Monday, November 7, 2011

Oktoberfest



This Blog post is long overdue, I know.

just imagine that I posted this around October 5th....


For the past few days I have had the house to myself as my family is in Spain on vacation.  I have also had the luxury of sleeping in for the past week as I am also on vacation from my language course. 


Nanners in her Dirndl
At the beginning of this month I booked a ride to Munich to enjoy the final weekend of the Oktoberfest.  Once I arrived in Munich I waited in the main plaza, Marienplatz.  I leaned against a lamppost and observed the packs of drunks stumbling from Wiesn (the area of the Oktoberfest) while waiting for Hannah to emerge from the U-bahn.  Howling groups of Italian men standing 5 ft high rumbled through the plaza while a group of Americans in cheap Lederhosen laughed after repeatedly kicking each other in their leather bound crotches.  After about 10 minutes of drunk-people watching Hannah, in traditional dirndl (the traditional Bavarian dress) and braided hair flailing, bounded into my arms.  We made our way back to her house in order to get rest for a full day on the Wiesn the next day. 
          


Saturday morning I donned my Lederhosen, traditional shirt, socks, and of course my Converse Chuck Taylors (according to my host family that is what most people my age wear instead of the traditional Bavarian shoes).  Needless to say I was lookin’ good.  Once Hannah was ready we walked to meet her friend Kaleena, a New Zealand au pair that lived mere blocks from Hannah.  We spent over 3 hours attempting to push our way into tents, but the crowds were simply too great on this last Saturday.  We sulked under the blazing sun between tents amongst Bierleichen (beer corpses) and innumerable piles of vomit.  This day had been consumed by swaths of young Italians, and western European tourists in hopes of enjoying the last weekend of the festival. 
            
It....it....its beautiful.
 The three of us finally made it into the Spatenbrau Biergarten where we sniped a few seats at one of the long tables.  Our grumpiness was soon soothed by several Maß (measure) of delicious Festbier.  The Festbier of Oktoberfest is special in the fact that it is only brewed for this event by select Bavarian breweries.  It also has a higher alcohol content and higher sugar content, this makes the beer sweeter, easy to drink, and much more dangerous.  My favorite, and the favorite of many local Müncheners is the Augustiner Festbier.  Hannah and I spent the first weekend of the Oktoberfest in the Augustiner tent where we encountered a group of Germans that proved to be very nice and intended to meet us again the last weekend. 
The Augustiner Festzelt
Our Croatian friends
Obatza cheese and a Bretzel
In the Spaten Biergarten we sat across a group of 16 year old German girls who offered little in conversation and whose immaturity only served to make me feel old.  They soon left and were replaced by two older couples, one from Munich and the other from Croatia.  These couples were far more entertaining.  The Munich man supplied us with Snuff, a paralyzing powdered tobacco that rendered my eyes waterlogged and my mind alert.  The Croatians boasted of their beautiful homeland and their three beautiful daughters, showing pictures as proof.  The entire conversation was held in German and fueled by more and more Festbier, several liters of which were purchased for me by the Croatian man.  What had started out as a failed day had become a success with good beer, good new friends, and good food.  On the Wiesn I only ever ate one thing, Hendl, rotisserie chicken served by the half...amazing.  
             







Hannah and I woke the next morning and nursed our hangovers before we made our way onto the Wiesn once more to meet our German friends in the Paulaner tent.  Our friends hail from a small Dorf (village) outside of Franken and met us several weeks prior on the opening day of the Oktoberfest.  They had defended an entire bank of seats for Hannah, her friend Kaleena, and myself.  We joined them in singing, drinking and eating, and drinking, did I mention we drank a lot?   

The band sat high upon its podium in the center of the tent and produced traditional hymns as well as more modern tunes.  At several points throughout the day men dispersed throughout the tent stood upon tables and cracked whips in time with the music.  Leather snapped mere inches above our heads with enough force to clip off a good chunk of hair or ear, but we drank on. 


 
Whip it good



 Several of our friends conceded to the copious amounts of beer and 
retired, but most stayed.  Benjamin and myself joked about our drinking ‘competition’ as he was impressed at our first meeting at how much German Bier I could sustain.  
 
