A Nice, Nerdy Day

Ok, so have to write a post   my nerdy trip to Munich last weekend!  It was my first time in Munich, but honestly we really didn’t see much of the city, between the constant rain and our two separate appointments with the English cinema!  

I headed off with my au pair friend Abigail on Friday night, and we met my friend Barbara who is on exchange in Germany when we got to Munich.  The train trip is about 3 hours I guess, but we managed to pass the time with chatting, silliness and me getting Aby to read to me from a German book (she doesn’t speak any German yet) and also from an English book with a heavy Mexican accent.  Though the way back was much more subdued - going to the movies two times in one day definitely tires you out!  

So anyway, the first stop on our nerdy Saturday was the cinema to see Catching Fire - the new instalment of the Hunger Games movies.  It was really good, though I definitely came out feeling somewhat traumatised and like I had already lived through at least a couple of days - not excellent when you come out at midday and still have half a day ahead of you!  But totally worth it!  So much better to see it in English, although if I can find someone willing to come with me here I am also keen to see it in German.  I guess it will also be a bit of an experiment - I’m not sure if I will connect with the movie as much if I’m having to concentrate on whats being said the entire time...  Something that will be interesting to test anyway.  Though I guess having already seen it in English (and read the book several times) will help.  

It rained the entire weekend, which did put a bit of a damper on things (no pun intended!), especially as I don’t currently own a waterproof jacket - a problem I definitely need to address ASAP!  So after we walked for like an hour or two into the Altstadt and then between various shops, we were all well and truly soaked and decided to give in and head back to the hostel by train for a recuperation break before the evening.  The hostel we stayed in was quite nice actually, and relatively close to the hauptbahnhof which is always good!  Not quite as communal as other hostels I’ve stayed in, but I guess when you’re travelling in a group that doesn’t really matter.  Though Barbara and I did meet one guy Saturday night who was nice enough, though a little strange.  He also didn’t get off to a good start by asking me if I was American!  

After our recuperation (which of course included tea) we got changed to head out to dinner and then of course the main event - the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode!  I’ve put some pics below - I was quite proud of how my TARDIS dress turned out.  Definitely homemade (given the shedding everywhere) but overall a nice effect I think!  So yeah I was pretty chuffed when I heard a couple of comments in German about how good my dress looked when we walked into the cinema haha.  

We headed back into the Altstadt for dinner at the Hofbraühaus - one of Munich’s more famous old breweries.  Despite being quite touristy, I really enjoyed it!  Beautiful old building, some delicious German food, accompanied by a beer of course.  And of course good company is always a must have too! 

A running theme for the weekend seemed to be us starting out with a lot of time, then ending up stressing and hurrying to actually get places on time... After a leisurely dinner we headed back to the train station, at which point I realised by the time the train came and we got off and walked, we would definitely need to rush to make it.  Hence our pre-screening excited audience shot features a very red-faced me!  But we made it with a little time to spare thankfully, so it was all good!  

Now I haven’t been to the movies in Germany much, so I’m not sure if it’s normal or not, but in the morning when we went to see Catching Fire we were shocked that after everyone was seated, the movie began immediately - absolutely no ads other than the two “Movie Theatre Etiquette for the Modern Day Audience” notices instructing us to turn our phones off and not talk during the movie!  Definitely cracked up at that title, although it sort of fit with the cinema which appeared to only have the one theatre, with a curtained screen and no tiered seating, just a gentle rise in the floor.  It’s funny how we always complain about the ads, but it felt really weird when the movie just started!  Not even any trailers.  I was actually a little disappointed at the lack of trailers.  

However, after being again treated to the “Movie Theatre Etiquette” notices before Doctor Who, we then got the infinitely more awesome Doctor Who version, starring Strax the Sontaran.  That was awesome, and was even more awesome by the great atmosphere in the cinema.  I never would have guessed there were so many German Doctor Who fans - who dressed up and everything!  There were plenty of fezzes and bowties, as well as Tom Baker scarves and even an amazing Dalek dress with headpiece that lit up and everything.  And everyone was just as excited as we were - there was plenty of applause, from when the curtains were drawn back, and particularly when they showed the next Hobbit trailer in 3D, to when the episode started!  And especially (spoiler for anyone who hasn’t seen it and wants to) at the flash of Peter Capaldi during the episode.  The episode was pretty great - though the whole day ended up feeling so surreal that I think I need to watch it again for it to really feel real.  But it was great, albeit a little weird, to see David Tennant and Billie Piper back - though I was a little disappointed that Billie wasn’t back as Rose.  And they have now given a whole new direction to the show, so I’m looking forward to seeing how they play it out with Capaldi.  

The night wasn’t as nerdy as originally planned - Abigail was keen to see the new Thor movie and after there were no trailers for the first movie we thought we’d be able to make it in time.  Unfortunately with the pre-show trailers and then the bottle-neck to get out at the end, followed by the inconvenient timing of the trains, we didn’t make it in time.  But regardless, it was definitely a thoroughly enjoyable day!  Enough nerdiness to carry me through until the next Hobbit movie :) 

This week I’ve been planning how to hit as many Christmas markets this month as possible.  It has been really exciting to see all the beautiful Christmas lights and decorations go up in Bregenz, as well as the stalls for the Christmas markets being set up.  And this was all topped off today by waking up to snow outside!  Only a light dusting, but it definitely makes winter look so much prettier!  And we had a small snowball fight with Abigail and Jakob this arvo while out collecting leaves.  So I’m definitely getting more excited for Christmas - now to just get organised too.