Cathie's Arrival

"Ah... payback!"

Well, Gerrit and I are finally starting to get over our sickness, but we still have nasty coughs and congestion. My long time girlfriend, Cathie, has come to visit. As of two days ago the forecast for her week long visit here was to be mid 50 degree weather with patches of sunshine. Finally, her visit would bring some California sunshine. Woo Hoo! Err... nope!

"Steph, I'm just gonna bring some jeans and some stretchy pants and that should be fine, right?" "Sure," I say, "It's not like it's snowing." Literally, while Cathie was in flight the weather changed and we had a storm alert. It was supposed to be rainy and extreme gusts of wind. People were advised to stay inside last night so when we picked Cathie up at the airport, we also picked up some groceries and decided to wait out the storm. Well, the winds were gusty last night but no rain. This morning it literally rained, hailed, and snowed all at the same time. I've never seen that before. Unfortunately, it looks like the weather is supposed to be like this for the remainder of Cathie's visit. Bummer, huh? Well, we'll hope for another sudden weather change in the next few days.

Despite the foul weather this morning, we did manage to make it out to Munich this afternoon. We took the train into Marienplatz and walked around the main shopping district. We also ate a late lunch at the Hofbrauhaus. Cathie had been "jonesin" for a pretzel so we had to take her to THE place where they have THE LARGEST PRETZELS I've ever seen. We scarfed some sausages, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Mmmm!!! Cathie drank a Radler (half beer, half lemonade). I think she was a bit surprised to find out that she guzzled almost a liter. We'll make a beer-drinking lass out of her before the week is up. Now we just need to send her back to L.A. with a stein and a durndel- always a good look. :)

Mmmm... durndel-clad women :)
In front of the Hofbrauhaus

"Maybe tomorrow I can find a bigger pretzel."

Chillin' at the Hofbrauhaus

We then went into the Frauenkirche ("Cathedral of our Blessed Lady"), the largest church in Munich. I lit a candle for my grandmother, Ramona, who passed away a couple of years ago. I realize that I'm not Catholic, but I like the idea of lighting a candle in remembrance of someone, so I did. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but here is a pic I collected from wikipedia.

Had a relaxing evening at home watching Blades of Glory and eating leftover pizza. :) Hopefully, tomorrow's weather will be a bit of an improvement so we can do some more sight seeing.

Gerrit's Chip-Eating Technique


Gerard's Pillow