spring in munich

   >
Munich might not always look like this in the springtime, but Saturday was perfect: Weißwurstfrühstück for me and Obatzda as the vegetarian option for Stephen; Brie and baguette from Brot & Butter and Victorian lemonade, ginger beer, and unfiltered apple juice, plus a Kaweco Sport cartridge pen, from Manufactum; swimming in the frigid little man-made river in the Englischer Garten and laughing as people continuously squealed at how cold the water was and being generally delighted to have packed a bikini at the last minute; Käsespätzle for dinner in the Biergarten at the Hofbräuhaus; and lunch with Stephen's grandmother's friend and her husband in a Munich suburb out closer "to the nature" (I find the German love of the Natur to be endlessly delightful).

We were a little last-minute in terms of trying to find a hostel or hotel, but luckily I ended up remembering the existence of Air B&B, which lets you rent a guest room or an entire apartment directly from the owners. We stayed here and ended up having the whole place to ourselves because the owner was in Frankfurt while we were in Munich (we switched cities with him for the weekend). I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about staying in someone else's house, but actually, it was amazing -- and the place we stayed was incredibly centrally located (five minutes to Marienplatz!) and so, so nice. I've already booked an apartment for Copenhagen through Air B&B for mid-May, and am hoping that that experience will be just as good.