First Month Recap: Welcome to...Austria?

…OR That Time We Moved to Germany

…OR Where to Stay When Oktoberfest Prices are in Effect and You’re not Going to Oktoberfest

I think the best way to “catch up” on blogging my Germany experiences is to post recaps of each month and then create themed blogs when something comes up that needs, or warrants, more explaining. The only way I will actually do this is if I make myself post the recaps in between relatively “on-time” posts. Since I already really want to blog about four or five events in the last week, here is my first month’s recap.

September 2010. While researching where to stay when we arrive, we confirm our suspicions that hotels in Munich are really expensive during Oktoberfest. The four of us fly together from Baltimore to Munich (through Detroit, because the Navy travel office must have thought the kids needed a longer flight). We immediately rent a car at the airport and travel to Kufstein, Austria, where hotel prices have not skyrocketed. (Perhaps it is because some of their "buildings" only have one wall, like the greenish one below.)

The next day my Mom flies to Munich and meets us in Kufstein, braving the regional DeutscheBahn train allein in true globetrotter fashion. It is complicated to explain why my Mom did not fly with us in the first place, but we’re very glad she shared this part of the adventure! Patrick flies to Berlin and Naples (yes, Italy) to complete our check-in process. Kufstein is beautiful

and has nice walking paths

and playgrounds.

And the Riedel Glass store. And a cool organ in an old castle built into the side of a large hill…

and a daily concert on said organ.

And a River, called the Inn, that runs through it. No Brad Pitt, though.

And a delicious gelato store where you can get a single scoop cone or cup for less than a buck! Finally something cheaper on the Euro. Patrick returns, and my Mom flies back to Maryland. We “move in” to our new house (both newly built and new to us), inhabiting only the third floor open room and ground floor kitchen, while work continues on the rest of the house. Oktoberfest starts,

and so does our company…Patrick’s brother James visits for about five days. We explore downtown Munich, our neighborhood and Oktoberfest. Pretzels, beer, Obazda (more on this later), and various other Bavarian specialties abound…YUM!

We celebrate Molly’s 3^rd birthday

with new bikes for both children and various other Spielzeug to take up the large house that is gradually being turned over to us.

There is so much more I could include, but unless the Magic Blog Fairy is going to leave some Euro under my pillow to write this, I need some sleep. As I'm sure I'll do many times over the next few years, I want to send a special THANK YOU shout-out to the Olmsted Foundation for affording our family such a wonderful opportunity!

Until next time, thanks for reading...

So you think you're a Blogger...

If you know me, you know I use Facebook frequently. It helps me stay in touch with friends and family, and I'm not usually so good at that. Since we live in Munich now, it's particularly helpful to post pictures and give updates on various life issues, without having to write mass emails or keep typing the same stuff over and over. Then, when I have phone or email conversations with those people I'm friends with on FB, we don't spend all of our time catching up on big topics, and can kind of take up where we left off, so to speak. With two toddlers running around, time is at a premium and I prefer to spend mine with my kids, even though I need crave that connection to the places we've lived and the friends we still have there, as well as with the friends who move frequently like we do! So why am I telling you all this? Because now, since you're reading this, you see that I now also fancy myself a blogger...yes, a blogger! How do I possibly have interesting enough stuff to share in a BLOG!?!? Aren't blogs for celebrities (eyeroll) and have-it-all-together people (even bigger eyeroll) and people who have strong opinions and/or knowledge about which they think others should be aware (you guessed it, long eyeroll with sigh)? Well, just as I did with computers, cell phones, iPods, texting, annual Christmas letters, smartphones, Facebook, even iPads (yup, it's on order), I've changed my mind. In fact, I've already been following, with much delight, interest and amazement, about 10 of my friends' blogs for about eight months. Maybe it's not so bad to be "one of those bloggers" after all. I mean, we live a very Blessed life, and we are living in Munich as part of a very special military program made possible by the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation, and we are having a blast! So while I can't promise I'll be any good at updating our adventures at any regular intervals (though of course that's my intention), I've decided to share a little bit of our experience here in Munich in a (gulp) BLOG. After all, if we share enough love and fun from our life here, maybe we can convince you to visit us so we can really share part of the adventure together!

Thanks for reading,
Cheers, Prost, Kampai, Slainte, and all that jazz...
Susan and the rest of the Murphy clan, Patrick, Molly & Fionn