Sporadically throughout the day a roar would go up around a table as a brave young sole would dare to chug an entire liter of Festbier atop his/her table.  Cheers rang out if the challenger succeeded and boos echoed when they failed.  We prodded each other to attempt the feat, but none of us were that crazy or that drunk. 

After about 10 hours of drinking our bodies were consumed more by fatigue than inebriation, but we quickly jumped onto the table as the band started to close the night with songs the entire tent belted out.  Songs by the Beetles and other classic American rock bands signaled the last minutes of the night.  We stamped our aching feet upon the beer-drenched benches, strained our tired throats in song and crashed our glasses together in a final hurrah.  A good effort this day. 

Our final day on the Wiesn was more geared toward experiencing the rides and treats that were offered outside of the tents.  Hannah and I meandered through the streets and the drastically different crowd of the Fest’s last day.  The young corpses and piles of vomit were replaced by families and couples in modern garb soberly exploring.  We poked our heads into several tents in an effort to see what we have missed.  
View from the ferris wheel
I did better after a few liters of beer...
After several carnival rides and roller coasters we journeyed into a tent called the Teufel Rad (Devil’s wheel).  A small arena with bleachers surrounding a center stage was within.  At the very center spun a large conical wheel that contestants attempted to remain on as employees tried to rip them off balance with ropes and a large ball that swung from the ceiling.  Meanwhile an older man over the intercom made lewd jokes in reference to the contestants and berated them to the enjoyment of the spectators.  Hannah and I both participated twice, both getting pulled off by competitors the first time around.  Hannah lasted a good while her 2nd time but was edged out by another girl.  My 2nd time I was able to dive under the dog pile, nearly suffocated in a mass of leather, I was dead center.  The wheel quickly sped up spewing almost 20 others in all directions.  3 others and myself clung to the center as the ropes and swinging ball descended on us.  It was only after a took a strong blow to the head by the swinging ball and a lassoed rope caught my leg that I was sent flying toward the wall with a crash accompanied by a general reaction of awe and sympathetic pain by the audience. 

We left the Wiesn, sad that it was over, but proud of our efforts that weekend and the new memories that we created there. 
 

Monday, August 29, 2011

der Lange Nacht

Der Lange Nacht der Museen, a night in which over 100 museums are open with constant bus access until 2 am at a cost of 15 euro.  For the past few weeks I would stare blankly at the advertisements for this event and tried my best to lodge the date in my mind.

'august 27th, saturday, august 27th, saturday, Potzdamer Kulturforum......go. go. GO!' 

BABY CHIMP ousfboasdcigiKWBDJlis
This past weekend I was in charge of the boys as their parents went to a Wagner festival in Bayreuth.  This involved taking the boys to the swimming pool Friday, cooking them dinner, and keeping them busy until bed.  This went smoothy as I was able to get a few laps in at the pool and a few chapters of my Michelangelo biography read, and there is nothing better to keep a child busy than a healthy dose of cartoon network.  While they stared slack-jawed at the episode of Ben-10 as I sang in the kitchen whilst I prepared ravioli from scratch as my lunch for the next day.

Saturday came with drastically different weather than the high 80s of Friday, but the boys and I were undeterred in our efforts to view the animals of the Berlin Zoologisches Garten.  This zoo is AWESOME.  needless to say when I walked through the Affenhaus (ape-house) I went ape-shit (tee hee).

"Flußpferd" in German =River horse, or Hippo

The zoo showcased a wider variety of animals than I have seen in a single park before.  All within grand enclosures in a beautifully manicured garden sporting wide boulevards and decorative fountains that seemed to extend from the adjacent Tiergarten (translated as beast garden, Berlin's equivalent to central park).

I think I may have been more excited about the animals than the boys were....HIPPO!




