Since March or April, I have been riding my bike to work every day. Just last week, I started walking again. It takes longer but when it’s as cold as it has been lately, I prefer walking. I enjoy having this time to myself, to listen to music and spend another 20 minutes lost in thoughts. Another upside is, it’s so much easier to just stop and take a quick picture.

Today’s sunrise was absolutely beautiful. I have often passed by these fields thinking I wish I had the time to stop and take a picture or I wish I had my camera with me. Today, I took the time to take a few pictures. The pictures were just taken on my iPhone 4S but luckily its camera is pretty good.

City girl or not – I am willing to admit that I am not likely to have an amazing view like this in the middle of Munich. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

P.S. Be sure to sign up for my Christmas card exchange if you’d like to receive a card from me this year.

I went on the last day of the festival, planning to spend a couple of hours there, not having any idea what exactly was expecting me. Well, I was blown away. I enjoyed my visit so much, and instantly regretted not having gone earlier so I could have visited twice. There were so many performances and I was only able to see a couple of them.

I also thought it was such a shame I had to go by myself. I had asked a couple of friends to come up from Munich for it, but they didn’t, and in my opinion, they really missed out. If I get a chance to go again to the one in two years (i.e. if I still live here), I definitely will. I think I would even make the trip from Munich for this, it was that fun!

It takes place in a fairly small town but hundreds of people participate in the festival and many thousands come to visit, many of them in historical costumes. It is really a unique experience.

The historical part of town makes for a perfect backdrop, it gives the festival this sense of authenticity – knowing that many of the buildings, and the castle are very old and have really seen the time we as visitors are transported back to at this festival.

I ate some Rahmbrot, cream bread, a specialty of this town that has been ‘exported’ to Christmas markets and festivals all over Germany. For good reason – it was absolutely delicious. In fact, it was so good I had two.

I got to see two performances that are very typical of the festival, and I am so glad I decided to see both. One was a reenactment of medieval games in the historical stables, which was very entertaining, and the other was a classic – the hobbyhorse riders – a performance by children in historical costumes in the courtyard of the castle. Very sweet.

I really loved how so many visitors were dressed in historical costumes – some really elaborate, some very simple. It almost made me wish I had a historical costume to wear. I think most people who live around here do.

It was such a fun day. My expectations hadn’t been that high, but I really loved it. If you’d like, you can watch a video of the festival from 2009 here. I think it does a really good job at conveying the atmosphere.

Have you ever been to a historical festival? Are there any where you live?

In the afternoon, I met up with my friend Julia and we went to the Oktoberfest. The weather was fantastic, and the Wiesn was super crowded. It was the first day which is always crowded and with the beautiful weather, it was just madness.

But we also had a great time. I am not a fan of all the drunk people but I love the atmosphere. There are rides everywhere, women in dirndl, men in lederhosen, and lots of different food stalls. Of course there are the beer tents too, but if you want to get in on the first day, you need to be there at 8am to get in line. Considering that I don’t even drink beer, it has never been worth it for me.

We walked around a bit, went on one ride (my favorite), I ate an ochsensemmel, Julia bought a gingerbread heart for her boyfriend, and ate a chocolate banana. After about 1 1/2 hours we had had enough and we decided to go back home. It was getting really cloudy and we didn’t want to get wet. It was a short visit to the Wiesn, but absolutely worth it. I am going to be back in town in a couple of weeks, and I hope to go again one more time.

I think next year, I will try to take a day or two off during the Wiesn, though, so I can go during the week. Weekends are just a little too crazy for me.

Because she had asked me if we have frozen yogurt in Munich, I found out that, in fact, we do. Some googling turned up a place that just opened in May. It was opened by a college graduate who discovered frozen yogurt while studying abroad in the States and decided that Munich needs a frozen yogurt place (yes, yes it does).

Of course we had to go there to try it. It was absolutely fantastic and I will definitely be going back regularly. In fact, I went back the very next day with another friend of mine, who loved it too. I am so glad I found this place. Delicious frozen yogurt and great interior as well. Totally a new favorite.

