Mini Hofbrauhaus

[Edie was skeptical about this trip at first ("dogs at dinner? why can't we just be civilized for once?") but we won her over.]

Our go-to-many-many-beer-gardens enthusiasm has not yet waned in the week since we decided on this goal. And that is something. This time, we went to the Mini Hofbrauhaus, which is a small beer garden in the English Gartens. It is known for being dog-friendly, so we brought along Billy and Sugar for a change. It is hard to imagine what constitutes being dog-friendly here in Germany, since dogs are allowed in most everywhere except grocery stores. They are on the trains, in restaurants and cafes, taking themselves for walks, and generally being treated not at all like creatures who eat poop and then try to give you a kiss. Which they all are. Even when they wear Loius Vuitton collars, like the beagle at the park who out-classed my mangy mutts.

What made this beer garden dog-friendly then, when there are dogs at every beer garden? Off leash mayhem and extra-tolerant humans. Billy dealt well with his freedom, bounding off to meet and greet and then rushing back to pick up Edie's refuse. Sugar, on the other hand, was a bit overwhelmed. The whole experience seemed to short circuit her tiny and ineffectual brain, causing her to forget who her people are and instead snuggle in between two people she'd never met and on several occasions to walk quickly in an inexplicable direction away from our group. So she ended up tied to a stroller.

Beers, fizzy apple juice, and guacamole were consumed in large quantities. Edie forewent tortilla chips entirely, using them only as guac transport devices. Toward the end she regaled us with her new skill of standing. And, not one to rely on others for congratulations, gave herself some great big cheers for it. Hooray for standing! Hooray for beer gardens! Meh for bringing the dogs out to dinner.

The Aumeister Challenge

Dad trying to get baby to look at the camera

I know I'm not the most photogenic person out there, but Will really outdoes himself with terrible pictures of me....

Homemade smokey miso tofu with avocado sammies. Mmmmmmmm.

Well, it's T-3.5 months for our time left in Munich. So this is when the rose colored glasses come out and everything wonderful about a place beckons you never to go. And there are a lot of wonderful things about Munich. One of the best: beer gardens. They're not just for lushes and Lederhosen, either. Not by a long shot. Beer gardens are the most family-friendly places imaginable in that they've got something for everyone in an incredibly relaxed setting. I know that it is not surprising that Germans are responsible for inventing and popularizing such carefree and casual past-time (zing! it actually is suprising!). Most beer gardens have playgrounds, and all have room to run around, self-service food and drinks, and allow you to bring your own grub as well. The one very near to our flat is called Aumeister and it is fabulous. Imagine: first, we take a walk through the English Gartens, one of the largest parks in Europe, filled with streams, rivers, forest, duck ponds, open fields, and all of it is off-leash friendly for the dogs. Then, on the way out, stop at Aumeister beer garden for giant soft pretzels, beer for pops and fizzy apple juice for momma. Squirmy baby gets to crawl around, meet other kids, and maybe even go down a slide. Divine. (Can you hear Sarah MacLachlan's I Will Remember You in the background, or what?)

So, with this in mind, we are trying to go to lots of beer gardens before we go. Or at least go to the beer garden a lot. It's not in our nature to drive too hard in the venturing department, so it may just be a lot of going to Aumeister. Today is Good Friday, so Will has the day off. And Monday is Easter Monday (or Super Good Monday, as I call it), and he has that day off too. So many beer gardens are on our agenda. Oh Munich, Stay Cool and Have a Great Summer. LYLAS.

The Big 3-0

My 30th birthday has now come and gone. And it came in with a bang. The night before, I got the Munich Flu, or whatever GE disease Will brought into our home. I got very, very sick. Many, many times. There was a bucket involved. And a baby who was just getting over her own illness, and so was nursing more than usual, thus draining any scraps of my life force. I also learned that if you try to lie on a couch near a toddler who likes you, she will try to climb on your stomach and face, and this is not at all pleasant when stricken with influenza.

Happily, I recovered awfully fast. In time for Will's surprise of asking some friends along to dinner on Saturday. Edie got to cuddle with her good pal Jack, who is moving back to Australia in a few days. And I got to eat too much, which was fine, on account of my viral crash diet.

Praise Zeus! We're going to Greece!!

Well I am just about as excited as a honey bee buzzing 'round a cherry tree in full bloom! (I really have to work on my adorable Southern similes before moving to Nashville. But I'm not going to get better without throwing some gutter balls, so the intro sentence stays.)

Anyhoo, today we finalized plans to spend three nights in a resort outside of Athens, Greece, and I could not be happier. Grandpa Grissom is coming for a final Euro-adventure while his oldest still lives here, and we've decided to spend part of that time sea-side. Also, I don't mean to brag, but bragging is a little appropriate in this instance: you see, in fourth grade, I was the president of Athens during our Ancient Greece section. It was far and away the most prestigious presidency to have. I mean, Corinth? C'mon. So, a trip to my former land is long overdue. Between beaches, Greek food, golf for the guys and flea markets for me and my unwitting baby sidekick, not to mention a "family room" which entails two separate bedrooms thereby enabling Will and I to have a light or two on past Edie's bed time, we are ready to go. May 31, see you soon.

