Guten Morgen from Starnberg

It’s about 9:30 am, Germany time, and I just finished breakfast at a cute, sidewalk café in Starnberg. Breakfast consisted of black coffee and three rolls with butter and jam. I could’ve ordered meat paste or boiled eggs or all sorts of other things, but I’m easing in slowly. It’s a beautifully sunny morning here, with temps expected to rise again in the 80s or maybe even 90s. We’ve experienced a bit of that European heat wave that’s in the news, but the humidity here is low and nights cool off a lot. I woke up a little chilly, with my windows wide open all night.

I have to pinch myself a little bit that I’m actually here, and that I’m here not as a tourist but as a resident. I’ve loved going to cafes around Europe like the one I’m at now, but now I can come back here any day I want. Kind of crazy and a bit surreal.

Yesterday was a whirlwind. It was my first full day here, and using the word “full” barely tells half the story. I met a woman, Doris, from the school early at the train station then the day consisted of running around to various city and county offices, waiting, running around some more, waiting, and then more waiting. We also met up with another new teacher, Maddie, and her husband Joe. She’s a theater teacher, and the two of them are from South Carolina. Included in the day’s schedule were getting a work permit, getting photos taken for the work permit (at a different place, of course), getting a resident permit, opening up a bank account, filling out HR paperwork at the school, opening up a Vodaphone account, and probably a few things I’m forgetting. In the middle of the string of appointments, Doris took us out to lunch at a fun, very pretty, outdoor beer garden.

The day ended at Ikea. Maddie and Joe had rented a car for a few days and were gracious enough to drive me out there. I loaded up on a bunch of crap and the most necessary purchase of all – a mattress to sleep on! The stuff I bought was just the tip of the iceberg, but it was a good start. At least I can now dry off from a shower, make myself some coffee in the morning, lay my head on a pillow, and plug shit into the walls.

Dinner last night consisted of leftover pizza and beer out on my patio while talking to Tricia and Sammie over WhatsApp. By the way, if you’re reading this and don’t have a WhatsApp account, please consider getting one. Then you and I can text and talk, which I can no longer do for free long distance because I now have a local German phone number.

Nervous energy and Ikea unpacking kept me up until about midnight, but then my night’s sleep was a good one – hallelujah! I took some CBD oil prior to bed, so not sure if it was that or just my exhaustion finally catching up to me. But it sure was nice sleeping until 7:00 and having the sun beaming through my windows when I woke up.

Today I'm going to check out the city more by foot, then I'm meeting Karen and some other new teachers for lunch, then probably some shopping and organizing of the apartment later in the day. When talking with a friend as I was preparing for this experience, he said something to the effect, "How do you eat an elephant? One bit at a time." That's a philosophy I'm trying to live by right now!