We've been living in Munich for a month now and it is a fun place to be. I love riding around on my bike, we both bought second hand bikes - cheaper than renting them, or catching the train. Bike paths are everywhere and I really enjoy ringing my bell furiously (German style) when a pedestrian dares to walk on the bike path and I can see them. They spring off - unless they are tourists!We have rented a few cars to see places around Munich too, and Chris loves driving German style, which is at about 200km/h. The autobahns work that they are usually about 3 or 4 lanes and the left is the faster, the one next to that is a bit slower, the one next to that is slower again, and the right lane is the slowest and is mainly for trucks and caravans. The rule is that you can NEVER overtake anyone on the right, you have to go to the faster lanes to overtake and then move back to the right. This way the roads work very well and there are never fools driving along slowly in the fast lane like they do all the time in Australia. If someone is driving a bit too slow in the far left (fastest) lane and someone faster comes along then that person simply tailgates them - like 2 meters away! - until they move over. Germans are quite fond of tailgating and they all drive menacingly close to one another. There is no 3 second rule here! I am not particularly fond of the autobahns as I really don't like hearing the roar of a car driving past you at 250km/h at regular intervals. Germans are total speed freaks, although apparently very safe and law abiding ones.
Last night we went to the football to see Bayern Munich play Energie Cottbus, at Alliance Arena. The stadium was built for last years World Cup and it is pretty cool, with seating for almost 70,000 people. In the day time it is just white but at night lights turn it into different colours. Last night it was red, as you can see above. Last night it was about 5C and raining (yes, a perfect night to sit outside), but luckily most of the stadium is enclosed so we were completely dry. Only the field got rained on and the first 3 rows of seats. The game was pretty good and I made a little video of what happens when Munich scored, which I will add in a minute. It is really funny, at least we thought so!
Germans are sport loving people we have found out and will embrace any kind of wild and crazy sport. Take surfing for example, or 'surfen' as it is called. Sure there is no beach around, but after heavy rain the Iser river, next to our house gets higher and there is a wave that lots of 'surfers' go to surf. Yep, the water must be freezing since the outside air temperature is not above 10C when I took these photos.
See!
When a surfer falls off their board they are swept down river, as you can see.
White water rafting in the river is also popular. Everyone takes it in turns, once one person is swept away the next person jumps in and has a turn.
This is a little town that we drove through called Dinklesbuhl. It was really cute and all the buildings are old fashioned without any neon signs or anything. This town is on the 'Romantisch road' north of Munich and many of the towns are like this.
Near Dinklesbuhl we saw a sign for the town of Rain, which seemed very fitting with the lovely (not) weather we've been having.
On another day we drove into Austria (it's about an hour away) and saw this lake with amazing clear water.
So clear you could easily see big fish swimming around in it.
In a town near the lake I also saw this sign for what seems to be a construction company. I don't know if I'd go with a company with a name that sounds very like Schmozzle. That would be just asking for trouble!
This photo is from our trip to Berchtesgaden. We bought gumboots (I just love mine, they are so cute!) and we for a walk around the gorgeous lake.
The leaves are turning orange now and the autumn is very pretty.
Chris loves stomping about in his gumboots and I have to confess that I was hoping he would fall over here and provide me with some great photos! Hee hee!
Before you saw Germans surfing, but below is the most popular 'sport' of all, Nordic Walking! Everywhere, and I do mean EVERYWHERE, there are people walking around with sticks. They are not special hiking sticks, but just aluminium sticks with rubber on the ends, and people walk on flat paths not up mountains with them. Around Munich you can see groups of people 'learning' to go Nordic Walking, although I can't figure out what it is that they are actually learning! In my next update I promise to include lots of people in the pursuit of Nordic Walking and you can see what I mean.
Some cows we met after our forest walk in Berchtesgaden. They were very friendly.
This one liked liking my gumboots. I can't blame him, they are pretty.
This is at Schloss . This is really the perfect sized castle for me to live in I think! Not too big, not too small!
In the grounds.
Some more cows.
Below, brace yourself, is the same Iser river that people were surfing in before, although now the water has gone down and it is warm weather. Now that the weather has changed different people come to the river, including those with a penchant for sunbathing and skinny dipping. This guy walked past these 2 poor people, stripped off his barely-there undies and jumping into the river for a dip! We ride on the bridge over the river every day when we go to the city and there is always something interesting going on. I thought I had seen it all with the surfing, but now I know that I was wrong!
Now that it is the end of summer the cows all over Austria and Germany are brought down from the mountains where they have spent the summer eating grass, and live in the valleys where it is warmer. When the cows are brought down there is a festival in the town and the cows are dressed up with flowers and headdresses like the ones below. I made a little video of this too. You can hear the cow bells ringing.
Now that it is the end of summer the cows all over Austria and Germany are brought down from the mountains where they have spent the summer eating grass, and live in the valleys where it is warmer. When the cows are brought down there is a festival in the town and the cows are dressed up with flowers and headdresses like the ones below. I made a little video of this too. You can hear the cow bells ringing.
On our last trip out of Munich we went to Triberg in the Black Forest (Schwartzwald). Here is Chris sitting on the bridge in front of the water fall.
There are lots of squirrels in the forest and they are quite tame. They come up to you looking for nuts. They are so quick though it is hard to take a photo - they never stop jumping and running around.
The view of Triberg from up in the mountains on a walk we went on.
Chris swinging on a swing. Fun!
There are lots of squirrels in the forest and they are quite tame. They come up to you looking for nuts. They are so quick though it is hard to take a photo - they never stop jumping and running around.
The view of Triberg from up in the mountains on a walk we went on.
Chris swinging on a swing. Fun!
Oktoberfest is on now and in my next post there will be lots of photos of it! You will love my dirndle and Chris's lederhosen! We are super trendy!
