Munich, the land of Wurst and Beer.

Well, sorry that it has taken such a long time to update you all, but there really wasn't much to say! But never fear, now I have plenty to say, and all of it about my incredible four days in Munich with my host father's Aunt, Katrin.

Katrin lived in New Zelaand for 18 years, and was eager to meet me. She loves New Zelanders and has no children of her own, and so was very keen for me to come and stay with her at the complete other end of the country from me, in Munich. Bavaria. The place where everyone gets the impression that girls run around in dirndls and boys run around in lederhosen, and everyone drinks beer and eats Wursts. The thing is, that in Bavaria they do exactly that.

I arrived in Munich at 2pm after a 6 hour train ride. I met Katrin - a tiny, bouncy, energetic woman and we set off to the city for a drive. We drove down some of the main streets, going past the parliament buildings and courts and museums. We then stopped and went to the Englischer Gardens where she showed me a section of the park where people come and surf. Yes, surf. In the middle of Munich city, in the middle of a park. In winter. Sure enough, there were about 5 guys all wrapped up in full body wetsuits surfing the current from the river bursting through a large drain. It was insane! And very cold! We then drove on further and went to the Olympia Park - we went to the top of the Olympia Tower where I could see all of Munich. Then, we went for a walk through the park - it was beautiful! After that we went home and I discovered something amazing. Katrin is an incredible cook. And I mean INCREDIBLE. We had salmon and noodles with veges and cream sauce for dinner, and I ate well..far too much! That evening we showed each other photos of friends and family and New Zeland and shared stories and it was lovely.

The next morning, we had an amazing breakfast of mashed banana topped with porridge, with apple and pear compote on top of that, with fresh fruit on top of that, and then slivered almonds and seeds to finsh it off. We also shared a giant Pretzel with butter on it. So delicious!!! We then head off into the depths of Bavaria and into the stunning countryside. Bavaria is so different to north Germany. For a starter, they speak Bavarian, not German. The houses are adorable and quirky - they have huge wooden verrandahs on the front, often two storeys of them and the houses are quite squat and flattened compared to the high angled rooves in northern Germany. We drove for about an hour until we reached a village called Bad Toelz, where we walked down a stunning main street with little stalls down the middle of the street that looked like wooden cabins selling meant, cheese and wood carvings. The buildings all had large awnings, and most had renaissance-style paintings on them. The village is on a hill, and the main street sloped giving it even more character - it really was as if I were in the mountains. It was here where I also had my first ever wurst!! We ate it cold, and to be honest it just tasted like saveloy! We then drove on to another village, where Katrin took me to an absolutely stunning church. It was magnificent and built in the 1500's. We then had problems finding somewhere for lunch, as where in Northern Germany all shops are closed on a Sunday, in Bavaria all shops are closed on a Monday. Eventually we found a restaurant and I chose a very Bavarian meal - chopped up pancakes covered in icing sugar and sultanas and served with a massive bowl of cooked apple - it was absolutely delicious. At the tavern we also met a 90 year old woman who had never left the tiny village. She seemed lovely, but I understood very little of what she said.
The weather was really rather miserable, so then we headed off back to Munich but on the way we took a detour to a huge supermarket in persuit of three things: Peanut butter, Marmite and Cadbury. Unfortunately, we found none of these delicacies.

The next day, Katrin and I caught a tram into town. We walked around and saw plenty of churches, town halls and museums, and even visited the very spot that Hitler gave his first public speech. We went into many shops, and then headed off to the market where I tried a 'white wurst', something people in Bavaria often eat with a giant Pretzel, so alas, another delicious pretzel for Emma! The wurst is served with a sweet mustard - I didn't really like the mustard, however without the mustard the wurst tasted like nothing. We then walked around the market some more - I love markets! So many smells and sights and I find it fascinating to see what people will come up with next. We then went and got a coffee, and my hot chocolate was served IN A BOWL. Not a large mug, not a regular mug like Katrin's coffee, but a bowl. We worked out that we could fit 3 of Katrin's coffee into my bowl. Then, we went and bought some ingredients for dinner - I had mentioned to Katrin that Thai is one of my favourite types of food, so she had decided that we were going to cook Thai from scratch - and we did!! We made a Thai Green Curry and it was absolutely divine. I am still struggling to comprehend that we managed to make something from scratch that tasted exactly like the curry we get at the amazing Thai Restaurant down the road.

The next day was home day. We got up early, and I made breakfast as Katrin said I should practise if I am to make it in New Zealand. We then went for a walk and she insisted on buying me a cake for my train ride home - I chose Apple Strudel. Gosh I love them. And whoever deciede to try cooking apple. Unfortunately, then it was time to head off to the train station for me to catch my 6 hour train ride home.
Katrin says that I am to call her my 'German Grandma'. She really is incredible - she did nothing but spoil me the whole time, and I love her so much. She is coming to Hannover in July, and said that if possible she will bring me back to Munich with her for another few days. Either way, I am not going to lose contact with her. She made this trip absolutely amazing and she really was like a mother to me - so warm, caring, loving and generous. I will never forget this. Thank you.

A Saw the Light... It was Purple.

Yesterday, my life changed. My year away changed. I walked into a store, that has been said to stock international foods. I walked straight to the aisle, and I saw it. Purple. A deep, rich Purple. A purple all New Zealanders associate with one thing - the colour is copyrighted by that one thing infact. Cadbury.
I have been craving this heaven for over a month. And there it was. Goodness, I've even asked for some Caramello to be bought to the airport when I arrive. Thinking ahead to the maximum, that is how much I miss my Caramello chocolate. And there it was.
Okay, it's the British stuff - the caramel is harder, more toffee like and not the gooey, stringy decadent caramel that melts in your mouth in pure heaveness, but the taste is still there.
The only problem is that I found this store yesterday afternoon, the smallest size they sell is the 200g block, and by yesterday evening the block was gone. And Emma didn't share.
Good bye healthy eating and diet.
Don't worry guys when I take ages coming through the arrival gate at the airport - it takes some time to manouver the forklift onto the airplane.