I still haven't gotten my clothes and gear from customs yet. Someone from our shipping department contacted me about a packing list and a declaration of goods. I had to confirm that there were no alcohol, drugs or weapons in my stuff. With all documents forwarded along, all I can do now is wait for them to finish and tell me when I can pick it all up. I hope it's soon. I've been rotating between 3 sweaters and two pairs of jeans for the last two weeks. I think the guys at work are catching on.
After going to the bank and making a few calls to my bank in the US, I discovered that I can't just transfer money from one bank to the other. I don't understand why not. If I have the account number it doesn't seem all that difficult to me. I pay my bills just by supplying an account number. I wonder if I could set up a bill payment to my German bank account.... Anyway, I found out that I get free international withdraws from ATM's and that I can take out up to $1000 per day. Not a bad deal to be honest. I can take out money at the ATM outside the bank and then walk in and deposit it. I also avoid any kind of transfer fee. Good deal.
Earlier this week I got a few particulars about the language course I'm supposed to take. Starting June 7th I'll live with a host-family in München for a week while I attend the course. The course lasts from 9-4 each day and is said to be pretty intense. The program requires living with the host family in order to totally immerse you in the language and force you to use what you've learned. It's going to be pretty wild. The good news is that I won't have to worry about work stuff while I'm there. After this week, there is a 2 week break before I return for a second week. I'm looking forward to being able to speak to Germans without a translator. It's kind of a pain when you can't talk to anyone at the bar.
On Friday I decided it was pretty important that I get a bike so I can ride around town and figure out where things are. I went to the closest bike shop and picked up a secondhand mountain bike for 100 €. Good enough. Saturday I threw on my pack and took the bike out for a spin. First stop was getting a haircut at a salon that a friend from work goes to. This was going to be tricky. How am I supposed to tell them what I want? Easy, a picture! Lucky for me there was someone there that spoke good English. So I explained to her what I was looking for with the help of the pictures I brought. She then relayed the requests to the hairstylists and we were good to go. Before I sat down they asked me if I would like a coffee. Yes please! That's so cool that they ask you that here. It made me feel pretty relaxed. It also helped that the hairstylist was good looking. She took her time with the cut and did an awesome job.
Happy with my new cut I decide to go and explore the town a bit. Riding down the street the first thing that catches my eye is a giant sign with a skier doing a backflip with his skis crossed. I take a closer look at the store and notice Deuter backpacking packs on display in the window. I hit the brakes, pull over and lock up my bike. When I walk in I'm immediately drawn over to the packs. Most of them are Deuter, a German brand that I'm familiar with from outdoor gear shows, gear shops and outdoor film festivals. Sweet packs. On my left I see a small rack with spools of rope, cord and webbing. A little higher and I find the Edelrid slings and Mammut draws and lockers. Not a very big selection, but still comforting to know that it's here. I continue to walk around the store and take inventory. The store is an odd combination of an EMS and Dick's Sporting goods. There's a good selection of outdoor clothing and hiking shoes/boots with a small section of sleeping bags and tents. There's a fair selection of running shoes which I also like. Yeah I stopped long enough to see which models they carry. Moving on I see they carry an assortment other sports equipment, most dominant is the fußball(soccer) equipment. Soccer is so much bigger here than it is in the states. It probably won't be long before I need to buy a pair of cleats for pick-up soccer games.
Deuter packs
I decided to part with my bike in exchange for walking and really taking my time to get to know the town. Continuing my stroll I find dozens of little coffee shops with a wine shop scattered in here and there. I also noticed a bunch of places selling fresh fruit. Not having much room in my pack, I decided to make a fruit run the next time I come back.
Next I stumble across a book store. Another weakness. Not expecting to really find much, I walk in. I don't recognize any of the books or authors at first. As I proceed to browse the shop I notice German versions of books that I'm familiar with, most notably is the Harry Potter series. I've read the first four books in the series, but being as that the copies here are in German I keep walking. Eventually I get to a section that reads English. I'm fucked. I know I'm walking out of here with a book. I just finished an awesome book called "A Million Little Pieces" and I'm dying for another adventure. I won't get my books until all my stuff is released from customs, so I'm in need of a book. I recognize a few of the titles, and after picking up some of the others I determine that they're not worth buying. Back to the ones I know. I read the back cover of a half dozen books and none of them thrill me. I'm left with one alternative. The Twilight Series. I was kind of hoping to find something else when I saw these books here. No such luck. I delved into another vampire series by Laurel K. Hamilton well before the Twilight books came about and I really enjoyed them. I intend to finish the series actually. Being as that this other vampire series was entertaining I figured I'd give this one a try and ignore any stigma that may come about from reading a "love story." There and vampires and werewolves, it's gotta be good! Look at Underworld. Those movies were awesome! So I bought it. I'm about 30 pages in so far; no real opinion yet but I'll be sure to comment on it later.
At the end of my tour I stop at a sandwich shop that I'm familiar with. A friend from work took me here for lunch the day before. Liking what I had, I came back. They roast turkey on a vertical rotisserie device and then scrap off shavings to make a sandwich. It kinda looks like the chopped up meat you would see in a cheesesteak except that it's turkey. It's sooo goood! They serve it on a kaiser roll that they flattened and grilled in a sandwich press; the kind they use for panini sandwiches. They cut the roll about 3/4 of the way through and then stuff it with turkey the way you would a pita. Anyway, they dress it up with a mayonnaise-like sauce, lettuce, onion, tomato and sprinkle a paprika seasoning on it to make it spicy. Gooood stuff. It's pretty cheap too. 3 €. One of those and a drink is all you need.
Throughout the day I noticed tons of bike racks. There's one outside every other store almost. So many people bike to get around here, I love it. I've even seen a bunch of old people riding around. Some of these folks have to be in their 70's! Crazy! So cool though. I hope I'm biking around town at that age.
One of many bike racks in town
Now thats a bike rack! Look at all those spaces!
My European loot left over from the day
I got home and relaxed for a bit before making dinner and watching the Bayern München game. They got shut out by Inter Milan. Boo!
I'm beginning to feel the effects of this six hour time difference to the east coast. It's made it really difficult to chat with friends. When I hop online after work everyone at home is still in the middle of the work day. When they get home from work, I'm in bed. That makes real-time conversation an inconvenience or an interruption for someone no matter what time it is. I've been getting by mostly on facebook comments and wall posts. Emails are certainly better when I have a lot to say but I find myself waiting longer for a response since most would prefer to send emails from their computer instead of the short messages that are so easy to send from a phone. I'm trying to be as patient and positive as I can, but this six hour time difference makes for some solemn hours in my apartment.