Performance art at Kulturforum
Once home the boys rolled around on the couch bored.  I countered with the offer of Nerf-kämpfen (nerf gun fight).  We hustled upstairs and loaded up.  I sometimes think I take this stuff too seriously, cutting corners and clearing rooms along military procedure.  The boys and I have fun popping darts at each other until Christian comes home allowing me to go out into the Lange Nacht.
Hasselhoff at Checkpoint Charlie


I plugged in my headphones and listened to soothing music as I perused museum after museum.  The Bauhaus Archiv, The Humboldt Box, the DDR Museum, Berliner Dom, Checkpoint Charlie.  It was a great tour of many amazing museums, unfortunately I was unable to locate the Berlin Currywurst Museum....

After my cultural enrichment I decided the night was not over and that I required some social enrichment.  I picked up a half liter of bier and began to walk along Oranienburger Straße.  This street is lined with bustling bars and popular restaurants of every variety. 

I took out my headphones in order to better ingest the sights and sounds of this part of town.  I walk past troops of males marking their territory and flocks of females clamoring, parading their colors.  As a lone 3rd party I have a unique view on the happenings around me.

Along this street are also stationed a fair amount of prostitutes.  How do I know they are prostitutes you ask? Well I am not entirely sure, but I believe somewhere there is a Whores-R'-Us, and in this fine establishment they solicit the makings for a woman of the night.  And if this place does exist, then all of these women that I passed had most definitely frequented this provider of fish-net stockings.

And as a lone man walking down the street I become like light to flies, I am the light and the swarming flies are the prostitutes.  I wave off the attention of these plastic-leather bound ladies, for I do not desire their services or company, but as I pass more of them I begin to contemplate their story.  I wish to simply engage them and seek insight into their lives (I don't actually do this of course), but I still wonder....

The train ride home is long and as drown the rush of the tracks out with a random shuffle on my ipod I examine the ever-changing landscape of passengers.   With each rider that enters and exits the rail car I try to imagine their individual story.

New faces, new stories.

The middle-aged couple in coordinating raincoats, the leather strapped and tattooed youths slumped in their seats, the scruffy PHd student opposite me and his rucksack bursting with papers.  Where are they all going at 2:30 am on a Sunday morning?  And do they question my station on this train as well? Or am I simply experiencing the drunk ramblings of my inner-dialogue?

Oh, the joys of private philosophizing on the early morning train...


End of Week Two

My language school
Having just finished my 2nd week of language courses and real work I have begun to settle in nicely.  My first week here was rather eventful with many friends from back home passing through Berlin and wishing to imbibe copious amounts of German Bier with me.  When it came to these forays into the city I was reluctant but willing as I needed to wake early every morning but wished to see those familiar faces.
New Favorite Bier! Dunkel Weißbier





I first met Pat and Kevin, two fraternity brothers, at their hostel on Oranienburger Straße.  I led them along the East Wall Gallery then into the neighborhood around Warschauer Straße.  We stumbled upon an interesting plaza nestled in the remains of a bombed out train depot.  tables and benches peered out from the shade of thin trees onto a rock-climbing club 'Der Kegel'.  Those lanky men that move like spiders up the old walls of the crumbling structure are able to look down upon Europe's largest indoor skateboard park and the weave of graffiti that coats its surface.  I would later take Hannah to this same spot, a new favorite of mine, as well as share a new favorite beer, Dunkel Weissbier (dark white beer).


Graffiti at the train depot
The next night I join the boys and two other fraternity brothers of mine (Chris and Jeff) in order to explore the streets around Hackeschermarkt.  Many beers and more footsteps bring us to a bar in front of Tacheles, an artist coop housed within a structure that seems ready to collapse upon the taxis below.  I had anticipated a rough morning going into this night, but I did not anticipate arriving home just in time to prepare breakfast and coffee for the family at 6 am....I had fallen asleep on the train home and was awoken by a passenger at the line's end-station.  The only sleep I gained that night was about an hour and a half upon the train...splendid.
Future Climber watching man tackle der Kegel

Later that same week I was met by Grace and Jordan with whom I walked around Kreuzburg with beer in hand marveling at the beautiful Altbau (old building) buildings and sharing individual experiences from our times abroad.  Nothing spectacular was accomplished this night, other than some intense foosball matches,  yet I still managed to miss the last U-bahn train and get lost in the network of bus routes.  After several hours of stumbling on and off buses, I was dropped in front of a bus that read destination 'Zehlendorf'.  Thats my bus.  As if some higher power had lost interest in watching me ride aimlessly around the city and threw me a gimme.

