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Between you and me: I don’t like Munich. There is no particular reason, I just can’t stand this city. Munich is pretty and some of my friends even live there and like it. And yes, Munich gets even me every single time I’m there. Kind of. For one night. A wink, a “damn, this is beautiful”, some sighing, sleeping on it, but then. Then you’re awake and you look to the left (or the right) and the hot fling from last night is not as smashing as you thought. And you just wanna run. But as it is a city and not a person you can’t say “I’m sorry but I have an early meeting at work” and that’s it. You could leave. But then again sometimes you can’t.
The sky above Munich. Blue-White. Almost.
I couldn’t because I was there for work. And if you stay things will happen. Munich things. And stories. Like this one time I asked the bus driver if this bus stops there and there and he said: “How should I know? Look at the map!” Or this staring thing. The people in Munich do star. All the time. Not only at me. They star at EVERYONE. From the bottom left corner across their designer sun glasses. And I always think: “Dude, what’s wrong?” But I was told they don’t mean it in a bad way.
And what they are talking about. Dude. Seriously. I did a case study at the newsstand.
It’s all about beer, naked people, people freaking out and football. Yap, that’s Munich.
To be honest I have no idea how to survive Munich. Best thing is to leave as soon as possible. And no, “You can do so many cool outdoor stuff here” doesn’t count as a reason to stay. I have no idea how to ski and Berlin has more lakes than Munich. And prettier ones. In my opinion. But ok, I do have some tips which may help you to survive Munich if you have to stay there for more than one night.
– start drinking beer
– buy a Dirndl (or Lederhosn)
– use this staring thing
– don’t ever take the bus
– go and have a pizza at “Pizzeria Europa”. Best pizza in town in my opinion. (But that’s also the only pizzeria I’ve been to in Munich)
Disclaimer: don’t take this too serious. Seriously.
Discussion6 Comments
WOW!!!
There is actually some person out there who just feels EXACTLY how I do!!!
I come from Argentina and I came here 3 years ago to study. The university? Excellent. It’s almost free, even if you’re a foreigner, and the education is very good. In fact, it’s the only reason I’ve stayed here for.
But… the city? Can’t stand it. Not because of the weather, not because “Germans are so cold”, the typical reason most foreigners give. It’s just… the same over and over and over. Come for 5 days and you’ll love this city. That’s enough time to see everything there is to see in this town. Stay longer and you’ll get reaaally bored.
And that also applies to people. It’s like meeting the same person over and over, it’s like nobody is different: upper-middle class German happy family with married parents and 2 kids who would never imagine themselves living somewhere else because “Munich is so special”.
And that’s what I don’t get about it. People here think Munich is L.A. or NYC, they talk about how modern, multicultural and big this “metropole” is. However, if you travel on the subway and start speaking Spanish, people will turn around and STARE at you. Imagine if you ask a question at the university with an accent.
I try to live my life by myself, without caring about how other people think, what they do, or whatever. However, when you live in a place like this for three years, the atmosphere and the people surrounding you do have an effect on you.
BTW, very interesting article Yvonne, congratulations… where r u from??
Hey great post! Thanks for the tips the staring thing made me giggle 🙂
Visiting Munich soon so i will let you know what i think.
Thanks for sharing
I’ve lived in Munich for the past five years and have grown to love it, but every now and then people do something that makes me have a fit – the general rudeness and lack of regard for others sometimes really gets my goat. It’s beautiful, but sometimes the people need to chill out a bit.
I visited Munich for 5 days in November 2013. I agree that the city is beautiful, it’s clean and the Englisch Garten is great. I saw most of the major sights and even took a trip to Austria by train. What I also saw alot of is very stern faces. I would say that half the people there are ok, just the same as people anywhere else in the world and most of the rest come across as “anti-social” or “snobbish” and I met a number of rude and arrogant people who treated me like I had no right to be there. I must say that I found that the younger generation to be more friendly and approachable.
I thought it was a great shame as Munich is a wonderful place and the surrounding countryside is so beautiful. I wanted so much to love it. I have been told that other parts of Germany are friendlier and i’m planning to go to Berlin this year so I hope this is the case.
I grew up near Munich and I must say that i left Munich at age 24 Because I really had enough, even when I was not in the economic situation to do so.- because I feel about Munich the exact same like you.
If you grow up there, are not racist or narrow minded or lucky to meet a bunch of “different people”, it s not possible to live a happy life there. Everybody is just so focussed to be homogenous and rule out everything else…
Now, 10 years later, I still think about what might be the reason… Maybe the german past?
By the way, today I live In Berlin, too.