It being Easter in Munich means several things. First of all, when you go to tentatively get coffee in the little bake shop, the cheerful sandy-haired woman who is behind the counter serving the schnitzel und wurst und strudel und sauerkraut to the five bumbling men eating gracelessly on stools will hand you your tasse Kaffee zum mitnehmen, but then she will go "Warte mal!" and smile and pull out a foil-wrapped egg and place it in your hand.
It means that your program will take you to a restaurant, order you the vegetarian platter (which is several steamed carrots, some peppers, half a tomato, peas, and some boiled potatoes on a plate, on top of which rests one over-easy egg), and feed you a liter of beer. Then they will announce that they are both --- both kindly gray-haired professors --- both going to, respectively, France and Austria for the weekend, and you are on your own.
Most importantly, it means that nothing is open. Nothing. Except on Saturday, for some reason. Nothing is even open on Monday. MONDAY!
As an American, I do not know how to function in this capacity. It is as if someone took away one of my arms, or Facebook. "But what will we DO?" everyone else in the program muttered, or wailed. The professors merely smiled and shrugged. The suggestion in the orientation booklet is "Go to Salzburg!", which we might, on Monday, but nothing is open there either. Not even the salt mine you visit, where you dress up in miner costumes, see some walls made of salt, and slide down a salt luge. Not even that.
So far, I've made breakfast, which is quite an accomplishment, seeing as how my apartment has one two-square-foot counter and an even tinier fridge. I'm debating laundry and a walk in the English Gardens next, but after that I'm out of ideas.
Hell, I may have to resort to praying all night. What has Bavaria done to me in the course of one short week??!
My 9:03 AM ideas for you: go biking, meander through town taking pictures, admire architecture, find people to play I-Spy games with, if you have alcohol drink it, go to a gorgeous church (they should be open for Easter!), and read something...magazine, newspaper, other people's blogs, facebook stalk, a book...yep.
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