Marienplatz

Marienplatz

         Another side trip I will be taking with the family I am staying with is to Marienplatz or St. Mary's Square. It is in the very heart of Munich. This city square is the best known plaza in Munich and also has been Munich's main square since 1158. It used to hold many tournaments and markets in the Middle Ages. There are a few aspects that attract many locals and tourists to Marienplatz every year. It has the most incredibly beautiful Gothic architecture. Also the Glockenspiel clock in the new city hall tower. It puts on its daily show at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., and 5 p.m. with its forty-three ringing bells and thirty-two dancing figures. Many locals say it is a great place to hang out or meet with friends. They say you can get practically anywhere in the city from it. It also has many restaurants to eat there also. Marienplatz seems like an amazing plaza to go to, and I am very excited to see and walk in this historic city hall. 

The famous Glockenspiel clock's dancing figures 

English Garden

The beautiful land of English Garden

      One trip that I was told for certain that I will be taking in Munich is to the 'Englischer Garten', or the English Garden. This is a nine-hundred acre public park in the center of Munich with free admission. I read it was actually the very first public garden in the world. It has many paths, ponds, and brooks. In the summer, many people come and play football, Frisbee, ride horses, and even surf on the Eisbach river. River surfing is something I will be sure to try! It is also nice just nice to relax in the sun or sunbath... without clothes on? Yes, it is permitted to walk around naked in or around the horse track. I think I will be sure to avoid the horse track... :P. As for restaurants and such, there is there are four beer gardens and restaurants that are well known: Chinesischer Turm, Seehaus, Hirschau, and Aumeister. This is just some information that I learned online and from communication with my German family. I looking forward to going to this beautiful garden while I'm in Munich!!! 

River Surfers at the English Garden

Things to see and do in Munich

Nymphenburg Palace

      I have really been looking forward to some of the sights and activities there are in Munich. Munich is a very old city and has many historic places to experience. I think some of the markets would be cool to visit. Auer Dult is a market that is held three times a year in Munich and one of Munich's oldest markets. It is basically a fair with food,activities, and shopping. The BMW Welt and plant are located in Munich. I have always despised going to museums because of how boring some can be, but the BMW museum looks very interesting and fun. It has many old BMW motorcycles and cars to see. Being an old city, Munich has many castles and palaces. One palace that is strikingly beautiful and elegant, is Nymphenburg Palace. This Palace was built by Elector Ferdinand Maria in honer of his new born son. It was a summer 'house' to them. Another amazing historical place to visit would be the Olympic Park. The 1972 summer Olympics were held in Munich, and an amazing stadium, Allianz Arena, was built for this event. There is also the Munich Zoo to visit. Even though I have been to many zoos, I will never get bored of zoos! There are still so many places in Munich to visit, but these are just some of the places that looked interesting to me. I am so pumped that I might be going to these places!!!

Allianz Arena

Munich and Germany's Economy and Environment

A green roof in Germany

      I have been researching a lot about Munich in the past months. I started thinking about how the economy, politics, the environment and such are. What I read is that Munich has the strongest economy when comparing to other German cities. Munich also can brag that it has the lowest unemployment rate: 5.6%! Since Germany is a lot like America (like I have said about a thousand times), there are a lot of the same jobs. I looked up employment in Munich and the website said that there are over fifty-thousand people employed in just research. It also said that Munich is Germany's "silicon valley." A silicon valley is all the high-tech businesses in a area. This also provides many jobs. On to government, Germany is a federal parliamentary republic. This has the power split between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. With a chancellor, head of government, and a president, head of state. German environment is a little different from the environment that I have experienced. Apparently, Germans live very "green." Their government has spent the past forty years trying to make new policies and such to make Germany "greener." In Munich there are a minimal number of cars and more bikes. This reduces the pollution that cars produce. On the line of being "green", I heard that German houses are very tidy and organized. I am not completely sure, I guess I will have to find out! If they are, I hope I can manage to do my best on cleaning and being green!!

No cars except for buses in Munich

Comparing Family Life

Housing in Munich

        In this post, I will be comparing family life of Germans to my life in the U.S.The family I am staying with  is a family of five, two parents and three kids, with one set of grandparents living with them also. It actually is not common for grandparents to live in most German homes. Most families have about 1-3 children and two parents; Germans typically do not have large families. German houses are hard to describe. They are much different than American homes and they vary from where you live. In the actual city of Munich, there are many apartments and town houses, just typical big city housing (forgive me if I'm making stuff up, I don't live in a big city). The house I will be staying in is in the country-side of Munich. It is on a gorgeous piece of  land with a barn and a big farmhouse. I am not really sure what kind of farming they do... I was never told. This will be a new experience for me. I live on a lot of wooded land (like... a lot), but I am not used to farm-life. Germans eat a lot of the same thing Americans eat. I have heard that they eat a LOT of bread and cheese. I am perfectly fine with this!;)  There are still some specific German dishes also. One mentioned was  Spätzle, a doughy noodle dish. Again, German do a lot of the same things we do for fun: go bowling, hang out with friends, listen to music, eat, and going to movies. I am so thankful that I am not going to stick out as much as I thought!!!I think I will have a lot of fun with my "family"!   

A German farmhouse 

Social Customs

German People look and dress like Americans

       Germans' social customs are similar to Americans'. The way they dress is no different from Americans. This is good for me because I will be able to 'blend in'! Women are respected there also like American women which is also a relief to me because I would not fit in in a country without women's rights. I read that some Germans have been thought to be "a bit cocky and at arms length", which probably means that they are not going to become best friends with me in a heartbeat. Hopefully I will be able to become close with the family I will be staying with. Sports are a big influence on Germany's culture. Soccer is the most popular sport in Germany followed by handball, a combination of basketball and soccer (these are just the most popular, so there is still football, basketball, and all that good stuff). I might find myself playing some soccer when I'm over there. I also researched how Germans celebrate holidays and what are common holidays. It looked like Christmas and New Years are celebrated like they are in America. One huge holiday celebrated and held in Munich every year is Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is a festival celebrating beer that lasts for sixteen days of the first two weeks of October. With 6 million people from all over the world, It is the world's largest fair and one of Germany's most famous events. These are some of Germans' social customs and interests!!! 

Germans celebrating Oktoberfest

Overview

Map of Germany

      I am so excited to be going as a foreign exchange student to the beautiful and exciting German city of Munich. Munich is the capital of the German state Bolivia in the southern part of Germany. It is also the third largest city in Germany (next to Berlin and Hamburg). Since the Bavarian Alps are just below Munich, the terrain there is very hilly. It also has very cool and wet climate. I will definitively make sure to pack warm clothes and an umbrella with me! In Munich, there are many sights to see and endless activities to do. I have a feeling I will not be bored there! I am also told by the family I will be staying with that I should expect to be walking or biking many places in the city. Not many people have cars in the city so they either bike, walk, or take a train. So, I also need to bring a good pair of shoes to walk in. I read that Munich's public transport system is one of the best and easiest in Europe. Out side of the city center, there is acres of beautiful undeveloped grassland. You would not see a freeway or a billboard in sight there. Now on to the uninteresting facts. Most of the people there speak German, which is not a surprise since it is in Germany. I will have to practice up on my German in order to be able to speak to the people there! The currency used in Munich (and over all Germany) is the euro. One euro to the U.S. dollar would be $1.29. In regard to religion, Catholicism is the major religious faith. Over 30% of people in Germany are not affiliated with a church. Maybe this trip will be the perfect opportunity to minister Christ to these people! I am very excited to go to Munich and am positive that this fascinating city will not disappoint me!!!! 

Beautiful city of Munich