In "The Wang"

I’m sitting comfortably, feet up on a sectional couch in the Wangen, Germany home of the Schmidt’s - friends from my time here - drinking a cappuccino from Hans’ complicated but amazing machine and watching the Twins-Blue Jays replay from last night. Chill would be the best word to describe my current situation. Wangen - or as Hans Schmidt would call it, “The Wang” - is a bucolic farming village south of Munich and just east of where I used to live in Starnberg. Think farm fields, picturesque Bavarian homes with multi-colored flowers cascading from 2nd story balconies, church bells every 15 minutes, one teeny-tiny market, horses grazing in a small lot adjacent to the house, ducks quacking and swimming in a nearby pond, and the intermittent cock-a-doodle-doo of a proud, loud, happy rooster. (OK, I don’t know if he’s happy. But he makes me happy.) The vacation from a vacation I wrote about in a previous post? This is definitely it.

Prior to flying to Munich on Tuesday, I had a few more days in Madrid to wrap up my time in Spain. These days were also quite chill. Kenia, Yesi and I had a really fun evening one night at Rio Manzanares Park, picnicking, relaxing, listening to music and laughing a lot. Kenia and I spent a day together - taking a long walk to Parque Lineal del Manzanares southwest of Madrid, eating a FABULOUS menú del día complete with paella and a freaking awesome oxtail stew, and going to a pub in the city to watch the Women’s Euro final between England and Germany. I was forced to say “goodbye” to Maria - not fun - as she had to travel back to Minnesota. David, Maria and I enjoyed a menú del día together as our final meal before Maria flew home the following day.

It was bittersweet to leave Madrid. I was definitely happy to be trading the big city and sweltering heat for a Bavarian village and a mild climate, but after spending so much time with family during the trip, I was a bit melancholy about being more on my own. And, a bit sad to be leaving behind my cafés con leches, tostadas, vino tintos, cañas, Kenia and Yesi, and the Spanish language I was beginning to become more and more comfortable speaking. But, of course I’ll be back. Just maybe not Madrid in July for a while - uf dah!

When I was building my itinerary for this trip, I targeted my time in Bavaria as the time I’d be able to refresh, regroup, rest and plan for future travels. And that’s just what I’m doing. The Schmidt’s - Aussies Hans and Helen and their children Lily and Alex - are currently traveling through Turkey, so I have the house to myself. Time and space to spread out, relax, sleep all day if I want to, binge some stuff (Blackbird on Apple TV, Borgen Power & Glory on Netflix and The Bear on Hulu) and in general just exist at my own pace. It’s definitely what I needed. It’s been my first time to fully unpack since my trip began, and it’s proving to be the first time I’ve really been able to stop, reflect, and just put a pause on the daily planning of what to do, when to do it, when to eat, where to eat, etc… I loaded up on groceries and beer my first day here, so as far as travels and plans are concerned, I don’t really need to leave the house.

That’s not to say I’ve been solely a couch potato since arriving here last Tuesday. On Wednesday my friend Lynne and I took a bike ride to Pilsensee, about a 3-hour round-trip ride through the beautiful Bavarian countryside and to a swimming beach and restaurant by the lake. Lynne currently lives in California but was in Bavaria briefly at the end of her own European adventure this summer. It was great to see her, as she and I became good friends and definitely bonded over cycling and hiking during our time here together two years ago.

At the end of our ride, Lynne and I biked to Forsthaus Kasten Biergarten near Gauting and met friends Joe, Maddy, Pam and Andy. I had my first Maß - or 1 liter beer - and we enjoyed some good conversation catching up and sharing stories of our summers. Super awesome to be back, drinking helles and seeing old friends!

The following day Pam and Andy picked me up and we went to meet up with friends Kristi, Matthew, Madison and Nick along the Isar River just south of Munich. The Isar is a gorgeous, meandering, clear, clean river that flows from the Alps, through Munich and eventually to the Danube, and it’s a river that becomes the playground for Müncheners on hot summer days. Lined with trees and complete with various smaller to larger branches (streams?), it’s a great place to plop down for an all-day picnic, lay in the sun or shade and bathe in the river. Bathe is the opportune word considering many of these local Müncheners lay and swim completely in the buff. Some of these crazy Germans just can’t help themselves from getting naked - and proudly displaying their bodies to the world. Good for them, I guess. Naked Germans are probably happy Germans. I’m probably jealous. Just this… if you don’t want to see penises, boobs and butts, don’t go to the Isar on a warm summer day. Consider yourself warned. We had a great day together doing most of what I described above - the “in the buff” part being the only and perhaps obvious exception. The portion of the river we took up shop on was a smaller branch with a gentle flow you could float down and a “shelf” of sorts that became our hang-out spot to drink beer and chat. Great to catch up with old friends. And great to be in this classic Munich summer hang out.

In terms of catching up with old friends, I also went out for dinner Friday night with Helena, who is from Munich originally and who works in the marketing department at MIS. We had a really nice time together at Klosterbräu Stüberl, a restaurant in Schäftlarn just east of Wangen and near the Isar River that’s owned and operated by the nearby monastery. I had two weiss beers, the special of the day - pork two ways with potatoes and cabbage salad - and finished off my meal with homemade apple strudel with cream and an espresso. Damn Bavarian! And damn good!

The conversation flowed easily between Helena and me, and once again that word “gratitude” popped into mind as I reflected on how lucky I am to have met and maintained friendships with so many amazing people in my lifetime. That’s what it’s all about, am I right? Those relationships and connections with people we meet along the way. So very lucky am I.

Since Friday, I’ve been lounging, exercising, taking long walks and spending just a bit of time in Starnberg. I plan to take a longish walk this afternoon and to do more of the same in the upcoming days. I also need this time to figure out some logistics for life back in the States - namely signing up for health insurance during my leave of absence - and logistics for my future travels. I have days still up in the air and many days still incomplete in terms of transportation and lodging. I’ll likely spend some days relaxing by and swimming in Starnbergersee, I’ll get the bike out for sure, and I’ll hopefully connect with a few other people. The Schmidt’s return on Thursday, at which point I’ll stay here for a few more days - looking forward to hanging with them for sure! - and then tentatively I have plans to go to Austria for a few days to do some serious mountain hiking. But, mostly this is my time to give myself permission to do nothing. That’s right, self. You have my permission to do nothing. You think you can do it? We’ll see.