Reemergence

Determined as I am to keep this blog up to date in order to have a family record of our time here, lately life has kept me from this task. I would like to take this time for Present Rachael to whine to Future Rachael in order to defend myself from far-off judgment.

First, the weather has been really nice. Freaky nice. The frozen swamp that is Munich has defrosted but not yet swamped-over. Sunny days without hordes and hordes of slugs? Sign me up! (Munich is a wonder and a beauty, but, my God, the slugs. So. many. slugs.) So, no complaining here. But it makes it impossible to stay inside. And my computer is inside. So there.

Second, we got sick. First, Edie teethed like only Edie knows how to teethe - 4 teeth in 2 days. Which is not to say that the symptoms of teething lasted 2 days. Hah. No. Then she got a stomach bug. And then, Will and I got colds. Mine seemed a little worse at first, which should have entitled me to a weekend of pampering and being #2 on baby duty. But, Show-Off-Will went ahead and got a stomach flu, vomiting his way to a lazy weekend in bed while Congestion-Headache-Rach tried to assuage the toddler and tire out the dogs. Edie is 100%, though I can see at least two more teeth in the horizon so baby Tylenol is still in the holster. I can leave the box of Kleeex (who am I kidding? it's really a roll of TP) for up to 30 minutes at a time. And Will is currently having a beer with a friend downtown; so whether he's 100% or not, sympathetic-wife-mode has been deactivated.

Third, I've been a-crafting. Lately, I've made some monster book-ends and a felt robot. The felt robot is a prototype. Its really a toy for a little baby, with it's tags and crinkly innards, but this one is flawed beyond mere homemade quaintness, and Edie likes it. She says "bee boo bee boo boo" when she sees it, imitating the "beep bop boop bop" type sounds Will makes as his robot voice. So, of course, it is hers.

Fourth and last, heavens to Betsy it's hard to keep up with a toddler! And this one is not even walking yet. She is everywhere, in everything. And she wants what you got. Try to eat a snack - "Dis?! Dat?!" - translation, "Give it to me now." Try to do the dishes - smash, splosh, spill - translation the contents of your pantry are now on the floor but if you go to them, the child will climb into the dishwasher. Today, I woke up at 7 to exercise before she got up, but, she got up at 7:15. So, fast forward through making three meals, cleaning the kitchen, living room, and dining area all three times, two blissful hours of E napping - half of which I actually took as "me" time, one trip to the park / dog walk, putting away nearly literally everything in the apartment after she went to bed at 7:45 along with some laundry sorting, my butt hit chair to type this post at 9:45. She woke up 15 minutes later. So my butt did too. Alas. It's not a bad life. It's a great one. It is just tiring.

So there you (I) have it.

E's Buddies

Like many other children, Edie loves other kids. Any one yet to hit puberty is of great interest. Of course, as other parents know, a baby's infectious enthusiasm for her peers is interchangeable with a spastic slap-fest. Edie is also very interested in having the parts of a face labeled aloud for her, so in between not-so-gently slapping her friends on the backs or heads, she jabs at their eyes, noses and mouths, asking "Whas dis?" With her dearest pals, Edie shares kisses and hugs. Kisses are square on the mouth, and there is slobber involved. E doesn't want any ambiguity: a kiss means something. She may also sneak in a kiss of a foot or sock, which are her favorite appendage and accessory, respectively.

Older kids are also of great interest to her, and most older kids are interested in babies as well. We don't know any ex pat older kids, though, so it's mostly the locals that we encounter. And cute as she is, I scare off most of these whipper snappers. My neighborhood is full of 6 to 10 year olds, but most of them write me off as a space alien or some equivalent. Only one is brave enough to talk to me - and thus deal with my broken German and misunderstandings - and one other one tries to scare me by shouting loudly at me as he whizzes by on his scooter. I guess he wants to make sure that I Come In Peace. And I do. Today, on the subway, was a particularly sad moment for Edie's social life. A 3 or 4 year old girl sat on her mom's lap next to Edie and I. E and the little girl stared at each other and even held hands. Until the girl heard me talk. Her mom explained that the baby and her mommy speak English. This seemed cruel and inexplicable to her. It actually made her cry. Poor dear.

Guess I'd better start working on my southern drawl if I want to fit in during this next go 'round....

[p.s. Don't be scared by the first pic. That baby is not actually an adorable but deadly pirate. She's just dressed up for Faching (i.e. Carnival).]

I love Sundays

As I've mentioned, and sometimes lamented, everything is closed on Sundays in Munich. Everything productive, anyways. There are some cafes, a few restaurants and, of course, beer gardens, all ready to go. But you're not going to get any errands run during the latter half of your weekend. In a few months, I'll be back to the US, and I know it won't take long for the pace of life there to creep back into our lives. No-work-Sundays, even as I fight them on occasion, are really wonderful. When we wake up, there is no pull in any direction. Only a lazy stillness, plans for pancakes or a walk in the park.

Edie still has her errands to run, however, so Will and I aren't able to be as lazy as we might like. This morning Edie and I hung out on the floor, drinking green smoothies (spinach, ginger, pineapple, cantaloupe and banana was the beverage du jour). After she downed half of hers, complete with frothy green 'stache, off to playing with Dad's beers and the dogs' kibble. It's going to be another good Sunday.