Munich - First Look

In early February the details of our assignment had all been worked out and it was time to find a place to live. Ken had been to Germany many times during the past year, but Steelcase offices are located in Rosenheim so he really had not spent any time in Munich. The decision to live in the city was based on many factors. For the most part Ken's job will require traveling throughout Europe. Munich is a very convenient hub for any kind of travel and Rosenheim is about 40 minutes outside of town and in the opposite direction from the airport. Then there was the issue of language. Although we are learning German, our older brains are grasping it slowly. Throughout Europe English is spoken by many people in the bigger cities - not so much in the smaller towns. And then there were the cultural opportunities which abound in Munich.

So the decision was made and the next step was to locate an apartment. This may sound like an easy task, but that is far from reality. Steelcase provides us with great assistance in all phases of relocation. So our apartment hunting trip was all set up upon our arrival. Or so we thought.

Apartments are at a premium in Munich and very difficult to find. We have learned over the years to be flexible, but even that only goes so far. Day one of the hunt was disappointing to say the least. There was one place we thought could be our fallback position if necessary. It was a lovely place but too dark for my liking and in a very crowded street and crammed neighborhood.

Day two was worse. There was some confusion on the budget (UD$ or Euro) so we had to suspend looking for that day. As you can imagine it was very stressful. Emails were flying back and forth and we were at a hotel that had some of the worst ever wifi service which only added to the tension. Things were quickly sorted out once Grand Rapids woke up, but that was afternoon there. So we decided to take a walk and acquaint ourselves with our new city.

To put it simply, Munich is beautiful. Everywhere you turn there are buildings and monuments and churches that have stepped out of the pages of your fairy tales and history books. Within Zentrum (center city) buildings may not rise above the height of the Frauenkirche or Cathedral of Our Dear Lady (more on this later). Thus Munich is a low-rise city. 

We began by wandering Haidhausen district near our hotel. It is the old French Quarter east of the Isar River.

We then crossed over the Isar and headed to Marienplatz.

There will be much more detail about all of the sights in Marienplatz in later posts. For now, let's just say it was a beautiful walk that calmed us down and made us very excited to see and learn more of our new city.

Friday dawned with new opportunities. We had only this day to find our new home. As Grandma Claire always says when something goes wrong, it is because there is something better on the horizon. She is so right this time. Late Thursday afternoon our realtor saw a new listing pop up and made an appointment for first thing Friday morning. As soon as we got out of the car we knew this was it. The neighborhood is lovely with old buildings and wide streets. It is one block off the Isar River and the park that runs all along it and two blocks from English Gardens, a park larger than Central Park and filled with all kinds of places and things to explore. 

Our building sits on the corner of Oettingenstrasse and Liebigstrasse and we are on the fifth floor.

Munich lists the ground floor as E level and so we are actually six stories up. The elevator goes to five and we have one flight to climb.

The building was constructed in the 1870's and has all the charm of an old building, yet the apartment is very contemporary in its design.

The living/dining area has a beautiful window that looks out into the neighborhood.

The kitchen is just my size since the ceilings limit tall cupboards.

There is a loft/ spare bedroom/office & sewing area that in part looks down into the main room.

And one of the best features of all is the roof top terrace that is over a private garden space at the back of the building.

We knew immediately that this was home. There were a few more apartments on the schedule but by early afternoon it was ours. Since this was my birthday, it was definitely a gift to remember.

We had an incredible chef's table dinner to celebrate my 65 years and the apartment at a restaurant called Shane's. One of my top dinners ever! The next morning we were on our way home to sort and pack and do mountains and mountains of paperwork before returning to begin our adventure.