Hallo aus München!

Kevork, Ganesh, and I getting our first stamps on our passports!

Community Reflection

GETTIN’ AROUND TOWN

After an 8 hour long flight and a layover in Frankfurt, we finally made it to Munich! Our first week in Germany was a blast — we were immediately immersed into the everyday life of people in Europe. We very quickly picked up on the many different types of public transportation we would be using, such as the train, subway, buses, and trams. Unlike most places in the United States, Munich relies much more on public transportation. Luckily, as a college student living in Pittsburgh without a car, I was prepared to use public transportation, and the process was very similar to that of the States!

Food, food, & even more food

Ahhh yes, the food. If there is one phrase I used most, it was “Kann ich bitte ____ haben?” (“Can I have ____ please?”) On the first night of the trip, we were welcomed by our professors with our first taste of Bavarian cuisine at a nearby restaurant. The first plate I tried was the Schweinswürstl mit Sauerkraut, which was a type of sausage with sauerkraut. For dessert, we tried Apfelkuchen und Kaiserschmarrn — two very popular desserts in Bavaria. The food was amazing! Over the course of the first week, we explored even more food options, including Bavarian pretzels, Obatzda (cheese dip), Bratwurst, and Schnitzel. One of my favorite parts of the community is how deeply rooted their food is to their culture. I was never aware of what “German” or “Bavarian” food consisted of until arriving here; however, I was pleasantly surprised to try all the food. The food was not drastically different from food in the United States; however, I found that there was more of a concentration in specific dishes or preparation styles. For example, sausage (“wurst”) and pork are HUGE in Bavaria. Another culture shock moment: Remember to order still water if you don’t want carbonation, their Mineralwasser is sparkling, and comes in different degrees of carbonation!

INTERACTING WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC

The culture in Germany feels very similar to that of the States, with some subtle differences. First and foremost, there is a common misconception that Germans are “mean,” which is not true at all! Germans do come off slightly more reserved or blunt in speech, which gives the appearance of abrasiveness to people from foreign countries; however, the people there are generally the same level of politeness as people in the United States. They were also very appreciative to hear people trying out the language, which made it a very good atmosphere to learn in!

SPRECHEN SIE DEUTSCH?

Despite my own personal interest to learn the language, it is not needed to get by (though helpful). Many people are proficient in speaking English, and most signs or announcements on transportation are also given in both Deutsch (German) and Englisch (English). Most restaurants have English menus as well when ordering out, so you do not have to be overwhelmed by all the options being written in German. Luckily, English is a Germanic language; therefore, there are surprisingly a lot of similarities amongst the languages. This made it easy to pick up on different words, and I understood more than I originally anticipated.

BAVARIAN CULTURE

On our first full day in Munich, we went on a tour of Marienplatz, the city center, and learned a lot about the significance of Munich and its culture. It was also interesting to learn and see how Bavaria has its own culture and identity within its German identity that most Bavarians are extremely proud of. Bavaria has a very rich culture with many ties to traditions, the Catholic church, and historical events. Bavarians use a dialect that proper German language does not teach you, such as using “Merci” for thank you and “Ciao” for hi/goodbye — these differences reflect fascinating historical connections to Italy and France!

GOING GREEN!

I also appreciated how environmentally friendly it is in Germany. I was surprised by how little trash I found on the streets and, yet again, their increased preference of public transportation. The water there is extremely clean as it comes straight from the Alps. People are incentivized to recycle by being monetarily compensated for returning recyclable bottles; therefore, you witness many people walking or on bikes looking for empty bottles to clean up round the city. Some people will even approach you and ask if you have any finished water bottles, so do not be alarmed! There are free and easy to access water refilling fountains found throughout the city center. Another interesting (though incredibly niche) concept I liked was their water bottle design, as the bottle caps are designed to remain attached to the bottle at all times to reduce litter or waste. There is also a lot of greenery throughout the city, such as in the famous Englischer Gartens, which stretches 5.5 km and is one of the largest inner-city parks in the world, being larger than Central Park in NYC!

A Day in the Life

Everyday life as a college student in Munich was very similar to that of an American student. We went to class starting 9:00 everyday and finished around 16-17:00. During lunch breaks, we would leave campus and walk to nearby shops to order food. After our last classes of the day, we would take public transportation either home or to more places around the city to explore! One difference I found is that people in Germany are much more active — people walk much more and use means of transportation other than a car.

The nightlife in Germany was no different than that of America. After work or school, people go to dinner later at night. When the weather was extremely nice, we noticed a lot of people exploring Marienplatz, going shopping, or going out for dinner / drinks at the various restaurants and outdoor Biergartdens in the city center. Public transportation stays available into the night, but will reduce significantly at much later hours, which is something people must consider.

On holidays, people tend to go outside and do athletic activities as well. During a bank holiday we had the first Thursday of the trip, we hiked a mountain in the Alps, and I was surprised to find out such a tasking activity was normal to them! This lifestyle difference permeates into the clothing as well, for most outfits (even workplace attire) consisted of comfortable, athletic sneakers. Germans also love to travel. Coming from the United States, where everything is relatively on a larger scale, I found it fascinating that people will come and go from other countries with little to no thought behind it! Just in our first week of being here, we had classmates speak about travelling to the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and northern Italy!