Zoo parks

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Lucia

Winter holidays are gone, the winter weather seems like it’s just arriving and I took a long break from my writing. Too long! So here I am, back in business.

Today: Zoo’s in München! How fun is that?!

I like going to the zoo. And it seems my daughter likes it too. So if you want to take a walk, and in the meantime, admire some interesting animals, you have quite some options in München:

- Tierpark Hellabrunn - the biggest Zoo in München with (only!) 1.8 millions visitors in 2011. I will present some details about the park, but I won’t write a book about it. So, for any additional information, you can always visit Tierpark Hellabrunn (they have an english version, yey!).

First thing first: opening hours: April to September - 9 am - 6 pm and October to March - 9 am - 5 pm.

And then, arrival. If you come by subway (U-bahn) you can take U3 until the Thalkirchen (Tierkpark) station. The station is really nice decorated with some animals pictures, so you know you are on the right path. From the station there is a 5 minutes walk (signposted) until you reach the “Isar Entrance”.

If you come by bus, you will need to take bus line 52, let’s say from Marienplatz, to Tierpark (Alemannenstrasse), that leaves you right in front of the “Flamingo Entrance”. And if you come by car, well, then you can calculate your route (navigation -> Tierparkstr. 30
D-81543 Munich). The parking areas are: P1 -Tierparkstrasse - only cars (near “Isar-Entrance”) and P2 Siebenbrunner Strasse - omnibuses and cars (near “Flamingo-Entrance”).

Now that you have arrived, you will need to pay the entrance fee (hehe). For an adult the price is 11 E per person, for children under age of 3 year it’s free. For other categories, please check the category “Admissions” on their website. There you will find the prices for groups, senior citizens, children (4-14 years), pupils, students and, also, prices to annual season tickets (and much more). With the ticket you will receive a free zoo brochure including a map of the zoo and all the information you need for an awesome visit.

Tierpark Hellabrunn

Flamingo

The park is huge! You will need at least 3 hours to visits every location on the map. The good thing is that, once inside, you find everything you need, 99 % accesible with stroller:

- if you are hungry (I bet you will be after visiting like half of the zoo and if you didn’t bring along a lunch box): you have a self-service beer garden (but of course!), a pizzeria and some snacks bar. All are shown on the map you have in your hand.

- if you are hungry, but have no cash, don’t worry: you have a ATM! It’s right next to the self-services restaurant (how convenient is that?). So now you can enjoy a nice meal.

- if you have small children and you need to solve an “emergency”: you have baby facilities at both entrances and at the restaurant.

- if you have your own “emergency”: you can find facilities at both entrances, at the jungle tent, at the restaurant and near the brown bears and apes (not in the same cage, hehe). The facilities near the brown bears are closed during the winter.

Children Zoo

Also, other services provided:

- facilities for disabled persons - are available at both entrances, at the jungle tent and at the restaurant.

- wheel-chairs - are available at the “Flamingo Entrance”.

- special guide books – material for blind, handicapped people and children in particular can be borrowed at the entrance (you will need to deposit a valid identity card). Unfortunately, the guides are only in german.

- playgrounds for children – so your children can go wild!

Playground area

Another play area

I really, really enjoyed Tierpark Hellabrunn! After visiting like 4 times last year, I realized that with that money I could have bought an Annual Ticket. So, piece of advice, if you plan to go more than 2-3 times, buy an annual season ticket – it’s 49 Euro for a adult or for an adult and a child.

Also, some animals can be seen only in certain seasons or sometimes areas are closed due to construction work. So, if you can, consult their website to see if they have any disruptions.

Now, that I convinced you to visit at least once this zoo park, next on the list is:

- Poing Wildpark! - opening hours: April to November – 9 am – 5 pm and November to March - 11 am – 4 pm. During weekends and school holidays the opening hours are always from 9 am.

Here, you can arrive by car: just enter in your navigation system Osterfeldweg 20, 85586 Poing and you will find your way. Or, you can take the S2 train to Poing station and, from there, you can enjoy a 20-30 minutes signposted walk.

Once you arrived, prepare your money for the entrance fee: 6.50 Euros for adult and 4 Euros for children 3-14 years of age, for children under 3 years the entrance is free. Also, if you need the prices for other categories (groups, pupils, students, seniors and so on) you can find the whole list on their website: Poing Wildpark (if you don’t know german, you will need to use google translate, because they don’t have an english version).

As far as I recall, you won’t receive a map of the park at the entrance, but you can download it from their website: information -> information flyer, also in german.

Poing Park Plan

The park is really really interesting as structure with amazing woods, meadow and ponds! Also, friendly free goats and deer walking around, that you can feed, caress or closely admire. There are many animals to see here: from wild birds to pigeon, from guinea pigs to wild boards, from wolf to lynxes. It’s a park for young and the old, because all the paths are accesible with the pram, wheel chairs or walk-helpers.

Deer in Poing Park

Storks in Poing Park

And last but not least, here you can find a playground with climbing structures for children and grass area with wooden tables and benches where you can enjoy a picnic. Or, if you didn’t bring your own food, you can buy food or sweets from the nearby kiosk. Also, near the playground, you have a changing room for babies/children and facilities for adults.

Playground in Poing Park

Because of the natural paths, I would advise you to go when it’s sunny outside or to bring along some changing clothes for the little ones if you go on wet weather.

