It's been awhile, how are you?

I'm fully aware that I haven't posted anything in almost a month. Things slowed way down after Oktoberfest and I've kind of just been living here in Munich. Going to work, doing my laundry, buying groceries and watching T.V. is much less exciting than the things I was doing before, but I do have some things to share.

The weekend after Oktoberfest I went to Greffern to visit Kristi for the weekend. When I got there, our classmate Carl was in a frenzy. The "pipes" had burst in the house and it was pretty much raining through every lightbulb and every socket of the house. Apparently when they tried to fix things before, they had simply attached garden hoses for the houses water system. Some of her roommates stuff was damaged and we weren't allowed to use the lightswitch in the bathroom. The next day Kristi and I went to Stuttgarts Oktoberfest. It was really fun but the train rides to get out there and back took forever. If we wouldn't have gotten kicked out of the beer hall because of Kristi's drunk French roommate, who knows when we would have gotten back. All in all it was really fun though. We ate crepes like 3 times. That's something I'm definitely going to miss when I come back home.

In the weeks following, my classmate Mallory was in town so we got to hang out a bit. I also did Museums Night with a co-worker and that was amazing! We travelled from place to place seeing everything from a Russian library to a band playing Bob Dylan on top of the Olympia Tower. It was the best day. The only downside was that at then end of the night, the metro was closed so I had to walk quite a ways to get back to my apartment.

This past week Alex and D.J. came and visited me again. We haven't done anything too exciting, but it's just nice to be around eachother. Last night we went to the Euro Youth for their halloween party. It was really fun. We got our faces painted and watched them tap a keg of beer.

This upcoming week is my last in Munich. It's really sad because I've gotten so comfortable here. It's literally become like a second home. It will still be good to move around and see something new and exciting again. On the 5th I leave for Levanto wich is very exciting. I get to meet up with my classmates and hopefully see some warmer weather.

Also, I bought myself a rather expensive Christmas gift. No one gets to see it until my return. You should probably be worried. =P

Oktoberfest

Oh yes, it was glorious. Alex, D.J., and Kristi all came down to celebrate with me and it was honestly the most fun I've had. They all showed up on Friday (even though D.J. missed his first train) and I brought them to their apartment. They lived with two German students named Marcus and Marcus. When they asked if we wanted to go play a drinking game in the park we were excited to go. It was intense. The midwesterners were put to shame very quickly. On Saturday, I had booked a Beer Challenge Tour that ended up being both fun and kind of informational. We went to some of the big beer gardens and learned a German drinking song. The tour ended with Oktoberfest which is where we stayed most of the night. We met some really interesting people and had a blast. On Sunday Kristi left and I actually convinced Alex and D.J. to stay another couple of days. So on Monday the three of us went to Dachau. That was a serious experience. I really can't even put it into words. If you want to hear about it you're just going to have to go for yourself.

That was my extended weekend in a nutshell. I actually plan to visit Kristi this weekend in her little German village and possibly make it to the Oktoberfest in Stuttgart. For now, I could use the relaxation. The past 4 days have flown by and I'm a little exhausted.

Sorry this is really condensed. We did so much in such a short amount of time. But it was honestly the greatest. I'm going to miss Alex and D.J. but I'll get to see them again in a month.

Tschüs!

Miss me?

Yeah, It's been awhile. I guess I'm just keeping myself busy. I visited the Neuschwanstein Castle on Friday. That was sweet (other than the 2 mile climb up a mountain.) The views were amazing and the castle was super cool. I learned a lot of history and also met some awesome people. Sunday I went to the English Garden. Most likely my favorite place in Munich. It's the largest in the world so it took me the better part of a day to walk it. Rivers and huge open fields, ducks, dogs, little kids. Pretty much everything I love. It really reminded me of home. Most of Europe is buildings and streets so it was nice to get back to some nature. I needed some fresh air in my life. There's even a lake that you can rent boats on.

Work has been going well. I'm now working with a woman from Latvia. She's really nice and is a important museum worker in her country. My research is coming along as well. I may start writing next week.

Other than that, nothing to really tell. I guess I'm finally settled in to my surroundings.

Also, Alex, D.J., and Kristi are coming to visit me this weekend. I'm more than excited. I've already booked a Beer Challenge tour and have a mental list of things I can't wait to do with them. It will definitely be the highlight of my month.

This is a picture of the institute now and back in the 40s when it was turned into the Central Collecting Point for artwork after the plunder of the Nazis.