Back to Bavaria; Allgäu eigentlich!

by Heidi Obermeyer

My trip back to Bayern last weekend was a lovely break from the urban (and very bleak) winter environment here in Berlin. Germany is cloudy in winter, and I already knew that after last winter in Munich, but MAN. It’s tough to imagine Spring being just around the corner when it’s so dreary outside. I must keep morale high! March is only 4 days away! I’m excited. I keep hearing that Berlin really blossoms in the Summer, and I believe it. It will be a fun place to be in a few months I think. 🙂

I spent most of my time in the ‘Staufen eating and sleeping, but also went skiing with my cousins on the Hochgrat, which I hadn’t done before. As you can see from the pictures above, the village had just gotten a huge snow dump, so the skiing was fantastic! I had a really great time. Oberstaufen is like a throwback to ye Olde Germany- people still says “Grüß Gott!” when you walk by them on the street, and everyone has known everyone since forever ago. It’s a cool place to have ties to, and I love being able to go visit somewhere more rural when I’m in Germany. It was strange to have to take such a long train ride to get down there (~8 hours) after being just 2 hours away while living in Munich. Now it’s a treat instead of a standard weekend activity! That’s a strange feeling.

I changed trains in Munich, so on my way back to Berlin I took the U-bahn to Marienplatz and walked around for a while. It was surreal to be back in the city- I left in August, so it was kind of a shock to see München in its winter drab instead! The Altstadt was just as beautiful as always, however, and the scaffolding had even been taken down from the Frauenkirche! Big changes people. Big changes. It was weird not to be able to call up all my exchange student buddies for a coffee, or even to be able to go home within the city- my old apartment isn’t mine anymore! How odd.

Otherwise, the weekend wasn’t too eventful, exactly as it was supposed to be. I came back Tuesday morning and went straight to work, so this weekend has been more lazing about and unpacking.

Some things I’ve been enjoying lately:

This catchy song and its accompanying dance video.

I made this tart recipe from Canelle et Vanille this weekend (with some slight modifications) and it was AMAZING!

Google’s Glass looks awesome.

This was an interesting photo series on Slate.

I got a sweet deal on this vase at the flea market this weekend. Score!

Anyway, that’s what’s up in the life of Heidi. What did you do this weekend? Any new indoor activities that I should try to help combat winter boredom? Have an exciting end of February! Hooray! 🙂