Hope you added this park on your list, because here comes:

- BergTierPark Blindham - opening times: in the winter - 10 am – 6 pm – daily and in the summer - 9 am – 8 pm – daily. The last entrance is at 6 pm. The entrance fee are 5 Euros per adult, for babies is free and for children from 85 cm height (don’t ask me!) to 12 years – 3.50 Euros. For other prices, you can consult their website: BergTierPark (only in german language).

You can arrive by car – plenty of place to park and it’s way easier than by public transport. By public transport, you can take the S7 train to Grosshelfendorf station. From there you must walk like an hour (from experience). It’s not that I am complaining about walking, but the road is not that well signposted as they say on their website. If you aren’t that good with orientation, you may have some problems getting there by foot.

But, once you get there, the park is great! This park is home, for endangered and rare animal breed – like Brown Mountain sheep, the Swabian Hall swine and the Welsh Black-necked goat-, but also, for some farm animals – like goats, chickens, cows. The large meadows and forests are designed very similar to their natural habitat, so in some areas the fences aren’t too high, but they are electric. So be very careful and respect the signs you see on the fences!

BergTierPark Plan

The park has a gastronomy area where you can drink a warm/cold beverage or stop your hunger with some pizza, soup, wurst or other delicious food they offer. And if you are a sweets fan you can choose from homemade cookies and pies or enjoy a full cup of ice cream. If you are a picnic person, you have wooden tables and bench, where you can enjoy one. Also, I know they have a grilling place, but I don’t know the exact conditions for using the grill, so may want to ask first, if you are planning to fry some meat or veggies.

And, so the children won’t get bored, you have a very wide playground with some various attractions like: giant swings, trampolines, bungee trampoline, rotating carousel and many more, for children older than 2 years. But, if your child is younger or not an adventurous one, the park has a sandpit where the children can build sand castles, small swings and wooden frames with little slides. These way, everyone can have fun and maybe the parents can take a well deserved break.

So, I soon as spring sets foot here, you have 3 more locations you can enjoy in München together with family and/or friends. Have fun!

Winter holidays

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Lucia

Well, as you all know by now, “winter is coming” (he he) and along with it, besides cold, snow and wind, winter holidays: Saint Nicholas (Nicolae in romanian), Christmas (Crăciun) and New Year’s Eve (Anul Nou). As I found out, in Germany also, people celebrate the same holidays during winter.

Saint Nicholas/Nicolae/Nikolaustag is on 6th December, but the night before (on the 5th), the children put their cleaned boots next to the entrance door. The story is that the spirit of Saint Nicholas goes door by door carrying a book of sins in which all the actions of the year of all the children are written. So, Saint Nicholas fills the shoes with all kind of sweets for the good kids or with twigs for the naughty ones. Well, as I always received something sweet, that means I was a very good child (so far).

Christmas – the most wonderful time of the year. As every country has it’s own traditions, I will try to elaborate some traditions from Romania and Germany. My Christmas, since I was a child, smells like oranges, pine and baked goods. In every winter, when the cold comes and I smell oranges, I think like “aaah Christmas”. I think every person has a certain smell that reminds him/her of Christmas. Here, in Germany, the winter smells of cinnamon, almonds and mulled wine. I love it!

In my family, Christmas is the time when most or all the family gathered for the Christmas dinner. In the Christmas Eve, we would decorate the Christmas tree with all kinds of colorful decorations, some bought some home made, while listening to carols. Besides decorations, we used to hang Christmas candies. Oh man! I remember the decorating with candies was like: one in the tree, one or two in the mouth. When we finished decorating the tree, we would lid the Christmas lights. That, for me, is the most beautiful part, I like the feeling I get when the room is dark and the Christmas lights fill the room with all kind of different colors.

After enjoying the decorating, me and my sisters went caroling to family friends and neighbors. After having our throats sore from the singing and a bit cold from the snow, we came home to have dinner.

Well, the traditional Christmas dinner includes a lot of dishes, because romanian people like to eat a lot and, naturally, at a good meal you need a good drink. The most common dishes are:

- starters like olives, different sortiments of cheese and meat and the one and only “boeuf salad”. I don’t think there is a romanian Christmas dinner without this kind of salad. It’s like a must!

Boeuf Salad

- second dish usually is a soup or a sour-soup, mostly made with vegetables and chicken meat.

- next, cabbage rolls made with sour cabbage or sometimes the cabbage is replaced with vines leafs. This rolls are served with sour-cream and/or chili.

Cabbage Rolls

- and, finally, if you still can eat, steak with a spiced sauce and butter-potatoes or rice or salad or all together.

Yes! I know ) a lot of food, but no one says you need to eat until you drop. Besides all this food, romanians bake or buy from bakeries, the traditional Christmas cake, my favorite is the one with cacao and walnuts.

Christmas Cake

And just all of the “sudden”, after Christmas, you put some “holiday weight”, that is so hard to lose! So, after Christmas is passed, you have a few days break, because you need to “make way” for the New Years Eve!

Mostly, we spent the New Years Eve with friends, with a little less and lighter food than the one at Christmas. So, at midnight, you get your glass, fireworks and money in your pocket (the saying is that the year that comes will be a rich one ) and when the clock hits midnight you says “Happy New Year!”, clink the glasses and then fire away the fireworks.

