Saturday, November 20, 2010

Two random dog stories:


“Awww look at that dog pooing in the bushes,” Simon gushed so sincerely this morning that for a disturbing moment I regretted not having a camera with me. 

You’ll just have to take my word that the dog was cute, it was shivering, it was concentrated and it was more than a little embarrassed that it had been caught doing its business…and it took Simon and I several seconds to register what we were actually seeing. All three parties walked away a little bit ashamed that day.

The second dog was completely insane. I shouldn’t judge because I’m crazy myself, but it was completely insane. It kept following a pigeon around in circles, tail awkwardly poised in the air and an unwavering look of concentration on its face. There was so much intensity there that a small crowd of delighted people gathered to watch it and silently chant “GO DOG! KILL THAT PIGEON! KILL IT AND MAKE A HAT OUT OF IT!”.

The pigeon couldn’t have been less moved. Once in a while it would cast a backward glance at the dog as if to say “Hey buddy, what’s your problem? You know I can see you right? I Can See You. Oh boy, you’re just not getting this. I. Can. See. You…” then it flew away causing the dog to go into an excitable barking fit and then into a look of utter confusion.

Here’s a picture, although I was laughing so hard it’s not one of my best. Do you know what sells it for me though? The expression on the face of the woman in the background. 

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Whhooogh



 That’s the noise that I think should accompany this photo, although the actual moving process was much quieter and penguin like.

Irony

I don't know what the going rate for "irony" is in Australia, but it seems like 0,80euro is über cheap.

McChin!

This is one of the characters on a local TV show...or maybe it was a movie. We're a little bit fuzzy on the details because OH MY GOD THE CHIN!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

THREE WEEKS!

Mark and I have been in Munich for three weeks now and it has been pimping itself out like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. But rather than spreading its wares in an elevator, it has been wooing us with incredible weather.

So far we’ve only had one or two cold days and only a handful of overcast ones, while the rest have been magical. Last weekend we even managed to get a couple of 18-degree days. Honestly Munich, you had us at gorgeous buildings there is no need for this type of foreplay.

Although I’m beginning to suspect that maybe it’s just the German sense of humour and when we least expect it – like when we’re all skipping down the street in our bikinis – the sky will tear up with laughter and then drop several tonnes of snow on us. Who knows?

What can be said for certain is that winter is inching closer. Most of the trees that were colourful when we first arrived have now lost all of their leaves, a massive outdoor ice-skating rink is being built at Karlsplatz and the locals keep reminding us that the weather we’ve been having isn’t normal with the sort of kind-hearted intensity that hints at the end of days. I’m looking for an excuse to get a pair of snow boots anyway so BRING IT ON, I say.

Strolling around in the warmth aside, among our most recent accomplishments we can list: 

Cooking dinner at home, 

Discovering a cheap and delicious Vietnamese restaurant 

and starting Shaolin Kung Fu. 

Here we are just moments before our first class. It was so fantastic that for the next couple of days Mark and I hobbled around like 90-year-olds, every now and again pausing to reflect how good it is to feel every muscle in your body ache, before asking each other for assistance to put our underwear on. Too much information? Sorry but you needed to know that the pain was real.

SHABLAM!

That's how this gorgeous day hit us. We didn't see it coming and we didn't stand a chance. Nothing productive got done that day...

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Why you should have your own washing machine: a cautionary tale


When we were searching for our Munich apartment one of the things that we couldn’t care less about was whether it had a washing machine. 

Our selection criteria included things like “must have ceiling” and “don’t want rodents. Actually mice are cute. Don’t mind mice so long as they don’t eat the cupboards” and “don’t want to pay huge fee to agent (would prefer to throw my money at the Laundromat)”.

And hey ho we’re nearing the point of my rant. Laundromats in Munich are expensive! Like, crazy expensive. Like if we keep washing our clothes we’re going to blow through our money faster than Whitney Huston blows through crack or Lindsey Lohan blows through jail (that analogy was brought to you by MTV and some random German trashy mag. Stop judging, I’m learning critical German phrases.)

Back to how washing is going to send us broke…it is. And soon. One load of washing costs 3,50 euro (which is about $5AUD or “HOLY SHIT! WHAT? ONE LOAD? SERIOUSLY?”). Drying costs 0,80 euro per 10 minutes. This means that today we spent our entire weekly food budget on getting our clothes to smell nice.

I digress...

The point is that we decided that if we couldn’t afford to go out and make drunk fools of ourselves on the town, by golly we’d make fools of ourselves at the Laundromat. And we did. And therein lies the point. If you move to Munich make sure that your place has a washing machine or you might end up like this:



Thursday, November 4, 2010

Let’s talk about creepy


Yesterday Mark and I took Jessie (Mark’s sister) to the old town to show her the goods. We managed to get her there just in time to see the Neues Rathouse come to life with bells and dancing statues which happens twice a day. 
Several days earlier we were told by our new friend Paul that there was a tower on a nearby church that afforded views of the Neues Rathause and of the mountains behind it. We went in search of it but got turned down at the door because there was a religious service going on inside.

Undeterred, we went searching for a replacement. And that’s how we found the toy museum in the Altes Rathaus

The banner outside promised 50-year-old barbies, 100-year-old teddy bears and 25-year-old model trains…and a tower. What it should have said was “The stuff inside will give you nightmares”.  Unaware we shot up that narrow, curly staircase faster than you can say “all of the windows are locked and the toys in here are creepy”.

Here’s just a sample of what we saw:


This one moved its arms, legs and head and said “mama”:

And here’s a pig playing the violin:


Oh and some fake meat so you can play “Butcher” :

I couldn’t find the syringe filled with Valium that the kids would have had to be injected with for these to seem like fun.