At the end of the week I picked up Hannah from Schönefeld Airport in Susan (my Kia).  The weather was gorgeous and sunlight melted upon the green trees and open fields along the winding country road to the airport making for an enjoyable ride.  Few words are exchanged by Hannah and I whenever we meet after long stretches of time, the human urge to overpower silence with verbose hollow conversation gives way to the opportunity for a more subtle and intimate communication.
Hannah enjoying Raddler (beer and lemonade) @ der Kegel

Once home I gave Hannah the house tour and introduced her to the family in person after multiple cameos on skype conversations.  I later tricked her into eating a risotto with Pfefferling mushrooms (she hates, no, LOATHES mushrooms).  She enjoyed it. After dinner we went into the city to meet Jordan and Grace.  After a long night of wandering between failed objectives we parted ways and wished the girls safe travels as they were to leave early in the morning for Ireland.  

Tango on the Spree
The next day Hannah and I went into the city for a long day of sightseeing and meandering.  The day was long and hot and after much hysterical laughing brought on by exhaustion Hannah and I rested upon a grass hill along the Spree river.  This spot was situated in the shadow of the Boden Museum and overlooking an outdoor dance floor where couples slowing twirled with the yawning of lazy Tango music.  Onlookers sat adjacent and enjoyed bier, wine, and fresh pizza from a nearby Italian pizza oven.  Here also stood a small wooden theater from which howls of the actors and laughter of the audience spilled over into the Spree.

We are....well we're special....
As Hannah and I enjoyed the sunset in the span of pedestrian bridge she admitted that Berlin had captured her affection as it had mine, not through the grandiose monuments of cities like Paris or Rome, but through the sublime energy that emanates from unpolished and humble streets that make the largest city in Germany seem the easiest to settle into.  

Sloth overcame Hannah and myself the rest of the weekend as I my body pleaded for respite after firing on all cylinders that week.  My first week of actual work was filled with equal amount of fun, I promised Anja and Christian that if I were to play hard I would work hard.  Christian laughed and shared a similar German version of the phrase.  Looks like I will be working quite hard this coming year....

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Wall

[Disclaimer] This blog entry is really old....


Yesterday was my father's birthday, and coincidentally yesterday was the date that the Berlin wall was constructed.  I find this funny because my birthday, nov. 9th, is the day that the wall was broken.  In the interest of history I ventured into the city in order to walk the East Side Gallery, a large span of the wall left intact and used as a canvas for international artists and their messages of peace.

I began by taking the S-Bahn to Warschauerstraße [if i haven't clarified this symbol ß is read as two s's, so ß = ss just fyi].

As the train sped over the cityscape buildings and plazas began to look familiar and evoke my trip here one year ago.  A smile grew upon my face as I stepped off the train and up a flight of stairs to reveal an impressive view of the river and the TV tower looming in the distance. 

It is hard to believe that only a few decades ago this thriving metropolis (one of the largest in Europe) was divided through the middle by two 5 meter tall steel-reinforced concrete walls with automated turrets scanning for the next person brave enough to ford the no-man's land between them.  
Brandenburg Tor today
As I walk along what used to be the physical embodiment of hate, and division I am glad to see it littered with people of all ages, nationalities, sexes, and sexual orientations enjoying the art, the river, and the sun. 

Today I met with two fraternity brothers of mine at their hostel and gave them a mini-tour of some key locations.  I opted to seek out the gritty Berlin over the gentrified tourist areas of the city.

Brandenburg Tor with the wall
Tomorrow morning the boys begin school and I begin language courses.  Now I am relegated to a 630 wake up every week day in order to herd the boys out the door.  wooooo

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Opera and Mondsee


Salzkammergut (the area around Salzburg) becomes shrouded in a dull gray haze as I board my train for München.  Today shall be the first time I have seen my girlfriend Hannah in person since the first week of July.  She has just arrived in München as an Au Pair for a young family in the Englishgarten district.  This short trip to München is a welcome respite from my stay in Plainfeld. 