Of course, there are many many others traditions regarding the winter holidays, this is just a short resume, so you won’t get bored reading.

And now, Germany! Here, you know that winter holidays are coming starting with the month of November. No kidding! From the last Sunday of November, in stores you find Advents Calendars and Advent wreaths.

Advents Calendars is the way to assure that Santa in on his way. Every day of December has a little paper window, so when the children or even adults open this little windows, they discover Christmas images or puzzle pieces or chocolates (or many other things). And you start counting: 23 days until Christmas … one day until Christmas, yey!

Advents Calendar

Advents wreath is made of bound fir twigs to which four candles are attached. One more candle is lit for each of the Advent Sundays. In large houses, shops, and in churches, these Advent wreaths hang from the ceiling, adorned with four fat red or yellow candles. This looks particularly splendid when the wreath is also decorated with red or violet ribbons. Pine and fir cones, little red mushrooms, or red and yellow ribbons are also attached to the green of the wreath. After the four Advent Sundays are over, there follow Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

From the beginning of Advent, booths and stalls are set up on the market-places in all cities where you can buy everything you need for Christmas: decorations for the tree and candles, crib figures and gingerbread (which is mainly baked and consumed at Christmas), Christmas trees, and presents for Christmas Eve. Walking through such a market really is an exceptional experience. Then there are all the lights from the stalls and the little stoves where sausages are fried, chestnuts roasted and where everybody drinks mulled wine (Glühwein). The most famous Christkindlmarkt takes place in Nuremberg and attracts lots of visitors every year.

Christmas market

Ginger bread

The Christmas tree - A German Christmas without the green fir tree is simply inconceivable. Trees are also found in churches and public squares. They are used in shops as decoration, and in offices to please staff and visitors. The giant trees that stand in public are especially grown for this purpose and carefully looked after in municipal wood. They are often up to 25 metres.

Christmas Tree

At home, an unique aspect of the German Christmas decorations is that, kids can not take part in the beautification of the Christmas tree. It is believed that the tree has some mysterious spell for all young eyes that rest on it before Christmas Eve. Christmas tree is decorated on Christmas Eve, prior to the evening feast. The father usually keeps the children in a seperate room while the mother brings out the Christmas tree from a hidden place and decorates it with apples, candy, nuts, cookies, cars, trains, angels, tinsel, family treasures and candles or lights. The gifts are kept under the tree. Nearby, beautiful plates are laid for each family member and filled with fruits, nuts, marzipan, chocolate and biscuits. The decorations finished, a bell is rung as a signal for the children to enter the room. The Christmas story is usually read during this time and carols are sung. Often, sparklers are lit and gifts opened too.

The Christmas Eve dinner menu traditionally comprises of delicious dishes such as suckling pig, white sausage, macaroni salad, “reisbrei” (a sweet cinnamon) and many regional dishes. The Christmas Eve is popularly called here as “Dickbauch” (meaning “fat stomach”) because of the myth that those who do not eat well on Christmas Eve will be haunted by demons during the night. So everyone tries to stuff their belly to the fullest on this day. Traditional Christmas dishes consist of plump roast goose, “Christstollen” (long bread loaves stuffed with nuts, raisins, citron and dried fruit), “Lebkuchen” (spice bars), marzipan, and “Dresden Stollen” (a moist, heavy bread filled with fruit).

I hope I started your holidays appetite! Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year!

See you in 2012!

Englischer Garten – English Garden

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Lucia

The thing that really impressed me is that, in Munich, you have a lot of public green spaces. One of them, English Garden – one of the world’s largest urban public parks, measuring “only” 3.7 square km and stretching from the city’s center to the northeastern city limits.

So, if you visit, and especially if you live in Munich, you must visit this enormous, amazing park. You will not be disappointed at all.

I know 3 ways to enter to English Garden, but I bet there are a lot more. So, you can enter the park from Odeonsplatz, Giselastrasse, Münchener Freiheit (U3 linie). I usually go to Marienplatz and from there, I take a 15 minutes walk to Odeonsplatz.

From Odeonsplatz, you enter Hofgarden through Hofgarden Gate (Hofgarten Tor). Here, during the summer, the garden is full of blooming roses that delight your view with their colors and your nose with amazing sweet essence. Sometimes, there are musicians that play in the park, that you can stop and listen while you enjoy a coffee or ice cream from the near by restaurant or Starbucks.

Hofgarten Tor

In the center of the garden, there is a pavilion and on its roof there is a replica of the Bavaria statue. Also, as you enter through Hofgarden Tor, on the right side, you have the Residenz building and at the end of the alley, turning left, you have the State Chancellery with a square black monument called “White Rose”.

Rezidenz from Hofgarden

State Chancellery

White Rose monument

As you walk along the State Chancellery, pass the White Rose monument, you can see a small tunnel – that being the entrance to English Garden. There are some many things to describe regarding this park, so I will try to point out some of the “must see” parts.

The park is divided in two by the Isar river. The southern part is about 2 km long, but much more populated during the summer, while the northern part (called Hirschau) is about 3 km long and a bit more peaceful and “wild”.

Some of the attractions in English Garden are:

- The Japanese tea house with a Japanese garden – which were created in 1972 to celebrate the Summer Olympics games that took place in Munich. A traditional Japanese tea ceremony takes place here regularly.

