After our short Austrian stay (with various interesting weather conditions) our old home at least pretended it was pleased to see us by spoiling us with the most beautiful Autumn Weather. Munich does Autumn particularly well, and whilst a lot of people head to the Englischer Gartens in the Summer months to relax and enjoy the bier gartens, Autumn was definitely my favourite time of year for a decent wander whilst we were residents there, and with a decidedly lesser chance of seeing naked people…
I had been slightly worried about this particular leg of our trip, and the emotional impact it could have. It’s taken a long time to get to the stage when we don’t have that many “I want to go homes” from the children (who have actually spent more time in Bayern than they have in their “own country”), and having initially come back to a part of the UK that we have no real connection with, something I am often guilty of saying too.
Thankfully, whilst Munich still felt very much like home it didn’t feel at all sad, and for that I am so grateful… There were no tears from any of us over reunions with friends, not even on the day the small children spent at their beloved old school. It also confirmed to us that we may well return one day as no door has really closed. We still love this part of the world, but maybe time back in the UK is good to clarify things and make up for lost time with those important to us.
We have started house hunting (a painful process in England!!) and even found a house we really liked in a part of the UK that we know and love. It ticked a lot of boxes (and would have been easy to rent out if/when we go abroad again), but once the offer had been accepted and it finally sank in, we then had a few sleepless nights as we realised there were various things that wouldn’t work for us about the house at all… A further few sleepless nights followed at the guilt of backing out and letting the vendors down, but as my sister wisely pointed out – if you are being kept awake at night worrying about a house, instead of being kept awake at night worrying that the whole thing might fall through, then something’s not right… We will start the search again first thing in the New Year (there is another option we are still perusing, but that is one huge project. Watch this space!!)…
Anyway, back to Munich. Our home at home for our few days (would be the perfect location for Oktoberfest by the way!), was at the Vivadi Hotel Bayer 89, just up the road from the Hauptbahnhof . This was central for meeting up with friends, the restaurants we had to eat at (we had a big list of must have foods we miss whilst we were back), and the places we most wanted to revisit this trip. The hotel worked out well in that it had interconnecting rooms, but Mr R and I made a huge mistake by assuming our room was the one with the cot for the Toddler, then discovered the Small People’s room was far more spacious, and they weren’t about to give it up! They had a lovely time lounging about watching German kids TV of an evening, whilst we pretended to be asleep in the pitch black so that the toddler would finally drift off! Other slight disasters this trip included suddenly realising the pushchair only had three wheels (whilst we could have gotten away with that look here, it probably did look a bit odd on the uber sophisticated streets of Munich!). There is a reason why escalators say no pushchairs, and it turns out ripping off rubber Maclaren wheels is one of them. Mr R actually managed to retrace our steps, find it and whack it back on though, which is nothing short of miraculous when you consider we had been in a lot of Ubahn stations that afternoon, and hadn’t realised we were a wheel down until quite late in the day…
You would be amazed at how much you can pack in to three full days in Munich, especially when you know the place like the back of your hand… There were surreal moments of course, such as wandering around the Viktualienmarkt, the backdrop to a chunk of our lives there, a place we shopped for feasts with friends, argued with market stall holders over ordered Christmas turkeys that were definitely not the shape we expected when we went to pick it up (probably because it had most of its body missing, as apparently “a whole turkey would be too big” for our then family of four!!), and the wonderful evenings spent underneath the canopy of chestnut trees with friends in the market biergarten. It was so easy to drift back into an old life, and think “after this, we will go home and light the fire” before suddenly realising you don’t have a fire, or a house or even a life there anymore…
There is a big part of us that will always belong in Bavaria (one of us was even born there!), we covered a lot of life chapters in Munich (both good and bad), and for that I am truly grateful. Now excuse me whilst I have a little cry into my cup of tea…
This weekend (all being well), Mr R and I are having a grown up flying visit to our very first home abroad, one that I have only been back to once, and that he has not yet revisited. Now, that will feel weird…
Eventually getting round to some Bavarian Sojourn blog-reading and this is a lovely, if emotional, start for me.