Recently the families have been attending operas and theater performances regularly, leaving myself and the Wallisch family’s helper Ivana in charge of the 4 kids.  Last night I had to play the bad-guy and constantly snatch electronics away from the kids in keeping with their parents’ wishes.  They think they are quite sly but they are in actuality very poor liars. 

The kids are shocked when I tell them this is fake...
“Yeah right, I am sure your mother ‘always’ lets you watch WWE wrestling”

The other night I was lucky enough to accompany the family heads for a night at the opera.  We had tickets to see Die Frau Ohne Shatten [the woman without a shadow] by Strauss.  This particular opera is said to be one of the most complex, and of this years festival one of the best. 

I clean up rather nice



I had figured that the few nice shirts and slacks I had brought would warrant me entry into this production….I was very wrong.   Christian and Anja insisted I wear a very expensive suit of Christian’s along with a bow-tie (clip-on of course). 

Once we made it into Salzburg we headed toward the 3 major theaters under the shadow of the imposing city fortress mount.  The theaters sit along one street on the northern side.  Along this long straight street theater-goers dressed in their best hummed along the theaters champagne flutes in hand while tourists weighed down with phanypacks and cameras admired from the other side of the street, a long line of limousines forming a barrier between the two groups.  I walked behind the families and was at one point likened to their bodyguard due to my imposing build and ever-present sunglasses.  Beverages that after quick consumption laid upon our small table at a temporary theater bar were enveloped with volutes of cigarette smoke. 

My host parents Anja, Christian and myself
It was a surreal experience; I felt that my rough hands and sun-soaked skin highlighted me as an intruder into this upper-echelon culture. 

The Opera was comprised of 3 acts each rough an hour in length with 2 20-minute breaks.  German and English subtitles aided me in translating the beautiful tones that resonated from the performers.  We were seated in the 9th row center-stage, I could not believe it, upon inspection of my ticket I discovered the price of my presence here, 370 euro.  I was on high alert, “ I MUST APPRECIATE THIS OPERA!” I told myself.  All of my senses were keen on soaking up every element of this performance. 

The show was beautiful in many ways, and afterwards we enjoyed an amazing meal with bottles of wine and champagne that I likely will not be able to afford until much later in my life.  The entire evening was a taste of ‘higher living’.  I tried to show my appreciation of the performance to my hosts and they praised me for ‘surviving’ and enjoying a form of entertainment not typically appreciated by my age group. 

Beach at Mondsee
The following day was much less stiff and offered opportunity for immature behavior.  Once everyone woke we piled into a van and drove a short 5 km to Mondsee.  This large lake and its impressive setting appear quietly over the green hills and milk farms.  We entered a paid beach area that offered food facilities, showers, 2 waterslides, and multiple floating playgrounds in the water.  I assisted the adults in establishing our piece of grass and lathering the kids in sunscreen while they shook with anticipation for the water.  The weather as of late had been unpredictable and the fiery sun of this day was heartily welcomed.  The kids called upon me to go everywhere and do everything with them.  I acted as a propeller for a small raft that the 4 kids clung to.  The water was of a perfect refreshing temperature and despite my poor swimming abilities I did not wish to venture back onto land. 

dinner
After a long day bathing in the water of [Moon Lake] Mondsee and the fire of the sun we loaded the van and drove to a small fish farm.  Here one can rent fishing polls and fish the pond, paying for your bounty by the kilo. 
“I will show you how to fish!” exclaimed Louis eagerly.
I offered a thankful and excited response when in my mind I thought “show ME how to fish?!?! Move child.”

I caught 4 out of the group’s total 6 fish.  After my 4th I was invited to relax with a bier, I accepted and committed myself to aiding the children in their casting techniques. 

The fish we caught were local Reinanke, sort of a mix between a trout in salmon approximately 15 inches in length.  Once we finished Charlie and myself gutted and cleaned our catch which we would barbeque and eat that night.  My nostrils welcomed the familiar smell of fish blood and my skin the glow of the sun, a perfect day.