The Japanese Tea House

- The Monopteros – is a small round, Greek style, Apollo temple. It was built on a high foundation, around which a small hill was created in 1832, using leftover building material from recent work on the Munich Rezidenz (Royal Residence). The hill and temple were completed in 1836.

The Monopteros

- Between the Japanese and the Monopteros – for those of you who enjoy nude sunbathing, here is the right place. In this part of the garden, called Schönfeldwiese (“Schönfeld meadow”), the nude sunbathing is permitted since the 1960s, which made the English Garden well-known also outside Munich. So, if you walk along this path and your eyes fall on the buttocks or some other parts of the people that enjoy the sun, don’t stop and stare, just move along. It’s something natural that german people (and not only them) enjoy and are not ashamed of.

- The “Ice brook” – Eisbach - is a small man-made river in Munich, that flows through the English Garden and is a tributary of the Isar. Swimming in the Eisbach is not allowed, although you can see swimmers, especially in warm summer days (at their own risks).

- Surfing – yes! in the city. On this artificial stream that runs through English Garden, a wave about 1 meter high is produced (don’t ask me how), where surfers … surf. Of course, there’s a sign that only experts surfers should adventure in this experience. To bad for me!

Surfing

- The Chinese Tower - The Chinesischer Turm is a high wooden structure, that resembles the Pagoda from the Royal Botanic Gardens from London. The Munich tower has five stories, at the first one, during the summer there’s an orchestra that plays for the people that stop at the beer garden (of course there is one!) to drink and eat. The beer garden numbers around 7, 000 seats, being the second largest beer garden in Munich. During the winter, around the tower there is a Christmas market, where you can enjoy Glühwein (mulled wine) and all sorts of food.

The Chinese Tower

- The Rumford-Saal – Rumford Hall – is a small building, a few meters from the Chinese Tower, that was first used by the army and later by the court. Its dining hall, adorned with mirrors which give it its name, the “Spiegelsaal” (mirror room), has place for 150 people. Now, the building is used by the city of Munich as a children’s centre.

- Kleinhesseloher See – has a “little “and the little beer garden with 2,500 seat and a modern Lake House (Seehaus). Besides enjoying a drink or/and a meal, you can rent a boat and go wild on the lake.

This is a great park to go with children, practice sports – from soccer or running to frisbee. Also you can rent a chariot or a multi-wheel bike and take a tour of the garden. Or, if you enjoy horse riding, here you can find special sand tracks for this. Or maybe during the summer, you want to read a book or enjoy a picnic with family or/and friends. Or, or, or so many possibilities.

Multiwheel bike

English Garden is a place that offers so many options for some quality time during summer or winter. It’s impossible not to enjoy it and inadmissible not come here at least once.

Trip to Innsbruck

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Lucia

Last year, for Christmas, we decided to take a trip to Innsbruck, along with our daughter (naturally!) and some good old friends. We left in the morning by train (from Munich) and a hour and a half later we here at our destination.

: Alps – view from the hotel

We stayed at the Austrotel Hotel. Generally, a nice hotel, but when we went last year, they were renovating (building a new elevator). So imagine, cold outside and after a good warm lunch, the “music” of the drilling machines in the hallway wasn’t so nice. You can ask for internet acces at the reception, but the code they give you is available only for a few hours. After that, you need to ask another one. But, the staff was really nice, food was good and in the Christmas Eve they had a special menu, nice decorations and music, in the spirit of winter holidays.

: Austrotel Hotel

The city itself is beautiful, full of historic buildings, friendly ambient and with sport facilities in winter or summer. Being between the mountains, Innsbruck is a great locations for skiing during winter and mountain climbing during summer.

: Inn River

: Landestheater

: Goldenes Dachl

The city of Innsbruck was full of Christmas decorations (of course), little wooden houses where you can warm yourself with a Glühwein or chill your hunger with wurst, pancakes and other delicious food. Some of the important locations we visited were: the city center, the Golden Roof, the Old City, the Innbridge over the Inn river and, of course, a lot of stores.

: Christmas decoration – LED Tree

: Angels

We explored the city, but without a question, we took a trip up to 2300 m. First, we took the funicular train until 800 m height, afterwards a cable car until 1800 m (second stop) and 2300 m (last stop). The view of the city is amazing and breath taking (the cold played a part on that too). At 1800 m height, you can stop at the cabin, in a warm environment you can enjoy a warm meal or/and hot beverage and I highly recommend the apple pie they have. I am not a sweets fan, but that was delicious!

: Innsbruck – from 800 m height

: The funicular train station – 800 m

: Innsbruck from 1800 m height

: Innsbruck – from 2300 m height

At 1800 m, we had a little bit of fun. Right next to the cabin you can rent skis, snowboards or/and sledges for the entire day or for a few hours, depending on how much you stay. We’ve rented two sledges and used the small track. It was really fun!

: The cabin at 1800 m height

: Make waaaay!

And “le pièce de résistance” that you must not overlook – Swarovski! If you don’t have a car, there’s a bus specially for Swarovski, that leaves you right in front of the Cristal World (KristallWelten). At the entrance, you will receive a folder with informations about Swarovski in english, german, italian and even romanian. Usually, they ask you what language do you speak and if you want the folder in a certain language.

