It’s long overdue but I finally have an update on our lives. May was terribly busy moving into a temporary apartment and scrambling to find a place to live. June and July were full of adventures with our families and working to make up for it. Happily, we found a permanent “home.” We’re living in a two bedroom apartment with a kitchen and bathroom…an actual apartment to ourselves, finally! Although, we did love our first room with the kitchenette and shared bathroom. And the rent was great! We’re paying a bit more than originally planned but let’s face it, we live in Munich…not the cheapest city we could have chosen. We were spoiled our first 3 months here with such low rent. But every penny is worth our new apartment. Our favorite spot is out on the balcony! It has recently received a makeover, compliments of my wonderful mom, and is even more enjoyable! We live in the vicinity of Giesing, if you want to Google the area. We were extremely spoiled with the convenience of the U-Bahn being located right outside our first two apartments. Our apartment now is little farther away from the center of city but we love the location. By “farther,” I mean 5 stops by underground rail to Central Station. On foot, there are two U-Bahn stations less than 10 minutes away. By bike, it’s about 3 minutes. We are also only a few bus stops away from the main East Station. Our apartment complex is sort of hidden right off of the main road. It’s very quiet and our balcony is given privacy by a large tree. Our building is only 3 stories, we are on the second. We have access to a community washer and dryer in the basement. We also have a storage unit in the basement which is nice so we don’t cramp up our apartment with suitcases and other rarely used items. Our apartment came partially furnished so instead of traveling in May, we spent the money on some necessities and the large deposit required.
Another plus of our location is that I’m really close to my main job as a nanny. I ride my bike a few minutes and then take a 15 minutes bus ride that drops me directly adjacent to their house. The bus comes every 10 or 20 minutes depending on the time of day. On that note…job update. I’m still employed as an English Trainer by two different firms-Knowledge Point and Sphairo’s-as required by law in Germany. As of now, my schedule only allows me to take on one class per week for Knowledge point. I try to substitute classes whenever possible. My class right now consists of 4 business professionals wanting to improve their English. I really enjoy them! For Sphairo’s, I work weekly holiday camps for children. I’ve worked 3 different camps so far and will have 2 more this summer. The hardest part about teaching children is that I don’t speak any German. It is said that this is preferred when teaching a foreign language, but I find it difficult and annoying. With older kids, it’s usually ok because they have 4-5 years of English. But younger kids don’t have the attention span for me to mime what I’m trying to say…and I don’t have the patience at the end of the day.
I’m also nannying, which is my main source of income. The family lives on the Isar River across from the English Garden in a great area of the city. The kids are 3, 5 and 8….two boys and one girl. They have British accents, as their mom is from London. Their dad is German. The two older ones attend an International School where English and German are spoken. The little one is in a German-speaking nursery part-time a few days a week. He will be attending preschool in September. All the kids are bilingual but English is mostly spoken at home. I have been working 2-5 days per week, 8-15 hour shifts. However, next month I will become the primary nanny since the other one has taken a job in Switzerland. I will work 5 days per week, 5-15 hour shifts. I also spend nights over sometimes when both parents are out of town. Some of the days are really long but can fly by with the kids’ jam-packed schedules. I’m responsible for tidying up after them, kids’ laundry, cooking, homework, drop-off/pick-up at school, taking them to lessons and afterschool activities and grocery shopping. Needless to say, it’s good practice for the future. I’ve said it before I worked with this family but I don’t know how parents get it all done on top of working. The kids are really adorable though, when they behave. It’s a great job due to the flexibility. I don’t have a set schedule that ties me down. I have plenty of time to travel and the mom is really flexible if something comes up. It was really great to be able to take off 11 days when my mom and brother came to Europe and another 10 this past week when we travelled to France. As long as I plan ahead, I can take any dates I need off. I don’t have a specific amount of “vacation time.” So although my days are usually long and stressful, the time off to travel makes it worth it.
Bryan is still at Marriott. He “passed” his probationary period and they extended his contract. He usually works evenings/nights, including some weekends. Sometimes he’ll have short shifts from about 4pm-10pm but other times he won’t get home anywhere from 1-6am depending on the event. As far as I know, he likes it. He also gets a good work out setting up and taking down for events. He gets to eat at work which is a major bonus. Sometimes, I even benefit when he brings home special treats for me. That part of his job I really like! He has the typical German holiday (vacation) schedule. I believe he has 30 days. To Americans, that’s a ton but with the amount of traveling we have done and plan on doing in the next years, we have to keep this in mind. Overall, everything is going well on the work front.
Softball and baseball is coming to a close. With work and the amount of traveling we have done this summer, I wasn’t able to participate as much as I had hoped. But I’ve met some really great people and plan to play indoor softball in the winter. Bryan is away this weekend in Regensburg for a baseball tournament. I have the kids this weekend. Since the baseball team did not qualify for the playoffs, the foreign players will be leaving in the next few weeks. It’s sad for us since some of our friends are leaving. I’ve also had two other American friends head back to the States.
However, I’ll be coming home in four days! I arrive into PBI on Wednesday night and will depart on Saturday, August 6. I’m so excited to see my family, friends and my dogs!!! I plan on being in Palm Beach Gardens Wednesday the 20th through Sunday 24th. On Monday, I will head to the Keys for mini lobster season until Friday. I then plan on being in Palm Beach until I depart on the 6th. I’m looking forward to The Gardens Mall and all of the food I’ve been missing for 6 months. Unfortunately, Bryan will remain in Munich to work. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to plan a trip together.
I hope to see many of you on my trip home. We absolutely love living in Munich and all of the traveling we have been able to do but sometimes miss our friends and family back in the USA. I hope to post about our travels to Amsterdam, Vienna and France soon. It’s been so hectic lately that I haven’t made the time.
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