As of late I have committed my free time to the production of watercolor paintings.  Whereas before long bouts of xbox or trips to the bars with friends would consume my nights, I now find myself painting and sketching with vigor under a lone light of this small village in the early morning hours.  The constant presence of a pencil and brush tucked on my ear has warranted me the nickname der Maler [the painter].  For some reason I have always collected names other than my own… For the past 4 years I was known as Espy throughout the Greek community of UO– a shorthand name for Espinosa.  In the dorms I was dubbed Brick, an obvious allusion to my physique and its stark contrast to those starved bodies of the Art and Architecture dorm.  Now in Austria the families have began calling me Dave without my suggestion.  It seems that the only people in this world destined to call me by my given name David are a few friends and family in California, even then my closest family members refer to me as Day-day.  And yes, I do immediately regret sharing that embarrassing name on the internet… 

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Österreich

For a man my age I have been lucky enough to experience many fulfilling things.  As of late I have done many things that will stay with me and bring a smile to my face until the day I die.  The awe of a high sierra sunrise, the security of lifelong friendships, the warmth of a kiss from the one I love.  This morning I created another wonderful memory.

Freisinger Hof, if you need a place to stay in Munich, stay here
Yesterday the Greiff Family and myself drove from Munich to Salzberg, Austria.  The ride alone was beautiful, scenes worthy of postcards.  Small villages with onion-domed churches were sprinkled throughout the hidden valleys along the autobahn, each one enticing me to abandon the highway and explore what they each had to offer.

The house in Plainfeld
We had left the Freisinger Hof hotel in Munich, an establishment owned by family friends of my au pair family, for their brother's home in Plainfeld, Austria.  The father, Charlie, is head chef of the Freisinger Hof restaurant and bestowed upon us the past two days a bounty of Traditional Bavarian dishes and cherished regional liquors.  We would be staying here in Plainfeld for the next two weeks in order to enjoy the classical music festival in nearby Salzburg.

The Greiff's and I left for Salzburg early and would be waiting for the Wallisch family as their two children, Katharina and Johannes would not be released from school until 11 am.

We arrived in Salzburg and crossed the Salzach river into the historic district, a cluster of baroque structures overshadowed by the impressive fortress above.  Our cars dove underground into a parking garage created in the hollow of a large monolithic geology sheltering the well-preserved city center from the modern periphery.  We ate lunch high above the city with impressive cuisine and an even more impressive command over the Salzach below. 
View from the restaurant

The main street packed with tourists
After lunch we ventured into the historic district and joined the masses of tourists filing through the main street.  Each store holds expensive wares related to either Mozart (he was born and lived here), traditional Trachten clothes (fancy regional dress like the male Lederhosen and the female Dirndl, we saw articles of clothing priced at over 3000 euro), or cheesy tourist goods. 

We eventually made our way back to our cars and drove approximately 10km out of the city to a small village nestled in a small valley hidden from the main highway.  The Wallisch house overlooks the village of Plainfeld and throughout the evening was flooded with more and more guests.  With each new guest came another open bottle of champagne until dinner.  After dinner I walked into a room where the four children were playing to be greeted by Johannes and an unexpected question.  "willst du Ecstasy oder coke?" [do you want ecstasy or coke?].
.....WHAT!?!
The kids were pretending to be like Amy Winehouse.............yup.....they were smoking "joints"[wood board game pieces] and 'passing out'.
.....I....love....children.....

This morning, I woke and promptly prepared for a jog that I had vowed to do the night before.  The run started rather shaky as I have not had time to exercise with such transition over the past few weeks.  But once I made my way out of the valley I fell into a rhythm. 

Now, I must say that the band Explosions in The Sky is utterly AMAZING!  But if you are jogging through a nice area they are doubly amazing.  And if you have a chance EVER to walk or run through the Austrian countryside with explosions in your ears, TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
Plainfeld

My feet carried me along winding roads through the smallest of villages past milk cows chewing cud and upon surprised deer that like ghosts vanished once recognized.  My breath hung heavy in the morning mist and rain poured intermittently upon my shoulders.  The hills rolled endlessly.  At one intersection of tractor routes I dipped into the Austrian forest for some meditation and urination.  Amongst the serenity of the trees I came to a point of realization as to my surroundings and the shear grace I was experiencing.  I will never forget those slender tree trunks or the summer rain mixing with my beading sweat.