Afterward, we took a walk through the English Garden, which is a gorgeous park in town, and went to the Eisbach (ice creek) to watch the surfers there for a while. Fun fact: Jason Mraz’s ‘Make It Mine’ music video was filmed here and at other Munich locations. Definitely one of my favorite places in Munich that I was happy to show my friend.

So much fun and one of those days that reminded me how many friends I have made through blogging.

At the same time, the sun was setting in the west and gave the entire town this beautiful, golden glow. It was still raining so the sun reflected in the wet streets. It was so beautiful.

Last night was definitely one of the times that I was happy for living out in the country because you don’t often get so see nature as beautiful as this when there are buildings upon buildings blocking your view.

This was the first time in my life that I saw a rainbow, complete from one end to the other. I was honestly giddy with excitement.

As the sun set, the sky turned this lovely shade of dusty pink. The rainbow didn’t vanish until it got dark. It was so amazing.

And as the sun set into the horizon, the clouds were looking more and more dramatic, like the sky was on fire.

It was such a magical evening, one of the most beautiful sunsets I witnessed. And one of the moments that I absolutely loved living in small town Bavaria.

Cute, right?

We walked into the store which is filled with pretty things, picture frames, soap, pillows, jewelry, kitchen utensils, and various other knick knacks. We then walked down to the basement where we found more treasures. I took some pictures there. I was not sure whether the store owners would be okay with my taking any so I didn’t take any of the upstairs, though maybe I will ask them if I can the next time I go there. I was seriously blown away by how beautiful everything looked. Because I feel like my words won’t do it justice, I will leave you with these pictures. If I had to summarize my feelings in one word, it would be LOVE. In capital letters.

I really loved not just the things they sold but also how they were set up, like walking into the attic of an old house.

The furniture was also for sale. I would love to have this for my living room.

Aren’t these just so precious?

Spot the little milk jug on the table there? It matches the sugar bowl I bought. I keep wondering whether I should go back and buy it, even though I don’t see myself needing it. Just because it’s so pretty. And it matches the sugar bowl. And maybe my taste buds will at some point change how they feel about coffee. I think if they still have it the next time I go there, I will just decide that it’s fate and that I should have it.

I could have spent so much more time browsing that store, and I just know that I will be back. A lot.

Aside from the sugar bowl that I showed you in my previous post, I also ended up buying these bracelets by Danish designer Lisbeth Dahl. I love them so much.

A month ago, the couch I bought in February finally arrived. I absolutely love it and am so happy with the pattern I chose for the upholstery. It is really comfortable and perfect for lounging or reading or watching TV. It is my very first own couch so as you can imagine I am really thrilled with it. My living room is mostly lots of earthy colors, white, beige, and brown, and it is my favorite room of the apartment. I still have to buy some more furniture for it (most notably a sideboard, a shelf and a couch table) but I already love the room as it is.

This past weekend, my best friend came to visit me here for the first time, and we went to a few stores in the area. I managed to snag up a few more things for my apartment.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought two plants for my living room and now I have added a third. The other two are plain simple green plants (a rubber fig and some kind of palm) but this one is a bit different. It’s an Asian lily, and when I walked past it, I fell in love with its colors pretty much right away. The splash of color it adds to my living room makes me happy.

The next one was a really lucky find in a store that I didn’t even know sold any decorative items. It’s a very simple wall clock but I loved the design of it and I knew where I’d put it as soon as I saw it (I had been planning on getting a clock for my living room wall anyway). At just €5 I really couldn’t resist and what can I say – I have no regrets about buying it.

Another lucky find my best friend and I made on Saturday was what is probably the most perfect store. It specializes in ‘pretty things,’ jewelry, picture frames, soap, furniture, decor, kitchen utensils, etc., lots of it vintage and most adorable. We talked to the store owners a bit and they said that the store is just their hobby on the side and you could totally tell from how much love and creativity they poured into it.

In fact, it was so amazing that I could not resist taking a few pictures of it, and will be dedicating an entire post to it soon, so watch out for that. I promise you will fall in love with that store just like we did. And just for a little sneak peek, I’ll show you what I bought there. Isn’t this the most adorable sugar bowl?