: Swarovski – Innsbruck

: Near the entrance

Inside, the exposition is AMAZING! I can only recommend you to go and see it with your own eyes, because I think words cannot describe enough the view. At the exit, you have, of course, a Swarovski store where you can buy jewelry from cheaper to exorbitant. And if you are hungry or if you need to wait for the bus, you can stop at the cafeteria.

: Swarovski exposition

: Taj Mahal

: Empire State Building

Before returning home, we payed a visit to Ambras Castle (Schloß Ambras) and took a walk in Ambraser Schlosspark. Is situated in the hills above Innsbruck, being one of the most important sights of the city. Its cultural and historical importance is connected with Archduke Ferdinand II, who resided in the castel from 1563 to 1595.

: Ambras Castel

: Vlad Tepes – a romanian ruler

We really enjoyed our trip to Innsbruck and I hope I convinced some of you to plan (at least) a visit to this beautiful city. We will definitely visit again, I hope in the summer!

German Language

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Lucia

Well here’s a tough one.

All my way through school I wanted to learn german. I really did! My first encounter with german language was in 5th grade. But, my mom will all her good intentions, transfered me at another school in the 6th grade, where the german class was canceled (we were only 5 crazy people that wanted to study “that”), so they replaced it with english. In high-school and university happened the same thing. It seems like, french and english were “cooler” languages to learn in schools. I tried to learn privately, but between 2 jobs, that’s almost impossible.

So here I am, ironically, living in Germany. At least now, I am learning (the hard way) german.

My first week here I thought “I know some basis german, how hard can it be?!”. Answer: pretty damn hard! I realized I didn’t knew squat! Except, of course, “hallo” (hello) and “auf wiedersehen” (“bye”), “ya”, “nein” and “danke”. People here talk fast and with different accents. And on top of that, they have dialects too! Here, bavarian!

And the funny thing is, when you have a kid, everybody wants to talk to you! So, in my first week, while taking a walk in the park, I had several people stopping at my pram, looking at my daughter saying: “Sie ist so suuuuuß”. Not knowing what the hell is this “suß”, I just nodded and smiled and maybe saying “ya, danke!”, hoping no one swears me. So I went home, looked the word in the dictionary and what a relief, they were saying “She is so sweet”.

After that, people where stopping me on the street to ask for directions. Most of the were old people or tourists. With tourists it’s easy, you ask them if they speak english, most of them do. But with older people goes like this: they were asking my something, directions mostly, and I was replying “I spreche nicht deutsch” (I don’t speak german), and they were asking me again! And again, I was repeating I don’t speak german! And so on, until they were practically shouting at me the same thing, maybe I was deaf or something . I just shrugged my shoulders and nodded my head like I don’t understand, while I was thinking “look lady I’m not deaf, I dont speak german, damn it!”.

So, my first advice, buy a pocket dictionary and keep it close. After a while you will start to understand what people want from you or what it writes on posters across town. In Munich, being a very touristic town, you will find people that speak english in stores, pharmacies, info points etc. But if you want a service, like internet, most likely you will get a response like we did “In Deutschland wir sprechen deutsch!” (In Germany we speak german!). Of course, the answer comes with a certain look.

After that, give yourself time to learn. That doesn’t mean you learn german for a week, than 2 weeks you take a break. Don’t expect to speak perfectly in one year, except maybe if you are some sort of genius. There are many institutions that teach german for foreigners, like: Deutsche Akademie, Desk, Inlingua, Goethe Institut etc. Also you can use Rosetta Stone or online website like http://www.livemocha.com/ or http://www.dw-world.de.

Here all the TV programs are in german, which sucks, by the way. But, you can learn some german from cartoons. Don’t laugh! Some of them are really educative, you can learn objects, colors, actions, animals and so on.

I live here for a year, I understand german (not entirely), but I speak poorly. I hope that after 2-3 years of living here, my german will improve and in 5-6 years I will kick their ass with my german language skills.

Also, you will need to interact with public institutions (if you move here). There, they speak only german and they surely don’t know sign language. Prepare your text from home: what you want, what you need and how to ask “can you repeat please?” or “can you say it once more?”. Most of the employees will try to listen and understand you (or, at least, that happend with me). Doesn’t matter if you embarrass yourself, you don’t go there on a daily basis.

Be the kind of person that tries to assimilate german culture. Most german people appreciate if you try to speak german, they have patience to listen to you and sometimes they will correct you (which I appreciated, because I don’t want to say “I ate a kitchen” instead of “I ate a cake”; kuche = cake, küche = kitchen).

Sure, you will have the “pleasure” to hear people annoyed by “those foreigners ( “die Ausländer”) that don’t speak german”, they can be a real pain in the ass with their rants. But as soon as you answer them in german, they will pretend nothing happend and wish you a nice day (it happend to me).

So, if you plan to stay here for life, put on your reading glasses, clean you ears and throat and start learning! Germany will be more beautiful once you know what the hell people are talking around you.

Finding useful information

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Lucia

When I first came here, I suddenly realized that I am big girl in a pretty huge world. All new, all unknown and all in a completely different language.

Before panicking, I grabbed the laptop and started digging on the internet with the aid of our good and loyal friend, Google! And I found a website, that was about to change my life, literally: Toytown Germany - Germany’s English-speaking crowd.