I was lost within the Austrian countryside for over two hours, and loved every minute of it.

The boys and I in front of the theater
Tonight I am on babysitting duty while the adults view Le Nozze di Figaro.  But I was informed that I have a ticket for the Opera this monday, Die Frau Ohne Shatten [the woman without a shadow].   I am very excited. 


Thursday, July 28, 2011

Fahrzeug, and Deutschsprachkurz

My boat in the front yard
After a much needed night of sleep I began the tall task of earning Felix's and Louis' respect, as well as winning over the hearts of Christian and Anja.  Getting approval from Anja and Christian proved to be rather easy as the last 2 au pairs they employed both failed and were sent home within 2 weeks.  I am likely to be the last au pair that this family employs as the boys are reaching an age of independence. Hopefully I will be not only the last, but one of the best. 

This is how Louis and I roll
I learned later from Anja that after putting on my game face and playing with the boys they ran to gave their mother my approval.  During a trip to the local town center where Anja showed me the grocery store we both walked out with the groceries to see Louis across the plaza with a large smile upon his face and an even larger box in his hands.  With his allowance money he had purchased a HUGE nerf gun.  This thing had an extendable stock, forward grip, and a drum magazine holding around 35 rounds. 

Once home I was instantly recruited for the coming nerf war.  I was issued two guns and a nerf vest that I would have outgrown 10 years ago.  To say I enjoyed the 'nerf-kämpf' (fight) would be an understatement...  I went full bore...  diving, rolling, yelling, and faking death.  "Ich bin TOT!" (i'm dead) I yelled as Louis stood over me victorious.  I earned major brownie points here.

Earlier that day Felix had led me to the town center on bike, a nice excursion that resulted in us browsing the local library.  I later learned that Felix read so much that he would burn through the book he checked out by nightfall...I could take a lesson or two from this kid. 

After lunch Anja asked if I was ready to try driving.  "........sure..." I said cautiously.  I had never driven in a foreign country before and this seemed to be a trial by fire.  The previous au pair was inept when it came to driving a stick shift and the boys had given him the nickname "the meister of disaster".  The boys strapped into the Kia, unsure as to my driving abilities.  I took off strong and I could here Louis in the backseat release a sigh of relief.  I quickly racked my brain for the driving rules Christian had given me the prior day.  I made it successfully to the town center where I bought supplies for dinner. 

I had been recruited to prepare my first meal for the family as Anja and Christian were both busy preparing for our impending trip to Munich and Salzburg.  When asked to make dinner I gladly acepted the offer and began to think of recipes.  French? maybe Italian... or Mexican!    "Hamburgers!!!" yelled the boys....o...k.  

Bike ride through the neighborhood with Felix
Once we returned home Louis jumped out of the car and exclaimed to Anja "Er kann fahren!" (he can drive).  I had passed yet another test!  Dinner went well, Burgers and fries with extra toppings for the parents.  Thumbs up from the entire family.  The boys were pleased and the parents more pleased with the fact that I could cook without supervision.  Although I must admit that Louis did act as my assistant chef in the kitchen.  "You are the first au pair we have had that did not ask where the microwave is!" said Anja.   Another point for David.

Jay-jay and Toffee always steal my bed

Before dinner however Anja drove Felix and I to my soon-to-be language school.  I was to take a placement exam then navigate my way back home with Felix using the bus and U-bahn (metro).  The test went well and the young lady grading it spoke with me in German, an act that I greatly appreciated because I have been approached in English as all locals quickly recognized my limited handle on the language.  Felix and I missed the bus by a hair so we dove into the underground. 



The porch
After cleaning the dinner table and kitchen the adults and I once again sat on the porch enjoying beer, wine, and cigarettes until late in the night.  The next day Christian and I would take the boys to Munich at 4 am, so we were to go to bed 'early'.  An early night in this town means midnight I guess...