Munich looks absolutely stunning. I would love to visit and only wish I’d got round to it when you were living there.
Thank you Trish. I wish you had too. You never know we might end up back there! :D xx
I’m glad the trip back wasn’t as heart wrenching for you all as you’d imagined. Munich does look beautiful in the autumn. Good luck with the house hunting – you had to go with your gut instincts to what you feel is right.
Thanks so much Ting. x
You take such beautiful photos. What a gorgeous place to visit!
Thank you Katy, that’s very kind of you to say so! :)
You were certainly treated to beautiful weather for your return trip! Fingers crossed for your UK house hunting going forwards. X
Thank you Daisy, hopefully by this time next year it will be all over and done with! :D x
Oh, this post is making even me feel sad, so you must have found the visit such a bittersweet experience! I really hope you get the UK house sorted out. Sounds as though you definitely made the right decision.
Thanks Nell. Bittersweet. Totally the right way to describe it! :)
What a bittersweet return visit. It sounds like you had a lovely time. My sympathies about buying a house in the UK! Having recently ben through it I know about those sleepless nights!!
Thanks Claire! (: x
What a lovely return trip to have – I can imagine a lot of mixed emotions though but it sounds like more enjoyment without too many regrets. And Munich really did look beautiful for you.
Thanks Cathy, a strange but not overly sad visit! :) x
Oh my what a stunning place! I have noted your recommendation for Octoberfest!
Thanks Lisa! :D
I’m so glad your trip to your old home was peaceful and happy. That can be such a daunting and emotional situation at times.
Thank you Krista. I was really dreading it, but even though it still felt like home, it wasn’t a sad feeling. x
How lovely! I’m glad that you didn’t have a rough visit back to your former home. I’m wondering how it will go for us, as we plan on visiting Vilnius sometime in the spring.
And good luck with the house hunting!
No doubt it will feel a bit strange, but good luck with your visit! Thanks Elizabeth! :)
My husband loves Munich! It’s not somewhere I’ve been before, it does look beautiful. Good luck with the House hunting, it’s a stressful time x
You have to go with him for a visit one day. It’s a beautiful city! And thank you. :) x
Looks like a lovely place to visit. Your photos are gorgeous.
Thanks so much Claire! Glad you like them! :)
I love your pictures! Munich is on my list of places to visit. It looks really beautiful. I hope your house hunting goes well next year. There is literally nothing I dread more.
I really am dreading it. It’s such a terrible drawn out process in this country! Thanks Susan! :)
I always love your posts Emma. not having travelled that much myself, I get to see new places through your eyes (or lens more precisely) and you are wonderful at capturing the essence of a place. That gradient tree image is just spectacular.
So wonderful that you got to see your friends in Munich again and that it was a good time rather than a sad one. I hope your find your new home very soon. Mich x
Michelle, that is such a lovely comment. Thanks so much. xx
Oh this is a post I can relate to. I often find going “home” very bitter sweet. I know that it’s not where our lives are anymore but my heart also still yearns and aches for it. So much so that we are preparing to move into rented so that we can open our options up again and move back should we wish. Munich looks like a wonderful city x
I have just read your post. It is such a stressful time isn’t it? Glad you found a real buyer for your lovely home! x
Ooh I have never been to Munich but I really want to! My husband has been a few times and says there is so much to see and do, I need to get a long weekend booked! Good luck with the house hunting, it’s hard going!
You have to go. It’s such a gorgeous city! Thank you, yes I am dreading it!
Munich looks lovely. I can understand why you’re having a hard time leaving it behind. It seems that leaving Munich was much harder for you all than leaving Scandinavia.
Thank you. It’s funny, we were back in CPH at the weekend. Whilst it was lovely reminiscing and exploring lots of old favourite places, we didn’t really have the emotional attachment there that we have in Munich as I think two years just wasn’t long enough. xx
I’m glad you had a happy visit to Munich, it sounds like the weather played ball and your other half must be the BEST at hide and seek! :D
Thanks so much. It was lovely to pop “home” again! And do you know what, I think he might be! :D