Winding down

Well, finished my most recent batch of classes on Wednesday - German is difficult, but I've definitely noticed an improvement in my understanding of people and signs, even if I can't necessarily talk back.
Kyle was in Budapest and another smaller town in Hngary and now he is in Switzerland near Zurich skiing. Today with my American friends here we're having a baby shower for the Rice archi that is living here.
With friends I've recently been going to one of the public pools here (Nordbad), and its pretty great. They have one large indoor pool and then this great heated outdoor pool, which is awesome in the cold. No more snow here, but apparently its really beautiful when it is snowing outside. They also have a sauna, hot tub, and other things. It's pretty relaxing to go with friends, and it only costs 3.40 euro for 3 hours, which is perfect.
Our friends Jill and Michael arrive on Thursday, which will be great to have visitors again. Fasching is Tuesday, meanwhile, which is supposed to be pretty fun. I've decided all the leftover Halloween costumes from the US come to Germany for Fashcing. On the donuts they make here for the season (Krapfen) they even have some that are decorated with pumpkin/spider plastic things on top. Check out all of the many varieties here - this place apparently has the best in Munich.
After Jill and Michael leave we head out to Milan and Venice. We've been to Venice several times before, but never stayed in the city overnight, which should be fun.
I'm having a hard time believing that our time here is almost up. I's been really great, and Ithink these Bvarians really have a pretty good quality of life.

Here are some random Munich buildings for you – the new Synagogue (rather disappointing that the entire surround courtyard is covered in asphalt) and the Munich airport.

Nürnberg

On Saturday we went to Nürnberg. We just took a day trip out there, as there is a wonderfully cheap ticket for only 27 euros for 2 people for the regional trains for the whole day. After visiting the Nazi Documentation Center (which was very well done - I'm frankly surprised at how many of the huge buildings are still standing) we wandered around the city, ending with a stop at a local restaurant for some Nurnbergers - yumm. All in all, a pretty enjoyable day.

Playing in the snow

Well, as it continued to snow (over 16 inches total), we took advantage of it. A visit to the Theresenwiese - the huge park where Oktoberfest is held – yielded an interesting view of a snow-covered Lady Bavaria. And our balcony provided a handy place to keep beer cold. Look at all of the snow on the table: Saturday I purchased some cheap snow pants, we got a couple of cheap sleds, and headed out to Olympic Park to go sledding on the hill. Tons of fun, and a first for Kyle! The beer garden there was even open which provided for a tasty gluhwein break. Wonderful weekend taking advantage of the snow. Amazingly, after being in the -10ºC range for nearly the whole week, Sunday it crept up to +6ºC, melting most of the snow, so we headed out to the zoo, where we were able to see the newborn baby Gorilla. Until next time…

SNOW SNOW SNOW!

This is absolutley amazing. Yesterday was nothing. It snowed all night long, and hasn't really stopped today. Check it out! I think we have at least 8 inches on the table on our blacony, which is even somewhat under an eave. It's also pretty neat as here they even have sidewalk snow plows - but man will they run you over if you don't get out of the way!

My shoes are completely lacking - I'm going to have to start looking for something that goes up over my ankle at least, preferably with some sort of water resistance - I just want to go play in it all! It was great going class today - there are quite a few people there like myself who are definitely not used to snow, and we're all looking forward to building snow men ;)