Initial Thoughts of Munich and Charlie's Adventures in German Electrical Systems

Apologies for the Delay in getting this up:

My stay in Munich was... trying at first. Things have improved over the past couple of days. I've met some people who are also doing the IP program. People have come from all over - many are from GW, but we've got a couple of girls from Turkey, one from Japan, a guy from Tennessee, a girl from Jacksonville. I've met three people who have lived in or are from Kansas. There are several other patent examiners, which is funny (it's like Con Law 1 all over again). The classes seem interesting. Thus far, my experience as a day student has largely been: (1) read for class, (2) go to class, (3) read for class, (4) go to class, (5) go out for drinks with friends. Conclusion: Being a day student is awesome :-P

Anyway. Back to the beginning of my travels.

I had to stay in a hotel my first night here. During that day, I wandered around the city a bit, trying to get a feel for it. Munich is a small city - very walkable. I was on a bike tour yesterday, and the tour guide said that Munich was known as the Stadtdorf (city / village) in Germany.

Odeonplatz. This is the northern entrance to the pedestrian area in Munich. The center of Munich is zoned as a pedestrian area - bikes are the only vehicles allowed.

This is the Neues Rathaus - the New Town Hall. Central Munich also has many, many beer halls. You sit under an umbrella and order drinks / food. Germans appear to take their time with both drinking and eating. Their meals aren't rushed, like in America.

The pedestrian area of central Munich.

This is a building in the Hofgarten (a garden between central music and the massive Englischer Gartens). Our Bike tour took us past this yesterday, and the guide explained how musicians can play music anywhere in Munich if they register with the gov't and pay a small fee. However, musicians must be approved by a panel of judges before they are allowed to play here.

Another shot of the Hofgarten.

The Hofgarten at sunset.

This is the Staatskanzlei, near the Hofgarten. I think the governor has offices here. The glass walls represent transparency in government.

Another shot of the Staatskanzlei.

This is the statute right in front of the Staats-Kanzlei.

I wandered into the Englischer Gartens, which are massive.

Part of the Isar was diverted into the English Gardens. That's a glacial river. There is a standing wave upriver from this bridge that surfers use. I'm sorry that this picture is incredibly dark - it was late in the day, and the forest is surprisingly dense in the English Gartens.

...

The next day, I had to get the key to my apartment and transfer my stuff all over. I was told by the owner of the apartments that the man who manages them also manages a hotel for him. I go there. There is an initial mixup with the number of days i have reserved the apartment. He said I only had the apartment until the 30th of July. I tell him I thought I had it the entire month, til the 31st. He tells me that the 31st will cost 40 euros extra. I have to point out my email exchange with the owner, which describes the period of rental 1-31st. The manager relented. I paid, handed over my deposit, and got my key.

My apartment is not too far from where my hotel was, in Schwabing. Shwabing is the university area of munich, and is located right next to the English Gartens. Also, it was historically the bohemian area of the city. Apparently it retains that vibe - I can't say I've felt it yet. Anyway, If I take the metro, I can be at the school in 10 minutes. If I walk, maybe... 20-30.

So. I get to the place. It's nice enough - larger than I thought.

It has an hallway connecting the living area and the bathroom.

Join me in a game of "find the outlet / light source." It's like "Where's Waldo?", except that you will never win. I find that if I turn on the light in the kitchen (on the other side of the window), it usually suffices. During the daytime, it's well lit.

The kitchen. I have yet to try any of the appliances, aside from the refrigerator.

Overall, I'm satisfied with it. The place is cozy and clean. The building is mostly quiet. There was really just one problem...

After I dropped my stuff on the floor, I explored the apartment. There are many little shelves and cabinets. In a closet, I find a power strip that will plug into german outlets, but has US plugs for appliances. "Woohoo!" I think. "Now I can plug in more than one thing at a time!" Well, I plug it into a wall outlet (the power strip was switched on when I plugged it in). As soon as it's plugged in, I hear (and feel) a pop come from the socket and the power strip. After trying several other plugs, I conclude that (1) a fuse blew, and (2) I have one fuse for all the outlets in the apartment.

I go to the fuse box.

I'm used to a bank of switches, rather than plugs. So, I google fuses. The most important lesson when replacing fuses is that you should replace a blown fuse with a fuse with the same amperage and voltage. So, there are several replacement fuses in the box. "That's nice, I think. Maybe this isn't an uncommon occurrence, but at least my fuse box is stocked up." I try them all, and flip switches on and off. Nothing works. Later, I notice that the fuse-holder is littered with little red caps. It turns out these are caps from blown fuses, and every "replacement" fuse has already blown. My apartment is where fuses go to die.

I head down to the Germany Best Buy / Radio Shack (imagine a best buy that doesn't just store popular consumer products, but also things like specialty lightbulbs, wiring, and, most importantly, fuses. Imagine a Radio Shack that has customers.) I get there, and learn that it is closed. Munich, with a heavy Roman Catholic influence, shuts down on Sundays (aside from restaurants and cafes). So, no fuses for me on Sunday.

*a hiuccup occurred here that I'm not writing about ATM. It's still an ongoing issue, sort of. Ask me when I get back*

Anyway, the next day, between classes, I go back to get fuses. I ask two workers for help. Neither spoke English, so I had to narrow down the location by which half of the store fuses were in, then which section they were in (via pointing, with the last employee yelling across the store when I walked past the correct row). I rushed back to the apartment, replaced the fuses, and brought my living situation back to the 20th century.

...

To end this entry on a good note: I ended up going out to dinner after orientation with some of the other students. We went into one of the places nearby, looking for some traditional German food. I've been very negligent with taking pictures of my own food, however...

L to R: Ezgi, Jessica, Jill, and Aly. Aly had ordered something like a "peppered-joint." We had no idea what that was. She received what seemed to be a breaded leg of pork. As indicated by Jill, we were much amused at the size of it. It was like those turkey legs you get at medieval faires. Jill and I had ordered the same thing: Boeuf ala Mode. It ended up being a couple of pieces of beef with gravy, and some sort of bread-dumpling thing that looked vaguely like marbled meat.

Phil and Yuko.

Anyway, it was great to meet everyone, and an excellent start to this summer study abroad thing.