Spring?

Did my first German train trip out of Munich on Friday. One of the women from the clubs has moved to Frankfurt, 5 of us took the train to go see her for the day. We had reserved second-class seats, on the high-speed trains our seats were in a compartment, on the one regional train on the way back we were just seated in an open car. I liked the travel that way pretty well, will do that again.

The weather has given us a break - Sunday was sunny and warmish, as was Monday. To make the most of it, I went on a country walk on Sunday. The German-English Association here in Munich has many active members who organize lots of activites and the Sunday country walk is one. I met the group on the S-bahn platform and we took it out of the city for about 1/2 hour. Set off around a small lake (still frozen enough for some people to walk on). The path was muddy on places, icy in others but it was wonderful to be out in the sunshine. We tromped for a bit over an hour, went to a restaurant for lunch and the walked back to the train station for the return to Munich.

Today I had to find a copy shop, to copy newsletters and other info for the LIA meeting tomorrow. I had seen a couple on my rambles near the University so I went there and found a place to get the job done fast. Most are self-serve, and I have gathered the words for double-sided and stapled. It was such a nice day I treated myself afterwards to a sit in a cafe that had the windows open, a place called Croissant Show. The proprieter is French. Hey, I'm in Europe, sitting in a French cafe in Munich. Love this! Especially as Spring seems very near.

I have also found a trainer at the gym who speaks English. I had my first session yesterday - boy am I feeling it today. Not painful, but muscles that apparently haven't been worked in a while are voicing their concern. I'm sure I will feel better tomorrow. And if I don't, it won't matter, because tomorrow evening I am going to the Starkbierfest. The tradition here is, the monks fasted during Lent. To compensate for that (?) they brewed a strong (stark) dark beer for the late winter months. (So, on top of fasting they're drinking beer that is as strong as wine. Must have been very interesting, those drunken Lenten contemplations!)

These festivals are like mini Oktoberfests. Bands playing, everyone wearing their trachten, drinking and eating. One of my friends had reserved a table for 30 and I scored one of the tickets. I am looking forward to this. Must be careful with the beer, though, I like the dark beer best (have been drinking Guiness of late) and I have my next personal training session at the gym the next day at 9 a.m.