The Pretzel Report

Now that I found a Wi-Fi hot spot I can use at the gym, I'm able to finally give a quick report on Munich so far...the good, the bad and everything in between.

1. We've decided Munich reminds us of Denver. People dress casually, everyone bikes and there's not a lick of pretentious attitude to be found.

2. Our flat is about as opposite you can get from our old place in Paris. It's so quiet you can hear the birds chirping and so dark you can see the stars at night from our terrace.

3. After two visits to the gym, I getting used to the "open showers." If anything, the Germans attitude towards nudity will make me more comfortable in my own skin. But don't expect me to be prancing around on any nude beaches soon.

4. Trying to find low-fat items at the market is more difficult than Paris (which explains why Germans are the fattest people in Europe). Forget healthyt brats. Turkey comes close but still has over 20 grams of fat.

5. Good thing we didn't spend almost $200 on a cat tree for Dennis. He prefers to rest on the open stairs to the second floor in our flat.

6. To ride public transportation, you purchase your pass then away you go. There are no stalls to pass through or gates for hoodlums to jump. But if you're caught without a valid ticket, you're in big, big T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

7. We're about a 10 minute walk from the gay hood but it seems as though a gaggle of lesbians have settled in our neighborhood - that's all I see!

8. Water is expensive compared to Paris. For a 1.5 liter, it's 1.25 euros. Iin Paris, it was .60. Apparently there are "water wells" for cheap water, but that experience is for another day.

9. We're running short on storage space. Actually, we don't have any. Germans don't believe in closets. As a result, we're getting creative with cheap furniture from Ikea. Why spend money on something nice when in a year we'll be moving to a house where we have no idea what will fit inside?

10. To help keep our sanity, when we're frustrated or don't like something, our new mantra is, "It's only for a year." With that in mind, it puts everything into perspective - enjoy it while we can!