I recommend this website with all my heart. Here you will find all kind of informations related to Munich News, Events, Living, Sports and Family Life. If you want to find a sport club, maybe some football buddies, running partner or go out day or night and meet people/mothers/dads or you need financial/legal tips, on Toytown you find it all. And if you don’t, you can always ask.

Also, you will find a selling section or even items for free. Sometimes you can grab pretty good deals! And good part is: it’s not only for Munich. You can look informations for almost all areas in Germany.

And if you use Facebook, you can always join “Parents in Munich”. Here parents will help you with advices when you are in need, find out great tips regarding parenting or you can join parents-children meet-ups, events and so on. Also, from time to time, you can join a mothers night-out (without kids!).

So, have a good time browsing and gathering informations, in another language than german .

Online shopping – children section

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Lucia

Well, online shopping exist in Romania too, but here in Germany there is a website for everything. And of course, you can buy like …. everything!

On the top of the list:

- Amazon – http://www.amazon.de/ - huge selection for children furniture, strollers etc. But also everything from electronics to cosmetics, from books to gardening. Most products have reviews/ratings from those who bought them before you, so you can read (or better said, translate) others pros and cons. The delivery is pretty fast (1-3 working days) or you can pay extra for “morning delivery”. Also you can order from Amazon UK, US, FR etc. etc.

The following are some online shops that maybe you will find them useful as I did:

- Baby Waltz - http://www.baby-walz.de/ - I ordered some really nice children gifts for my nephews (Kinderbesteck mit namen – children cutlery personalize). Also, I bought a table with 2 chairs for my daughter. The delivery was very fast! And the products are of good quality. Also you have multiple payment choices, including invoice payment. That means with your order you get an invoice that you have to pay in 14 days. The only condition: don’t forget!

- Baby Land @ Segmueller (shop) - http://www.segmueller.de/ - A giant department store located in Parsdof (car needed) with a whole floor of baby items, including car seats, cots, prams, toys, clothes, accessories etc. Very good quality nursery furniture from here (which reflects in the price). There is a standard six weeks delivery, so make sure order in time in case you need stuff for a newborn.

- Mothercare UK (online) - http://www.mothercare.com/ - Lots of choice, and with both BFPO and European shipping (at extra cost)! But some items they cannot deliver oversea because of the size and weight (like prams, car seats, beds etc.). Good for baby clothes and maternity items for moms to be.

- C&A - http://www.cunda.de/ - Here you can find a great variety of clothes for babies/toddlers/children at good prices and good quality. Also, you can follow them online and find some great offers. And if you want to spare the transport costs, you can search what you like in the shops. There is a 4 floors store in Marienplatz, a 2 floors store in PEP – Neuperlach Zentrum and one in OEZ (Olympia Einkaufszentrum). Also, they have clothes/shoes/accessories for women, men and pregnancy. And if you are “in need”, in Marienplatz the 3rd floor, you have wickelraum and toilets.

- Babymarkt – http://www.baby-markt.de/ - Here you will find a selection for babies from strollers to nursery items. The quality of products is good and usually they have all kind promotions. Also, their website has language selection: german and english!

- Windeln.de - http://www.windeln.de/ – I find this website very useful. You can order big packages of diapers, wet wipes, formula milk, food, tea, fruitbars, bottles and so on. I was very pleased with the quality of products and with the fact that the delivery is fast and I don’t need to carry big boxes anymore or go 10 times a week at the store.

- Mytoys - http://www.mytoys.de/ - The title is quite self-explanatory. Toys, toys and toys!

- H&M - http://www.hm.com/de/ - Nice clothes and shoes for babies/toddlers. I only bought from the shop, the quality is good and the prices are good.

- Jako-o - http://www.jako-o.de/ – Clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, cd’s and books and many many others.

- Riem Car Boot Sale (Flea Market) - http://www.flohmarkt-riem.com/ - For those looking for second-hand car seats, bikes, prams, high-chairs and other “big” baby equipment. Safety experts say you should never buy second-hand car seats unless you know and trust the person selling the item.

- Melly’s Kinder Secondhand- http://www.mellys-secondhand.homepage.t-online.de/ - All the clothes are presented via gender and size, and they do have a selection of traditional bavarian clothing (Dirndls & Lederhosen), toys, prams, high chairs, car seats. A little bit of everything really! Everything was good quality and clean. They will also buy good quality baby items from you, but I don’t know exactly how this works or how much they will give you.

- Glueckspilz - http://www.glueckspilz-muenchen.de/ - Baby/Children clothes and pregnancy clothes too.

I hope you will enjoy online shopping as much as I do. One advise: dont buy all at once, some things for babies will be used just a few times or none! So try not to spend all you money.

Munich and children

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Lucia

Children. They bring beauty to life, along with a “bit” of stress and much lack of sleep.

Munich is a place where having a child means adventure, fun and discovery of beautiful places where you can “do stuff” with your family.

First thing first, most places are accesible for parents “driving” a pram. Almost every store has a ramp, if the entrance is not at ground level. In malls, train stations, u-bahn stations, almost every building, you have escalators and/or elevators (that sometimes don’t work, but hey! at least they exist!). In the public transport, there is place to “park” the pram without getting rude comments (of course, sometimes you may get a look). In S-bahn is at the beginning and end of each wagon and in U-bahn is, well, at every door (if you have place, if not – you are not suppose to start pushing people with the pram, just go to another door). Trams and buses have also a place for prams, but in trams is really small at the end of the wagon (no more than 2 prams), in the bus is at the middle (around 3 prams).

