegnungszentrum München (IBZ),  which is effectively "on campus" (more on that later) and also only 15 minutes on foot from Marienplatz, the true heart of old downtown.

Nov. 1st was a holiday (Allerheiligen, or All Saints Day... from which Halloween came) so a friend was available to help with his car, meaning we didn't have to take our big suitcases on the subway, thankfully.  We managed it in two trips of his small car (luckily we have no furniture, and just a few school supplies more than we came with...) and then we all took our bikes for the 20 minute ride to our new place -- Thomas with the last duffel bag over his shoulder...

Here we are leaving the old place. (See my "vintage" used bike in the foreground -- cool eh?  I do have to be careful with the back-pedal breaking though.)

We had not seen our new apartment until that day (although we'd seen a similar one) and on first impression it's pretty great -- here's the living room.

I like the red leather furniture here, and the the colored curtains, but away from the living room it's kind of white and grey... but still pretty roomy.

The kitchen is not nearly as well equipped as out last place, so I may have to do a bit of shopping for baking dishes, serving utensils, etc.  (And I already bought a bread knife.  You can't be in Germany without a decent way to cut your bread... what were they thinking?)

Can you believe two sinks in the bathroom?  Although too many mirrors for my taste... I can't get away from myself.  We also have a smaller bathroom, with a shower stall.  Such luxury after sharing one bathroom for the last 3 months.

The kids love the pass-through from the kitchen to the dining table.  (Not sure why they chose non-washabele chairs for an eating area... a couple are fairly stained upon close inspection.  Oh well.)

And the kids are delighted to each have their own room!

See the stuffed leopard on Benjamin's bed?  That belonged to Thomas as a child, and we just brought it back from Oma's house...  Benjamin is fine with its name still being "Leo" after 40 years.  He loves it.

Julia chose the room with the bunk beds -- which also has a small balcony!
                                   

Each bedroom has a desk, which is great.  And lots of cupboards and shelves.  The walls are pretty white, however, outside of a few hotel-type pictures, and we're not allowed to hang anything up.  

Julia bought some poster adhesive-putty though, so we will start doing the dorm room thing and put up a few prints or kid artwork etc...  

I just bought a houseplant and some colorful placemats, which makes the place feel a little less institutional already ;-)

There are many good things about this place, but I also find myself comparing to the previous apartment, which was much more "homey".  Just for the record, I'll list my pro and con highlights...

PRO:  More space, less rent!  I think we've got 50% more space, and the rent is less by nearly a quarter.

CON:  No washing machine in the apartment.  There are two washing machines in the basement here for 18 apartments (at 2 Euros each load), so at least we don't have to leave the building.  We just bought a drying rack -- the other apartment had one.

PRO:  The heat comes through the floors -- nice on the feet in the morning!

CON:  When the heat is on, any crumbs of cheese or chocolate (what, here?) melt into the somewhat porous kitchen floor tiles -- but we know what the solution to that is... less on floor, more in mouth.

PRO:  There is a microwave here (although it was filthy inside before I cleaned it out... ugh.).

CON:  No clocks, not even on the microwave (which is a cheap turn-dial type) or the stove.  There is one clock radio in the bedroom.  I tried to use a suction cup hook in the bathroom to hang a funny old wall-clock that  I bought at a flea market, but the suction cup fell off after a couple days...  And we're not allowed to use nails or hooks anywhere!

PRO:  Location, location... we are an easy walk to downtown, the Pinakotheks (art museums), lots of restaurants, bakeries, cafes, etc.

CON:  The streets are full of students ;-)  Actually, the biggest con for me about being downtown is grocery shopping.  The closest grocery stores are small, full of students, and without much selection.  I find myself taking the subway to my old neighborhood (where my gym is) and getting groceries at "my" metzgeri (butchery) and favorite bäckerei (bakery) and larger grocery store there when I need more than basics.

As for location -- we might as well be a dorm building (except that there is no such thing here for the students). We are three minute walk from the Ludwig Maximillian University theoretical physics building on one side, and the same to the experimental physics building on the other side.  Thomas feels right at home, since as a student here he used to literally walk right past this building on his way to and from classes.  Ironically, the Max Planck institute where he works is outside of town (he's not working with the university) so he needs to take the subway north for nearly half an hour.

But we are truly "on campus."  Here is the view out our bedroom window:  the library stacks.

And just in case I start to miss teaching too much, I can peer down into the classrooms on the bottom floor... *sigh*

Goethe Institute 4-week Intensive: B2.2

It was indeed intense!  I finally have time to catch up on the blog a bit, after finishing 4 weeks of near immersion in my German language course:  4 1/4 hours of class per afternoon, and at least 2 hours of homework per day in addition.  Since I was often too tired in the evenings to start on the homework (and twice a week I had choir rehearsals 7-9:30), my mornings of the last month presented a dilemma between exercise or grocery shopping, after seeing how long the homework took (about 8 to 10:30 a.m. if I didn't goof off too much).  So the family had to deal with non-optimal dinners (which were often simply very good bread and cheese) but luckily they all eat reasonably good lunches at school and work.  Oh, and we moved to a new apartment in there too!  (Next blog...)

   It was a good course, and it seems it did help my language abilities -- according to Thomas and some friends we met last night I'm speaking much better -- but it's hard for me to tell, and I'm certainly still not fluent, like I was (unrealistically) hoping.  During this past month, it sometimes felt like I was trying to physically shove vocabulary and grammar through my skull, which has gotten thicker with age...  the vocabulary especially doesn't get in and stick without repeated repeated exposure!

  Here is a photo of most of my class, taken on the second last day.

This was an incredibly international class, representing 5 continents, and I was the only one from North America.   I'll write everyone's names and countries here just for my own memory later.  

From left to right:  me, Vittoria from Italy, Shakira from Uganda, Jose from Spain, Isabella from Brazil, Hans from Sweden, Zainab from Saudi Arabia, Aleksandra from Poland, and our teacher Stefanie Steiner (from Munich).  

Unfortunately a couple people were missing that day:  Simon from Norway and Mohammed from United Arab Emirates.  We also lost a couple people earlier -- Eriko from Japan seemed to flake out and came less and less until she didn't come at all the last week or so, and Pepe from Spain got a job half-way through so he had to stop, but this was why he was in Germany learning German, so good for him!

We all got along very well -- good thing since we spent so much time together!  I learned lots about Saudi Arabia from Zainab, about Brazil from Isabella, about Uganda from Shakira, and about Sweden and Norway from Hans and Simon.  Besides Hans, who is retired, I was the oldest in the class.  Most of them were in their 20s and learning German so they can study here at the university or find a job (as in the two guys from Spain).  Zainab is here with her husband who is studying to be a doctor -- she was married at 17(!) and is a fairly devout Muslim so it was interesting to hear her stories about not being allowed out of the house without her father or brother or husband.  I was impressed, however, that she did come out with us for a drink (coffee for her) on the last evening, since she didn't join us the first time we went out, but I think she called him and "talked him into it"... she's quite the little firecracker.

On the last day, I brought my camera to take some picture of the classroom in which I'd spent 20x4.25 hours.  They're not great, but here they are for the record.  It was too bad that not everyone was there, since some had to leave early for travel.

I will take the next course starting early January, but from now 'til the New Year, I'll practice lots of German (mostly in my very intense December schedule for the Münchner Bach Choir).