Return of Frau Feierbiest!

I got a very important message in February. Despite now living in a completely different country, Rubio, mi hermano español, was once again organising tables at Starkbierfest. His message then proceeded to lay on the emotional blackmail - we all lived so far apart from each other now, so many people were returning for the reunion, did I want to be the one to miss out? And then I got another message - Laura was also going to reserve a table the day before Rubio had his! BAM, I WAS THERE!!!

And my god, it was like I never left!

REUNION NUMBER ONE!!!

My beautiful, delicious hendl *sniff*

Some Bavarians doing what they do best

Dr Pfft doing what he does best!

REUNION NUMBER TWO!!!

Ele and me, we couldn't stop hugging each other. Te voglio bene, tesoro!

Rubio wanted the beer though, so I had to lay one on it to let him know I missed him too

Also beautiful

To be honest, it was a little strange being back in Munich. Getting off at the Hbf, I took a deep breath and got a big whiff of the scent of sugared almonds and roasted meat - smelled like home! And another thing was clear - we had really missed each other since I've been gone :(

Meine erste Kohlfahrt!

Understanding and participating in local customs is one of the most important things when integrating into a new environment. This means that when my boss asked me whether I had ever heard of a *Kohlfahrt* and whether I wanted to participate in the one organised by work, I said, "No and SIGN ME UP!!!"

Kohlfahrt literally means "cabbage tour", and only takes place in the region around Bremen and Oldenburg. A bunch of buses picked us up from work and after driving around Niedersachsen for a while, dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. From there we were supposed to walk around with some trolleys filled with alcohol and take shots of alcohol every time we came across an intersection, until we reached our destination where we would eat a hearty local meal of Gruenkolh (kale) with local sausages. Apart from the cold, it was awesome!  

The special trolley/shot dispenser

I thought it was pretty cold - 3C (but feeling like 0C), but all my colleagues said it wasn't?!?!

Hahaha, bacon man street

We did manage to see this beautiful sunset

Dinner! I quite like Gruenkohl - it's kale chopped up and cooked with...I think barley...some potatoes, Pinkel, Wammerl (pork belly), and kochwurst. As you can probably tell, it's quite hearty. I therefore only had two servings.

Epic Journey Home - NGV and Royal Croquet Club

There was a general sense of excitement with the news that I would be coming back. Time to do some of my favourite things - meet up with friends, eat food, and see what's new in the city! And preferably all three at the same time!

On my first day back, me and Pooey caught up with Rachie-Poo and her little fella at Hinoki!

Mmmmmm, love sushi and sashimi...
Also, this was the right size for the three of us :D

Then we went to Gelato Messina. I can't remember what I ordered but it was pretty delicious and look at this guy trying to grab it!

Next stop - NGV to see the Andy Warhol/Ai Wei Wei exhibit

The Waterwall was nice and cooling on this hot day

Ai's Chandelier with Restored Han Dynasty Lamps for the Emperor (2015)

I spent a lot of time running around Ai's and Warhol's interactive balloon exhibits. Pooey spent a lot of time documenting it.

The interactive "Studio Cats" is supposed to be for children but it's pretty damn awesome for adults as well! (Or we are just two big children).

Pooey and I were both really impressed with the exhibit. Or course, going into the exhibit I was more familiar with Warhol, but I walked out with a greater appreciation for Ai's works particularly the sense of playfulness masking serious commentary, or sometimes when the commentary wasn't masked. Anyway, go see it while you can - it's on at NGV International until April 24. 

After the gallery, Pooey and I crossed over the river to enjoy the Royal Croquet Club. 

Like a lady!

Enjoying watching the play

And the view

Taking part of the play!

Afterwork drinks over Munich

I don't know why it's taken me so long to attend one of these, but Susi, Toni, and I went to Skylounge at the Telekom Towers to drink, dance and take in the view.

Unfortunately my photos of the view really showed that I don't hold still enough for night mode to work on my phone

And let's dance!

I'm not dead!

I was just really busy! Here's a basic summary of what (I think) had been going on in the past few months...

November - My wisdom teeth finally came out.

The surgery was kind of brutal with many people amazed at both the extent of bruising post-surgery but also the speed of my recovery.

December - Miss Pooky came to visit for Xmas! She was an epic series of Christkindlmarkt visits where I made her try out different sausages and she met Dr. Pfft to prove to her that not all Germans are sooooo bad.

I roasted an epic chicken for Xmas dinner.

After she left, the snow came down like how!

January - Okay, I really have no idea what the hell I was doing in January. I was probably working like hell because in February...

February - I went back to Melbs with stopovers in Bali and Singapore.

Relaxing on the beach in Seminyak

Relaxing in the pool in Singapore

Hanging out with Cookie Monster in Melbs

March - I've also got no idea what I was doing in March, probably because it was Starkbierfest and sickness swept through the campus. *Cough*

April - I finally managed to visit Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Strasbourg.

While in Strasbourg I somehow conducted a conversation with a shopguy in 3 languages - French, German, and English. YAAAAASSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

May - This month was insane.

First off, I went to Lisbon with my German Wolfpack

. 

Next, due to the fire at Fiumicino airport a planned weekend trip to Rome turned into a crazy 12 hour trip to Rome to celebrate the end of Riz's posting. 

Then I spent a weekend raving.

I went back to Italy the following with my International Hangover girls. And finally, I rested.

June - The Third Annual Suit Up Birthday Party!

And now it's July. I can't promise that I'll be as stringent a writer as before, but I'll try!!!!

Cafe Kosmos

I'm always looking for somewhere nice and convenient to go to for drinks in Munich. Sure, alcohol is cheap and freely available but I miss the Melbourne bar culture which I firmly enjoyed. I'm not sure at what point we started going here regularly, but there's a new favourite bar - conveniently located near the Hauptbahnhof and next to a gourmet burger shop! This bar is Cafe Kosmos and it's filled with just as tatty mis-matched furniture as any Brunswick St bar.

Here's the strawberry-flavoured cocktail of the day that I drank while sitting in the window of the bar like a hipster.  

Last of Wiesn

As much as I love Wiesn, I'm always glad it only goes for two weeks. Otherwise I'd probably end up killing myself with alcohol. This weekend was catching up with Latin types who I hadn't seen in a while.  

Mi hermano David told me that due to his company not offering him a new contract, he will leave Munich at the end of this month :(

y mi otro hermano Rubio will move to Paris next year :( 

But they both said they'll be back for the bierfests!

Carlinho also made the trip over with his new lederhosen because he NOW A GERMAN! (but assured me that he will always be Brazilian).

Here's to old friends and next year's festivals!

More Wiesn!

I scored a ticket to the Rischart Kaiserschmarrn Tent. As you might imagine, there was pretty good food to be had.  

Like this epic brotzeit platter

And this superhuge kaiserschmarrn that came with sparklers!

And this less wonderful schnapps. It was like drinking petrol. 

I do like the musicians catwalk in this tent.