Prams/Strollers place in S-bahn

Let’s just say that in some parts of the world, germans have this reputation of “not so social” individuals. To my surprise, people in Munich are quite nice with kids. With a small child, sometimes happens they cry hysterically (no fun in that). Sure, some may mumble something and look annoyed by the lovely sound of crying and screaming, but most of them tried to calm my daughter, that was only 2.5 months when we moved here. And for me a nice “poor you” smile or some words of encouragement (or so I was hoping then, when my german was somewhere low under the sea level). Now that she is not a little baby anymore, people wave at her, they talk and play with her. Of course, she smiles nicely and they are like “aaaahhh so sweet and friendly” (in german, naturally, but now my german is at sea level).

Going somewhere with a child, sometimes means having some pretty smelly surprises. The good part is that in big stores, malls, restaurants and coffee places, most bathrooms have a room (called Wickelraum) where you can change the diaper without a problem (and so you don’t have to spread the “perfume” and put a stupid smile on your already red face). It is better to have the necessary supplies of your own, but if sometimes you forget, usually in a Wickelraum you will find: diapers, baby wipes, dry wipes and sometimes powder or/and diaper cream. But keep in mind, that sometimes you can find just a table and a bin.

In Munich you can choose from a very (very very very) wide variety of: clothes, prams, shoes, toys (and so on) for children, from cheaper to “oh my God!” prices . Also, a very smart thing, you can buy online like almost anything (but that will be another subject).

And after all this wonderful things you have here, what you don’t have is nursery places. That’s right! Sometimes I think you have a bigger chance finding a dinosaur fossil that a nursery place . I am talking about public nurseries, not private ones (which are quite expensive). Let’s say that the rule is “get a job, then make a child” (in most cases). So be prepared to become a bit of a “housewife”/”house dad” and start writing a blog, like I did.

In compensation, at least, you have many playgrounds, parks, indoor activities and different playgroups where you can go. Most on the playgroups are in german or english, but you will certainly find mothers/dads of your nationality in no time. Munich is a colorful place when it comes to foreigners and you have the chance to find mothers/dads that share your nationality or you can exchange life experiences with anyone you like (and likes you, of course).

And if you like travelling or exploring, be prepared to find soooo many things that help you take your child with you, and make your life a bit easier: from chariots/child seats for bikes to child backpack carriers. Also you can find books about bike routes or even routes with baby/child in pram, that you can enjoy with your family.

Bike Chariot

Child carrier

Munich has its ups and downs regarding a child, but from my point of view, it’s quite an interesting place for a family. Living here or just visiting, you can entertain yourself and your child/children, making life as a home-stay parent less boring.

Olympia – our first “love nest”

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Lucia

The first apartment we’ve rented was in Olympiazentrum area.

Flat on Nadistr.

A small flat, at the 3rd floor, in the “old” Olympic village. The Olympic village was build for the Olympic games in ’72, where all the athletes and their crews were accommodated, around 10,000 people (!). In the late ’60 – early ’70 that area was considered the “ghost city”, because of all the huge 9 floors concrete buildings with no green areas. But now, the Olympic village is a unique area with parks, green hills, small fountains and flowers or trees in almost every balcony. On Canollystreet, you will find a monument in the memory of those who were killed in the olympic attacks in 1972.

Olympiazentrum

Olympiapark and the Olympic village now are touristic objectives and historical monuments.

From where we lived, it was a 10 minutes walk to Olympiapark. The park it’s not just a park, it’s a small paradise. With green hills, a superb lake, the imposing Olympia Tower, many areas for sport, Olympiapark it’s one of the biggest parks in Munich.

Olympia Tower

During the summer, on the lake you can feed and admire beautiful swans and ducks. Many people lay down on the grass with a book in their hand, enjoying a snack or a coffee. Also, you can rent boats and take a tour of the lake (which it’s not small at all – 80. 000 m2). Or if you like sports, you can dust off your rollerblades and start “walking”, you can play mini-golf, basketball or join the RedBull aquatic ski contest. And, of course, you can be one of the many cyclists or power-walkers or nordic-walkers. Oh yes! People here do sports and, for those who know what I mean, you can walk on the grass! ).

Olympia Park - Olympia Berg

Also, during the summer you can enjoy the summer festival “Toolwood”, movies in the park and the fireworks show “A summer’s night dream”. And so on and on and on!

And do not image that in the winter the park lacks activities. The lake is drained and the hills become real sliding tracks for children and adults. Also, you can enjoy the Audi Ski Cup and Germany’s Hockey Cup. Of course, every event must have a Glühwein stand and maybe currywurst/wienerwurst and so on.

Audi FIS Sky Cup

You can do so many only in this park area, that it would take me pages and pages to describe it. Long story short you can enjoy all kind of concerts in Olympia Halle (from classics to pop), you can swim in Olympia Schwimmhalle (swimming hall), enjoy the circus, folkloric events, exhibits, inside sport in the SoccerArena or Olympia-Eissportzentrum.