Excuse all the superlatives in the previous two paragraphs, I am just really in love with this gem of a store. (I know, hard to tell, right?) It brings me so much joy to add these little things to my home. My home. I really consider myself lucky for having found such a beautiful apartment in this smallest of small towns.

What do you like best about your home?

My couch is actually scheduled to be delivered next week so if all goes well, I will be able to share a picture of my then a little more furnished living room soon.

We’ll start with the bedroom – which is still looking a bit minimalistic what with the lack of pictures on the wall but I do plan on putting up some frames eventually.

I have yet to find a nice bedside table for my bedroom to replace the pink IKEA table (which used to be on my balcony in my previous apartment).

I love my dressing table. It was really the only non-essential piece of furniture I bought and it was a great decision to get it.

I love my walk-in closet! It’s great having so much space for my clothes and being able to easily pick what I want to wear. Not to mention it’s super-easy to make my bedroom look all neat by simply shoving everything into the closet. Heh.

This is my office. So far the most redundant room in my apartment as I haven’t been using it at all due to the chaos that reigned in this room and particularly on the desk until this weekend. But believe it or not, I am currently sitting at my desk writing this post so I am thinking I’ll be using it more in the future. Ironically, this is probably the room that looks the most moved in out of all the rooms in my apartment.

I’ve already run out of space on my bookshelves.

As you can see, there is still lots to do, especially in terms of decorating but so far I haven’t had the time or inspiration for that. I still have a few small boxes of random junk to sort through but eventually, I want to get around to putting up some pictures on the walls.

This is my living room – still a bit bare. My couch will be delivered at the beginning of April.

The dining area. I adore the wooden paneling on the wall and ceiling.

My dining area and part of the kitchen.

I will have to buy some furniture for that corner of the living room. I was thinking one or two 2×2 Expedit cubes from IKEA. Thoughts?

The kitchen. I love having a big fridge all to myself.

The other end of my kitchen. Love the wooden beams in my kitchen and living room, they really give the apartment a rustic feel. The apartment was completely renovated before I moved in (new floors, new kitchen & bathroom, everything) but the wooden beams and the paneling in the living room hint at the old age of the house.

My small but growing collection of Starbucks city mugs.

Pictures on my kitchen wall – I just put them up yesterday and love how they turned out. Both postcards and frames are from IKEA. I thought the postcards would be perfect for the kitchen.

The bathroom.

The bathroom is pretty small but I do have a bathtub.

Well, that’s it for now. I will probably not be able to do part 2 until next week as I will be leaving for Munich right after work tomorrow, but I hope you enjoyed this first peek into my new apartment. As country as this town is, I really really love my apartment.

I am already super-busy at work and exhausted every night when I get home, so I usually end up watching TV or reading a book every night. I also go to bed much earlier than I used to, though I am still having a hard time getting up early. Lately I have been finding myself skipping breakfast at home (instead stopping at the bakery on my way to work) in favor of another 20 minutes of sleep.

My apartment is still in the process of coming together. Last weekend I bought a couch and it will be delivered in early April (it is custom-made with the fabric I picked out so it takes six weeks for it to be delivered). My office is still looking like a huge mess, though I am almost done sorting through things – the office is where pretty much all of my junk goes as my living room is still pretty bare of furniture.

I was hoping to take pictures of my apartment today – after stowing everything away neatly, but I am not quite there yet. I really do want to get there before the week is over though, so stay tuned for pictures of my apartment sometime later this upcoming week.

To tide you over till you get to see pictures of my current apartment, I scanned some old pictures I came across tonight when unpacking a box of old stuff. Yes, people, this is what my bedroom looked like when I was a teenager (around 18/19).

Why yes, that would be Orlando Bloom, Health Ledger, David Boreanaz and Josh Hartnett on my wall. And Hayden Christensen apparently, though I have no recollection of that poster. Or the Star Wars poster. Ahem.  And no, I did not have too many dust catchers stuffed animals in my room. In fact, I still own a lot of them now – you see, they all have a story, how could I throw them away? (Yes, it’s a problem.)

I promise, there will be more posts coming about what I’ve been up to in the past six weeks. And they will hopefully be a little less random than this one was.

What did your room look like when you were a teenager? Would/Did you share a picture of it (on your blog)?