Goodbye Munich

As I begin writing this Douglas and I have about 20 more hours in Munich. It is with mixed emotions that I leave Munich. I have loved my life here, but this has been a difficult post for Douglas as he has been working his required position as a Consular Officer – not his favorite position he soon learned. Tashkent was the post of hikes; Munich has been the post of surgeries. I had shoulder surgery shortly before arriving and have had two surgeries on three fingers since I’ve been here. The Embassy social life was much more active in Tashkent, but here in Munich I joined the Munich English Language choir and the Munich Creative Group. In the spirit of Emily’s goodbye monologue in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” I want to say goodbye to Munich.

Goodbye Munich.

Goodbye caring, helpful people who would drop everything to help me find my way and often just as soon walk me there as give me directions – in German or in English. 

Germans are even tidy when they litter!

Goodbye pedestrian zones, like long, outdoor malls often with a festival, through which I’d rather walk than ride the U-Bahn.

Sometimes the pedestrian zones are as crowded as a freeway at rush hour, like during Christmastime and the Weihnachtsmarkt.

Goodbye cobblestone streets that tear up my heels, but look so nice and make me feel like I’m back in time.

Goodbye church bells – real church bells, the kind like in The Sound of Music where you see the boy dangling from the pull rope – especially the Sunday bells when all the area churches agree it’s time to ring them.

I had the pleasure of singing in this gorgeous church.

Goodbye old, ornate buildings that echo the sound of the bells until I don’t know where the ringing is coming from; that play with the sound of the bells, tossing the sound around long after the bells have stopped ringing.

This is two views of Odeonsplatz, the gateway to the pedestrian zone where you can walk for about a mile in a couple different directions without automobile traffic. You can buy Christmas trees there in December and relax in a beanbag chair there with a book in July.

This is the Rathaus (city hall). I passed this often. On this night I was walking back from a choir rehearsal when I noticed the moon. (I would have missed this had I taken the U-Bahn.)

Goodbye Munich English Choir. Though your rehearsals were run in German (something I never understood - in more than one way) I loved singing again. I loved participating in the Evensong services and the Advent service. I loved singing in some of the amazing German churches in the area.

St. Ottillien's where we sang an Evensong and an Advent service.

Goodbye English Garden (“the backyard”). I will miss your miles of trails and rivers. I will miss autumn when I’d lie under your trees and watch the leaves rain onto me. I will miss snow winters when I got to trudge around in snowshoes. I will miss the daily assortment of musicians, the Sunday drummers, the sunbathers, the slackline walkers, the beer gardens, the dogs frolicking, walking through after a storm and experiencing the after-rain from your trees. And I will miss Confucius, Chopin and Ting-Ting the click-clack man.

The English Garden in the Wintertime and in summer.

Goodbye Orff Zentrum. There was never a better neighbor. I enjoyed the concerts – the one I attended, and all those I overheard through our open windows.

Goodbye to Prague, Salzburg, Tirol and all the beautiful German cities we visited while we were here.

Prague. Sorry for my face being a bit in the way. It was quite rainy when we were there and we have few pictures of Prague. The only other choice had some strange man's head in it. I figured it was either mine or his 

This is Bamberg, aka Little Venice.

This was taken when Douglas and I were in Neuss (along the Rhine River) to see the Rose Ensemble.

Quite possibly the most beautiful spot I visited. This is the Eib See in Garmisch.

This was taken on the Limesstrasse near an old Roman fort. I heard cuckoos talking to each other here. Delightful. This next picture was taken in this same area.

I thought the architecture of this church was interesting. (I don't know why this cursed blog keepss changing fonts on me. Anyone?)

Tirol, Austria.

Douglas's next post is in Washington D.C. for two or three years. This job will have him travelling into Central Asia - Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as a Country Assistance Officer.

We're down to about ten hours now. We enjoyed one last walk in the English Garden in hopes of wearing ourselves out to sleep tonight and sit for nine or so hours on the plane tomorrow. The moon is almost full. I'm not sure whether it's waxing or waning, but I know that Douglas and I are still in our waxing years.

(Okay, that kind of sounds weird. I don't mean my upper lip and his nose cavities. No. Cripes! I mean we're still growing, maturing. (Waxing sounded so poetic in my mind.) Um. . .  We're becoming more fully rounded. Lord, it just gets worse.)

The End