Hello Spring - Blossoms, BBQs & Biergarten
After 30 hours…on bus, train, and of course plane, I touched down in Auckland safe and sound, ready for a well-deserved three week holiday!
Germans get even more BBQ/outdoor-dining crazy than New Zealanders. As soon as temperatures began to reach their twenties over the past weeks, the comforting scent of charcoal mingling with grilled meat and garlic bread drifted through the city streets.
Of course I wasn't to miss out on this comfort, and played an important part in the official BBQ-season opening, when I paid a long overdue visit to la familia. The "opening" began with some very "light" and fruity cake. Because life is short, and one should always eat dessert first!
Before we whipped up a salad and my cousin manned the BBQ.
As much as I can appreciate the smell of barbequed meat, I prefer my salad topped with rosemary baked feta. And half a loaf of garlic bread!
My favourite spot in the Englischer Garten (apart from the surfer infested 'Eisbach') is on the hill below the 'Monopteros' (a temple of which you can see the top of here). From the hill you not only get an expansive overview of the gardens, but also the hotties hanging out there! One can observe some very fine native specimen...But don't all go rushing there now, it's still my hill!
But I made an exception for the girls and shared my hill for the afternoon.
I also think that al fresco dining season has not been officially opened until one has had some actual Italian al fresco. So I met another one of my Julias in order to make it "official"!
We really hadn't meant to eat, with the intention of saving a few bucks. But as soon as the most giant pizza we had ever laid eyes on arrived at the table next to us, food envy reared its ugly head, and all good intentions were washed down with the 'Campari Orange' ordered along with our pizza. This was the best "this is awkward we really shouldn't have ordered this, but we are now bursting with happiness" look we could muster!
It took me almost two hours just to finish it, not because it was that giant, but because there were just so many stories to catch each other up on!
Finally we made our way home, and the blossoms were even more enchanting in the light of the full moon.
Last but certainly not least, my "last supper" in Munich for a few weeks, with one of my favourite people, at one of my favourite rooftop locations in Munich - the Cafe Glockenspiel.
The last time I'd been there had been for a pretty perfect first date towards the end of last year. Since his chapter in my life came to a conclusion just a few weeks ago, and I'd been avoiding those places associated with memories of him (the Cafe Glockenspiel most vivid of all), I decided to be brave and attempt some mental reprogramming in the hope that a new memory would overwrite the old one.
So I dragged Lüfchen along, and once again after-work "drinks" turned into dinner. We shared our meals, but she had a very firm grip on that drink...
I wished Mama had been there already to join us because her favourite - white asparagus - was on the menu.
Since it is her birthday coming up, and it isn't available in New Zealand, I was contemplating smuggling some into the country for her. However, after some serious considerations I decided picking up a fine for thousands of dollars for trying to import "illegal vegetables", a fine she would have to pay, might not be so appreciated. Sorry Mama...But you get to have me there on your special day, and let's be honest, one really couldn't wish for a better present!
Memory overwrite: successful!
The first Kiwi adventure: tomorrow...
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
A day in the country and I already have three blogposts worth of photos, but you know how I'm a details person and don't like to skip ahead. So before I get carried away on all things Kiwi, a belated round-up of Spring in Munich…
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| Hello Spring, you may be my favourite. (found on Pinterest) |
While Autumn has already begun to change the colour of the leaves in this hemisphere, Munich left me, or rather I left Munich as bewitched as ever - thanks to its blossom boasting streets.
Germans get even more BBQ/outdoor-dining crazy than New Zealanders. As soon as temperatures began to reach their twenties over the past weeks, the comforting scent of charcoal mingling with grilled meat and garlic bread drifted through the city streets.
Of course I wasn't to miss out on this comfort, and played an important part in the official BBQ-season opening, when I paid a long overdue visit to la familia. The "opening" began with some very "light" and fruity cake. Because life is short, and one should always eat dessert first!
Before we whipped up a salad and my cousin manned the BBQ.
As much as I can appreciate the smell of barbequed meat, I prefer my salad topped with rosemary baked feta. And half a loaf of garlic bread!
Every Munich local however knows the real comfort of Spring, lies in the knowledge that there is (hopefully) a decent Summer to follow, filled with drawn out afternoons in the Englischer Garten and the most popular of Bavaria's gardens - the Bier-garten!
So we decided to open the season for those also.
So we decided to open the season for those also.
My favourite spot in the Englischer Garten (apart from the surfer infested 'Eisbach') is on the hill below the 'Monopteros' (a temple of which you can see the top of here). From the hill you not only get an expansive overview of the gardens, but also the hotties hanging out there! One can observe some very fine native specimen...But don't all go rushing there now, it's still my hill!
But I made an exception for the girls and shared my hill for the afternoon.
 |
We really hadn't meant to eat, with the intention of saving a few bucks. But as soon as the most giant pizza we had ever laid eyes on arrived at the table next to us, food envy reared its ugly head, and all good intentions were washed down with the 'Campari Orange' ordered along with our pizza. This was the best "this is awkward we really shouldn't have ordered this, but we are now bursting with happiness" look we could muster!
It took me almost two hours just to finish it, not because it was that giant, but because there were just so many stories to catch each other up on!
Finally we made our way home, and the blossoms were even more enchanting in the light of the full moon.
Last but certainly not least, my "last supper" in Munich for a few weeks, with one of my favourite people, at one of my favourite rooftop locations in Munich - the Cafe Glockenspiel.
The last time I'd been there had been for a pretty perfect first date towards the end of last year. Since his chapter in my life came to a conclusion just a few weeks ago, and I'd been avoiding those places associated with memories of him (the Cafe Glockenspiel most vivid of all), I decided to be brave and attempt some mental reprogramming in the hope that a new memory would overwrite the old one.
So I dragged Lüfchen along, and once again after-work "drinks" turned into dinner. We shared our meals, but she had a very firm grip on that drink...
I wished Mama had been there already to join us because her favourite - white asparagus - was on the menu.
Since it is her birthday coming up, and it isn't available in New Zealand, I was contemplating smuggling some into the country for her. However, after some serious considerations I decided picking up a fine for thousands of dollars for trying to import "illegal vegetables", a fine she would have to pay, might not be so appreciated. Sorry Mama...But you get to have me there on your special day, and let's be honest, one really couldn't wish for a better present!
Memory overwrite: successful!
The first Kiwi adventure: tomorrow...
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
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