You can visit the BMW World (BMW Welt), BMW Museum, Sea Life (one of the biggest aquariums in Europe), and of course, the 290 m high Olympia Tower (where you can enjoy a wonderful panorama and a meal at the gourmet restaurant). Up on the Olympiaberg, you can enjoy an amazing panorama of Munich and the Alps. And as a bit of history, Olympiaberg (Olympia Hill) was build from the rubble and debris of the buildings destroyed in WWW II and some from the construction of the subway. Now, joggers, bikers enjoy climbing the hill or in the winter, even snowboard championships take place.

BMW Welt & Offices

Besides all this amazing places you can enjoy, living in Olympiazentrum can be expensive regarding the rent. The whole area is very accesible for old people, mother with prams and people in wheelchairs. All the entries are at ground level, all the apartment buildings have elevators and the area is full of ramps, so you can easily moved around shopping or walking. Also, the pedestrian area is above the street and all the parking places are underground, which makes it a safe area for children.

Regarding the shopping, here you can find a variety of supermarkets (Tengelmann and Netto), bakeries (Mueller, Discount Bakery, Mr. Baker), pharmacy, chinese restaurant and turkish take-away. Also different services like: friseur, rehabilitation gymnastics, real estate agency, a small clothes boutique, orthopedic shop, flower shop, coffee shop and 2 bank branches – Stadtsparkasse and Hypovereinbank.

And, if all this doesn’t satisfy you, you can always go to Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (Olympia Mall) by U3, which is 5 to 10 minutes walk from the apartments, or you can enjoy a walk thought the park to the mall (15-20 minutes walk). In this 2 floors mall, you will find a wide variety of clothes, shoes, jewelry shops, all kind of food stands, supermarkets, library, almost anything your heart desires. From Olympiazentrum to Marienplatz (which is the center of the city) by U3 it takes around 25-30 minutes.

So as you can observe, it’s great area but the only disadvantage: the apartments are small and expensive for a family with a child and only one working family member.

Nevertheless, this is an area I will always enjoy returning to every summer, every winter, every time of the year. Is an area in which you cannot get bored and will always amaze you with her beauty.

Olympia overview

Finding a place to live

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Lucia

Finding a place to live in Munich can be quite a challenge.

When my husband came here, he had to rent a fully furnished apartment. Luckily, there are specialized firms that do that. Our experience was with MrLodge and fortunately was a pleasant one.

So, we looked over the internet on their site, found an apartment, like it, rent it. All via internet. Yes, I know, we took a big risk. But, when he came in Munich, the apartment was exactly as shown on their site, nothing more nothing less.

Besides the contract, he signed an inventory that included every item in that flat (from forks to towels). In addition to the rent, when you rent a flat you will pay a warranty (kaution), usually 2 or 3 times the rent, plus cleaning fee (around 100 Euros). In case something is broken, the sum will be deducted from the warranty you paid.

The employees from MrLodge do speak english, they were polite and professional, everything went “smooth, soft and silky”. Of course, for all their trouble we paid a very nice commission.

Also, when we moved out that apartment, they found really quick another tenant. The landlord came, made an inspection of the apartment, we paid for the broken stuff (when you have children it’s impossible not to break something) and in one week the caution we paid was back in our bank account.

Of course, you have other options for finding a place to live: sites like immoscout24.de or real estate agencies, but you will need to pay the agent commission which is around 2.38 * the rent (at a rent of 700 E a month, the commission would be around 1600 E). It’s not cheap, I know.

But, if you want to avoid this commission you can search for an apartment in the newspaper (süddeutsche Zeitung) or on quoka.de, directly from the owner. On the last site we found our currently flat, which is actually the ground level of a house.

Regarding the rent, furnished flats are more expensive than unfurnished ones. But there’s is always Ikea, where you can buy anything you want from cheap to expensive. Also, when you discuss a rent with an agent or owner there are two aspects: cold rent (kalt miete) - the basis rent and warm rent (warm miete) - the rent including the utilities. For example: the rent is 700 Euro per month and the utilities costs are 150 Euros per months, that means you will pay 850 E per month. You will need to discuss if the utilities are fixed or not. It is possible that after a period of time, the landlord will make a recalculation.

Munich isn’t a cheap city, the rents in the city or closer to the city are more expensive than those in the outer district. So if you don’t mind using the public transport, that won’t be a problem.

Also before you sign any contract, if you don’t speak german, translate it first. Don’t need to be paranoid, but people are people and they aren’t all nice. And you need to know what you are signing.

If you need to book an apartment over the internet, do not send money in advance. That’s stupid and you’ll be ripped off. No real estate agencies or owner asks money to reserve any flat or house.

Any problem regarding the structure of the flat, add it in the contract or tell the landlord. Don’t do anything without notifying first. In case of conflicts, you can subscribe to the Mieterverein (Tenants Association) and they will help you with the situation. Mieterverein is roundabout 70 € / year and you have to subscribe early. Any case that happens before or within the first 3 months of subscription is not covered. This is to avoid people joining and leaving after their case is finished. More infos on: http://www.mieterverein-muenchen.de/.

We didn’t had any problems with the landlords so far, but I’ve heard some “not so nice” stories.

And, please, don’t be offended if you don’t get an apartment you want. Maybe the owner doesn’t like your shoes (joking), there’s nothing you can do about it. The competition is big when it comes to rent a “commission-free” flat.

Something you like will come along, depending your expectations and needs.

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